August 1, 2008
The purple coneflowers are in bloom this week on the mountain. Mimosa trees are nearly at peak, appearing to be blanketed with their delicate pink flowers. And, we're up to two open sunflowers under the bird feeders, while my neighbor Carmine has hundreds in is fenced in garden.Backyard tip of the week: Want a sunflower patch in your yard? It's might be a little late for this year, but here are some easy rules to follow. Plant in an area that doesn't get a lot of deer or groundhog traffic. A fence is best, but not always necessary, just remember to be careful with any netting as birds have a tendency to get hung up in it. Plant more sunflowers than you think you'll need. Keep them watered during dry spells. And you might check with Carla on WDVR, she's got a monster sunflower growing higher than the roof of the radio station! Be sure to plant your sunflowers where they'll get plenty of sun. Keep an eye on them once they bloom, the flower heads will move each day as they follow the sun, you're sure to love it.
Backyard sightings for last week: Including northern cardinals, American robins, northern flickers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, bluebirds and catbirds. Chipping sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, Carolina wrens, house wrens, eastern goldfinches, house finches. Red-bellied and downy woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, a ruby-throated hummingbird. The tufted titmice, black-capped chickadees, blue-jays, American crows, three or four grey squirrels, a red squirrel, a mostly white skunk, some bunnies, and a doe. Also, European starlings, common grackles, red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves, chipmunks, many different kinds of butterflies, still a few fireflies, a hummingbird moth, and a white-lined sphinx!
Cool sighting of the week: A few months ago I noticed what Looked like a fruit tree growing right up through the middle of the mimosa trees in the front yard. The leaves seemed to be the kind that you would see on a fruit tree, anyway. Funny thing is, that I didn't plant any such tree in this area, which makes me think it was planted by the birds or some other vicarious method. Well, I've been keeping it watered during the dry times this summer and when I looked up at it this week, I saw bunches of small fruit growing, way up at the top of the tree! I went out again last night to check and they look to be pears, perhaps. They're just too small and far away for me to be sure. Stay tuned, as the weeks go by and we'll find out together. Either way, finding fruit this week on a tree that I didn't plant, was very cool!
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