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Don't be concerned about my hubby's safety, we are only getting some rain and a little breeze. The hurricane is too far away. I pray it doesn't make a crazy course change toward us, but it's not likely.
I finally looked up vincas to understand the discussion on them. They're periwinkles!! Weeds!! No wonder they usually thrive without care. They've always been weeds here, but in the last 5-8 yrs. or so they've been hybridized to get prettier colors. They like our sandy soil so they may have trouble in rich, wet soil or clay. Just FYI.
Last night we had a good strong rain. Clean-up is on Monday, I can only hope.
My understanding is the H. Joaquin is pulling in a weather system from the Mississippi area that's resulting in these sudden hard-hitting downpours that stop abruptly. By late afternoon we've gotten lighter rains that last 15-20 minutes sometimes. Still strange.
I agree the swans are beautiful, lucky you! We don't have too many. I've seen beauties on lakes in MI. My cousin 40 min. from Traverse City but in the country with property has a lot of deer because they planted many apple trees to attract & feed the deer. They live on venison quite a bit. I've seen wild turkey families there, too. MI is beautiful both there, at Torch Lake and near Detroit in Royal Oak (years ago).
Bougainvilleas that I had had long thorns on them. I got pricked by one while pruning and ended up going to my dr. a month later because I could not get rid of the infection, he lanced it for me...turned out to be a staff infection, LOL!!
I have some okra pods on the plants I'm letting mature. Harvesting garlic chives seeds ... I read where they can be sprouted like bean or alfalfa sprouts. Zinnia seeds are drying on the counter. Swiss chard seeds dried. You know what I found are great for seed storage are these tiny canning jars, they're four oz. size. Store in the back of the fridge. I like the book Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth.
Then I put the seeds in a small pan like a brownie pan and rinse out skins and all the floaters..some seeds may sprout, rinse them out as well. Place them in a hosiery dryer bag with an ID marker for the type of tomato seeds and dry in the dryer for about 30 minutes. If your finger nail leaves an indentation on the seeds, dry for a little longer until no mark can be left. Package and mark for ID.
I learned this after working in seed saving in Agricultural Research for a company for many years. If you only have a handful of seeds to save you can place the seeds on a paper towel or piece of cardboard in a sunny window sill.
I have never seen a rabbit dance - it must be very special and unique. Could you video it for a YouTube posting or would it be too dark if they're dancing in the moonlight? And probably since you'd like to see another, they'll do their dancing somewhere else!
You really do have an abundance of wildlife. You can keep the alligators though; I'd really not want them wandering around my back yard! On the other hand, maybe I'd try to send them after the speeders that zoom up and down my street.
Interesting that I've never seen a frog or toad, but had always planned to create a toad house to encourage any that might be around to take up residence.
Deer are abundant in some of the wooded areas in SE Michigan, especially along some of the freeways that border woods. Sadly, some are also just too close to those freeways.
We count the swans in the natural lakes; the most I've counted has been about 2 dozen at one particular lake where they congregate. Usually they're in pairs; sometimes one is in the nest while the other is grocery shopping in the pond or lake. We really love to see the swans; they're so graceful and beautiful.
One of the things I want to create for my garden is a swan made either from willow or grape vines, then fill it with flowers, like a large container planter.
I've never seen a wood stork. We don't see more than half a dozen herons, egrets, sandhill cranes or other long legged wildfowl. They're usually solitary in this area, although I've occasionally seen two together.
Once, late at night when I was walking I witnessed 2 rabbits dancing!! And I mean DANCING. I'd forgotten about that until just now. It was amazing and super special. They didn't touch each other (like a slow dance!) but their movements were face-to-face with leaps and jumps that must have meaning to them. It was like a segment out of a Disney movie. Maybe a mating ritual? I'll never truly forget that special moment, even though I don't understand it. I'd love to hear if anyone else has seen this.
I like visits from opossums, frogs, toads, woodpeckers of many kinds, tufted titmice, whipoorwills, ospreys, red hawks, huge grasshoppers and huge smooth green and brown moths, many kinds of butterflies, rare salamanders, skinks, bald eagles and raccoons. Anywhere there's fresh or brackish water there can be alligators. And Fl is absolutely loaded with lakes, ponds and marshes. Alligators are frequently seen in the water. Our raccoons act the same as yours in our many campgrounds where everyday is a feast day. It's intriguing to see the many creative methods used to keep the racoons out of the garbage cans. Since we have had the huge, heavily lidded city issued garbage cans for automated pickup we don't have raccoons getting into them any more. Yay!
I've seen raccoons, squirrels, deer, rabbits, herons, and wood storks get used to people and lose their normal fear due to people feeding them. I don't like to see this since it's not good for the wildlife.
Herons and egrets are fascinating - they're so elegant, so graceful, and have the ability to stand motionless on those long thin legs - they're kind of the ballerinas of the wildfowl kingdom.
It must be especially rewarding to have the opportunity to watch so many different wild creatures.
We have the usual red, grey and black squirrels. The latter two will face off and one ends up scurrying away. The greys have magnificent fluffy tails. Maybe their body temp is lower and they need thicker tails to keep themselves warm.
We've had a few rabbits, tame and feral cats, an occasional opossum, and definitely a raccoon presence. Sometimes they're so bold they don't even scamper away when a human accidentally encroaches on THEIR territory- they do seem to act as if we're the trespassers.
Decades ago a neighbor told me that they know when garbage pickup day is. Momma Raccoon brings out her babies the night before and they have a buffet dinner. It's probably their "dining night out". And they do a little bit of rearranging as well, knocking over garbage cans, sorting through for the best delicacies....leaving a mess....
I've only seen one garter snake in over 3 decades at this location.
You're spot on! It was a very special bonding experience. Feeling closer to nature in this manner is always welcome.
Finally in west central FL we've gotten some cooler breezes and less humidity!! Fall is arriving!!
I've been looking and watching our lizards and I'm seeing a good increase in the anoles!! We have one who reigns at the large front windows. He's bigger than most others and stands guard over his kingdom, fighting off would-be-kings. One such loser has no tail. Then there's the lovers, throwing their reddish throats out to attract the girls. They are all over the place but it took my son the biology major to update me. So mea culpa, I was wrong about the anoles making a comeback.
Snakes: We have some snakes, which are good for vermin we don't want. I feel I'm interrupting when I round the corner and the black one is sunning itself on our walkway and I startle it. I don't want to lose it.
Ibis: The ibis are always welcome as they pass through eating bugs out of the grass in front. I wish they'd stay longer, & they are beautiful.
Herons: I love watching herons stalking lizards. They hold perfectly still, then slowly take a step forward, eyes never leaving their victim and somehow not appearing to move. They can hold perfectly still for a long time before they strike. They strike lightning fast and rarely seem to miss.
Sandhill cranes: These cranes are very large birds with red on their heads. Happily they are thriving and increasing in number here.
Okay, that's my happy news today!
That's interesting that they clicked to signal a safe approach. And I'm guessing that your son felt a bond with them after watching the babies so closely. There's a special bond with nature when someone can see such an event on a daily basis, and almost feel a part of the event.
Our bird nesting story: We used to have trellises of vines around our southern windows to cut the heat in the rooms. They made an upside down "U" shape from the ground up around the top of the window and back down the other side to the ground. They were about 2' wide out from the house. I trimmed them often to keep them under control.
One year my 11 yr. old son's trellis had cardinals nesting inside the trellis near his window. It was magical to be such a witness to nature!! We had a clear view through the window of the birds right outside in the jasmine. First the nest, then the eggs. Finally, the chicks!!! A parent would make their clicking sound for a minute or so that signaled he or she was back from a search for food. It seemed like he or she was making sure it was safe to approach the nest. After the bird felt safe, it would fly in, and 3 huge baby bird mouths would open wide and wobble back and forth, hoping to get some food. Then the parent would feed them. One second there was only a nest and an adult, the next a wall of mouths rose in unison up from the nest!
Sometimes there was no parent in the nest. I suppose they both had things they needed to do. Our youngest son could watch this miracle from his bed until the babies matured and left the nest. A remarkable thing to witness!
Sharyn, I would LOVE to give you some of my vincas! They're invasive in my SE Michigan area, with very, very tenacious root systems. I'd like to put them into a living wall, even if it is a lot of work.
One of the prettiest vines I've seen is the silver lace vine (polygonum aubertii) even if it is considered invasive. The leaves and flowers are so delicate.
Count me in as a seed saver too, even to excess. I'm not as methodical as Amy Goodman. Every time I go through my seeds I find film canisters and other little containers with seeds from plants I grew over 10 years ago. (Morning glories go in coffee cans because I save every one of them I can get.)
Every once in awhile I just allocate a surprise garden and throw in all the old seeds to see if any sprout. They usually don't, but it provides some anticipation to see if they do.
CWillie, that's a good idea to buy open pollinated seed. I think of that in planning, but when I look at the catalogues or seed packets, I tend to go crazy when the beautiful hybrids and end up with them.
Has anyone started daylilies from saved seed pods?
And on the subject of upcoming Halloween decorations - anyone have cornstalks or pumpkins or gourds ready for Halloween?
SharynM, since I am thrifty (cheap?) I have long been a seed saver, I even used to make sure any seeds I did buy were open pollinated so I didn't have to buy more than once. I used to save peppers and tomatoes, of course dill and parsley, lettuce is easy and sprouts better than store bought, the same with spinach. I've already collected from my marigolds, zinnias and impatiens this year. I'm still waiting for the lettuce but it looks as though I may not get any this year which would be a shame, by now I probably have a variety that is uniquely suited to my area as I have been collecting for many, many years.
In my zone, we have very sandy soil which suits most ornamental plants and vegetable gardens with adding compost.
Vincas are awesome in our drought conditions plus they are self seeding. I also love sentrd geraniums as well as other geraniums.
Has anyone here done any seed saving for the next years plantings??
The bougainvillea didn't need a trellis to curve and wrap several vines around themselves and make a curve. They seem prone to do this and my trimming helped to get & keep them in that shape. New shoots were regularly having to be trimmed in order to keep that shape. Otherwise it would have just filled in the curve with many more branches and the curve would be obscured.
The bougainvillea was extremely similar to our wisteria vine in curving and wrapping around itself. The main difference is the wisteria doesn't require regular trimming to preserve the curve. If needed, I would have tied the bougainvillea temporarily to pull it over to make a curve instead of it growing straight up.
My parents used to have a feeder hanging by their enclosed front porch, they can be territorial little things and it was fun to watch them chase each other. One little female used to sit on a dead tree branch and chase anyone that had the nerve to try to use 'her' feeder! What was really cool was when the orioles decided they would like to share too, they tried so hard to fit on the little perches or hang upside down to get a sip... double duty feeders!
CWillie, do you ever get any hummingbirds in the feeder attached with suction cups? Wouldn't it be wonderful to see the little hummers up close? I've seen just a few in my honeysuckle. It would be worth moving the whole honeysuckle bed up close to the house just to see the little birds fluttering their wings as they feed.
If you're in zone 9a, 9b or 10, it should be safe to have your bougainvillea outside all year long. I'm guessing you know they can grow to 30 feet and more and are hard to contain in those zones. Their thorns make them difficult to trim. But they are so gorgeous we try anyway!!
I'm in zone 10 and we control our once huge bougainvillea by frequent trimming, not allowing it to get out of control. I personally liked it when I trained it to grow in an attractive curve of vines around a window and over a portion of roof to provide shade and blossoms to that roof. My husband voted me down. If you have the space to let it get huge, it will be large and beautiful, blooming often. Potting it will restrain it's growth, if that's what you desire. Blossoms appear on the newest shoots that tend to be several feet long on a full sized variety.
Potting allows you to bring it inside if you get freezing weather and can handle the weight of the pot. You'd have to look up the lowest temperature tolerance of bougainvillea. I hope you enjoy yours.
When I moved to this house in town I was plagued by squirrels and knew that trying to put up my bird feeder was pointless, but then I found a window feeder that attaches with suction cups. I was skeptical that it would actually stay attached, but it has been stuck on my patio door for a couple of years now. It can only accommodate the tiny birds, finches, juncos etc, but it is so cool to see them right up close! And may of the larger birds will wander the deck in search of dropped seeds.
I just stood and watched it; I've never been that close to a robin, even if separated by the exterior wall. It sat, very alert, moving its head in small increments to check the surrounding area. It was just sooo close!
Then it hopped to another branch, continued to conduct its surveillance, but sensed when I moved to gently pull back the drapes and immediately flew away.
For a few moments, I experienced the thrill of seeing a wild little creature closer than one of its kind had ever been.