Fall Bird Watching Is Here

Welcome back.  Time is going by quickly and we are once again approaching the official beginning to the bird watching season.  By that I mean that Project FeederWatch begins November 14th.  For those of you not familiar, Project FeederWatch is a citizen science project that involves identifying and counting birds 2 days per week through early April.

Project FeederWatch is operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada.  Since 2016, Project FeederWatch has also been sponsored by Wild Bird Unlimited.  

From the Project FeederWatch website:  What sets FeederWatch apart from other monitoring programs is the detailed picture that FeederWatch data provide about weekly changes in bird distribution and abundance across the United States and Canada. Importantly, FeederWatch data tell us where birds are as well as where they are not. This crucial information enables scientists to piece together the most accurate population maps.

For more information, I am sharing the following video:

This is a great family activity, and given the current pandemic, it will be a safe activity for families this Fall and Winter.  So join today to ensure a Winter of enjoyment with your family.

This Fall we have been enjoying young Cardinals and Blue Jays in our yard.  We normally don't have these birds nesting right in our yard. We do typically have house sparrows and finches nesting, along with tree swallows and robins.  Our yard is only an acre and a quarter, however, we are surrounded by farm fields and we do have trees bordering our yard.  We also have abundant fruit, shrubbery, and a pond.  So we really do have an ideal yard to promote bird nesting.

Following are some photos to perhaps encourage you to enjoy bird watching if you don't already.  It is a great hobby and is very relaxing as well.

Juvenile Female Cardinal

Juvenile Male Cardinal

Male and Female Juvenile Cardinals

Juvenile Blue Jay

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada each have a live bird cam.  For you enjoyment I have included the links below.  They are very enjoyable to watch, and the geographic locations provide a wide variety in bird species, since the Cornell cam is in Central NY State, the Birds Canada cam is located in Ontario, Canada.

Cornell Lab Bird Cam

Birds Canada Bird Cam

Thanks as always for visiting.

The Fall Garden - Cold Hardy Vegetables

Welcome back.  In my last post which covered the garden cleanup process, I mentioned that I had some cold hardy vegetables remaining even though in general the growing season is over.  So with proper planning you can continue growing some vegetables in October and even into early November.

Shown above is Swiss Chard.  This is extremely hardy second only to kale.  Just occasional trimming is all that it needs nd it will last throughout October.  I have already had temperatures down to 25 degrees and it remains in great condition.  Swiss Chard is very healthy as it is loaded with anti-oxidants.

Next is kale, which is also extremely hardy and is amazingly resistant to cold.  I have curly and regular kale this year and look forward to using it this Fall.  Kale makes a great addition to soups, stir fry, salads and more.

Shown above is lettuce, which is somewhat cold hardy but not to the level of kale or Swiss Chard.  I planted my last batch of lettuce in late August and it is doing quite well.  I have some Iceberg and several types of Romaine.  The plants probably would benefit from a plastic cover or cold frame glass panel to increase warmth;  they would grow faster.  I may try that.  Stay tuned.

Another cold hardy veggie is the leek, shown here next to another bed of lettuce.  I grow these every year, starting them from seed in March.  They grow slowly so they continue to grow into October.  They actually get sweeter with frost, so they are one vegetable that actually gets better as the cold weather sets in.  Leeks are also good in stir fry and soups.

Finally, the carrots are doing well as they also tolerate the cold.  This year I grew Kaleidoscope Blend from Burpee seeds, a multi-color variety.  I am looking forward to using these soon.

Thanks for reading as always.  In my next post I will talk about planting flower bulbs, a new topic for me.  In future posts, I will transition into bird watching as that season is fast approaching.  Project FeederWatch begins on November 14th.

Fall Garden Cleanup

Welcome back.  It's hard to believe but the growing season is officially over, at least for most vegetables here in Central New York.  This Summer went by quickly and Fall is definitely in the air.  We have had multiple killing frosts, with the low temperature so far being 25 degrees on September 21st (actually still Summer).

The Fall garden cleanup process is a daunting task but it goes fairly quickly once you decide to tackle it.  By this time of year, we often let the garden go and it gets overgrown with weeds and remaining vegetation.  It is important to "clean house" to get the garden ready for Spring planting.  Leaving the mess until Spring will most likely discourage you from planting next season.

Not only will the garden look better, but it will also allow a chance for the soil to be enhanced by some methods I will describe in future posts.

As you can see, these photos show that a great deal of work needs to be done to get the gardens into shape.  The upper garden (top photo) shows that where the potatoes were dug was already in good shape.  The following photos show the gardens after the cleanup process and one of the cartful of garden debris indicating how much vegetation remains at the end of the growing season.

As you can see, there are some veggies remaining in the gardens that are cold hardy.  In my next post, I will cover which vegetables remain and also garden soil enhancement.  Thanks for reading.