Pelicans in Illinois?

We were down at Detweiller Park in Peoria, IL this weekend to watch a huge high school cross country meet. As we were standing around after watching our team race, we noticed a huge flock of birds up in the clear blue sky.

First thoughts that were tossed out by people were Sandhill Cranes, Canadian Geese, ducks? Just didn’t look right for any of those. They were flying too low and quietly for Sandhill Cranes and size and flight pattern didn’t fit with geese or ducks. Luckily, I had my binoculars with me and I was able to take a good look. I could have sworn they were pelicans, but we’re in IL and we don’t have White Pelicans here. Looked some more to get a good look at identifying marks. Quickly got out my iPhone iBird Plus App (Mitch Waite Group) and they were definitely White Pelicans. Still puzzled though, since according to the range maps on this app and the Audubon Bird App they were not supposed to be found in this part of IL, even when migrating. But, there was no mistaking the identification.

After some investigating, it turns out that over the last 10 years or so, a few of these pelicans began migrating up and down the Illinois River. Until then, the furthest east they were known to migrate was via a Mississippi River route. Over the years, it’s become a regular event and their numbers have grown. Why their migration route, back and forth from fresh water lakes in Canada and the North Central US to the southern US, Mexico and Central America, has shifted east to the Illinois River is unknown. One theory is that a storm threw them off track. Since migration is a learned event, they learned the wrong route one year and then kept following it. Whatever the cause, it sure was exciting to see these huge, magnificent birds flying overhead on their way south for the winter. I’ll be writing this sighting on my lifetime list.

Photos by Steve

Now for a little fun. If you’re still reading, we’ve discovered the best “off the beaten trail” places to grab a bite to eat on our way back home. Heading about 15 minutes north on Rt 29 from the park, Castaways Bar and Grill in Chillicothe, IL is my recomendation for grabbing a delicious bite to eat. Looks can be deceiving, but it is a family friendly place with an extensive menu and friendly staff. We’ve enjoyed their burgers, green bean french fries and an assortment of sandwiches. We’ve not tried one of their famous “O” burgers, maybe next time. And maybe we’ll see you there after the next XC meet in Peoria.

Plant Breeding In Progress

I was out riding my bike earlier this week at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL, when I came across a few plants and trees with paper bags on them.

Paperbark Hazelnut
Corylus fargesii

Shrubby St. Johnswort
Hypernicum prolificum

I assumed they were either doing pest control or trapping. But, because the Arboretum is great about explaining everything, there were signs that I finally stopped to read.

The bags were actually placed on the female flowers of a selected plant that is to become part of the Arboretum’s own tree and plant hybridization breeding program, or as part of the Chicagoland Grows consortium plant introduction program. The other partners in that program are the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Ornamental Growers Association of Northern Illinois (OGA). These programs aim to produce new hybrids that are better suited to the local midwest growing conditions, or that are more resistant to newly introduced pests. The plants then become available commercially and offer homeowners and landscapers dependable plants. The profits are put back into the program to continue this important work. You can find these cultivars at these retail nurseries.

So in the future, if you see a Shrubby St. Johnswort or Paperbark Hazelnut (which by the way is a really nice looking tree) being sold under the name “Chicagoland Grows”, this plant and tree I saw this week might have been part of the genetic mix that produced it. In the meantime, I am definitely going to check out the cultivars that have already been introduced at my local nursery.

rip pretty little ovenbird

The other morning, right after the kids left for school, I heard an odd, unexpected thud against the front door. I went to investigate, thinking one of the kids had heaved the newspaper up on the porch and hit the door by accident. But, much to my surprise laying on the front step was the most beautiful ovenbird.

What was so confusing at first when I saw him, is that we don’t get ovenbirds around here in the neighborhood, let alone have one fly into the house. A house finch, house sparrow or even a cardinal maybe, but not an ovenbird. He must have hit terribly hard since he was already dead by the time I opened the door. I asked my mom what she thought, and she suggested maybe it was migrating since all her birds have been leaving northern MI the last week or so in preparation for winter. I don’t know for sure what brought him here or confused him so much, but that was a very sad way to start the day. We decided a little burial was appropriate, so he now resides in my garden.

Tomato Season = Fruit Fly Season

As soon as the wonderful garden tomatoes started coming into the house, I knew this day would come. Every year I wait, ready with the towel to start swatting. Those darn fruit flies make me look like a lunatic in the kitchen. Standing by the sink, towel in hand, swatting at invisible specks on the cabinets. And then they start to multiply, and I just can’t swat them away anymore.

So what to do? I did this last year and it worked beautifully. Almost time to get it out again. So, if you find your kitchen a haven for fruit flies, gather these few supplies.

apple vinegar
liquid dish detergent
plastic wrap
small bowl
rubber band

Pour a little cider vinegar into a small bowl
Add just a drop of liquid dish detergent (something to do with breaking the surface tension, trapping the bugs)
Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and fasten to dish with a rubber band.

Cut a few slits in the plastic wrap so the flies can crawl in.

They can crawl in, but can’t get out!

Garden Swag

The other day I decided it was time to get the first of the ripe roma tomatoes packed up for winter. One of my boys came out with me to help, and needless to say he was impressed with the haul we got. So, in teen-age terms, we had some “garden swag”. It was fun watching him search around for the ripe tomatoes, stumble upon a giant zucchini bat, and then realize that there was a whole pile of cucumbers hidden in the vines and tangled in the tomato plants.

I didn’t really have enough roma tomatoes to bother getting my canning equipment out, so I decided to freeze them. It’s really pretty simple and, as with most things, it’s best used for cooking since some of the texture will be lost during the freeze thaw process. I looked around for instructions and settled on some great information from the UNL Extension and fellow blogger, Tomato Dirt.

Here’s what I did…

Pick nice ripe tomatoes that are blemish-free. Wash under running water and trim off the stem end. I also made a small cut in the bottom to help later with peeling. I had decided to freeze them peeled since the skins are just too tough in soups, etc.

To easily peel tomatoes, place the washed, prepared tomatoes into boiling water for about 1 minute. You’ll notice that the peels start to split.

Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon.

And plunge immediately into an ice-water bath for about a minute or so. The skins will then pop right off.

Then, you can freeze them whole, or chop coarsely. I chose to chop them. In the process, I also took out many of the seeds, since it’s really the tomato “meat” that I want for winter cooking. I packed the chopped tomatoes into freezer ziplock backs, squeezing as much air out of the bag as I can. If you have a vacuum sealer, that’d be even better. Off to the freezer they go. They’ll be fine to use anytime this winter.

What are canning or freezing this year?

Peek-A-Boo

Peek-

A-Boo

photos by Peggy

Sunday Feature: Holes in the Mountain Ash

**Today’s post is from guest blogger, Peggy**

For almost 10 yrs, the 2 mountain ashes in our yard has had a woodpecker, or something similar, making quite an interesting pattern of peck marks in it. Hard as we’ve tried, we’ve not been able to spy the culprit. The trees were quite small when the holes started showing up, so we thought for sure they’d be dead soon. But year after year they grew, and the holes kept coming. There were often bees or wasps around, so we thought maybe it was them somehow. I finally identified those as Bald-Faced Wasps, but they just don’t make holes in trees. It really looked like some kind of woodpecker, but how could they be so secretive for so many years?

Well, finally, a few days ago, he was there. A yellow-bellied sapsucker! He was so intent on his work, I was able to get right up close and snap a few photos. And I was so intent on taking these pictures, I actually got stung by one of those darn wasps!

Glowing Tomatoes

The tomatoes are ready for picking in bulk this weekend. I been picking as needed for eating; BLT’s, tomato mozzarella salad, grilled burgers, greek salads, tomatoes au gratin, and the list goes on. Do you have a favorite fresh tomato recipe?
But this weekend, I have the time to harvest them for winter storage. In the meantime, the sun was just perfect a few days ago for a few shots with my new camera, a Canon Powershot G15.

…and what are tomatoes without a little basil?

(BTW, as soon as I finished taking these pictures, I promptly pinched off the basil flower stalk to keep the plant from bolting)

Yellow Cucumbers

While I’ve been getting a nice number of cucumbers this year, some of them have been oddly yellow and quite bland tasting. My first thought is that I left them on the vine too long, but these oddballs started out yellow, and stayed yellow.

I found some interesting ideas as to why this might be happening.

Not enough sun– very possible. I have them growing on a cucumber trellis that shares space with a large zucchini plant. Possibly some of the leaves are casting too many shadows onto the new cucumbers. For a variety of reasons, I think I should separate the squash and cucumber plants next year.
Too much water– less likely since other cucumbers are nice and green on the same vines.
Over-ripe– not likely. They seem to start out yellow and stay yellow.
Cross-pollinating with summer squash–interesting idea. Could be possible since I have squash in the same garden. Zucchini is right next to it and summer squash a few feet away. Not sure how I could tell if this is the case, but it is part of the reason to move the squash to a new, larger space next year.

A Little Civic Duty

While being called for jury duty has nothing to do with gardening, it does call for a little planning ahead since everything will be a bit more hectic around the house. We are settling into one of the hottest weeks of the summer, following a pretty rain-free few weeks. So this weekend, I spent some time being sure everything was ready to be a little less attended to, and even possibly somewhat ignored, depending on how the jury duty went.

Things on my check list included:

Being sure my pots where all watered and the plants in them dead-headed.
Check the vegetable plants for ripe vegetables and fruit. Make note of what might need picking in the next couple of days.
Noticed rhubarb was sprouting seed pods, so got those cut off. Also checked to be sure nothing else was in dire need of dead-heading
Be sure in ground sprinkler was set to run.
Watered the first year shrubs in the garden
I recently did a thorough watering of the larger trees and shrubs, so I felt comfortable not soaking them this weekend.

This felt a bit like getting ready for vacation. The garden always needs to be prepped before you head out of town. Otherwise, you never know what you’ll come back too. Even with that prepping, Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate and “things happen”. Just part of the fun. What is part of your garden vacation planning?

As I wait at the judicial center, I am very impressed with the jury pool waiting area. While sitting and waiting to be potentially called for a case, we can look out over the county government complex’s drainage area that doubles as a well-planned wetlands area. I’ve been able to watch Barn Swallows flying gracefully about, as well as a Great Blue Heron hunting for food, a Great Egret fly right past the window, a pair of Mute Swans (unfortunately no babies right now) and Red-Winged Blackbirds sitting in the cattails. If I had binoculars, I might be able to see more, but that might require some unnecessary explaining as to why I had binoculars at the courthouse 🙂

Author: Stephi