Blue Jay and an Empty Feeder

Blue Jay and an Empty Feeder

I was enjoying a peaceful moment on my patio out back on one of the last delightful summer days when I heard a Blue Jay call out. It wasn’t unusual for the jays to visit our backyard. They would usually land on the feeder with such a thump from their hefty bodies that the other birds would almost be flung off their perches.

Because I was reading, it took me a while to realize that I was hearing a lot of Blue Jay calls, the raucous cry that sounds like a squeaky door. When I paid attention I could pinpoint the cries from tree to tree and follow the bird’s movements so I knew that it was close. I saw the leaves flutter in the surrounding trees as the jay moved about. It wasn’t mating season so I wondered if it was in distress. Usually when a bird seems frantic it is warning of a predator in the neighborhood. Was there a hawk around? I looked up but didn’t see any evidence of one.

Was it just being aggressive? Blue Jays are known to be territorial and will go after an intruder be it a bird, a squirrel, a cat, sometimes even a human. But that is mostly at nesting time.

When I went inside and happened to look out my kitchen window, I saw a jay practically wrapped around one of the bird feeders, which, I noticed, was empty. Could that have been the reason for its vocal outburst? Blue Jays eat such a variety of foods - nuts, fruits, seeds, insects, mice, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars – surely a lack of sunflowers seeds should not have caused such verbal outrage. But maybe it was so used to this particular source of a meal that it wanted to make its dissatisfaction plain.

I don’t claim to understand nature nor have I observed it sufficiently to make any confident conclusions about what I see. I occasionally note consistencies so it is sometimes tempting to come to a conclusion but then I am often surprised. This applies to people, too. Motives, desire, necessity, instinct affect us all and make even the most usual unpredictable at times.

In this case, I just went out and filled the feeders. Several jays came around later and partook of the bounty. Perhaps one of them was the bird I had heard earlier, perhaps not. My desire is to provide seed for the birds who find their way to the feeders, at least most of the time. I guess the Blue Jay’s desire is to eat it.

Listen to the Blue Jay – and other birds:

http://www.birdjam.com/birdsong.php?id=5

Rainbow Meditation

Rainbow Meditation

Rainbows have always fascinated us for a variety of reasons. They appear (excuse me) out of the blue. Their beauty is astounding. They combine the physical world with the metaphysical.

There is science behind the rainbow, to be sure. Here are the facts from the Franklin Institute: http://www.fi.edu/color/rainbow.html . But I don’t think facts will negate the ethereal quality a rainbow has over us. A rainbow shifts us out of our ordinary lives for the moment it takes to register in our minds. Little backyard rainbows (like the one in this photo) or great expansive ones like those seen in Hawaii all have the power to make us stop in our tracks and pay attention. We tend to halt what we are doing, where we are going, what we are saying when we see one.

We have a long history with rainbows, in myth and imagination, stories and symbolism. Joseph Panek looks at these connections on his blog http://www.aseekersthoughts.com/2012/03/rainbow-as-symbol.html

But there is more to a rainbow than either fact or belief. A rainbow causes people to dream. Somewhere beyond the rainbow is our ideal self, the success we desire, the love we cherish. It is there, our individual pot of gold, if only we can find it. Perhaps if we keep the image of the rainbow vibrant within us then possibility will always exist and the dreams that keep us energized will guide us through the days when rainbows are hidden by the clouds.

A free tutorial from Ian Plant on how to photograph a rainbow – and some amazing illustrations: http://www.ianplant.com/articles-photographing-rainbows.htm

Gardens – Our Inner Voices Made Visible

Gardens – Our Inner Voices Made Visible

On this Labor Day weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to feature a neighbor’s garden. It has the usual bushes, specimen trees, a birdbath, and…the Statue of Liberty!  The weeping tree behind the statue almost looks like a background of fireworks. What a wonderful reminder of our roots. 

It makes me aware that gardens are more than plants – they are our inner voices made visible. Some gardens are perfectly groomed, each blade of grass tended, every bush placed in a precise location. Some gardens are specific, favoring a particular style, an English garden perhaps, or a peaceful Zen garden, while others run wild, looking unkempt and troubled. And there are water gardens, vegetable gardens, raised bed gardens, container gardens, roof gardens, and don’t forget about flowers. Wow, what possibilities.

Our garden is somewhat planned but in many respects is free, as we tend to favor a fairly natural setting. We often take our cues from the plants themselves. The privet hedge we planted many years ago does not like the shade that has developed from our now mature trees and has turned woody. We probably will replace it, perhaps with the Rose of Sharon bushes that seem to be establishing themselves near the privets; they don’t seem to mind the shade at all.

And after seeing the statue in our neighbor’s yard, I think I would like to have something in our own that would reflect our personal spirits. Maybe a path of hand-crafted stepping stones meandering down to the back of the garden. Perhaps a trellis created from the tree limbs that have fallen from the maple trees for our veggies next spring. The choices are many, as many as we are in our great country.

Here are some garden ideas to consider:

http://greenwoodproject.com/2011/02/different-types-of-gardens/

Gardens through history and around the world…Incredible!

http://home.comcast.net/~lorraine.sherry/gardens/handouts/Examples.pdf

Being Responsible with Rabbits and Other Things

Being Responsible with Rabbits and Other Things

(Sigh) I admit it. I am besotted with rabbits despite the problems they cause. I see a baby rabbit and think, “Ooh, what a cute bunny,” even though those cute bunnies eat my flowers, decimate my hostas, and munch on my veggies. But then only a few rabbits habitually visit my backyard. It is a different story in Australia.

European Rabbits were brought to Australia in the 1700s with the first settler fleet. In 1859, Thomas Austin released 24 rabbits on his property in Victoria for the purpose of having hunts. They got loose and did what rabbits are known for – they reproduced like mad. By 1990 the rabbit population was about 600 million. Over the years they have caused devastation in the country. Not only are they destructive to farms, they are problematic for the ecology. Their excessive grazing causes weakened native plants, which often succumb to invasive plants. Too much grazing also depletes the vegetation and causes soil erosion. Here is a real eye-opener about rabbit over-population http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-animals/lc0298-rabbits-and-their-impact. The effects of rabbit overpopulation are still being felt.

It is a reminder that our actions have a larger effect than we usually think they do. Donald Trump built a golf course in Scotland, dramatically changing the landscape. Will that turn out to be merely a playground for golfers or will it have broader consequences for the local ecology? What will be the outcome in California, both for small independent farmers and large agri-business, as well as the ecosystem of the Sacramento River Delta, if the proposed plan to build tunnels under the delta becomes a reality? What we do has an impact. We need to be responsible in our actions for the good of all, whether it involves leisure or business or rabbits.

If you are interested in a pet rabbit, you need to raise it responsibly.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/rabbits.html

Monarchs - Time to Bulk Up

Monarchs – Time to Bulk Up

I was reading about monarch butterflies. It seems they only like milkweed plants so I was thinking that I might plant some milkweeds for next year. Then I looked out at my butterfly bush, the buddleia, and saw a monarch happily flitting from one flower cluster to another. Hmm.

So I read further. There are four stages to a monarch’s life. Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed plants. The eggs hatch into larvae or caterpillars, which feed on the plants. They then wrap themselves up in cocoons, where they go into a metamorphosis that turns them into the butterflies. At this point the monarchs can eat from other flowers, including my butterfly bush. Whew. Let them bulk up on my bushes. They will need all the nourishment they can get for their long fall migration.

I found out that each butterfly species has a specific plant that the larvae feed on. And many of those plants, the milkweed included, are being cut down – to build houses, to construct roads, because of wildfires, illegal logging and deforestation of overwintering areas.  On personal properties, they are often viewed as unwanted weeds. This is causing a decrease in the monarch population.

There are reasons to preserve the monarch butterfly (see Conservation points), not the least being that all of nature has a place in this world. I was glad to see the lone monarch on my butterfly bush. I wish it and its companions a successful flight.

About monarchs:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/monarch-butterfly/ 

Life cycles and more:

http://www.monarch-butterfly.com/ 

Conservation points:

http://monarchwatch.org/blog/2009/03/monarch-butterfly-conservation-talking-points/ 

Good for You, Squirrel!

Good for You, Squirrel!

I was passing my kitchen window early this morning when I saw something that opened my eyes wide. A clever squirrel figured out how to bypass the baffles to the bird feeders. I didn’t see the actual process, just the result. There he/she was, atop the accordion baffle reaching for the seeds. Keeping squirrels off the feeders has been an ongoing struggle. We thought we had finally solved the problem as no squirrel had succeeded in getting past the baffles for a couple of years though there had been several attempts.

My husband was convinced that the squirrel leaped from the branches of the butterfly bush that was nearby. He pruned the bush (it needed it anyway), to make it harder for a squirrel to cross the chasm but I wonder if this particular one will find another way to get up there. I have seen squirrels traverse the whole backyard, leaping from black spruce branches to tulip tree limbs, dashing the length of our back neighbor’s fence, and hurling itself from one maple tree to another, before touching the ground. So perhaps the butterfly bush was the conduit but I suspect that the pruning was only a problem to be solved rather than an insurmountable barrier.

These creatures are certainly persistent. I have to respect that. If the adage “Practice makes perfect” works for people, why not for squirrels? Perseverance is often what leads to success. Writers revise their manuscripts for clarity, inventors discard what doesn’t work and enhance what does, chefs tweak recipes until the flavor is just right. So, I say Good for you, Squirrel! I hope the sunflowers you munched were sufficient reward for your efforts.

You won’t believe this!

http://squirrelsbychrispy.blogspot.com/2011/01/squirrel-problem-solving.html

Squirrel opening a peanut jar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkVXui4ptoo

And here is an original story I wrote about squirrels in PhlMetropolis:

http://www.phlmetropolis.com/2011/02/outsmarted-by-a-squirrel.php#disqus_thread

Frog or Toad?

Frog or Toad?

I think I saw a frog in my sister’s yard the other day. Or maybe it was a toad. It looked like a rock, snuggled as it was at the edge of the garden.

I know they are both amphibians but it is often hard to tell the difference. I thought frogs always stayed in the water and there is a pond in back of the house but this creature was in the driveway. So was it a toad? But then toads have smaller legs and tend to walk instead of leap and this one scuttled across the cement and then jumped. So was it a frog?

There are many overlaps between them as well as several distinguishing features.  There are differences in the eyes (frogs’ are bulgier) and the legs (toads’ are shorter). Frog skin is usually slimy (toad skin is usually dry) and toads have separate toes (frogs have webbed feet). But reading the literature, it seems that there are common characteristics in some of the areas, skin for instance and habitat. Sometimes it takes studied observation to determine the amphibian’s identity. There is similarity and at the same time individuality.

Which makes me wonder if frogs and toads can cause so much confusion how can we possibly make snap judgments about people? It may take a little time to get to know a person, to understand the person’s habits and intrinsic nature. Who takes leaps and who takes measured steps? Who blends in and who is out there? Pretty interesting, whether in the world of ponds or people.

Frog or toad?

http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/general/frogtoad.html