The Great Backyard Bird Count is Here - Starts Friday February 16th!

Welcome back and thanks for following my blog.  This just a quick reminder of the big weekend.

Yes, the big weekend is here, the Great Backyard Bird Count!

So sharpen your pencils, dust off the binoculars, gather the family, and enjoy one of the best citizen science projects.

For more information, see the featured post (my 2/3/18 post) in the right hand margin of this post.  Also, I have included another how to video:

So enjoy; following are some photos similar to those you could capture this coming weekend:

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Dark-Eyed Junco

Ice - Covered Blue Jays.

Project FeederWatch Photos/Great Backyard Bird Count/eBird

Welcome back and as always, thanks for visiting.  If you enjoy bird watching, you're in luck.  This post is all about birds!!

Project FeederWatch:

It's hard to believe, but  Project FeederWatch is over half way through as it began November 11, 2017 and it concludes on April 13, 2018.  As always, I have enjoyed observing and counting birds every week and entering the data on the website.  I have captured some nice photos which I will save for the end of this post.

There is still time to participate in this project which is a North American only winter time project.  Although it takes several weeks for your instructional kit to arrive, you can start counting birds right away, and record your data once the kit arrives and your membership ID is activated.

Great Backyard Bird Count:

Another great opportunity to participate in bird research is coming in a few weeks.  The annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)will take place this year from February 16th to 19th (4 days).   The GBBC was started in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society and is a worldwide event.  I  have been participating in this activity for quite a few years;  it is very enjoyable, provides invaluable data, and is a great family activity.   

Here are some simple instructions to get started from the GBBC website:

1. Create a free GBBC account if you have never participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count or any other Cornell Lab citizen-science project, or have not participated in the GBBC since 2013.  If you already created an account for the GBBC in the past, or if you’re already registered with eBird or another Cornell Lab citizen-science project, you can use your existing user name and password.

2. Count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the GBBC.  You can count for longer than that if you wish! Count birds in as many places and on as many days as you like - one day, two days, or all four days.  Submit a separate checklist for each new day, for each new location, or for the same location if you counted at a different time of day.  Estimate the number of individuals of each species you saw during your count period.

3. Enter your results on the GBBC website by clicking the “Submit Observations” tab on the home page.  You may also download the free eBird mobile app to enter data on a mobile device.  If you already participate in the eBird citizen-science project, please use eBird to submit your sightings during the GBBC. Your checklists will count toward the GBBC.

eBird:

If your wondering about eBird, this is a worldwide ongoing count which allows participants to submit bird counts, observations, photos, and even sound recordings.  This global effort tracks the movements of bird species and helps scientists to determine conservation strategies.  The data and graphics this project generates is fascinating.  It can be used on a PC or mobile device.  Following is a great video about eBird:

Are you a novice and concerned that you may not be able to identify birds at your feeder?   Not to worry, the GBBC website also has a wealth of tools to use if you need help identifying birds.  For example, here is a nice article from Audubon to help you identify suet loving birds.

Now, for your enjoyment, are some of my photos from the last several weeks:

House Sparrows and Dark Eyed Junco

Male Northern Cardinal

Female Northern Cardinal

Blue Jay

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Until next time.

Seed Catalogs Are Arriving/Bird Photos

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all.

Since Christmas Day, the weather has tuned brutally cold with temperatures not getting anywhere near the freezing mark.  This pattern is supposed to continue throughout this weekend.  Next week it is looking like a return to normal January temperatures.

To date I have received four seed catalogs.  Although some may think what's the point, when we are in the middle of a cold snap in early January.  I look at it as inspiration and looking forward to the coming Spring and Summer.  It's fun to sit back and browse the catalogs and decide what to grow this coming season.  There are always new varieties to try and trusted and true ones to return to.

For the catalogs I have received, I will give a brief overview of each and highlight one new vegetable variety from each.  The seed companies always pride themselves on their new varieties each season.



Park Seed

The Park Seed Company got its start n 1868, and thus is one of this country's oldest mail order seed companies.  I remember my Mom getting their catalogs back in the 1970s and ordering from them.  Recently, I have been ordering their heirloom tomato Rainbow Heirloom Blend for at least 3 or 4 years.  For me it is one of the best heirloom tomato seed mixtures I have found.

New this year from Park Seed is the Park Legacy tomato:

Park Legacy Tomato

From the Park Seed website:

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Park Seed Company (2018), we are proud to introduce this exceptional main-season tomato.  Bursting with true vine-ripened flavor, this well-adapted variety offers round, firm 10-12 ounce globes. 

Boasting a fantastic disease resistance package, Park's Legacy is resistant to, or tolerant of, the following tomato diseases: Fusarium Wilt race 3, Nematodes, and Tobacco Spotted Wilt Virus.


Jung Seed

The J. W. Jung Seed Company was started in 1907.  The company also publishes quite a few other seed catalogs including Totally Tomatoes  and R. H. Shumway.  I have ordered from them in the past and view them as a good company with good prices.

New from Jung Seed in 2018 is the Jersey Devil Tomato:

Jersey Devil Tomato

From the Jung Seed website:

Uniquely shaped fruits look more like Italian peppers, than tomatoes.  Plants are a little later at setting fruits, but once they get going the yields are amazing.  Elongated fruits average 4 to 6 inches in length and are very meaty with few seeds.  The robust, sweet flavor is ideal for making sauces and salsas.  Indeterminate vines.

Seeds 'N Such

This is a new catalog for me this year.  It seems each year I receive several new ones as the companies obviously share mailing lists.  This is a fairly new company formed in 2013.  Looking at their catalog, I am impressed  both in the selection of varieties and how the catalog is organized.  For example, in the tomato pages they have an entire page of tomatoes resistant to blight.  They have heirloom hybrids, grafted tomato root stock, and much much more.   For those of you interested in grafting, see my post from March 3, 2014.

New from Seeds 'N Such is the German Pink heirloom tomato:

German Pink Heirloom

In this case new means new to this catalog, as this is one of the first heirlooms that started the heirloom craze.

From the Seeds 'N Such website:

One of the two German heirlooms introduced into America in 1883 that later started the heirloom- laden ‘Seed Savers Exchange’ company.  Deep pink, beefsteak sized, 10 to 20 ounce fruits are meaty, nearly seedless and fairly smooth, with lots of rich, sweet flavor.  Ideal for slicing, juicing, canning or freezing.  Potato leaved, indeterminate plants.

The Maine Potato Lady

This a specialized catalog as the name implies.  The 2018 catalog is their twelfth annual seed catalog.  I have been ordering from them for several years.  They sell not only potatoes and sweet potatoes, but onions and shallots, even leek and onion plants, as well as garlic and winter cover crops. 

They have a great selection of fingerling varieties, which are very popular among home gardeners and chefs alike.  Instead of featuring a new variety, I will feature a fingerling I grew a few years ago that I was very impressed with, the Laratte fingerling:

Laratte Fingerling

From the Maine Potato Lady website:

From France comes this special fingerling.  In appearance Laratte is similar to Banana, though a fine net to the tan skin and a nutty flavor to the dark yellow flesh set it apart.  Smooth and firm texture. The babies (½"-1") truly melt in your mouth.  Fine chefs love this gourmet morsel, and the demand is high.  Matures about ten days later than Banana.  Resistant to scab and viruses. White flowers top medium-sized plants.

Simply Photos - Project FeederWatch:

This is already the ninth week of Project FeederWatch.  Since the cold weather has hit, the bird counts have increased both in number of species and total birds.  To date I have observed a total of twelve species.  As always I have enjoyed it and would encourage you to participate.  

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

White-Throated Sparrow

Blue Jays

Dark-Eyed Junco

Our Pet Guinea Hen

Thanks for visiting as always.  Finally, a sunrise photo from January 5, 2018.  Happy New Year!

January Sunrise

Simply Photos - Project Feederwatch and Fall Garden Cleanup

Welcome back.  It's hard to believe that this coming weekend will be the 6th week of Project FeederWatch .  I have enjoyed it as always, although the lack of snowfall (prior to today) has limited the birds so far that I have observed.  With today's snowfall and onset of winter conditions, I have already noticed an increase in the number of bird species visiting my feeders.

In this post I will share a few photos I have captured thus far.  It's a challenge to get good photos, as it requires a great deal of patience at times.   As I mentioned above, I have observed a limited amount of species to date.

In case you missed my last post regarding project FeederWatch, it can be viewed in the right hand margin of this post as a "Featured Post".  That post will give you all the specifics you would need if your want to participate in this great project.

Hungry Blue Jay

Dark-Eyed Junco

House Sparrows

Fall Garden Cleanup

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Even though Winter is settling in, I am sharing a few photos and information from the fall garden cleanup process during Late September and October.

It is important to care for your garden in the Fall, so that in the Spring it will be easier to get it ready for planting.  It will also help to ensure that next year's garden will be a success.

The main chore in the fall is obviously to remove the remaining plants and to till the soil.

It is good to leave a few decomposing plants to till into the soil as the organic matter is generally good for the garden with one notable exception.  If you had plants affected by blight, it is recommended to dispose of those plants completely to help prevent it's return next season.  For more information about early and late blight, refer to this post from 2014.

Another important aspect is to amend the soil.  If you compost kitchen scraps and other organic matter, that is excellent to use to enhance your soil,  Since I don't currently compost, I use chopped leaves and grass clippings, which also add nutrients and character to the soil.  As a rule, organic matter not only adds nutrients, but also improves the soil consistency in a way that allows it to retain moisture better and to prevent it from hardening in harsh conditions during the summer.

Lower and Upper Gardens Ready for Winter

Upper Garden

Fading Sunflowers

Farewell To Fall

In my next post, a look at some new seed catalogs that already are arriving for 2018!

Project FeederWatch Begins This Saturday, November 11th!!

Welcome back.  As time continues to fly by, we find ourselves in November.  I always look forward to November for several reasons.  First, the end of the gardening season signals the beginning of the winter bird watching season.  Even though I love gardening and summer, it is refreshing to get a break from all of the other summer chores.  So my interests shift from gardening to bird watching, and of course the anticipation of the coming holidays.

As the blog title implies, Project FeederWatch is again upon us.

Do you-already enjoy watching birds, or maybe you want to learn about this fascinating hobby?  Are you looking for a great activity (low cost) that involves the whole family?  Then Project FeederWatch is for you.

How do you begin?  Below are some simple instructions to get you started and even a video to watch:

1. Sign up – If you have not yet signed up, join today! During the season, it takes a few weeks from when you sign up for your kit to arrive with your ID number and for your ID number to be activated in Your Data.
2. Select your count site – Choose a portion of your yard that is easy to monitor, typically an area with feeders that is visible from one vantage point.
3. Choose your count days – Select two consecutive days as often as once a week (less often is fine). Leave at least five days when you do not count between each of your two-day counts.
4. How to count – Watch your feeders as much or a little as you want over your selected count days. Record the maximum number of each species visible at any one time during your two-day count. Keep one tally across both days. Do not add your counts together!
5. What to count – Please count
   • all of the individuals of each species in view at any one time
   • birds attracted to food or water you provided
   • birds attracted to fruits or ornamental plantings
   • hawks and other predatory birds that are attracted by the birds at your feeders
   But do not count
   • birds that simply fly over the count site, such as Canada Geese or Sandhill Cranes.
   • birds seen on non-count days
6. Report your counts – Submit counts through the Your Data section of our website.

So sign up today as the project starts on November 11th and runs through April 13, 2018.  The website not only has information regarding how to participate, but also offers a wealth of other information including how to feed birds, feeder location, bird identification, bird diseases, a blog, bird cams, and information on the photo contests and prizes involved.

The instructions above indicate it can take several weeks for your kit to arrive with your ID number.  Not to worry,  You can record your counts on paper until your ID arrives, then catch up online with the data entry. 

Finally, I leave you with a photo I took last winter.  Enjoy.

Extending The Growing Season Over Winter/Harvest Photos/Project FeederWatch

Welcome back.  Thanks as always for visiting.

In this post I will talk about several techniques that can be used to extend the growing season, even to the point of growing during the winter.  Although the latter may seem impossible, I will explain.

Succession Planting:

I have used this method for a long time now.  This technique is fairly simple and involves multiple plantings (sometimes overlapping) during the growing season to ensure a continuous harvest from Spring to Fall.  This works best for vegetables with short maturation times, such as lettuce, spinach, and radishes, even squash and cucumbers..

For example, if you want a continuous supply of lettuce throughout the summer, consider planting 3 times during the season,  the first would be in late April or early May, followed by a second planting in mid June.  Finally, a third planting in mid to late August will ensure a Fall crop.  Typically, lettuce will do the best in cooler weather, so the first and third plantings will probably do the best.  The use of shade cloth in hot weather will enhance the lettuce production as it filters a percentage of sunlight from reaching the plants.

This technique works well for almost any vegetable with a maturation time of 4 to 6 weeks

Winter Growing (Winter Harvest) :

This is a technique used to actually grow vegetables during the winter.  This is a fairly advanced method but can be accomplished by the home gardener.  This technique involves the use of row tunnels (either low or high) to protect the plants during the winter.  A wide variety of veggies can be grown including lettuce, spinach, chard, kale, radishes, and carrots.


Overwintered Crops (Spring Harvest):

This method involves over wintering plants for an early Spring harvest.  This can be used for vegetables including kale and spinach.


Refer to this Winter Growing Guide from Johnny's Selected Seeds for detailed information on all of the above topics.  In the Northeast where the growing season is relatively short, these methods can be useful for the serious gardener.


Season in Review/Harvest Photos:

Unfortunately, this year's growing season has cone to an end (unless you are adventurous and try some winter gardening techniques), as we had our first killing frost on October 16th.  The gardening season always goes by fast, leaving us with the long winter to reflect on our gardening.

Overall, I was very satisfied with the gardens this year, despite the very difficult conditions in May and early June.  The excessive rainfall and cool temperatures made it very challenging to get the garden underway.  The summer was also quite wet but warm enough for optimum growing conditions.

This year's winner was definitely the cucumbers, the best crop I've ever had (see my post of 9/22/17).  They must like warm, wet conditions and rotted manure.

The loser was the potatoes, which I replanted three times as they kept rotting before sprouting (see my post of 7/4/17).  I finally did end up with some good plants, but it was too late in the season for them to produce potatoes of decent size.

Tomato Harvest

Leeks

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Last of the Heirloom Tomatoes

Sunflower Glory

Hibiscus in a New Flower Bed

Project FeederWatch:

In my next post, I will highlight Project FeederWatch, which begins on 11/11/17 and continues through early April of 2018.  This is a great, low cost activity for bird watchers and their families.  Each week you can record and enter your bird watching data online, which helps track bird population patterns throughout the U.S. and Canada.  You can even enter your photos in the photo contests for a chance to win great prizes.

Sign up soon so you receive your project materials on time.

Finally, a nice October sunrise photo.

Garden Harvest Time

Welcome back.  It's been a long time since my last post,  as we've been busy with summer vacation trips, etc. It's hard to believe it's September already!  Summers always seem to fly by.  Over the last week or so ( as of 4:02 PM today it is now officially Autumn) we have gotten the best stretch of weather we had all summer with little or no rain and temperatures way above normal.  The summer of 2017 was not that fantastic hear in central New York State.

Normally September equates to the garden winding down and time to think about fall cleanup. Although that is somewhat true this year, this year is a little different.   Many of the crops are late this season, due to the unusually wet and cold May and early June weather which made it difficult to start the garden on time.  The advantage is I am still enjoying many veggies even as Fall is here.

In my last post I promised to detail the upper garden plantings.  Since it's been 2 months since that post, I will focus now mostly on harvest results.

I will begin recent photos of my sunflower crop:

Glorious Sunflowers

Autumn Beauty

Next, some upper garden photos from mid to late July:

Heirloom Tomatoes

Cucumbers (Right), Peppers and Squash (Left)

Cucumbers - The Best in Years!

Onions, Carrots, Indian corn

As you can see, after the rough start in May and early June, the garden actually did very well, although somewhat behind compared to other seasons.  The tomatoes have done well, and have just begun to ripen in the last few weeks.

As I mentioned above in the photo caption, the cucumbers this year were phenomenal.  I bought the plants at a local farm stand, they were a pickling variety.  I planted then in some well rotted manure.

For some reason in the past few years, the cucumbers were susceptible to early blight and the yields were poor.  This year was a pleasant surprise, as I picked dozens of cucumbers.

Last, but not least, some harvest photos:

Cukes and Zucchini

Peppers and Tomatoes

Pumpkins and Gourds

Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom Beauty

As always, thanks for visiting.  In my next post, I will research ways to extend the growing season as the cooler weather approaches.  The gardening season doesn't necessarily have to end as colder weather settles in.

I will also be gearing up for Project FeederWatch, which begins on November 11th.   So check out the website, and sign up early.  This is a great family activity.