Another Layer Of Protection

Fringed polygala, Polygala paucifolia, is a favorite native wildflower here.  As a low growing largely insignificant plant, it is easy to miss when not in bloom.   Its rose purple flowers of unusual form are a special treat in May.  The flowers are short lived so they can easily be missed.  We have read several references to their decline in the wild.  I went contrary to every principle of responsible behavior and moved a single plant from the woods to our shade garden.  Flowers followed the first year after the move but there was no sign of the plant this spring.  Clearly responsible for the apparent loss of a wild treasure, I felt terrible.

My guilt eased when the plant put out new growth later in the spring.  We saw no flowers this year but the plant was still alive.  Low growing evergreen plants face a number of challenges.  Deep fallen leaf litter can smother them.  We had found a large area covered with polygala in bloom in a neighbors oak woods.  When we returned the following year to more closely examine these plants in the wild, they had totally disappeared.  A thick layer of fallen oak leaves covered the ground where the polygala had flourished.

Our transplanted treasure faced a different threat.  The locust tree that provides the shade also sports a suet feeder.  Woodpeckers are not terribly neat feeders so much perfectly good food falls to the ground.  Crows number among the opportunists that find this fallen bounty.  We have watched as they also fed on the nearby Iris christata but took no action.  I believe that the lack of snow cover last winter exposed the green leaves of the polygala to the crows.  Stripped of its leaves, it had no way to generate the energy to form flowers.  A cage now covers the polygala.  We hope to see again those delightful purple flowers come spring.  Additionally, we will not feed the birds this winter.

Crows are wildly successful social animals.  Hawks and owls are sworn enemies of crows.  We frequently hear the alarm call go out when a crow spots a hawk or an owl.  Quickly the sky is full of other crows coming in from all directions to harass the enemy.  Despite their cunning and group ethic, I prefer the majestic hawk.  Besides, crows are known to drop baby owls from the nest to their death.  This crow has been lying in repose for several days.  It was part of a group of four.  I do not know if the dead friend is keeping the others away but they have not returned.  So for now this crow can remain where it fell.

A Glorious Day in May

Last night the noise of farm machinery and the pungent aroma of liquid cow manure let us know that a change was being made in the neighborhood.  The meadow to the east of our lane was being transformed into a corn field.  Today the manure has been turned in and the corn has been planted. The sky is blue and the weather perfect for spending the day in the garden.

We have a couple of diabolically  small weeds that pop up everywhere.  I would be thrilled and surprised if I could get all these pulled before they go to seed again.

This is the other weed that really give me grief.  Both kinds are flowering now.  We had  a particularly bad patch of these pests surrounding a lavender plant just outside of the stone square.  I parked my garden cart for a seat and proceeded to fill my bucket with weeds.  I was enjoying the fragrance of the clove currants  as I worked.  I was quite surprised to hear a familiar buzzing sound.  I looked up and there very close to where I was working was a male ruby throated hummingbird sipping nectar from the clove currant flowers.  A second bird buzzed past me too fast to get a good look.  For 2012,  May 5 is the date for  the return of hummingbirds to the garden.  Seeing them was a thrill and I guess I have my pernicious weeds to thank.  I spent the rest of the morning  weeding here and there while Ed worked on the peas.

 A huge bunch of crows in the spruce trees were making an unbelievable racket.  I watched them for several minutes hoping to see the cause of the uproar.  The din lessened somewhat as I moved closer but it did not stop. The trees are thick and I could not see anything .  As I turned away  the raucous uproar resumed.  I never did see what had those crows in such a tizzy.

Lots of red admirals are still flitting around, but I was surprised to see a humming bird moth on a Japanese honeysuckle bush. I know they are supposed to have two hatches a year, but I usually don't see them until the Monarda is blooming.  It's likely they have been there all along, I just never noticed them.

After lunch Ed and I headed to the back with the garden tractors.  I took the old tractor and the garden cart and Ed drove the new machine with his grass catcher.  It was time to make a little hay while the sun was shining. While Ed was mowing the flat open area, I went down and mowed the path that goes nearest to the pond.  I have not been back to the pond for some time.  This winter was tough on the trees back here. Many of them have been wind thrown during storms.  I miss the way the pond used to be, but change is the natural order of things.

It's pretty wild back by the pond. In this wet area plant growth gets very tall.  Clumps of yellow flag are growing fast, but no flowers are in evidence yet.  After my side trip to the pond,  I joined Ed  up on Amy's meadow.  He had the grass all cut and a load of clippings ready to transfer to the garden cart.
While he drove his clippings to the front to use as mulch,  I gave using the grass catcher and the new tractor a try.  I was breezing along fairly well until my hat blew off.  I stopped just in the nick of time.
The hat was just under the front of the grass catcher, but had not reached the machinery.  I'll need to wear a hat with a chin strap next time since to properly fill the catcher with grass,  more speed is needed.  I headed to the front to get a start on dinner while Ed finished the haying project.

Now the tools are put away and it's time for a little relaxation.  Tomorrow looks like another great gardening day.

This Garden is For the Birds!

It's  white and cold in the Stone Wall Garden.  The  layer of snow is thin, just enough to get some bird footprints.  This afternoon I ventured out to take some pictures.  While I was out there I managed to see woodpeckers, blue jays, slate gray juncos, the ever present black capped chickadees and what appears to be goldfinches.  I wasn't sure about them at first.  I don't think that the goldfinches have ever stayed  through the winter since we have been here. To be honest the chickadees don't seem so happy to have them here.  There is a whole lot of squabbling going on around the bird feeder.

There is a lot of bird traffic under the plants that have gone to seed.  The birds are welcome to all the seeds they can eat.  I'm sure there will be plenty of dropped seeds left to come up in the garden beds.

Earlier in the day I watched a group of mourning doves in the garden and under the bird feeder. Several doves sat on top of Ed's walls.  One was high atop the wire support for the Grandpa Ott morning glories. I sure hope those seeds are on the menu.  It will mean fewer plants for me to pull out in the spring.  Mourning doves need all the energy they can muster here.  As I watched out the window one of them flew across the garden from east to west at terrific speed with the Marsh hawk right on his tail.  They flew out of view.  If the mourning dove was too slow he will flying as fast as a Marsh hawk soon, but perhaps he escaped this time.

Earlier this morning the crows were in the garden.  A different  hawk had landed in the top of a white pine in the trees opposite the garden.  One crow sat above the hawk in an adjacent tree.  The other crows took turns  flying as close as they could to the hawk.  One crow did a speed dive and came so close he nearly touched the hawk.  The hawk  never flinched.  Eventually when the he had had enough of the crows harassment, he flew off and out of sight.

I have seen no sign of the pair of cardinals that usually spend the winter here.  I miss the bright red color against the snow.  Still the activity of the birds adds a great deal to our winter garden.  If I want really bright color I can always visit Sunita's Garden.  Right now it is  very HOT!

No Footprints, But Other Signs

With no snow there are no animal tracks to follow. Still the critters abound around here. I just have to think that some little forest creature lives in the hole between these beautiful moss covered rocks. It looks as inviting as an ivy covered cottage.

Something has been eating my arbutus leaves. The culprit is unknown to me, but I would rather they picked some other plant for their munching.  We first noticed the damage several weeks ago.  Feeding caterpillars sometimes leave a similar munch pattern.  Fortunately flower buds were not on the menu.  Next fall we shall try to look and identify the culprit.  

The top of stone walls is a popular place for animals to leave scat to make their presence known. They like to leave those special markers where they will surely be noticed.  Fox are notorious for marking territory with nose high deposits.  We enjoy seeing a fox but could really do without these markers.

I have to call this one the streak. I don't know for sure, but I suspect this strafing run was made by one of the group of crows that hang around the garden like gang members on a street corner. No less than a foot in length, this stripe was laid down at high speed by a bird flying really low to the ground. With no nest to tend, crows eat at the bird feeder then spend the afternoon chasing each other and generally fooling around. Of course there is always  a possibility that the streak could have been made by a hawk. Our garden is large and the odds are in our favor. So far neither of us have been hit by aerial  bombardment.

Watching The West Wind

We still have a few magnificently colored leaves in the Stone Wall Garden. These happen to be the leaves of this year's growth on the smokebush. Today is a beautiful day with blue sky and white clouds, but the west wind is blowing. The colored leaves are losing their grip on the trees.

 It's mesmerizing to watch the milkweed seeds with their fluffy parachutes dancing on the wind. Often  they cross the entire garden space from west to east without touching the ground. Occasionally they catch an updraft and fly  high in the air.  A late Monarch butterfly fluttered by on the wind. The chrysalis on the lily cage is gone. The temperatures have moderated , but there almost no flowers left where a butterfly might find nectar.

Later as Ed and I sat on the bench, we saw a hawk kiting on the wind. How amazing it must be to hang there motionless in one spot with the wind holding you high above the garden. As we watched, the hawk made a fast dive into the wind, landing in the pines. We barely got a look at the bird's beautiful, brown- speckled feathers, glowing in the sun, before the crows cawed. Crows consider the pines theirs, and waste no time chasing off intruders, no matter how big they are. The gang of noisy black birds chased the hawk, squawking, flapping, and diving as close as possible, to intimidate the larger bird. They are no match for a hawk when it comes to flying on a windy day. That hawk caught the air current and soared high on the wind leaving the noisy flapping crows to return to their piny woods. We watched for some time as the hawk continued to kite over the garden . Eventually he caught the wind and soared  along the ridge until he was out of sight.

Now the garden is cooling off. The wind has died down.The fluffy milkweed dancers are resting on the grass. The air show is over, but today watching the wind blow in the garden was exciting!

Hollyhock Skyscraper Demolition

It's cold and cloudy outside and a bit damp after yesterday's all-day rain. That doesn't keep Ed out of the garden. The broccoli got composted. Time is not going to make it smell any better. Next he decided to cut off the flower stalk of our garden skyscraper.This demolition was scheduled weeks ago, but the plant continued to flower. With growth at the base there is a good chance it will return next year. After considering the chainsaw, the big loppers were chosen for the job.




So how big is this hollyhock? Let me see, if Ed is 6' 3", and the hollyhock is more than twice his height then...




There's nothing quite like a tape measure to answer these difficult math problems. No cheating, I promise!  I saved a few more seeds, but most of the seeds have been scattered in the garden. Ed went off toward the compost with the hollyhock and his loppers. He'll be cutting it up into shorter lengths to fit it in the compost bin. I headed back in the house, stopping just long enough to watch a crow harassing a beautiful red tail hawk in the sky over the garden. I know why the crows hate hawks, but I can't help wondering why the hawks put up with such abuse.

Who Left the Corn?

Ed was mowing and came in the house to get me to take this picture. There in the grass is a neat little pile of field corn. We don't grow field corn. The nearest field corn belongs to the neighbors and is not within sight. It is within walking, no, hiking distance. Perhaps it was the crows. The corn not that far away as the crow flies. But why would a crow fly in field corn and pile it in the short crab grass and yarrow?

I know! Perhaps it was a squirrel. They collect acorns and bury them. I vaguely remember something about squirrel corn, but wait that's a wild flower. So if a squirrel took the trouble to bring the corn from so far away, why didn't he bury it? Maybe he hit a stone!