Category: Nature

Welcoming Pollinators to the Garden

Every year I wonder if any pollinator friends will visit my gardens.  I usually can count on the bees arriving early, but how about butterflies, hummingbirds and hummingbird moths? I've tried to plant mostly pollinator friendly flowers and over the years I've seen a steady improvement in the number of pollinators in my yard.  Bee … Continue reading Welcoming Pollinators to the Garden

Spring Leeks (aka Ramps)

This past spring while wandering my Door County, Wisconsin woods, the ground was covered with beautiful, light green leaves. I knew it wasn't trout lilies, since the leaves weren't mottled, but I also knew it looked familiar.  Without a flower, I wasn't sure what this plentiful plant was.  I sent a photo to my expert … Continue reading Spring Leeks (aka Ramps)

Checking On the Bird’s Nests

I was able to get back up to our cabin in Door County sooner than I thought and checked on the Black-capped Chickadees nest in our nest boxes.   In my previous post, Who's In My Nest Boxes, I discovered that chickadees had laid their eggs in the boxes intended for bluebirds.  In the first … Continue reading Checking On the Bird’s Nests

Who’s in My Nestboxes?

A few weeks ago I wrote about putting up two bluebird nestboxes at our Wisconsin cabin in "Putting Up Eastern Bluebird Nestboxes".  I couldn't wait to come back and see who might have moved in! We came back up two weeks later and checked out the boxes. The first one clearly had a new resident, … Continue reading Who’s in My Nestboxes?

Putting Up Eastern Bluebird Nest Boxes

I've always wanted to attract bluebirds with bluebird houses, but my backyard is not the right habitat.  I'm pretty sure any bluebird nest box I put up would only be filled by house sparrows 🙁  But, our cabin in Wisconsin has a long driveway that seems like the right kind of habitat.  I was inspired … Continue reading Putting Up Eastern Bluebird Nest Boxes

Anticipation (and a Stray Migrating Dragonfly)

Spring is such an interesting time of year in the garden.  What survived the winter?  When will the spring blooms begin?  It seems every year is different in how and when the growing season unfolds.  I thought it was going to be an early spring, and then we had quite a cold snap and slowed … Continue reading Anticipation (and a Stray Migrating Dragonfly)

Enjoying a Glorious Spring Weekend

We have had a crazy spring to say the least!  Temperatures all over the place, snow, rain, sleet, you name it we've had it.  But this weekend was truly a glorious one and made us forget all the bad stuff Mother Nature has thrown at us the last few weeks (or maybe months).  In between … Continue reading Enjoying a Glorious Spring Weekend

Happy New Year 2016

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2016!  I truly appreciate all who have visited my blog this year.  Here's a look back at some of my most popular posts of 2015!   1.   Taming My Tomatoes With A Florida Weave:  My tomatoes were a mess, so I tried something new to try and keep … Continue reading Happy New Year 2016

The Feeders Are Ready for Winter

I don't really feed the birds over the summer because there's plenty of natural food around for them.  But as the plants die back, seeds become scarcer and the cold sets in, I get the feeders out.  I have to admit, I'm pretty sloppy when I put things away, so they really needed cleaning and checking … Continue reading The Feeders Are Ready for Winter