Musings of a household in semi-rural, central Alabama with interests in birds, gardens, crafts and what goes on in our backyard.
A Black Swallowtail just out of its chrysalis
We always try to grow fennel, parsley, or dill for Black Swallowtail caterpillars. This one just emerged from its chrysalis on a basil. It has just about finished drying its wings.
This Cooper’s Hawk has the wrong idea about our birdfeeder
The goal of our birdfeeder is not to provide a buffet for this Cooper’s Hawk.
Tomatoes go tent-camping
Last year we had serious problems with our tomato crop. The first tomatoes were nearly all destroyed by stink bugs and a sneak attack by tomato hornworms. We tried an experiment and managed to coax four of our not-so-determinate Rio Grande plum tomatoes into producing a second late crop. When the weather started threatening frost, we picked everything that looked like it was starting to change color and got quite a few to ripen indoors. They were not quite as good as vine-ripened but better than store-bought.
Our experiment was in buying a cot-sized mosquito net tent. This year we decided to grow 6 tomato plants split into two 4 by 8 foot beds and to cover each bed with mosquito netting. We grew Rio Grande tomatoes from seed since they had done better than our purchased Roma plants the year before. The tents let in much more sunlight than the picture makes it appear, especially down here in Alabama where sunscald can be a problem. The stink bugs we have spotted have all been crawling around on the outside of the netting and I only found two hornworms, probably from eggs laid before we got the netting up. We have picked over 20 pounds of tomatoes so far. The tomatoes are sharing space with 4 green peppers which are planted on the south side of the tomatoes. Both tomatoes and peppers can produce fruit with only the wind and an occasional shaking to spread pollen so the net does not affect the plant’s ability to set fruit.
We like to put up our tomatoes as frozen sauce. They could be canned and we have done so but for now we put them up in the freezer. For the first batch we put ten pounds of washed tomatoes through our Squeezo Strainer to take care of the seeds and peels. The Squeezo is over 35 years old but we can still find parts. So far only the rubber seal for the screen has needed to be replaced. The pulp came out nicely thick this year and two hours of simmering brought it down to a good consistency. We do not try to produce tomato paste. The time needed to produce a thick enough sauce can vary widely.
Our ten pounds of tomatoes produced four 20 ounce freezer jars of sauce. We use them in making spaghetti sauce and chili. We prefer the flavor we get from using our own frozen sauce.
Top: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a favorite spring visitor.
Bottom: Eastern Bluebird, an expert at emptying birdbaths.
Chickadees break into jail and back out again
This caused a bit of a panic the first time I saw it happen. There is a seed block hanging outside one of our windows. A surprising variety of birds visit the seed block, including mockingbirds and brown thrashers. It was a fairly new addition to our collection of bird feeders. I happened to look out the window, and something looked a little off.
The chickadee was inside the cage holding the seed block. I was a bit worried about something like this having read stories about chickadees getting themselves into places such as the inside of tube feeders. So now the question was, did we need to let it out? We watched for a bit, and eventually the problem resolved itself without issue. The holes in the cage are large enough for a chickadee to get in and out without trouble. I don’t know if it makes it easier to get to a chosen seed, or if there is some other logic behind it. Once I saw two in there at once, but that didn’t last long. Another time, one squeezed itself in on top of a fresh seed block. This is a frequent sight whenever the chickadee thinks he will fit.
If you are curious it is a Pennington Premium seed block.
Many sparrows, and a finch or two.
Many sparrows, and a finch or two. I am not sure it is polite conversation.
Suburban gardeners in Central Alabama share many pest problems with city gardeners, but the biggest pests by far are deer. They can cause a frustrating amount of damage in just one night. Our subdivision is located near large, undeveloped areas of open land and trees which are perfect for deer, the bane of the suburban/country gardener’s existence. The back of our lot seems to border a game trail of long-standing, and the does seem to consider the brushy area near the compost pile to be a perfect location for hiding a fawn.
Deer are pretty, and the fawns are really cute, but they are garden-eating machines. Our first garden at this house consisted of a bed of pole beans. It produced a bumper crop; but only because every night we went out and put on the bean’s “party dress” of nylon netting.
Sometimes the deer visit the back of our yard in the daytime, including a fairly large buck. Like many of the photographs in this post, these are from a game camera and the focus is not perfect. If you garden, buy or borrow a motion-detecting camera and set it up for a few nights. You might be surprised what visits your garden at night.
As the garden near the house became larger, a fence became necessary to keep out the deer as well as the rabbits and armadillos. This garden consists of six 4 by 8 foot beds. We pounded in T-posts and installed small animal fence and deer netting. The gate is constructed of PVC pipe covered with the same materials. For hinges we use zip ties; they need to be replaced a couple of times a year but they are cheap. The fence is only 5 feet tall. Perhaps because the enclosed area is fairly small and since the deer have a hard time seeing the top of the fence, they have not yet jumped in.
A Carolina Wren, an acrobatic, nosey and busy neighbor.
We spotted this young cardinal and snapped a photo one summer. It is not long out of the nest and has found itself in a world suddenly larger and more challenging than anything it has known. It looks like it is wondering where its next seed is coming from. Dad will feed it for about two weeks while Mom is probably off sitting on a new nest full of eggs. Soon it will be responsible for finding food and cracking sunflower seeds all by itself.
The world is always changing, full of challenges and opportunities for all of us. Time and practice will teach the young bird how to use its wings to find what it needs. Its beak is capable and very strong, able to easily crack open seeds that are more of a challenge to other birds. Like the cardinal, we need to be ready to look for the opportunities that changes and challenges bring to us. As for where the bird’s next seed is coming from…there is a feeder full of sunflower seeds about two feet away.