" Well things are winding down and coming to a close for my summer garden.. I've harvested the last of my veggies and the June and July bloomers have gone to sleep.. Now only a few blooms remain.. which are my purple petunia's on the front porch and my cactus flower zinnia's, black eyed Susan's, purple phlox and cosmos...
I will have these next year for sure.. because of their long blooming periods... in-fact, one of my goals for next year is to design my garden around plants that bloom through out the seasons so that I can have something to enjoy all season long.
The battles continue between the sparrows, my chickadee and my coconut bird feeder. I have moved the feeder from the pole in the yard to my back porch.. where here the chickadees can eat undisturbed, the sparrows don't dare attempt to get this close.. and the few that do.. chickens out after they discover my presence.
Below: A chickadee waits in the willow tree as I fill the coconut feeder..
Below: I get a nice view and show as I watch these little acrobats feed from my back porch..
This chickadee in particular loves to hunt for nuts and seeds from the holes in the bottom of the coconut..and I get a kick out of watching it do so....he / she even hovers underneath it... extracting the seeds in mid air as if it were a hummingbird... sorry I was not able to capture a photo of this amazing stunt.
It's been an odd summer weather wise with unusual heat temperatures smothering and frying gardeners in various areas through the U.S...
But I'm loving our recent temps this month in Michigan.. it has been nice and reasonable in the low 80's with just a few uncomfortable days hovering around 90..
P.S my cardinals have three little eggs.. but so far no sign of hatching babies as of yet...
Just a short update about my neck of the woods enjoy what's left of the summer and...
Thanks you for stopping by and leaving a comment..
You will have fun planning your next garden. I usually, I am running late, and lucky to get flowers planted at all. This year I had to go to several garden centers just to still find impatiens. It would be a dream to have something blooming all year.
ReplyDeleteYour little chickadee looks almost like a nut hatch whwn he turns upside down to eat. Did you say this was the second egg laying for the cardinals - or are they usually this late having little ones?
It's cool you have cardinal eggs. My problem is opposite--I'm still waiting for my tomatoes and eggplant and squash and peppers... I have a lot of native plants that are coming into their own, now too. Love cosmos and zinnias, though, too.
ReplyDeleteHello! Mya and Monica...Thanks for stopping by..
ReplyDeleteMonica we like those orange colored cosmos don't we... I'll be sure to add those colors next year as well"
Mya this is actually their third..
Their second attempt was unsuccessful, Mama cardinal had one little egg the second time around but nothing became of it..
for some reason I don't have much hope for their third attempt either but, then again..
I'm not an bird expert. So I'll keep my fingers crossed for them.
Hello Vetsy! yes the cactus zinnia is really long lasting. But my cosmos were short lived. One weekend when I was away, the sun scorched the plant. But they did gave me a nice flush of flowers before that. So, I appreciate cosmos also. Btw, I think the chickadee already knows that they can find seeds from the coconut, hence always coming back for them... clever bird :-D
ReplyDeleteHi! Steph Thanks for stopping by...
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that I decided to feed the chickadees this summer.
I usually wait until the winter when I think wild birds like these need me the most.. But I've learned better..
Hi Vetsy,
ReplyDeleteI know it seems strange but sometimes I relish the end of the gardening season. I have so many cluttered spots in my house that need to be attacked and the only time I get it done is when the garden is "done".
I think we had a strange year with weather as well. We NEVER get this much rain and even some of my yellow squash plants got some fungus that killed them because of SO much water.
Your bird visitors are fun. They look like they are really getting into the coconut feeder.Literally.
Hi Vetsy,
ReplyDeleteSpring came late here, and then, we had so much rain this summer, that I didn't get to spend as much time outdoors as I like to. I am hoping for a mild fall, and health to enjoy more gardening.
It wasn't a great year for veggie gardening, and I'm just now getting a few tomatoes starting to ripen.
I am struggling to stay awake. I hope my comment made some sense.
I enjoyed seeing photos of your birds.
" Rosey I understand completely.. it's hard at times to do both indoor and outdoors chores one of them will get neglected.
ReplyDelete"Sue.. I know how it feels when springs get to us late.. especially here in Michigan while waiting for the weather to warm up, I always feel light years behind everyone else.
Thank you both for stopping by..
Hi Vetsy! Your first picture is beautiful - I love the colour! (or do you say color???) Things aren't winding down here yet... still watering like crazy, oh well. You'll have to show us the babies when they arrive - they will be so cute, eh? (was that ANOTHER Canadian thing I just said??) Take care....
ReplyDeleteHi Vetsy,
ReplyDeleteEverytime I see your butterfly picture in my side bar I smile. I came back here to look at it enlarged - Vetsy, this is a beautiful picture. Are you going to do anything with it - frame it, make note cards, oh I don't know, but it is just too pretty to sit in a file.
Heather I like the way you spell it " Colour I think we have it spelled wrong..I'm going to upload the baby cardinals today..
ReplyDeleteThanks Maya... Yeah I'm thinking about doing something with them later on..I liked to make a large poster..