HAPPENINGS IN THE MID-ATLANTIC FORUMPart #2

Hi Gita, we have been buying our birdseed from Walmart. What you could do is put up another feeder, fill with one type of food & the other with what you are using now. Then count the birdies! I think when the weather starts getting crummy and the barometric pressure starts falling, the birds sense this & start feeding more. And they only feed at certain times of the day. Dunno why but they do. That one day (when my camera was in another room), there were Tufted titmice, Bluejays, and even a woodpecker trying to get the food all eaten. Man, I missed out on that opportunity. I know one thing, I gotta get a ladder outside & wash the window. LOL

There is nothing wrong with Ace Hardware seed unless the buyer or the seller do not keep their stock fresh. I have almost never used anything but Ace Hardware Stores bird seed. They are the most competitive in our community.

My hoses are turned off for the winter too. We fill our bird bath usind two gallon jugs every day or so when we stock up the various seed stations. We only use one watering station in winter and one bird bath heater. Without a watering station in winter anyone would be at a disadvantage from anyone who had water available.

I would dump the feeder that is not being used and purchase fresh seed somewhere like Home Depot where you work. You employee discount should make that source attractive. Before reloading sterlize with chlorine water.

My peanut-and-hot-pepper suet cake that was not getting eaten, is now being eaten since I hung it right on the tree trunk. I have several nuthatches now coming daily and I think they prefer to be on the tree trunk instead of the suet cage hanging free under a branch on a chain. Probably ditto the woodpeckers since they are bigger.
I refilled my thistle and have had a goldfinch for the last two days too. Those wing bars are unmistakeable.

I don't see Blue Jays unless I put out striped sunflower.

Doc, Re the Home Depot employee discount-- there is NO employee discount! We pay the same prices as any other customer.

I have 4 feeders out and I feed year round. I don't keep them filled as religiously in the summer as I do in the winter, just enough to keep them coming back to check. I have a birdbath near the feeders and there is a pond a few hundred yards away.
After we eat eggs, I leave the shells to dry for a while, then smash them up and add them to the feeds. It not only works as grit, but also helps build stronger egg shells when they start laying. Not so much chance of the shell breaking prematurely. And ........... it's FREE!
I have one feeder that I put strictly sunflower seed in. The cardinals love this feeder. One has Pennington's Wild Bird Feed in it from Wal-Mart. It has milo in it, which I don't really want, but oh well. I also get some waste-free seed and mix a little bit of it with the regular feed. The 3rd one is a thistle feeder for the finches with thistle or niger seed in it. The 4th one is a suet feeder. They are all hung on tree limbs under the canopy. I don't have much luck spreading seed on the ground, because my dogs think they are birds too and will eat up anything they can get to. Arf Arf TWEET. Silly dogs.
I have a menagerie of birds. Some of them I'm not even sure of their names. I put 2 liter pop bottles on the chains holding the feeders to help deter the squirrels from getting into the feeders. If the feeders are too close to the trunk or the ground, they can still JUMP to them.
Guess I should go fill my feeders now. We got ice and snow last night and they are really working on them.

Cat ..... that SUCKS!!!!!!

17* here now. Got ice and snow last night. High of 25 projected. 9 tonight then it warms up until Sunday when more snow is projected. Couldn't make it to work. 6 miles of untreated road to get to the highway. Awwwwwwwww

Button Nice pic. Some one who knows how to start a thread with a pic in the title should start a Winter birds pic thread here! Hint, hint...You know who you are.

lol, be careful with using ladders outside in winter...They can quickly freeze in place like ours did last winter when we used it to clear the snow from our roof. Of course it was already in place for the last two big dumps of snow.in Feb. That ladder is now sed upside down because the winter before we bent the base legs removing it from frozen spot...

Thank you all for comments on 'intermittent feeding" and snacks. To be clear, I do not feed birds, no one near here does either, so birds depend on wild sources to sustain them like the Virginia creeper, wild grate and poisen ivy within eyesite of my yard. Many little birds enjoy and seek the shelter of the large old Winter Creeper vine going up 20 feet and all around a big oak. Its branches droop down and bush out about five feet and remain evergreen. That is where I have my picnic table.

In severe weather when birds must eat all they can just to survive, I clear off my picnic table and put plastic lawn chairs on top of it and put trays of bird seed under the legs of the chairs where it stays uncovered and dryer. The birds can land on the chairs, table ends or benches or go underneath the table where there is leaf litter but no snow.. I guess it is like a giant multilevel platform feeder!

The longest I have fed like this was last Feb with our double whammy massive snow storms. I set this up two days before and maintained about three weeks until demand had dwindled to almost nothing. Comments?

And, thankyou Doc for the word about sand (I did suppy water with the seeds) Helps me understand why there a always birds in my drive way Dirt and gravel and sand! I didn't think they were looking for frozen worms!

My younger daughter is a super bargain hunter … here is one of her latest discoveries.

Amazon Mom program: Amazon Mom http://www.amazon.com/mom

Join Amazon Mom and get 3 months (or up to a year) of FREE 2-Day Shipping on all your purchases with Amazon Prime benefits.

You do not have to be a mom or even have kids to join the Moms club for free. Offer open to both females and males.

It is called the Mom's Club because they ...give you good deals on baby supplies as well as exclusive offers for the whole family.

I like the idea that someone could start a thread in Mid Atlantic Gardening for
"BIRD WATCHING IN OUR GARDENS" or "BIRDS IN OUR GARDENS" whatever, but then it would not get confused with the Bird Watching Forum on DG.

Hey Doc, how about it, want to start that for us? You know so much about the different birds it would be great for all of us to learn and we all seem to have the similiar birds and problems. We could also watch the migration when it starts. Please????? That would keep our minds off of the snow until we can start to plant seeds and cuttings. Besides, what is a garden without birds?

My super saver daughter is at it again. She just e-mailed me the following:

20% off entire purchase at BIG LOTS good Sat & Sun, Jan 22nd & 23rd

and

Ticket for 2 FREE ADMISSIONS to NJ Flower & Garden Show (Feb 17th to 20th).

MARY

When my younger daughter paid her weekly visit yesterday, I was opening a small package from WalMart. To my surprise it contained a free sample of SmartBlend dog food from Purina. Well, my daughter started to laugh and asked if I remember requesting it (I have no dog). I said no and she informed me since it was a limit of one per household, she made the request.

Then, I inquired if she knew anything about a very nicely boxed package from Lowes that contained a small (7.2 oz) jar of valspar paint, a mini paint tray, mini paint roller, and a replacement roll for the paint roll. I had realy started to be concern abount my memory as I had no recollection of ever requesting this free sample.

She confessed that it was her doing!

MARY

This message was edited Jan 20, 2011 4:42 PM

This message was edited Jan 20, 2011 4:45 PM

Mary thats funny! And smart of her to take advantage of an extra goodie. Go with the flow...

crit---

Would you have a picture of how you use the 2L soda bottles on the chains of a bird feeder?

Sounds simple and doable....Do you just cut off the bottom and slip a chain through the
bottle and that's that?

And, Doc--as Judy already told you--there has NEVER been--and will NEVER be
an employee discount on anything at HD.
Their reason is that most employee discounts are abused by associates extending
them to friends and family. I have to agree with that.....

I will try the two different bird-feeders with different seeds. However--I do not really want to buy
more seed--as I have 4 bags sitting in my basement of the Ace seeds.

I usually buy a bag of Safflower seed and mix it into my regular bird seed.
Reminds me--I have also mixer in cracked corn and old Thistle seed. May need to do that
and see if I will have more visitors. Peanut hearts are good too--need to go to Meyer Seed Co.
and buy some--but I no longer trust the freshness of anything they carry. I think they are a dying
business. They need a REAL overhaul to survive! Hope the "Higher Ups" of this Co.sees that.

We are supposedly getting 1-3" of snow overnight. Not too bad!

Gita

Ha! We are getting 2-5". The birdies cleaned out the feeders, so tomorrow, we will wade out & refill them.

I do not have a picture but will try to get one. If the chain is short enough for one bottle, you could probably just cut off the bottom. The first one I did I drilled a hole in the bottom, but those bottoms are REALLY solid! My chains are long enough that I needed 2 bottles. I cut the bottom off them and slid the 2 open ends together (one will have to be wrinkled a little to get into the other) then run the chains through the pour opening.

Crit- thanks fpr the description. If the chian was much shorter you could just cut off more of the bottle bottom, and not deal with cutting through the middle of that hard bottom.

If you make it too much shorter, the squirrels can stretch out and reach from the top of the bottle to the feeder and crawl down. That's why I put mine on a higher limb and ran the chain to where I could reach it. If he's gonna get it, he's gonna have to work for it. :-))

OK, good to know! I agree with you!

Gita, I would suggest if your basement is damp and warm you should move the bird seed to a colder environment. It will get buggy. Honest! They will not eat it then unless they are really hungry.

I had a delightful experience this morning. A flock of black birds stopped buy to test our birdseed. It was about 8:00 a.m. and I heard this noise. It was black on top of our new inch of snow and they were even trying to eat from the finch feeder. That was cute believe me.
They made quite a mess of things but they got some food and moved on. I am not sure if that is a sign that they are coming North, or more going South. I am so confused with the weather I can only imagine the birds must be also. If they are as cold in SC as they say, how do those poor birds know which way to go? It has to be confusing for them when you think about it. Unless of course, they do not use the weather as a barometer in making their decision when to come North.
Have a good day, all. JB

my Snowdrops bloomed yesterday

crit--

My extra bags of seed are in my cool club room right by the door that goes out to the yard.
This door leaks--and, believe me, it is cold around there.
I have a 4 level house. There is one more level below the club room. Unheated shop,
laundry, storage, furnace and W-heater, etc..

JB--I did not know that black birds migrate??? No wonder I haven't seen any of them.
And--I never want to see them. To me they are destructive to bird feeders,,,,
As you said--they travel in flocks--and trash everything...eat everything...

Looking out at my feeder--I see the level of the seed dropping a bit, so they are feeding
a bit more....Maybe it just takes a while for them to find it--as it is not visible from the air.
I'll go out and throw some on the floor below it..for the ground feeders....

Gonna "veg" today....maybe start working on some area to sort and cull. My shoes!

JB--Be patient on the CC cuttings...I will get them out as soon as I can...NOT today!
Not going out! Now and then we all need a day with no "must-do's".....

Just started making a veggie broth from all the cut off ends and so-so pieces of this and that.
I had them all bagged to take to the Pet Smart which is right next to my HD. They appreciate it.
Then I read in the Paper about not wasting the not so fresh, slightly past their prime veggies,
and to make veg. broth. So--I am doing it....Hope it turns out OK. Will add some herbs and bay leaf, etc....
Will freeze it in bowls for when I make by "Beef Veg. Soup with Marrow Dumplings"...
Someone ("hedandan" from NJ) on DG posted that--and I have been wanting to do it.
I love marrow......have it all frozen already--as well as all kinds of bone-in pieces of beef.
That's a project for another day.....

Stay warm--you all! Gita

Memories from February of last year! My Patio taken from my BR window....

And--Here are the 14' tall Evergreens that were bent over double--
that now have been cut down and this bed is where i will have my new,
raised vegetable bed--whenever....

I think I will ask a man at work to do this. My neighbor isn't too swift..
nor does he know on his own what would be the best way to do it...
He will do what I tell him--and I do not know what is best either....
G.

My snow drops are under a foot of snow. LOL

Everything is under snow at this point. All I can think of is putting myself under a palm tree on a hot beach somewhere..

I'm going to look for my snowdrops right now!! Whee

My friends in NC and SC are all complaining about the cold weather. I suggest you go to the Islands or Mexico.

Snowdrops now?? OMG. Would you believe winter Jasmine blooms in February? It is too cool but I can't bend down far enough to smell the flowers.

Holly -

Antigua is calling......

Sounds like a plan. LOL

Snowdrops are my kind of snow ! I keep thinking me have only 2 to 3 months to go. We have not gotten slammed like we usually do, so I guess February will be nasty.

HELLLLLOOOOO Y'ALL!!!!!!! BUMP!!!! Bump-ety BUMP!!!!

Seems we have hit that dead time again. How about all of you putting out some effort to keep
the MA more active? Pick a topic--any topic. Just chat away. Let your thoughts fly!

I know it is, once again, THAT time of year--and, surely, we are all busy with our garden clean up and dividing
plants planting bulbs, and so on. Raking leaves--taking cuttings---Winter-sowing---mopping up all the puddles, etc....

I am saddened, again, that when I click on the MAF--there are no new posts....almost every day. BAH--HUMBUG!!!!

I know it is the season for Flu Shots---but how about a fresh "shot in the arm" on gardening discussions?
Share what you all are doing at this time. Share about your successes and failures in the past summer.
What grew? What died? What will you never plant again? What did you not have enough of????
IF the rains would ever stop--I know we all would be doing a lot more to talk about.

What am I doing?

Waiting for the rains to stop...:o( My grass is growing to 10" in less than a week.
I turn around--and it is time to mow again. Mowing soggy grass is NO fun!

Next big chore is treating all the potted plants I will be bringing in with Systemic Granules
so it will kill any vermin that has set up housekeeping in the pots over the summer. Takes about 2 weeks.
I really think this is important---and, may be the reason I almost never have any insect problems
on any of my zillions of plants that winter over in my house. I just believe in doing this.

I KNOW many of you may have pets that like to chew on plants--and this would create a problem.
If you are concerned about this--you may need to find other treatments that work.
Maybe Ammonia in the water? Hmmm...1Tbs. per gallon??? I have heard it works on Fungus Gnats......
Don't have too much advice on alternative methods....but they are out there.....

My spent annuals also need to be pulled up--and perennials need to be cut back.
Clean-Up is the word in the fall. Removing all sorts of stuff from your beds so your garden
can go to sleep as clean as if it just took a shower. Don't leave this for spring!!

--Rake up all fallen leaves in your beds--especially around Roses to get rid of the Black Spot fungusy, fallen leaves.
--Dig up your veggie beds and incorporate new Compost, Coffee Grinds, and other goodies in the soil
so it can de-compose over the winter.
--Rake up leaves from trees and use your shredder vacuum. or lawn mower to chop them up,
then bag them up in black trash bags to break down. I always add a hand full of some organic Lawn Fertilizer to the bags
(need the Nitrogen) as well as water them in a bit to help in the de-composing....over the next couple seasons.
Amazing stuff will come out of all these in about 2 years!
--Trying to make room inside for all the plants to come in. One never knows when that dreaded weather forcaster
will say---"Tonight, we expect temps. in the mid 30's"-----PANIC TIME!!!!!!

Well! it is getting late and I need my 10hrs. of beauty sleep. Still look the same when I get up in the morning.....
Must NOT be working!!!!

Wanna see some new Posts when i DO get up!!!!! Gita

Clump of "Chrysanthemum Pacificum"...A plant that comes to life in the late fall...

Mornin' Gita! Good to see you.

Would love for you to send some of that rain our way. This was a killer of a summer here. Continual temps of 100+ day after day.... up as high as 115* in the shade!!!!!! Drought is terrible. We are still about 8" behind for the year and the western part of the state is worse. I lost a lot of plants due to the heat, as they were watered regularly, but that isn't as good as good ole rain!

Am expanding my lily and daylily bed. A lot of work but I think it will be well worth it. It is slow going as I had a bad experience with a bungee strap hook and my finger. Ripped out 3/4" of the nerve on middle finger of right hand. Had surgery to try and get nerves traveling towards each other. Will know after the first of the year if I am going to get feeling back in it.

Happy gardening and cleaning. Glad you bumped this thread, even though Iam a Midwesterner, I enjoy this forum!

Patti

Patti--

How on earth did a Bungie cord rip into your finger???? Don't they have the little balls on the ends
of the wire hook? Or--had yours fallen off from use?

Glad to have you back here! We have not had much posting going on around here--so I hunted down this Thread from last year.
Yes! We also had an extremely hot summer...Many days in the 100* range.....Nothing in my garden liked it any.
Now that the weather has cooled down--everything flowering is catching it's breath...Looks great!
Kind of unfair--as I am soon going to start pulling things up. Today--I plan to go out and treat all my plants
with the Systemic Granules....Do not want to be surprised one day when the weather drops close to freezing....
and I am not ready. Like---this weekends high will be only in the 50's.
As it often happens here--we get a cold snap--and then later the Indian Summer....Not fair!!!

Rain...OH! How unfair thou ist! I has been Feast or Famine across the Country....Too much here--
not enough in your area and Texas...
Three weeks, or so, ago--we had 12" of rain that week. Roads flooded, bridges closed, some waterfront properties
evacuated....the soil was SO waterlogged that he water just sat on top...causing many, many trees to fall.

When Hurricane Irene hit--the worst was a small town (Port Deposit--Google it!!) which sits right below the
Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna river. They had to open 50 of the Dam's gates and the water just turned this small
town into a river.
Then we had ongoing rains after that----wayyyy too much! My grass still squishes when I walk....

OK! Gotta get some breakfast and get going on the garden work...while it is nice and cool outside.

Be well! Hope your finger heals soon! Gita

One look ar my waterlogged back yard during Hurricane Irene....

Hi Gita, Good tips.

Hi Crit- Good luck with your finger!!

Going to get my flu shot today among other errands, and enjoy some outside time too, it is a lovely day!!!!!!!

I decided to pass this year on the flu shot.....Still feel burned after last year's when the very next
day I started coughing----and, if you remember--I ended up with bronchitis and all kinds of malaise--
which did not clear up until march, 2011. Shortness of breath...deep, bad cough...Low grade temps., etc..

I have NEVER been sick that long in my life! May have had to do with the shot--may not....

Besides--I have cataract surgery scheduled for Oct. 20 (L eye) and two weeks later, Nov. 3rd. (R eye)
Don't want to mess around with a flu shot.......just in case.

Gita

Unless you had the nasal spray, the flu vaccine probably was not the cause of your illness. The injection type is a killed virus, but so sorry to hear you were sick for so very long!

My bungee strap didn't have anything on the hook. I was wrapping it around the center gate in my stock trailer and my horse tugged on her rope. I lost hold of the strap and as the hook came around it caught my finger and ripped it wide open. 12 stitches then a week later had to have the surgery. Is healed well on the outside, now just waiting on the inside.

ow crit, that sounds pretty horrible!

Our beautiful sunny AM was used for erands, then it turned cloudy and I had to take DS to the movies with friends. So I ended up scoring big at Edie Bauer, one of my favorite stores.

Crit---

I have been taking Flu Shots for many years----no bad effects....
Last year's Flu Shot contained, for the first time, the Swine Flu bacillus....

Many people at work complained about complications.
My supervisor, Vanessa, had a severe reaction in the site of the injection.
Her arm swelled up--and she was miserable for days....she swore off any future Flu Shots....

I had an immediate response the next day by starting to cough....I dealt with it for several weeks,
but then it became too severe to just be a casual cold.

One day at work--when I had serious complications and could not breathe right-I tried to call my DR.--
but they were closed for the Holiday weekend. (Thanksgiving--I think)...
I KNOW I was running a fever---so, in desperation--on my way home, I stopped at a "Patient First" site---
and they RX'ed it as Bronchitis.
Gave me a prescription of some Antibiotics and something to stop my urge to cough.

In the long run--it, eventually cleared up--BUT--I am now weary of getting another Flu Shot.
as it was a very negative thing last year---in the long run.

Since I have the Cataract surgery scheduled---I will pass on this year's Flu Shot....
I am, usually, a healthy person--free of any problems....Don't want to chance anything.....

Usually--I am not concerned about these kind of things--but last year's bout of Bronchitis
really wasted me--and I do not want to go through this again....

Gita

Hi Gita, I wanted to tell you the little cuttings you sent me of the Christmas Cactus are growing like little weeds. I am enjoying them so much.

I am having a bout with a sinus infection that started on Sept. 10th. I had to put Barney to sleep on the 9th and cried for two days. Next thing I knew I was on antibiotics for a week and it is still hanging on. I too have the pill that stops the urge to cough, but I still cough and it is scary. No bronchitis yet, but I usually get it. I am using my inhaler daily to help keep it from happening. But, I am due for my flu shot and I too am afraid to get it. This really put me down plus grieving over Barney, I have been a mess.

The weather has not helped. This rain and moldy crap in the air makes me so uncomfortable in my inner ear. Then i get the sinus crap and I am not a happy camper.

Will try and keep in touch more often. I have just not wanted to do anything this past month. It was a real bummer.JB