Notes from the Meadow

Partake in the Great Backyard Bird Count!

2012-02-13T15:49:00.000-05:00

This coming weekend, starting February 17 and running 4 days until February 20, is the annual

Great Backyard Bird Count.

The site listed below provides a data form and list of birds for your area.

Have fun and happy birding!

http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

Feasting Robins and Cedar Waxwings

2012-02-09T11:42:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, our Green Hawthorne was overflowing with red berries. Not for long! A flock of robins flew in, flying back and forth between a maple and seemingly taking turns in feasting.

Within an hour, a tightly oval shaped flock of Cedar Waxwings joined them. These medium sized birds have a silky appearance, have yellow-tipped tails and striking black markings on their faces. The eat insects during breeding season and berries especially from Junipers year round. They are know to pass berries from bird to bird which is believed to help in the digestion of the berry. Find more info at this Cornell Birding site : http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_waxwing/id/ac

Robins and Cedar Waxwings are both very social birds and eat the berries whole and seem to get along quite well, contrary to the report I found online. (http://www.jstor.org/pss/4513265).

Here is an excellent video of these beautiful birds on Youtube:

Demise of the Unruly Pussywillows!

2012-02-06T11:42:00.000-05:00

Pussy willow stands are quite unruly!

We tried cutting them down from 25 feet to 5 feet for them only to grow back within a season back to 25 feet or more. They had become twisted with errant trees and vines of all sorts, causing them to fold over onto the driveway.

After careful thought, the 3 stands were removed by Tophat Landscaping's Jason and his colleague, Mark, over 2 days and lots of hard work.

Now we have an amazing view!

Thank you!

2011-12-21T14:58:00.001-05:00

The Honey Sale at the Holiday Gift Shop went fantastic!

A special thank you to Cameron and Marianne and Marta and Lidia for all their enthusiasm, time and inspiration. The crafts and balloons and equipment were amazing!

Also, a special thank you to all of you who purchased some honey.

I hope you are enjoying it.

A portion of the proceeds will be used to purchase 2 packages of bees, the box and hive and training through Heifer International (www.heifer.org/bees)

Be on the lookout for fun information regarding bees in the coming blog entries.

Wishing you a wonderful Holiday!

Little Humbugs!

2011-12-20T14:34:00.000-05:00

As a follow up for the Holiday Shop Honey Sale and Pollinator Information Sharing, I thought I would for the next few posts, share some fun pollinator sites that are children friendly and also informative and very much worth a visit.

On this site, they provide a little downloadable booklet about how to save pollinators, providing beautifully illustrated pictures and excellent information: http://www.littlehumbugs.com/pollinators.html.
Enjoy!

Bee cartoons!

2011-12-18T15:30:00.002-05:00

After the last two visits, I see why bee doesn’t drop in on grandpa more often.

An interesting take on the troubles bees are having.

Below is the link to the site for more fun cartoons:
http://joemohrtoons.com/category/hank-d-and-the-bee/

Save the Bees!

2011-12-08T13:16:00.001-05:00

My friend's son, Cameron, has been so very excited and eager to learn more about bees and to help me sell my honey, as he is quite the salesman.

On Friday, December 9th, at his elementary school, they have a holiday shop, where the children can come and purchase reasonably priced gifts for their parents, friends and siblings and he and his mother have invited me to participate. Cameron and his friend, Lidia, have made amazing bee crafts too, including bee necklaces, bee headbands and bee ornaments and Lidia will offer bee nails.

They also created an amazing information board as they are more concerned with getting the word out about saving bees and other pollinators than making money!

Stay posted for more information about how to save the bees!

Pink Footed Goose Sighting

2011-12-02T20:13:00.000-05:00

Curiosity got the best of me today.

There have been loads of cars parked down by the reservoir of Pine Run and I thought they might be hunters but instead they were BIRDWATCHERS! What a pleasant surprise! Cars from all over including several from Maryland.

After investigating, they are on the lookout for the

Pink footed Goose

which normally lives in Greenland, where it nests on cliffs next to glaciers

and migrates and over winters in northwestern Europe.

Here is a video of one swimming and walking - note the feet are not so very pink!
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/video/pink-footed-goose-anser-brachyrhynchus/bird-swimming-walking

There have been a few sightings the past several years in PA dating back to 1997. (see http://www.dvoc.org/DelValBirding/Species/PinkFootedGoose.htm)

I was curious how the word gets out and I found this site: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/PENN.html#1322742016

Also, a local birder had more information about this event on his blog: http://birdchaser.blogspot.com/2011/11/pine-run-pink-footed-goose.html

This is quite an exciting moment for birders and we were told if the goose stays longer we can expect folks from all over as far and wide as from CA coming to get a glimpse, since it such a rare event.

Happy Goose Watching!

October Snow brings more tricks than treats!

2011-11-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

"It was only going to be a dusting!"

I happened to just catch a snippet of the news on Friday afternoon and was shocked to see a snow storm headed our way with 6 - 12 inches forecasted. Friday night was spent putting on the snow blade in the dark, just in case, and it was a good thing as we woke up on Saturday, October 29th to heavy snow falling -

Note that most of the trees still have leaves.

Power went out around noon and as we meandered around the house to past the time, we suddenly heard an abrupt knocking at the window and were shocked to see some wild turkeys pecking and eating some berries that had fallen from the Green Hawthorne tree.

As startled as we were, they headed off towards the woods, past the truck, . . .

. . . leaving these huge tracks behind. Stepping outside to take these photos, you could hear branches crashing through out the woods.

The next day, we had bright sunshine, clear blue skies and brilliant white snow . . .

. . but we could then see all the damage . . .

We lost about 10 branches total, many falling from the tops of the trees and bringing other branches down as they fell. One massive branch from the old maple covered the driveway.

We were fortunate though, as many folks were out of power for days or lost entire trees.

Below is a snowfall total from Accuweather for the Northeast breaking records everywhere. No one in this area we talked to can even recall having snow in October.

Apparently, power outages have increased in our area by 60% in the last few years.

Is it system issues or more intense storms?

Funky Fungi

2011-11-09T09:24:00.000-05:00

Earlier this fall, between September 8 and 9, Tropical Storm Lee passed through, bringing buckets and buckets of rain, dumping over 7 inches and causing flooding throughout the Delaware Valley region and beyond. Normally, in early September, we have about 42 inches for the year but this year we had over 49 inches.

This excess has also translated into more fungi and mushrooms to enjoy, such as . . .

Elegant Stinkhorn (Mutinus elegans)

The top of it is covered in brown spores that are spread

by insects, that are attracted to it

due to its strong smell.

. . . and this Brain Fungus - not its official name - it is hard and hand sized and grows up in the grass. It had bites in it from the deer but must not be too tasty as it was left for not . .

. . . and these Puffballs - they were all over in various shapes and sizes. This one is hand sized and stalked. They are of the division of fungus called Basidiomycota and produce a cloud of brown dust like spores called statismospores as seen below when you step or poke at it.

. . . and also this type of Puffball, but it is not stalked and grows up

from the ground on a small stem that dies away.

Here are a couple online mushroom identification guides:

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/major_groups.html

http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mushroom_cap_morphology2.png

Whose Hungry?

2011-10-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Our Kousa Dogwood has provided a lot of fruit . .

. . . to an array of animals this fall that luckily I spotted over the last few weeks.

Unfortunately, I didn't catch any of them in the act with a photo

so you will have to use your imagination -

here is the tree:

Following a storm,

I saw two young raccoons scampering up and around it.

Several deer, a week later

and then an opossum

one late night,

whose shiny eyes I caught in the headlight beams.

" We'll eat like kings."

2011-10-07T15:04:00.000-04:00

This Farside comic came to mind one foggy morning this past August when I discovered several huge spider webs about 2 feet by 3 feet in diameter

dangling from our Sweet gum trees

and then several along the evergreen path.

What were the spiders trying to catch? Deer? Me?

I never found the spiders who cast these webs. Perhaps, that is a good thing so I can sleep at night.

There were also smaller ones in the trees dangling like ornaments in a Christmas tree:

Eggplant for Everyone!

2011-09-14T10:01:00.000-04:00

Unlike last year, we have had a boon in eggplants this year and have enjoyed eating them and discovering new ways to prepare them. They are delicious when dredged first with egg then dipped in breadcrumbs and then lightly sauteed and eaten as a side dish. Using this same method and then assembled as Eggplant Parmesan makes for a healthy, vegetarian dinner meal served with a crisp green salad topped with fruit and baby tomatoes and some warm italian bread to the side.

I use the delicious recipe from The Victory Garden by Marian Morash and the recipe is as follows with some of my own minimal additions:

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:
2 lb eggplant - that's about 1-2 eggplants sliced 3/8 of an inch and then salted and patted dry
3 eggs
1-2 cups of bread crumbs
3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 tsp of fresh oregano
1 lb of mozzarella cheese - I use grated
3 cups of tomato sauce - I use 1-2 jars of spagetti sauce

Peel the eggplant, slice and salt. After 30 minutes pat it dry. Beat the eggs with 2 Tablespoons of water. Dip the eggplant slices first into the eggs, then the crumbs. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a large frying pan, and then saute the eggplant slices until golden brown on both sides. Remove and drain on brown paper ( I used paper towels). Add oil as you complete sauteing all the eggplant.
Place half the eggplant slices in a a 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese, half the oregano and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Cover with 1/2 the tomato sauce. Repeat the layers. Top with the last of the Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 6-8.

Recently, I enjoyed a different variation of this meal at Florentino's in Newtown (18 South Street, 215.860.1133), where they slice the eggplant very thin and then lightly saute it, stack it about an inch high and then add the sauce and cheese on top instead layered in between the eggplant. The eggplant flavor is more prominent and very delicious. Thank you, Sue Ann, for a wonderful outing!

Buon appetito!

Our very own QR Code!

2011-09-10T21:19:00.001-04:00

In case you didn't notice, to the right of this entry is the blog's

own QR Code.

We have added a QR code on each of our honey bottles this fall for quick access to this blog

via a smart phone application.

The app is called Scan and is a free download and lots of fun.

Anyone can get a QR Code or Quick Response by going online to the QR Code generator site. Your code can include a variety of information including a phone number,

email address, or any other alphanumeric data.

Baby Mantis on the loose!

2011-08-30T11:13:00.007-04:00

After walking the dog

earlier in the summer, I came in to eat breakfast.

As I sat down, a flash of green caught my eye and there,

on the ground to behold was a baby Praying Mantis. It must have hitched a ride indoors.

I quickly scooped it up before Sigi could step on it and transported it
outside to the Fothergilla gardenii bush in the corner of the garden.

I grabbed my camera to capture these shots.

Note its powerful forearms that can crush prey in half and are spiked.

I guess it needed to clean up after such an unsettling affair.

Catch me if you can, big dog!

2011-08-25T08:09:00.000-04:00

Despite the fact that we have a very large dog, Sigi, we still have rabbits all over our back yard. They enjoy teasing him and leaving remains for him to smell and torment him and then even mock him by hopping right by his door.

It is a friendly interaction though and provides great entertainment for us all.

Little Fawn, don't be afraid!

2011-08-16T10:54:00.001-04:00

From my office earlier in the summer, I could see a young fawn nestled in the grass

sleeping out in the open unprotected.

I was curious and watched for awhile and finally went down to investigate. I startled her eventually and she ran unfortunately into my garden fence and seemed very wobbly.

I was concerned that perhaps the mother had abandoned her. I called the Aark Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center for instructions and they informed me to keep a watchful eye out for her but not capture her at this time. If the fawn was abandoned she would quickly become dehydrated and decline quickly.

Another deer appeared within the hour and the fawn gleefully ran to it but was met with some unwelcome kicks. The fawn undeterred remained nearby nibbling on some grass.

I spied the next morning the fawn reunited with the mother eating

happily some apples under the crabapple tree.

Cicada Killers Hard at Work!

2011-08-12T10:10:00.001-04:00

I received an email from my good friend, Blanche, regarding an insect in her yard that was making large holes which she could not identify.

After discussing it back and forth and sending her various insect photos, we determined she had in her flower beds an Eastern cicada killer, which is a very large solitary wasp. The females are larger and sting their prey, a cicada, to paralyze it and then use it to provision their nest. They emerge in June and can be seen until late September.

I visited her yard to take photos and found her flower bed all dug up with many large holes around her plantings and a male flying about keeping us on guard as he flew from hole to hole. A female arrived carrying a paralyzed cicada larger than herself and she promptly carried it down into one of the holes.

See the following article for further fascinating information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_cicada_killer

I searched in my own yard for similar nests with no luck but did find

this cicada, safe for the moment, on my porch.

Sweet Clover Honey!

2011-08-10T10:09:00.000-04:00

Although we had a slow start this year due to the cold spring weather, we still managed to collect over 90 lbs of honey. The first harvest was July 5th, the same day as last year! The second harvest was just 2 weeks later and we bottled another 40 lbs. The honey is mostly made from clover nectar and is delicious, light and sweet. We had a beautiful bumper clover crop this year that lasted for weeks until the hot dry weather rolled in.

We have 3 hives this year and they are vibrant but we are working hard to keep the mites and beetles at bay. We plan to add a 4th hive next year. The hive to the far left has been odd - just collecting honey for themselves and not putting any honey in the honey super for us and they spend a lot of time just hanging out as you can see. The hive to the far right was amazing and is the one from which we collected the most honey.

Frolicking Spring Arrivals

2011-06-16T11:28:00.000-04:00

The meadow has returned, green and lush.

Spring has brought many beautiful little surprises.

A fawn was born . .

and

mom holds a close watch . . .

Baby groundhogs scamper nearby . . .

What adventures await them in the coming summer?

No Foolin'

2011-04-01T15:41:00.001-04:00

I was reviewing my bee journal as we pick up 2 new bee packages tomorrow to increase our hive count to 4 hives and I noticed that the weather last year was amazing - warm and in the 80s.

Not this year - it has been in the 40s all week and today it is barely going to climb out of the 30s and

even SNOWING. . . . . .

Not a very funny April Fool's joke!! But beautiful just the same!

THINK HAPPY SPRING WEATHER!

Hopefully it is right around the corner.

Perched Pair

2011-03-29T15:36:00.001-04:00

I took some photos of this handsome pair of red-tailed hawks a couple of weeks ago and spied them again this morning perched high in the same sunny spot on this cold windy morning.

They have been flying in wide circles over the meadows and hunting together, part of the mating ritual. There haven't been any altercations with the crows thusfar.

Red-tailed hawks have been nesting in the tall trees of the back woods for years creating a large stick nest. According to Lives of North American Birds by K. Kaufman, they have 2-3 eggs and incubation is done by both parents and lasts 28-52 days. The female stays with the young until they are 6-7 weeks old and during this time the male provides the food. I look forward to hearing the squawking of the babies later this spring.

Not always a Star!

2011-03-01T15:34:00.000-05:00

The Star of Bethlehem is a prolific, fast spreading perennial that grows from a bulb similar to onion grass but without the smell and has a beautiful white 6 pedaled star like flower.

It is all over my yard and looks beautiful blooming amongst the grass in the early spring but it is a nightmare in a mulched garden and very difficult to eliminate without herbicides.

In searching for creative ways to eliminate it, I was amused to see the mice move the Star of Bethlehem bulbs out of their pathways in the meadow over the winter in carefully organized rows.

At first I thought the mice were storing it and then after more thought, decided they were removing it as it is very poisonous. If only I could train the mice to help me over in the garden beds.

Stormy Winter Reflections

2011-02-18T18:03:00.000-05:00

It has been a very active winter with 5 major storms and continuous snow on the ground since December 26, 2010. The first storm or blizzard brought 15 inches of snow and high winds. Early in January, the 11th, we received another 8 inches and exactly a month after the first storm, January 26 -27th we had another blizzard leaving another 15 inches.

Just a few days later, another storm blew in, dumping just a mere 4 inches. Beginning in February around the 2nd, we had an ice storm with ice accumulation between 1/4 and 1/2 inches, wrecking havoc on tree limbs and power lines. (See blog entry of Feb. 2nd.)

This is a photo from 3 days ago.

The last few days have been milder finally with temperatures in the 40's and then climbing into the 70's for 2 days with much of the snow melting. The meadow is still lightly covered with snow though today (as pictured below) and along the driveway, where the sun doesn't reach. I visited the bees and fed them some fondant today and found them active and busy cleaning their hives.

It is only mid February. It will be interesting to see what Mother Nature still has in store for us.

Squirrel Story

2011-02-15T16:59:00.002-05:00

The squirrels are quite active on our property with about 8 nests total this winter. They typically stay in their dens or nests made of leaves, sticks and fur for several days during the winter and emerge in early dawn or late dusk to feed. Otherwise, they may bask in the sun on a limb near their nest as I captured this afternoon of a plump squirrel near their nest in the old maple tree near the road.

Currently, we are entering the squirrel's gestation period which lasts about 40-44 days with the first litter expected between March and April. They bear 1 to 9 with 2-3 babies being the average.

Over the years I have observed squirrels chasing others into a busy street. There are hierarchies that determine how they interact with older larger males dominating the smaller ones and females deferring to males unless they have a litter. They do not mate for life and have many partners. Their life span ranges from 6 to 12 years.

They also do not carry rabies thankfully as we found this past fall when our dog, Sigi, was bitten by one, that was running slowly from the feeder.

We have as many as 5 squirrels at a time at the feeder which is located inside our fence where our dog roams. Clearly they are not impressed with his ferociousness. I have observed the squirrel that lives up by the road, run down our driveway, over the meadow and over the fence to feed - 1/4 mile just one way.

Winter Sights and Sounds

2011-02-02T14:39:00.000-05:00

We had our first ice storm of the year with about 1/4" accumulation. We lost power for about 5 hours and a few trees unfortunately lost some limbs including the black cherry and the river birches.

There were some fanciful sights as well.

Happily the temperatures have climbed into the upper 30's and the ice is melting quickly and loudly as heard above in the video.

Whose Tracks are These?

2011-01-29T21:43:00.000-05:00

Last week we had a warmer day in the uppers 40's, so I trudged through the snow to see how the bees were doing. The dead bees, that had been cleaned from the hives, were gone! I then noticed some tracks.

I followed them down to the creek and to an old tree, but

they went around the tree, over the creek and into the woods.

I walked back and noticed that the tracks were all around the hive and then they meandered around and finally up to the driveway.

The tracks belonged to an opossum. They are North American's only marsupial and can bare up to 14 babies with 9 only usually surviving. The babies stay in the pouch for about 10 weeks then climb to the mother's back. Opossums have a prehensile tail and play dead when they feel threatened. I wonder if he'll be back for another winter snack next time the bees clean house.

A Great Day to Fly!

2011-01-14T15:32:00.000-05:00

After a month of cold weather in December, finally on January 1st we had a warm day, with 51 degrees, overcast skies and the ground still covered with residual snow from a snow storm that left 7 inches the day after Christmas. There were yellow spots here and there on the snow and I was curious what they were - perhaps bee droppings? Sure enough, the closer we came to the hives, the more spots there were.

Bees defecate when they fly and this was the first day they had an opportunity to leave the hive. We opened up the hives, gave them some new sugar water, noted that they were very active and had been cleaning house, as there were many dead bees on the ground. Hopefully nothing to worry about. Also, the wind screen was still sturdy and in place.

Meadow Management!

2010-11-12T15:50:00.003-05:00

This lower meadow has been in place for over 5 years providing a rich habitat for numerous birds, insects, rabbits and deer as well as the predators, such as the red-tailed hawks, crows and fox that frequent the area. Its lies next to a wetlands area and consists largely of goldenrod, multiflora rose, grasses and some fern on the outer edges. It is a dynamic space, beautiful to observe and enjoy. To maintain it as a meadow and not to allow it to succeed to a forest, it needs to be mowed or bushwacked periodically, but when?

After a call to Laura at Bucks Country Gardens for some guidance, she sent to me a very helpful document but with very conflicting information. If done in the fall or early winter, the mowing could weaken the growth of goldenrod and asters, or reduce the chances of plants surviving the winter due to the soil freeze thaw cycles. During the winter many flower species grow actively and would reduce weeds from germinating. Mowing in the fall also eliminates winter shelters for wildlife but would help reduce the mice population.

On the other hand, mowing in early spring, the concern is damaging regrowth and reemerging plants and coinciding with red wing birds nesting. The weather may also be too wet or the meadow might be encased in ice as last year.

As you can see, we chose to do it in the fall due to our concerns with spring weather and the emerging of new plants and nesting birds.

The deer emerged just minutes after it was completed looking a bit dazed and confused. We left a portion around the bees to protect them from the northern winds and a section around the Sweetgums to provide some shelter for the birds and deer. It is so bare and we are already counting the days to spring.

It is an experiment and time will tell.

Early Morning Sighting!

2010-11-10T15:35:00.003-05:00

Frequently, we have a herd of about 11 does and rarely do we ever spot a buck. It is rutting season now though and every once in awhile we catch a glimpse. This one I caught early in the morning before the sun peaked over the evergreens. There is a younger one with just wee little horns too. They are very proud but cautious and seem to know to keep a low profile and rarely are seen mingling with the herd openly.

What a line - a dragline, I mean!

2010-11-08T15:10:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, I was walking and observed this extremely long spider’s dragline dangling over the driveway. My husband had just drove speedily under it and it was still swaying in the breeze.

It reached from the top of a Sweetgum tree, over the driveway and then to a Norway Spruce, meandered through the branches and then up to the beautiful web, as pictured here. I was amazed, quickly ran home and grabbed a measuring tape and camera. It measured over 20 feet long. I wanted to learn more - how could it still be intact?

A spider makes a new web daily and uses a dragline for making the web's outer rim and spokes as well as for a lifeline. Spider silk, made of proteins, has a tensile strength comparable to high grade steel and is very stretchable and has a high toughness similar to nylon. It is so amazing that labs all over the world are carefully studying its composition and mechanics in hopes of reproducing it someday for human needs.

The Changing Seasons.

2010-11-05T16:09:00.001-04:00

This blog was created over a year ago and with each season I like to post a new picture to capture the new changes and colors of the meadow. This entry is a summary of all the headers for this year and a celebration of the seasons. Enjoy!

Hovering Maniac!

2010-11-04T16:04:00.000-04:00

For the past 2 weeks I have observed small greenish birds hovering around the golden rod and eating its seeds. And I mean - HOVERING! I found the bird in the Peterson Field Guide on Eastern Birds, on the "Confusing Fall Warblers" page. I recognized it immediately with its broken eye ring and greenish color and wing bands - its a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula), not a warbler at all. In Lives of North American Birds by K. Kaufman, this Kinglet is described as a conifer dweller but at this time of year it is migrating through stopping for food in woods and stream side thickets, exactly where I found this active and little excitable guy. It usually eats insects but also will eat berries and seeds even nectar while migrating.

Spiders do the dew (wop)!

2010-09-27T08:31:00.002-04:00

Recently, on one very humid morning, these mini 'pearl drops' were captured on a web of a grass orb weaver.

Apparently dew can not adhere to human hair but can on dry spider silk. A study published earlier this year in Nature (Zheng, Y. et al. Nature 463, 640-643 (2010) of the hackled orb weaver spider Uloborus walckenaerius web concluded the following:

“Dry spider silk forms a necklace-like structure. Two main fibres support a series of separate rounded 'puffs', each made up of tiny, randomly intertwined nanofibrils. When water vapour condenses onto these puffs, they shrink into densely packed knots, shaped like spindles (or two cones with their bases stuck together). Thinner connecting stretches of nanofibrils, separating the knots, become more apparent; these areas are called 'joints'. As water condenses on the web, droplets move towards the nearest spindle-knot, where they coalesce to form larger drops. The spindle-knots have a rough surface, because the fibrils within them are randomly interweaved. But the joints between the knots have a smooth texture, because their constituent fibrils run parallel to each other. It is this difference in roughness that helps water drops to slide towards the spindle-knots, sticking when they arrive.”

The researchers then created their own spider silk using nylon fibers dipped in polymer solution and found when dry formed a similar structure. Their findings could lead to new materials for collecting water from the air.

http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100203/full/news.2010.47.html

Autumn delight!

2010-09-26T12:21:00.001-04:00

Throughout the day, deer come to browse the fallen fruit from our mature crabapple (Malus) tree. The tree is at least 20 years old, has rough gray bark, has a round habit and blooms beautiful deep pink flowers in the spring. It produces literally tons of 1” diameter glossy reddish yellow fruit which I finally sampled and found to taste quite good. It is an excellent food source high in sugar for our local deer who keep our yard spotless of apples year round and it provides nectar for our bees and local pollinators in the spring. With 35 species of crabapples with 700 varieties, it is no wonder I can not quite identify it even after perusing Michael Dirr’s amazing: Manual of Woody Landscape Plants for awhile.

Herbst kommt an!

2010-09-23T14:19:00.009-04:00

Today is a day worth celebrating! Not only is it Equinox and the beginning of the fall season, officially but also tonight we can enjoy an amazing extra special large Harvest Moon. Apparently the equinox began actually at 11:09 p.m. last night. With the sun setting and moon rising, together they create a special 360 degree twilight glow- only rarely seen. This is not to happen again until 2029. Also, according to Science News from NASA (http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/22sep_harvestmoon/), it is called the Harvest moon because farmers actually harvested during the bright night to prepare crops for the last markets of the year.
Be sure to keep an eye out for Jupiter in the east as well. Happy Viewing!

Spiders Everywhere!

2010-09-22T14:27:00.002-04:00

There are spiders everywhere I look - especially orb weavers and funnel web spiders. A funnel web caught my eye - I gently tapped on the web and out pounced the spider ready for some prey only to find me. We exchanged some looks, I shot a few photos and left him to his business. Spiders live in abundance here and we have had our share of nasty bites this year including several bites on John's head and on my stomach and still after 3 months, I have necrosis of tissue on my knee. They are important predators though and an integral part of the ecosystem.
I found an excellent ID chart on the web: http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html

Drought!?!

2010-09-21T12:46:00.001-04:00

(This is not a current map)

We have experienced an excessively dry summer this year in Bucks County PA and I was curious if it is an official drought yet. I found excellent drought monitoring sites: http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html and http://www.drought.gov/portal/server.pt/community/drought_gov/202. According to the sites it is excessively dry and we have a drought warning for our region. With temperatures this week back in the 90s and no to little rain in the forecast, this designation might become more severe. Be sure to water plantings less that 1 year old – for trees 1-2 gallons per inch of trunk caliper – 2-3 times per week and for shrubs 3-5 gallons twice a week or use gator bags or a slow dripping hose – it is a balancing act when having a well – so use your best judgment.

Goldenrod is all the buzz!

2010-09-20T14:07:00.003-04:00

The golden rod is blooming and the nectar is flowing, despite the 4+ weeks of drought we have been experiencing. The hive we gathered over 100 lbs of honey from is weakening with the queen laying irregularly and several frames are empty. We rotated the emptier hive box to the top. There was concern of disease with a few brownish larvae but thanks to Brian Marcy he determined the hive is fine and just needs to be re-queened. We continue to administer Tetra-Bee Mix from Dadant to be safe. Both hives are creating honey at a good pace in preparation for the winter.

Shedding Time!

2010-09-02T17:35:00.003-04:00

I was out removing Apiguard trays used to treat mites from the beehives yesterday and on my way I discovered a snake in the midst of shedding. I believe it was either a garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) or an eastern ribbon snake (Thamnophis sauritus)with light stripes down its dark brown checkered body which was about 2 feet long. Apparently the eastern ribbon snake is thinner and has a longer tail and has pure white lips and a white mark in front of its eyes, all of which I was not aware of until now. Both snakes are non-venomous and abundant in PA, feed on worms, small frogs and toads and fish and are viviparous, sometimes having as many as 50 live babies at once. I saved the skin and even the eye impressions are visible – it is a perfect specimen.

Sugar Woes!

2010-09-01T13:31:00.011-04:00

In between nectar flows bees are fed sugar water, heavy or light, depending on the time of year. For our 2 hives we use 5 lbs a week. When purchasing sugar recently I noticed that the bag seemed lighter – and IT WAS! Not 5 lbs but 4 lbs and for the same price!! That is a 20% price increase for a beekeeper and also something to take note of when preparing the sugar water mixtures. It takes 10 cups of water to 5 lbs and only 8 cups to 4 lbs when making a light sugar water used during the warm months! Most shoppers might not notice this but this is something for beekeepers to buzz about.

Deer Nursery

2010-08-09T20:15:00.002-04:00

Each spring we enjoy the birth of several new fawns. This year we have 2 sets of twins and one more with three mothers. We see them in all sorts of configurations, sometimes one mother with all the babies - babysitting in a sense. It is fun to see how they scamper about, chasing each other with their ears back or resting in the shade during a hot day or hiding under the magnolia tree peeking out as I walk by with the dog. Other times they are all together eating, usually 2 - 3 times per day from the crabapple tree or grazing on clover or grasses or the most recently planted tree. One fawn seems to be a bit unruly at times or curious going off by itself for hours at a time.

The caterpillars are back!

2010-08-09T19:46:00.004-04:00

Last year I grew butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), a yellow flower variety. I just found a wild one growing in the side meadow - a pink variety though - with yet again a couple of dozen monarch caterpillars on it as last year. I was having difficulty taking a decent picture though because of how the caterpillars place themselves under the leaves, eating the leaves from below. They are always in a shadow. Perhaps they do this to hide themselves from predators lurking above.

Weeds/Plants of the Meadow Series

2010-07-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

When I first paged through“ Weeds of the Northeast”, I thought, wow, I have almost every single weed in this book in my yard. I must admit it pains me to think I have a yard of weeds, so what is a weed anyway? It is defined as an unwanted plant that crowds out cultivated plants in parks, gardens, etc. So, is a plant considered a weed when found in a meadow? Other questions to ponder regarding my "weeds" are: Is it a non-native species? and Is it invasive - hence, crowding out natives? In any case, I would like to embrace “the weeds” of the meadow and share some that have emerged since we went from lawn to meadow.

This weed pictured above is especially attractive and called Yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris Mill.) or also known as butter and eggs, Jacobs-ladder or wild snapdragon. It is sometimes cultivated as the flowers are long lasting. It creates a colony with creeping roots or rhizomes and blooms from June into the fall. Due to the shape of the flower, it is pollinated primarily by bees. Despite its beauty it is an invasive species and a non-native coming originally from Eurasia and introduced into the US in the 1600's.

Bumblebees galore!

2010-07-16T11:00:00.003-04:00

This year we seem to have a lot more bumblebees than honeybees in the garden. I have even observed bumblebees bullying honeybees from a flower. I decided to investigate further about them:

*They remove nectar using their long tongue called a glossa and store it in their crop or they will bite directly into the corolla called nectar robbing.

*Some species will leave a scent to mark that the flower has been visited – I wonder if honeybees do the same and if they can also can detect the scent left by the bumblebee.

*Once they have collected the nectar, they return to the nest and deposit it into brood cells made of wax but do not process it as honeybees so it is diluted and watery. It can only be stored for a few days unlike honey which can last indefinitely.

From this amazing site(www.bumblebee.org), here is some very interesting information regarding honeystomachs:

“Bumblebees gather nectar into their honeystomachs to transport it back to the nest. The honeystomach is located in the abdomen, and it is just a cuticle-lined bag with a long neck located at the mouthparts. It holds 0.06 - 0.20 ml, depending on the size of bumblebee, and when full can take up as much as 95% of the abdominal space and hold 90% of the body weight.

During foraging the bee needs energy, so she will consume some of the contents of the honeystomach. To allow her to do this there is a small valve at the end which can allow some of the nectar to pass into the bee's own digestive system. It has been estimated that a full honeystomach will give a bumblebee about 40 minutes of flying time.

Some flowers contain as little as 0.001 ml of nectar, so to fill her honeystomach the bumblebee may have to suck nectar from 60 flowers, and to find these 60 she may have to visit 100 or more. Then she will return to the nest, which may be as much as two miles away. So providing a supply of nectar for her nestmates would not be possible without the honeystomach to carry it in. A teaspoon holds about 5 ml and nectar is about half water, so to fill a teaspoon of honey a small bumblebee might need to make over 80 foraging trips, flying up to 320 miles, and sucking 80 000 flowers! Honeybees also have a honeystomach, and as they are smaller than bumblebees they would have to make even more foraging trips. Think of that next time you spread honey on your toast!”

To Mow or Not!

2010-07-15T14:57:00.003-04:00

After weeks of excessive heat with temperatures in the 90s and even into the 100s, the lawn has taken a beating. Usually grass will go into a dormancy period. Although we have had a couple days of rain, the grass is still quite brown and the question is whether it should be mowed or not. It has not been mowed for 3 weeks. Based on some information online, lawns should be kept long – anywhere from 3-4 inches long so the sun can not reach the roots. Ours is about 2-3 inches long so we will wait another week.

Mid-Summer Bee Report , 2nd of July

2010-07-13T10:58:00.005-04:00

With weather sunny, very dry, with low humidity and temperatures in the 90s, we extracted our second batch of honey for the year from our strong hive. Being very effective last time, we used a fume board again and removed 2 small honey supers with little fuss. The bees hadn’t created much new honey since we checked 2 weeks prior, not even new capping. We had been waiting to ensure the nectar flow was complete. We extracted happily another 50 lbs of lightly golden sweet honey, almost the exact same color as our previous batch and bottled the following day, adding my label that Sue Ann helped improve and made a pdf file for as pictured above.

Regarding the weak hive, we had killed the second queen as she too was not laying and had added the hive body to the top of the strong hive to keep mice at bay. We returned it to the original platform before we removed the honey supers keeping in mind that it only takes bees 45 minutes to realize they do not have a queen. Later in the day we added a nuc to the weak hive which we purchased from Mark Antunes and has a ton of bees and a queen that lays beautifully. To add the nuc we did the following: On top of the original hive body, we placed a queen excluder and then a sheet of newspaper with a few slates cut into it and then added a hive body we had been saving in the freezer that still had built out frames, some even filled with honey. We removed 5 frames and then added the nuc which is basically a mini hive with 5 frames of brood and a queen. We added 2 jars of light sugar water and hope we can get this hive in good shape before the winter. We returned a few days later to remove the queen excluder and newspaper and hope that they have happily become acquainted with one another.

Why "von der Vogelweide"?

2010-07-01T11:31:00.005-04:00

Ich saz ûf eime steine

 und dahte bein mit beine.

 dar ûf satzt ich den ellenbogen,  

ich hete in mîne hand

gesmogen  daz kinne und ein mîn wange.

 dô dâhte ich mir vil ange,  

wie man zer werlte solte leben.

"Von der Vogelweide" has a dual meaning to me – it means literally in German “bird pasture” or “meadow of birds” which aptly describes our land here. During the Middle Ages, bird handlers would go to a Vogelweide near a castle or town and capture hawks there for falconry or for song birds to be enjoyed in the home.

As a German major in college, one of my concentrations was the Middle Ages and my favorite lyrical and political poet or Minnesänger was Walter von der Vogelweide (1170-1230). He broke the boundaries of this genre and wrote critically of the struggles between the papacy and political players of the time including Philip of Swabia, Otto IV, Innocent III and Gregory IX. He served first in Vienna and was trained by the famous singer Reinmar von Hagenau and moved on to other courts between Germany and Austria and eventually settled in Würzburg, where he served Frederick II. To learn more, visit: http://www.answers.com/topic/walther-von-der-vogelweide.

Catmint Lovers

2010-06-18T08:02:00.001-04:00

Right beyond our solarium, we planted catmint or Nepeta and enjoy the show of pollinators all day long. One morning though I was especially surprised to see goldfinch. First a pair arrived one morning, then it seemed as if they passed the word and the next few days several more birds arrived, perching on the stalks, swaying with the breeze and nibbling on the flower’s tiny black seeds. Here are some websites to learn more about goldfinch and catmint.

http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/rhgiles/speciesssm/goldfin.htm

http://www.daytonnursery.com/encyclopedia/perennials/nepeta.htm

How Sweet It Is!

2010-06-17T10:31:00.002-04:00

It has been awhile since I shared some bee adventures. Starting in early April we observed our strong hive working hard and creating some queen cells. We were concerned with swarming and kept an eye on things. The queen was laying well and the hive was booming. Near the end of April, we decided instead of splitting the hive we would add some honey supers as we noticed they were making honey in the brood chambers. On May 22^nd we harvested over 50 lbs of honey. We used a fume board and bee quick spray and it worked like a charm pushing the bees below. The honey is light and sweet. We have the honey supers back on and will extract probably another 40-50 lbs in about 2 weeks, after the nectar flow comes to an end.

Regarding the photo, the jar to the left is our honey from last year, which we extracted in mid July.

On the Move

2010-05-07T16:47:00.006-04:00

As I was walking on Monday in the early afternoon, I noticed a female snapper turtle heading up the driveway moving rather quickly towards the pond across the street where she will spend the summer. She still had wet mud on her shell which was almost a foot in diameter. It was a perfect day for a move - sunny, warm but not hot with a pleasant breeze. As soon as she saw me, she stopped dead in her tracks. Last year, a female was hit by a car (see entry from Nov 20^th) by my driveway and luckily lived after being cared for at the Aark. I didn’t have time to wait for her to continue on and stop traffic as she crossed so I scooped her up into my recycling container and carried her across the road. I went back to grab my camera to document the event and she was almost in the water when I took this parting photo. She has most likely already laid her eggs near the stream she left so we will be on watch for the babies next.

Down by the stream

2010-04-07T10:14:00.002-04:00

The swamp or skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) emerged a couple of weeks ago down at the stream. I had read that it provides one of the earliest sources of pollen in the spring and I was curious if my bees were taking part. Upon closer scrutiny I indeed found many bees flying in, crawling deep into the dark purplish curled hood and then off again to the hive to store the pollen. The foul odor attracts the bees and inside they may find a cozy temperature reaching into the 80's. After knee deep in mud and patiently awaiting for a bee to emerge, I captured this great shot. If you click on the picture, you can see the bee at the tip.

At the dig

2010-04-07T09:00:00.001-04:00

When the snows melted, revealed to my surprise were many extensive mouse trails around and inside the meadows. It was like discovering a archeological dig. A few weeks have passed since then and the trails have faded. The mice actually helped aerate the soil and now the grass is growing in nicely.

Snowy Tunnels

2010-03-02T09:28:00.003-05:00

While walking early this morning, I noticed some interesting shadows in the meadow. The slow melting of the snow has revealed some intricate mice pathways. I am happy to see the mice are living in the meadow and not in my garage. Sadly, we caught 20 earlier in the winter after I haphazardly attracted them with my sunflower seeds but we haven’t seen any since. (See Nov 22, '09 blog)

Emerson's Snow Storm

2010-02-26T10:33:00.004-05:00

Huge snow flakes, icy rain, dry blowing snow, mini snow tornados, roaring winds - these words only barely describe our fourth major snowstorm. This storm is befitting of a poem by Emerson.

THE SNOW-STORM

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,

Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,

Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air

Hides hill and woods, the river, and the heaven,

And veils the farmhouse at the garden's end.

The sled and traveller stopped, the courier's feet

Delated, all friends shut out, the housemates sit

Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed

In a tumultuous privacy of storm.

Come see the north wind's masonry.

Out of an unseen quarry evermore

Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer

Curves his white bastions with projected roof

Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.

Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work

So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he

For number or proportion. Mockingly,

On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;

A swan-like form invests the hiddden thorn;

Fills up the famer's lane from wall to wall,

Maugre the farmer's sighs; and at the gate

A tapering turret overtops the work.

And when his hours are numbered, and the world

Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,

Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art

To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone,

Built in an age, the mad wind's night-work,

The frolic architecture of the snow.

The Next Step

2010-02-23T11:00:00.003-05:00

Our overall goal is to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and other non-green energies. We have reduced our energy needs now by approximately 30% since we moved here 3 years ago by replacing appliances, light bulbs and installing a house wide energy saver as I described in an earlier blog in Sept '09. To seize upon the still available state and federal energy rebates and grants, the time has come to investigate alternative, green energy options such as solar energy.

Our friends, Hal and Gail, recently invested in solar energy systems for their home and invited us over to learn more. John was listening more attentively, thus summarizing our visit as follows: “ To reduce (eliminate?) their reliance on utility company supplied electricity, they developed a plan with Mark Bortman of Exact Solar to install two systems: a solar thermal system to provide energy for heating water and a photovoltaic system to generate electricity. The thermal system generates preheated hot water for cleaning, showering and for their spa. If the water isn’t hot enough then ordinary house current electricity can be used to bring it to the desired temperature. Their photovoltaic system, which was installed just two months ago, consists of 16 panels that can generate up to 5 kilowatts of power per hour during the day. This energy is then inverted into AC electricity and a monitoring system reports how much energy is being produced each day as well as how much carbon dioxide is being saved by their environment friendly energy systems. Interestingly, when we saw them on a cold but sunny February afternoon they had already generated about 25 kW hours of power- approximately enough electricity to meet their needs for the day. Hal is looking forward to seeing how much electricity will be generated when the long, sunny days of summer arrive. “

The picture shows the actual installation taking place at their home.

There are both federal tax credits and state grants that can offset the cost by approximately 60%. Please see below for more information:

PA solar rebate information: http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/in_the_news/10475/pa_sunshine_solar_program/553019

Federal solar tax credit information:

http://www.energy.gov/taxbreaks.htm

We are meeting with Exact Solar this week so we can begin to determine how to substitute green energy in place of conventional power sources from utility companies.

2010-02-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

In the last few months, a group of concerned citizens created a food club where local consumers can purchase food from local growers and producers. By supporting such a group, it helps our local economy, our local farmers and the environment.

A fellow master gardner, Rotarian and dear friend, Jim Schmitt, had joined the group and kindly shared the information with me. I promptly joined for only $100 and I have already enjoyed the fruits of my membership which included some delicious apple cider from Solebury Farms, delicious bread from Crossroads Bake Shop (they have the best bread and Italian cookies ever) and eggs from Ricks farm. There are regular meetings and you order online biweekly, then pick up your goodies the following week, currently at The Goddard School at The Farm.

If you would like more information, visit their website at http://www.doylestownfoodclub.org.

Winter Blues

2010-02-21T14:23:00.006-05:00

At last we have a bit warmer weather. There is still at least 8 inches of snow on the ground but the sun feels warm, the temperature is around 40 degrees and there is an approximate 15 mph wind out of the NW. We spot a flock of bluebirds in the meadow and 2 red tailed hawks swirl past.

It is finally warm enough to take a quick peek at our bees. We trudge through the snow following what looks like a fox trail through the snow that leads directly to the hives. A couple of bees greet us from the stronger hive. They haven’t touched much of the fondant we gave them months ago, there is a large bundle of bees near the top of the second hive body and they are milling around slowly, probably dazed by the sun and cool wind. After closing that hive, we head to the second hive, where it is very quiet. We find that they are all dead. There is no honey to be found and they must have starved. We are silent and sad. They originally were our stronger hive from which we collected over 30 lbs of honey in the spring. In the fall though we noticed their numbers were decreasing and they had not collected as much honey. They will be missed.

Picture from this site: http://www.motherearthnews.com/uploadedImages/articles/online_articles/2008-01-01/WinterBlues.Car.Web.jpg

White on White

2010-02-11T10:52:00.004-05:00

The snow and winds intensified later in the day during our"Blizzard" creating a white on white scene.

A Winter Wonderland

2010-02-10T14:44:00.004-05:00

After receiving almost a foot of snow over the weekend, 3 days later another snowstorm/blizzard has arrived bringing with it perhaps as much as 2 feet of snow. The area hasn’t seen this much snow since the 90’s. The snow is swirling, pelting and blowing horizontally at times.

The birds have intensified their feeding at the bird feeders as they try to endure this challenging winter. This easy food provides a way for the birds to survive and conserve energy. They especially enjoy black oiled sunflower seeds and hearts which have a high meat to shell ratio and are high in fat. Millet, nuts and thistle are also good seed choices. Suet is especially enjoyed by insect eating birds such as the red-bellied woodpeckers and wrens.

Past the Sweet Gum Forest

2010-01-25T20:31:00.001-05:00

Thankful that the storm has finally passed, I pull on some boots and walk past the Sweet Gum forest down to the small stream that follows the edge of the meadow. I hear it rushing before I arrive at its banks. From the vantage point of an old berm, I see the swollen stream racing by, bringing with it leaves and sticks. The temperature has risen to above 60 degrees and the ground has mostly thawed as my boots sink and squish with each step. The dark grey clouds above are racing and the wind is howling, sure to bring the arctic cold back in the days ahead.

Green Gadgets and Bunnies

2010-01-20T10:11:00.003-05:00

On my way to work, I was listening to NPR on WHYY radio station 90.9 and they were discussing a new book called Green Gadgets for Dummies – You can listen for yourself by just clicking below:

http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/?rss

After the bunny invasion of our garden last year, John and I proactively purchased online a solar powered electric fence to surround both our vegetable and flower gardens. Our friends Margaret and Mike recommended the company and have had much success with this fence. I feel renewed inspiration and hope for our garden and can’t wait to start planning. Here is the site, if you are interested. http://www.premier1supplies.com/.

We already are using a solar powered electric fence (as pictured above) to keep the deer out of the blueberry and raspberry field but it is more minimalist.

A Morning to Behold

2010-01-19T17:36:00.010-05:00

Ethereal,

Translucent,

A sheer pale veil,

A fog

That caresses and softens

The deer lying in the woods

The leaf dangling

Kissed by frost

The birds' whispering

Above swirling rays

On their way.

Fox trot

2010-01-09T15:15:00.001-05:00

A red fox trotted quickly along the border of the meadow, stopping only briefly when a scent caught his attention. He passed on through, crossing over the frozen water basin next door and then out of sight. Glad I caught a glimpse of him this morning.

(This awesome photo comes from http://www.dnr.state.md.us/mydnr/CreatureFeature/art/red_fox.jpg)

Winter Feast at the Hawthorne

2010-01-08T14:59:00.003-05:00

The yard was amass with various birds this week on a very cold blustery day including robins, starlings, mourning doves, wrens, cardinals and red belly woodpeckers. The temperatures have been persistently in the 20s and 30s with windy conditions since before Christmas. A flock of at least 30 robins were feasting excitedly on the ‘Winter King’ Green Hawthorne (Crataegus viridis L.) tree’s brilliant red berries. There was another flock of starlings searching for errant seeds or morsels in the side yard. They suddenly flew into formation though as a red tailed hawk soared over. The berries are too hard in the fall for the birds to eat, but soften, perhaps even ripen after being frozen and then edible for the over-wintering birds and other animals. The Green Hawthorn is one of my favorite native trees, as it has beautiful silvery grey bark which defoliates as it grows, revealing an inner orange bark. It has delicate white flowers in the spring and its' dark green foliage turns bronze and gold in the fall. Finally, in the winter it is bedecked with these lovely large red berries, which hang like miniature ornaments until the birds arrive and have their feast.

Beating the Winter Blues

2010-01-03T09:33:00.003-05:00

The Philadelphia area is rich with amazing gardens that are wonderful to visit year round, especially Longwood Gardens. It is always inspiring and gives me ideas for color pairing, structure and use of texturing for future gardening in the spring.

2010-01-02T21:33:00.012-05:00

The mechanical butterflies on the Christmas trees , the American Elm, which is one of the

oldest in the U.S., and the lights and fountains were some of the

highlights of our visit this year.

http://www.longwoodgardens.org,

http://www.greaterphiladelphiagardens.org/gardens

Joyous Camellia

2010-01-02T21:07:00.001-05:00

Now that winter has taken its grip, I find joy in the blooming of our Camellia in our solarium. The blooms have been slowly developing for the past couple of months. Although it is a hardy hybrid, I brought it indoors to enjoy the show. I have kept the plant fertilized and well watered and finally this week it has started to bloom spectacularly. It is a broadleaf evergreen shrub native to China with glossy deep green foliage and it flowers through the winter and into spring. “According to the Chinese, the petals reflect the spirit of a lady and the holder of the petals(the calyx) represents the young man entrusted by the lady as her protector. “ It is given by young lovers as a symbol of devotion for one another.

http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/flower-camellia.htm

http://www.gardenguides.com/88314-camellia-flowers.html

Snowy delights

2010-01-01T21:42:00.003-05:00

December has been an active weather month. In the Philadelphia area we had record snow with 24 inches and almost record rain, ending the year with 14 inches above normal. I find that snow brightens the landscape, highlights the beautiful structure of trees, dampens sound and captures the tracks and paths of the animals traveling through. I can't wait for more!

Winter Preparation for the Bees

2009-11-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

The early fall had very low nectar flows, probably due to all the rain. We were disappointed as we have a couple of acres of golden rod, which vary though in nectar production depending on the species. So, not only did we not have the opportunity to collect honey but the bees barely have made enough for themselves. They need about 35-60 lbs of honey stored to survive a PA winter, depending on who you ask. We have been feeding them a heavy syrup for a few weeks now. Our stronger hive all year has actually declined a bit and has not produced enough honey still, maybe about 15 lbs. We continue to feed them using now ½ gallon plastic buckets rather than the glass jars with metal tops that are difficult to clean and rust. We hope they will build up their stores in time or we will simply have to feed them all winter. We noticed at our last visit that wasps were feeding on the side of the hive and trying to gain entrance. Our second hive is finally well organized and strong and has produced at least 45 lbs or so of honey based on the non scientific method of just picking up the hive body for weight. We attached mouse guards on the hives a month ago but we noticed a mouse living underneath, who scurried out as we were feeding. Using 12 bales of hay, we built some walls behind and around the hives to protect them from the impending winter winds and to help reflect the warmth of the sun to the hives. November has been luckily a mild month and hopefully the bees will continue to build up their supplies using the food we provide.

Baby Snakes in November

2009-11-27T19:12:00.000-05:00

I am sad to report but I have counted about 4 dead baby snakes on my driveway for the last few weeks. That must mean though that there are many more slithering in the grass. After doing some research, snakes are born also in August and September, so now they are looking around for a warm place to rest during winter. This photo was found online, click on it for the URL.:)

Solar Powered Gadgets

2009-11-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

John and I have enjoyed finding functional solar powered gadgets we can use around the house and yard. John found this handy shed light online – a GAMA Light My Shed II which requires no wiring. After only 45 minutes for installation, I now have a bright functional light for my shed. It uses LED lights which never have to be replaced and when fully charged will last for 2 hours.

Sunflower Seed Surprise!

2009-11-22T13:26:00.000-05:00

After the frost, I gathered up the sunflower seed heads to dry them so I could feed them later to the birds. After remembering a couple times to place them in the late summer sun to dry, I left them in a basket in the garage to tend to later. I finally went back to collect the seeds to store them but found instead a huge pile of shells. Instead of feeding the birds, I fed some very lucky mice who are now fat and lurking in my garage.

Where are the Turtles?

2009-11-20T15:09:00.003-05:00

Usually I catch a peak of the snapper turtles moving from the pond up on the road down to the little creek that runs under our driveway and into the little boreal pond that is finally filled with water again. They are amazing when you see them as they are huge – some as big as a foot in circumference with a thick tail and huge feet with strong claws. They dig down deep into the mud for the winter. Maybe I have just missed them or it has been too wet or too balmy this November? We will remove the turtle crossing sign up at the road soon until spring so when it is again erected it will attract renewed attention and caution. Last year, a female was hit by a car, despite the sign. She was filled with eggs but we found her in time, gathered her into a huge plastic container using gloves and a shovel. We raced her to the Aark Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center, a non-profit group that rehabilitates injured wild animals, where they nursed her back to health. She was released a month later in good condition. The Aark has recently moved from Newtown closer to us up on 1531 Upper Stump Road near Tabora Farms. If you find an injured wild animal, don’t hesitate to contact them at : 215. 249.1938 and/or visit their website: http://www.aark.org/www.aark.org/Home.html. There is an excellent article with great pictures about them in the November issue of Bucks County Town and Country Living magazine. I also found a helpful British site for advice on how to care for injured wild animals at http://britishwildlifehelpline.com.

Fox is Back

2009-11-18T10:00:00.001-05:00

I was busy working and looked up in time to witness a fox trotting into the side yard. In just the last few weeks, I have seen him more regularly walking on the edge of the meadow in the middle of the day. He walks with purpose, looks thin and has a scrawny red tail rather than the bushy one from spring. He is circling around, suddenly pounces and is eating something vigorously, perhaps a mouse or mole. Off he goes back around the bend already. Hopefully with the next sighting he will be wearing his full winter coat and look more robust. Note: This awesome shot was found online and the URL can be determined by simply clicking on it.

Water Anyone?

2009-11-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

This hasn’t been the year to collect water here in eastern PA. We are currently over 10 inches ahead of normal. But boy, were we ready, just in case. We bought 2 large green water barrels from the site: www.gardeners.com. They can be connected easily as well. I wanted to be able to open and close the downspout without cutting it and attaching a annoying flexible funnel. I explained this to The Gutter Guys and they found and installed an amazing and functional metal “lip” that can easily be pulled down and pushed up again after collecting the water you need or when the barrel is full. It only takes one good rain to collect an entire barrel. We empty them and store them in the garage during the winter.

More Crow Adventures

2009-11-15T22:13:00.004-05:00

Early in the summer we were awakened daily by a sharp knocking at the window. Not being farmers and rising with the sun, these rude awakenings were not much appreciated. Our windows are tinted and a young crow seemed to be either fighting with his Doppelgänger or trying to beg for food from this cold reflection. He went from window to window. It wasn’t just mornings either, sometimes he would arrive in the middle of the day. He would peck away until he either became tired, bored or scared away by a clap or bark, then rejoin his flock of crow friends who watched from afar and then fly away until the next day. Initially our cats were greatly amused but they too tired of these daily antics. It was difficult to capture him on film, as I think he might have also been spying on us. After many failed attempts, I finally had to crawl on the floor to the window to take this photo. After several months of tolerating this and convincing the family not to kill him, he simply didn’t show up one morning. I missed him but spotted him and his friends later flying by above the tree tops. Perhaps he finally grew up.

What is truly deer proof?

2009-09-27T11:28:00.002-04:00

I created a deer test garden to determine exactly what is deer proof for our immediate area during all the seasons. When they are hungry enough or curious they will try just about anything. Several deer meander by daily always investigating what I have recently planted. Thus far, I can say with confidence that they will not eat the following:

Lavandula sp.- lavender, Digitalis sp. foxglove, Nepeta - catmint, ferns, Asclepias tuberosa - butterfly weed, milkweed, magnolia, gingko tree, thistle, Paeonia - peonies, spirea, Caryopteris –blue mist spirea, Helleborus sp. - hellebores, and Solidago sp. - goldenrod.

I have found many plants that appear on deer resistant plant lists to actually still be eaten such as: Lindera benzoin (spicebush), Viburnum spp, hollies, forsythia, weigula, especially young plants.

http://pike.extension.psu.edu/Horticulture/DeerResistantPlants.pdf

http://www.npsnj.org/references/Deer_Tolerant_Resistant_Native_Plants.pdf

Could it be a leopard slug!

2009-09-26T11:13:00.005-04:00

About a month ago I was out enjoying the sounds of evening and just about stepped on a huge grey mottled slug (4 inches or so long) which was emerging from the tangle of catmint or Nepeta. Nepeta is an amazing perennial with beautiful delicate blue flowers that bloom most of the summer and attract hundreds of bumblebees and honey bees. I immediately started investigating about the slug and discovered that it is probably a limax maximus or leopard slug. I spotted another one just yesterday meandering with purpose in the grass out by the vegetable garden as pictured here.

http://www.carnegiemnh.org/mollusks/palandsnails/key.htm

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/leopard_slug.htm

Guess what I found!

2009-09-06T15:03:00.004-04:00

I am so proud! I grew butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) which is related to milk weed from seed this year and I must say it is stunning! I was admiring it today and was shocked to see someone had been feasting on it ! Boy, am I glad – I found at least 2 dozen monarch caterpillars munching away. Click on the picture to get a closer look.

http://www.monarch-butterfly.com/, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/03/science/03butter.html

Fuel the world with Solar!

2009-09-06T14:40:00.005-04:00

What are we waiting for? Check out the website for more information. http://www.landartgenerator.org/blagi/archives/127

Thanks John for sharing.

On the road to becoming less energy dependent and carbon neutral

2009-09-04T13:19:00.004-04:00

Before jumping to solar panels, our goal is to first reduce our energy consumption. We replaced all our old appliances, boiler and air conditioners with energy star rated ones or energy efficient units, all done before the wonderful rebates were available, but which dropped our energy use by 20%. We are also replacing all our light bulbs with compact fluorescent low wattage bulbs from energy star which use 2/3 less energy than normal incandescent light bulbs and can last about 5 years. This year we installed a Power-Save capacitor device on our home electrical system, which is reported to reduce energy consumption up to 25%, but we haven’t seen any savings yet.

Although we individually don’t have wind or solar, we joined PECO Wind for all our electricity needs which costs an additional $60 on average a month but you can join for as little as $2.54. This amount makes our energy use at least more carbon neutral except for heating, which is our next focus. We plan to install a wood pellet burning stove insert into our fireplace to reduce our reliance on propane based heat. What else could we be doing? Ideas?

http://www.power-save.com/

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagid=629

http://www.peco.com/pecores/peco_wind/

Jumping Bunnies!

2009-09-01T09:58:00.006-04:00

Last week I created a fortress around my newly planted fall garden after discovering much of it had been munched. Perhaps it was rabbits or maybe even crows, but this morning while watering the flowers and basil what should jump a foot high in surprise but 2 baby bunnies in unison. I couldn’t help but smile as they are so innocent and small.

Working Hard!

2009-08-27T11:00:00.003-04:00

The bees are working intensely, collecting nectar as fast as they can. I found them covering sedum around the house and all over the meadow collecting from the golden rod. We are still feeding them sugar water though which they are using quickly these last few hot days. They have been bearding a lot too to stay cool as pictured here.

Our Bee Journey

2009-08-26T22:14:00.001-04:00

It began about a year ago when we attended Montgomery County Beekeepers Assoc. beginner classes. We became official beekeepers or apiarist in early April with 2 hives filled with about 30,000 bees each – all mostly ladies, very hard working and too busy to even sting us on most days. We always knew we would raise them and were certainly inspired by John’s grandfather who had over a dozen hives in northern Florida on about 20 acres. Hive 1 is amazing with a strong queen and textbook hive development whereas Hive 2 has had 3 different queens and it still struggling. From Hive 1, we extracted about 30 lbs of honey a few weeks ago and it is - oh so golden and delicious. The ladies are gearing up for the second big nectar flow, which I am following as you can see on the left column of this blog.

2009-08-26T21:57:00.004-04:00

The hives are situated in the middle of about 2 acres of golden rod (Solidago) so we are hopeful that we might extract more honey in October. More importantly though, we need to make sure the bees have enough food for themselves to survive the coming winter. They are truly amazing, beautiful and crucial for pollination and the creation of flowers and fruits. If you are interested, see the following sites: http://montcobee1.farming.officelive.com/default.aspx, http://www.pollinator.org/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeping, http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCD9HZ_V_1s

A late afternoon surprise!

2009-08-25T17:36:00.007-04:00

Walking through the meadow late this afternoon, I startled a group of goldfinches who were feasting on thistle. They twitter to one another that I am there and scurry to the trees till I have passed. The thistle blooms are a reminder to me that it is nesting time for them. Check this website to hear their song and learn more: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch/lifehistory

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2815329568_e5205c48f7.jpg - great photo

http://i.pbase.com/g6/60/668960/2/83750775.sOquDyx5.jpg - another amazing photo

This says it all!

2009-08-24T13:41:00.005-04:00

Fall Gardening Anyone?

2009-08-24T10:34:00.005-04:00

Although it is the dog days of August and quite hot, we planted our fall vegetable garden. I started with a drive up to Agway in Dublin and found some healthy and reasonably priced late fall vegetable plants and seeds. After cleaning out the drooping cucumber and squash monster plants and the one bean plant the bunnies left me, I added several wheelbarrows of mushroom soil and manure and John tilled until the soil looked like crumbly chocolate cake. Following the advice of the handy Agway guide to ward off pesky cabbage maggots and keep them confused, we diversified our planting – so first a row of red cabbage, then romaine lettuce, then stonecrop cabbage, then more romaine, then brussel sprouts, a patch of spinach from seed, broccoli, beans and more romaine to finish. The guide also recommends creating a physical barrier so the flies can’t lay eggs around the plants. Using weed control material I will be cutting out 10-12 inch squares to place around the plants this afternoon. I mended our 8’ high (with 2’ deep wire rabbit fence) deer fence again in hopes of keeping out the bunnies at least long enough to let the plants have a head start. The fence gets torn by birds, wind, claw wielding groundhogs, who knows? Next year I’m fighting back with a solar powered electrical fence. I hope I’m not turning into grumpy Mr. McGregor.

Share the Harvest!

2009-08-21T08:00:00.004-04:00

After pickling, freezing and canning, baking tons of zucchini bread, making lots of salads, cooking and giving every person that you come into contact the bounties of your garden and you still have more to give away, consider donating your extras to a local food bank.

There is a great demand for food in our communities which led to the creation of Sharing the Harvest - See the article for more information and details.

http://www.philabundance.org/events/sharetheharvest07_18.asp

Be sure to contact the food bank for hours and needs before heading over.

Here are some sites to consider:

Local Food Banks for Bucks County:

Food Banks in Bucks County: http://www.foodinbucks.org/pantry_central.php

Bucks County Housing: http://www.bchg.org/food.html

National Food Bank Info:

Feeding America: http://feedingamerica.org/

Stunning transformation from lawn to meadow:

2009-08-20T08:00:00.003-04:00

When we first moved here, we had oodles of lawn and wanted to create more natural areas. We staked out an area, making it curvy for visual interest and a clear boundary to show we were going to continue to maintain our property. The area we set aside is about 2 acres and compliments meadows that exist in our wetlands area and contain primarily goldenrod. The new area also contains a large groundhog home that was regularly being mowed over. Besides installing 2 blue bird house, we didn’t do anything more and just let things grow. With the help of the birds, we now have an amazing diverse habitat filled with vegetation such as numerous grasses, wild mint, thistle that the goldfinch frequent, common yarrow, wild carrot, carpet weed, and common milkweed for the monarchs passing through. The meadow provides not only important habitat for mice, insects and groundhogs but also for many birds. To name just a few, I have spotted blue birds, red and goldfinch, swallows, sparrows, mourning doves, vireos, chicadees, cardinals and blue jays and then the raptors and hawks including the red tailed hawks, turkey vultures, a sharp shinned hawk, and a large hawk that I still am trying to identify – perhaps a broad winged hawk. I cut a winding path through the middle for better observations. It is beautiful all day long and through the various seasons. See website listed on sidebar regarding meadow creation and managment.

Curious Green Heron

2009-08-19T09:00:00.007-04:00

Who should be appear this morning but a handsome young Green Heron - When curious, he stretches his long speckled neck and then fires his black tail rapidly downwards and back up repeatedly. He is poolside this morning looking for treasures left from last night’s thunderstorm – he keeps poking at things that look interesting with his dull yellow beak but he is not having much success. I see too that the storm’s violent winds dislodged a plank in our fence that will need fixing later.

Here is more info and a photo: http://www.birdsofoklahoma.net/Greenheron04.htm

Hawk versus crow

2009-08-18T18:21:00.003-04:00

Last summer a pair of red tailed hawks built a nest in the woods beyond the meadow. The woods were filled with squawking and cries from the babies while Ma and Pa kept flying back and forth all day to meet their needs. This spring though a gaggle of crows moved into the neighborhood. They ganged up on the hawks and drove them away. I did some investigating and found that crows will “mob” hawks to drive them out and this is exactly what I observed. This in turn caused an explosion of rabbits to be born. I can count over 5 rabbits anytime of the day in the yard in all stages of life.

The gang of crows built a nest in a row of evergreens opposite from the woods in the late spring into the early summer. After the crow fledglings were out on their own a hawk reappeared. The crows gave a bit of a fight but not enough this time to keep the hawk pair away. So, now the hawks are back, trying to nest again and bringing the rabbit numbers back in check. There is finally balance again in this part of the web of life.

Check out these amazing photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhcarter3/3518053461/