Follow
Share
Read More
Find Care & Housing
1 2 3 4 5
send - How are the blue jays? A Garden Rain Drum sounds interesting,

cw - Love frogs!!! I'm glad you saved that little one. Love hostas too.

Wondering what to do with my pots of grass for the kitty that have lasted all summer. I think I'll leave them be and replace them next spring. She is very attached to them and doesn't like me doing anything to them except water them.
(1)
Report

CWillie,
Thank you for that, I enjoyed looking up about the tree frogs.
(1)
Report

Just googled a Garden Rain Drum on Amazon.
It makes music as the rain drops fall.
So cool.

The rain may be coming soon.
(1)
Report

The season is turning to fall so I was out today tidying the garden and weeding out some perennials that have been a little too aggressive (mostly echinacea). I was about to dig up a hosta that had gotten too big when I spotted a tiny green frog nestled among the leaves - according to google likely a gray tree frog. I'm so thrilled, I've never spotted one before! We had some very high winds a couple of days ago, I wonder if the little creature was knocked out of it's perch?
(3)
Report

There is a lot to learn about the Blue Jays!

Hoping the neighbors will step up to protect the birds from harm when the
Utility Conversion Project starts, any day now. They will be using heavy equipment to dig 6 ft. trenches that will greatly harm the bird's habitat.

I am expecting delays in the construction because of the government's protections
for the birds. I never wanted to be a nature activist, but I will if it becomes necessary.

If I am going to go full on and advocate for these birds, maybe I should name them?

Any advice would be welcome.
(2)
Report

Send, it must be common in the south western United States for the female and male birds to look alike.

We have mourning doves that nest on our back patio and the only way I can tell which is which is the dad bird sits on the nest during daylight and the momma sits overnight.

Blue birds are so beautiful. They'll keep nesting at the sendspa for BB. :-)
(1)
Report

The only notable difference between the male and female Blue Jay is size.
This species is different than most other bird species - the blue jays look alike!

But then, we live in Southern California, so our birds are going to be the exception, imo.

I ran the hose from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. dripping through a bush to a shallow tray on the ground. This is going to cost me. But the Jays are regularly drinking there. When the water is turned off, there is some water in the tray overnight.
I may try a circular sprinkler to keep the water moving, but they can get an easy bath with the water dripping from the bush.

I hope this bird family stays safe!
They are so very busy about 10:00 a.m.
(1)
Report

send - hope the baby blue jays stay safe

cw - not just for gardening! I still have a "lemon" 🍋 kitchen timer for cooking. In a similar vein, the reminder list on my iphone gets longer and longer.
(1)
Report

I ran the sprinkler under my trees for over an hour this morning before I remembered. Always. set. a. timer 🙄
(2)
Report

Cwilllie, I have been asking the same thing myself!

The same as with many bird species, I think you tell them apart because the male is always brightly colored, and the female has very little bright blue coloring at all.
This one female looks plain and haggard (for now), but the male is very actively caring for the family. Busy birds, I will call them.
But I am just guessing. Lots of finding out going on since 3 days ago, I thought there was just one blue Jay, until I thought what is it doing so busy, so loud, so friendly, and keeping so close-by?

Maybe it's like humans. You can tell the one who is being well taken care of, often by the sacrificing wife. Gladly, it is not always this way, and the wife takes great care of herself as well, so the couple looks and feels great! Hmmm, I think that I might have offended everybody not identifying with this description. Maybe there are really bright looking female birds too. I dunno.

I read that the fledglings stay on the ground learning to fly after 3 weeks. There is no place for them to do that except in the street. Nature is planned ahead by instinct, not my business to say they could have picked a better place. But I really needed this new development, as I love the birdies.
(0)
Report

My only question is how can you tell the male from the female, they both look alike to me 🤔
(1)
Report

Newly hatched Blue Jays just 25 ft. from my window, I can watch them!

I provided a water source and the male drank immediately.

Making space in my life to observe, enjoy.

[So, is this post more positive than the first Blue Jay announcement?]
(3)
Report

Blue Jays have moved into neighbor's tree, located in a high traffic area.
Only 5 ft. from one neighbor's front door.

There are newly hatched baby-jays, yesterday.
Parent's have mouths hanging open @ 100 degrees F, very hot this week.

A happy, but unsafe occasion.
(3)
Report

Little late to respond here about monarchs, but I just noticed a swarm of tiny monarch caterpillars on one of the milkweeds in the rock garden. They must have been at it for a while, because all the lower leaves are gone. They seem to be working their way from bottom to top. I live in a condo, but we're able to plant and take care of plantings in established garden beds. A previous owner had created a lovely garden on a rock mound in the front of my unit, with lots of perennials and a few shrubs. They had moved to another unit some years earlier and had told the condo association they could no longer maintain the rock garden. It was in pretty rough shape when we moved here, but over the years I've tried to restore it. The milkweed showed up several years ago, and now I have to fight to keep it from spreading and taking over, but I leave plenty for the monarchs.
(3)
Report

R would be there gleaning what he could. He hates seeing stuff go to waste and is very good at making use of old materials.

It's a real shame to see useful things going to the dump especially lumber.
(2)
Report

The house up the street in dismantling their above ground pool and deck and just throwing everything in a dumpster so I scored a piece of lattice, one of the workers even carried it home for me😄. It's pretty beat up but hopefully I can use it to make my compost pile look prettier so my neighbour has one less reason for giving me the stink eye. Wish I could cull through all the rest, there's a lot of usable lumber just going to waste.
(3)
Report

cw - Yay!!! 🦋
(0)
Report

Years after allowing common milkweed to remain in my flower bed I finally have a monarch caterpillar 🐛
Yay!🦋
(7)
Report

Stepped out the back door this afternoon to see my container cucumber looking sad and limp, it was dry as a bone 😲, hopefully I caught it in time! On the plus side while watering I discovered my green and yellow beans have gifted me a small handful for my supper.
(3)
Report

Daisy, I hear you.

I can make it rain by washing my truck :-/
(0)
Report

I am doing a happy dance, I have 2 ginger plants coming up!

I can't tell how many I have planted over the years, only to be disappointed by no growth, now 2!!!! Yahoo!
(2)
Report

Chance of rain, just to clarify.
(1)
Report

40 percent charain later, so if water my plants it will rain, if I don't , I bet it won't rain. 🤔
(2)
Report

Willie, I've heard farmers saying that corn can grow so fast , that you can hear it grow. Google says it's true, but I've never heard it.
(1)
Report

I bumped into an old neighbour when I was out walking the other day and he said his corn grew 6" over night during the heat wave, his field is expected to be waist high by the first of July. I think most farmers here are on track this year despite the cool, wet spring; the first cut of hay is done and I've noticed the winter wheat is already starting to turn colour.
(3)
Report

Cwillie, hopefully next year you get at least 2, but you will probably get lots more!

Things are drying up here, been able to get out and at least enjoy what I did get planted, and better weather.
Farmers are out, the corn is not going to be " knee high, by the fourth of July" this year.

And I've been walking more, much more active, started to feel a bit blubbery, after sitting to much with hubs! All feels really nice!!
(0)
Report

After years of losing everything to bugs, birds, squirrels and chipmunks I finally have a bowl of my own strawberries to eat🍓 Unfortunately one bowl will probably be all I get 😆
(5)
Report

Gardening in fact can be very relaxing. I mix artificial plants with real - they are getting so advanced now some are so hard to tell the difference and look fantastic all year round. It cuts the gardening chores as well making them manageable. I designed my garden and its very relaxing with whites blues and purples... and an archway feature with an oldie woldie little boy/water feature, Its so wonderful to watch at night with garden lights (battery ones). Even if you do not have a garden a nice design on window sill could look amazing. Its in everyones capabilities to make a calm oasis. Next to a bench maybe some real relaxing lavender. A lady in work turned her garden into a vegetable and fruit garden and brough some in They were amazing looking and larger than in the shops and didnt have all sorts of nonsense sprayed onto them. even herbs on the kitchen window - that you can use while cooking.The skys the limit' - :-)
(2)
Report

Over on the gardening reddit people often post pictures of robust plants growing in places like cracks in the pavement or in eavestroughs or poking up through sewer grates, and they lament that their plants aren't half as nice even with all the coddling they give them. Plants just doing what plants want to do.
(2)
Report

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you’re a great gardener. That plant really should have tried harder.
(7)
Report

1 2 3 4 5
Start a Discussion
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter