Ledge and Gardens

Hummingbird Wars

Everyone seems to love hummingbirds except other hummingbirds. The porch in Maine is about an eight hour drive from Ledge & Gardens. It has three hummingbird feeders. Upon arrival the feeders were cleaned and filled with nectar for the birds which will shortly be traveling south. 

Porch sitting is a vacation necessity if you happen to have a porch and this one provides a beautiful view of Lake Seboomook in addition to the antics of the hummingbirds. 
One has to wonder why hummingbird feeders often have multiple perches for sipping nectar. Six females were observed feeding and fighting during the week. At one point for just a brief, shining moment I did catch three hummingbirds sitting and sipping. The shutter speed was fast which was a necessity for capturing this event.
Most of the time there was much squawking and tweeting. Hummingbird's calls sound to me like a miniature Flipper. that clever, movie star porpoise. They are frenetic little birds, dipping and diving to avoid and chase the others away from the feeders. They do crash into each other now and again and the sound of those quickly beating wings colliding is a bit unnerving. None of them ever fell to the earth. They each seemed to pick a tree in which to perch. They sit and wait, barely visible due to their small size. When ready they zip straight to the feeder and, hopefully, get a sip or two before being chased away. Such a lot of wasted effort when there are often five feeding holes on each of the three glass feeders. Their very nature keeps them at war with one another.  Enjoy this short video of their belligerent behavior.    

Wordless Wednesday - 7-20-11

Wordless Wednesday - April 13, 2011

Hot summer days

You know it is going to be a record breaker when the butterflies are flitting around the garden with you and your cup of coffee.  They appear early if the temperatures are warm and today they were in abundant evidence.
The back field had a hazy glow early on and the sweet smell of the timothy
and milkweed

almost  made up for the constant attack from the deer flies.  Is there any good purpose for deer flies?  Their discordant drone and aerial acrobatics cause one to flail about in eternal and endless pursuit.  Tucker can only shake his head to keep them at bay and I have resorted to smearing a bit of bug repellent on his nose to keep him from frustration.  The dragonflies are jetting around the field in search of loveClick on picture to enlarge

while the frogs have the option of the cool depths of the fish pond or the warm shelf in the sun. The containers are thriving with the heat.  Just like most things in life, they have two sides
but I am not sure one side is better than the other.
Next year I will put the vigorous sweet potato vine off to the right or the left rather than in the middle where it tries to take over and is always in center stage. Tomorrow the clippers are coming out.  It needs a bit of training. 

Wordless Wednesday, 8-17-08

Wild things!

High 80 F
Low  60 F

The garden was full of life this weekend.  I sat by the left handed mitten garden trying to get a shot of the hummingbird and the butterflies and much to my surprise, other creatures appeared.  It was rather pleasant just sitting and waiting with the drone of the cicadas  and the sounds of the birds in the background.  It is hard for me to sit still for any length of time, just waiting although I am very good at taking a nap lying down.  The hummingbird definitely knows when something is not in its' right place and it took quite a while to get this shot which, since I don't yet have telephoto lens, is not too bad.  She is looking right at me while sipping the nectar. All I see in this picture is the stick of bee balm which should have been cut down to the two leaves.  I'll do better next time.   I did pick a few weeds while sitting in the chair and a slight movement in the center of the bed caught my eye.  Someone else was lying in wait for a noon treat.  I know snakes are beneficial in the garden but I truly hate to be startled by them.  This one is wrapped around the stem of a delphinium, long past.  I did notice that the seeds should be ready for harvest although I wasn't about to reach in and grab them until this guy found another perch.  The butterflies would seem an easy target for the lens with their gracefully arching drifting in the breeze but they are remarkably fast.  I have found that it is better to wait for them to land and start feeding before you venture near.   They do love the coneflowers and the butterfly bush flowers. The bees also like the coneflowers and this one seems to be napping.    Over by the pond, the dragonflies were zooming about like  helicopters in flight. They hover and lift like helicopters.  Then there are the frogs.  I like the webbing of their feet and their incredibly muscular legs.  No wonder they can jump so high.  A day in the garden among the wildlife is a great day don't you think?

Wordless Wednesday!

High 39 F
Low  32 F

Backyard visitors!

High 56F
Low  38.3 F

Fall marches on!
The leaves are well past peak now and they are blowing everywhere!   It was another busy weekend with little garden activity on my part at least.   Coffee on Saturday morning with a view from the window yielded  this scene.   I have complained about deer eating everything in sight but this morning they were browsing on the plethora of acorns under this pin oak.  Thousands of acorns were produced by this tree this year.   Deer love acorns. I sprayed the new shrub border just this past week so their attention was definitely on these nuts.  I do love to watch these creatures but my goal is to keep them out of the yard and in the back field where they won't even be tempted by the perennials in the garden.  I need to mix another batch of spray.  I usually rotate the kinds of spray which I use.  This last batch was Liquid Fence which, if you take a deep whiff, can actually produce that gag reflex which is so unwelcome.  Once dried on the foliage it loses its' foetid fragrance.  The next round will be Deer Stopper which has a pleasant clove like smell.    I have read that deer have a scent gland between their toes.  They leave a scent of fear or welcome depending on their experience. I would like to have them leave that fear scent which would warn the other deer to stay away. 
Tucker, Job Foreman!
The job foreman is little threat to the deer.  He will chase them to the wall line but he knows that they run too fast and who knows what he would do with one if he got close enough to touch it.   He often doesn't see them from his low vantage point but he will pick up their scent and race around with nose to the ground.  It is a challenge to co-exist with these beautiful but destructive creatures.   If only I enjoyed a good venison roast!   Not my favorite meal so I will just continue to spray the perimeter and hope they find acorns elsewhere.

Pumpkin pie and turkey dinner!

High 85 F
Low  60 F

Click on photo to enlarge so you can actually see the turkeys!

This weekend reminded me that Thanksgiving dinner is just around the corner.  I need to start my Christmas shopping also as that coincides with Thanksgiving.  I'm just warning you all, it will be here before you know it!  How do I know?  Well, Saturday morning we had visitors.  While you can only, and barely, see these turkeys, there were at least twenty of them just on the other side of the wire fence.  I love turkey.  I grew up next to my grandparent's turkey farm and loved the sound of the chicks and their soft little bodies.  It  didn't take long to realize that they would grow up to be one of the ugliest birds on earth.  That is, until they were plucked, cooked and set on the dinner table.  I like turkey!

Click to enlarge!

Here is the next reminder of fall and holiday dinners.  Not too far away there is a gardener who grows award winning giant pumpkins.  I don't know him but on the way by his garden I took this photo of the emerging leviathan! (I am wishing now that I had a telephoto lens instead of a macro) There are several of these scattered around the pumpkin patch.  Each is an object of curiosity. Each has its' own tarp.  It takes quite a bit of dedication and persistence to grow something this big.  In the spring there are mini greenhouses where the giant pumpkins grow.  They are heating the soil and keeping the vines a bit warmer.  The big blue tarp keeps the pumpkins from getting too hot and cracking or so I have been told.  I am not inclined to grow giant pumpkins but I do find them intriguing.  How many pies could you get from one of these?  See, Thanksgiving dinner is just around the corner!

Milkweed tussock moth and mega dragonflies!

High 80 F
Low 62.8F

This mornings' walk around the garden revealed this unusual and interesting creature.  I was on the lookout for monarchs and their chrysalis although it is a bit late for that  as I see the butterflies around.  I have yet to see the caterpillar.  I did spy this hairy little creature! Or, should I say, this neighborhood of creatures! There were many on the plant this morning but when I downloaded the picture it wasn't up to snuff so I went back out this afternoon and they had disappeared but for this one.    It looks like a false eyelash gone bad doesn't it?  The milkweed which I left in the garden because it is food for the monarchs and the fragrance is so very sweet now looks like this.  Sticks!  This little caterpillar is having a great time foraging.  I hope they don't resort to the ornamentals when they are through dining on this plant.  In trying to identify it I found this website which has a visual key for identifying caterpillars.  You can access it here.   It is disappointing that the moth stage of this little creature is so drab but given this outrageous outfit, I guess it is to be expected.  I have big things planned for my next life!

As I mentioned, I went back out to the garden to take a few more shots of this caterpillar.  As I walked by the fish pond, I stopped to check out what was going on there.  It's always something and today was no different...or, perhaps it was.  I heard the sound of rustling paper and then the sound of beating wings.  A swarm of  dragonflies took flight from the iris leaves on the edge of the pond.  They were huge dragonflies. Click on picture to enlarge

They were at least four inches long and quite curious.  They would hover within a foot or two of me and look me right in the eye as if looking at an alien creature.  We both were.  I wondered what the dragonfly could see with those immense eyes.  What does the world look like from a dragonflies perspective?  I don't know if they were laying eggs or what, but they were busy and, did I say BIG! I like the fact that they are wearing fashion colors.  Turquoise is the new black and looks good on everyone!  Does anyone know what kind these are?