bird bath

DIY backyard flower and plant garden

/ Roadtirementvintage / 2 Comments

This year was the time for our “Do It Ourself” flower and plant garden. Our starting point was deciding what existing plants would be kept and what new types would be planted how and where.

This was the first area improved.

The first improvement was a black border installed around a new area with washed river rock placed. An existing rose bush, a couple of Hostas and some Asiatic lilies remained to receive their new stone bed. Some annuals in pots fit in well after the stone was put in place.

Greenery in lower right are perennials living on and around what is left of a large stump.

Next came the clean up of the weeds and unwanted plants to be replaced with a layer of relatively course topsoil. Then landscaping rocks and flowers planted in pots. Existing chives and some sage was left as is. A large bird bath was placed and immediately became a favorite water park for a plethora of birds.

It has been worth waiting four years for this beautiful peony to bloom

Potted flowers on antique glass bricks

Herbs and bird fountain on low shelf

Twin solar powered water fountains are enjoyed by many birds daily!

We are really enjoying the growth of many of our plantings. A border ring around a large Maple tree trunk is doing pretty well with the growth of wild flowers after their first year of growth. The rose bush mentioned has put on several beautiful roses. The bulbs produced enough lilies for several vases worth of fresh flowers for inside our home. Do it yourself gardening is a wonderful way to enjoy your piece of the great outdoors.

Nests? We don’t need no stinking nests

/ Roadtirementvintage / 20 Comments

It’s really neat to see a breeding pair of birds together. Yesterday we saw a pair of Cowbirds. There is a very interesting way that Cowbirds “raise” their young.

Male on the left, female on the right

The Brown-headed Cowbird is known as a “Brood Parasite” The Brown-headed Cowbirds do not make nests. Females put all energy into egg production, up to 3 dozen a season. Yes, you guessed it, the females lay their eggs in other birds nests. The eggs hatch before the host nest eggs do, giving the Cowbird young a head start. Some birds recognize these imposters and pitch the trespassers out of their nests. Some people consider Cowbirds a nuisance bird, as they are responsible for the destruction many songbird eggs.

Having spotted this pair, we can now surmise that somewhere nearby another unsuspecting bird family is wondering why that one chick is so much larger than the rest of their brood.

Additions to our backyard bird sanctuary

/ Roadtirementvintage / 12 Comments

Sher spotted some small but pretty bird baths in a local store’s ad flyer. We decided that they would be a nice addition to our backyard. We thought that we’d use one of the glass receptacles as a true water filled bird bath. The second, however, for now we put bird feed in the second one as a shelf feeder.

Glass bowl bird bath

2nd bird bath as a shelf feeder

 

 

 

 

 

We have been thrilled with the number of different species of birds that have been gracious enough to visit our backyard.

A brash Blue Jay

Chipping Sparrow in the new feeder

Two Starlings enjoying the suet

We have so enjoyed sitting in our backyard watching the birds coming and going from the bird feeders, now scattered across our backyard. We will keep the bird and critter photos coming as we capture them.