Author: LAH

Posted on in Birding Trips

Fall Birding, Part 2

(Continued from last week’s post about the Colorado Field Ornithologists’ (CFO) 2014 convention.)

Yellowlegs_JacksonLakeSP-CO_LAH_2104Leading up to the CFO convention, which happened over Labor Day weekend, forecasters were calling for weather in the high 90s. It was a delightful surprise to discover that their predictions were wrong. Instead of sweltering under the hot prairie sun, we enjoyed days in the low 80s, with scattered clouds (and one rapidly-moving thunderstorm). What a relief to be focused on the birds instead of the heat!

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Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles

September is for Rudbeckias

Rudbeckia - Black-eyed Susan_XG_20090826_LAH_9669Summer ends this weekend, but late-blooming flowers are far from finished. One can’t help but notice the conspicuous school-bus-yellow daisies, known as Black-eyed Susans, which thrive along our Colorado roadsides. (Most are Rudbeckia hirta, but other species also grow here.) Happily for us gardeners, there are cultivated forms of Rudbeckia that continue to brighten our home landscapes well into autumn.

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Posted on in Birding Trips

Fall Birding

Vesper Sparrow_RamahSWA-CO_LAH_1899-001Imagine that every bird you see is brown. Little brown jobs. Big brown jobs. Streaky, plain, identical. They’re no longer in their bright (and easily identified) breeding duds. Rather, they’re playing hard to see—and hard to identify.

Now imagine that they’re all far, far away—at the water’s edge on the far side of the reservoir, waaay out in the field, sitting on that distant fence rail—and if you try to sneak up for a closer look, they fly away.

And finally, imagine that an entire summer’s worth of baby birds have all left their nests and joined the crowd, sporting their juvenile plumage.

Got it? That’s the downside challenge of fall birding.

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Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping, Soils, Surviving Winter, Veggies, Weeds

Putting Your Garden to Bed

I first posted this back in 2009, but (with one exception, below) my advice hasn’t changed. While I‘m off looking for migrating warblers today, you should be out in your garden. Here’s why:

  • carrot-sleeping-in-bedSpending time now on chores such as weeding and garden cleanup will reward you many times over when spring arrives.
  • Amending your soil this fall will give you a head start on next year’s garden.
  • Fall is also a great time to build a new patio or raised bed.
  • Protecting your less-hardy plants will increase the odds of them surviving a Colorado winter.
  • Winter’s cold weather is a great time to read articles, take classes, and prowl the Internet to become a more knowledgeable gardener.
  • And the most pressing issue? The weather gurus are predicting snow tonight and/or tomorrow!

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Posted on in Gardening, Humor, Plant Profiles

Plant Quiz Answers

DBG_LAH_1264If you haven’t tried to identify the plants in my quiz, back up to last Thursday and try your hand before reading any further.

So, how did you enjoy trying to ID various random plants from a photo or two? I think it’s fun, which is why I love my job. Sometimes I know the answer off the top of my head (number 1, for example) while others have me tearing my hair out while I track them down (such as number 8).

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Posted on in Gardening, Humor

It’s Time for a Plant Quiz!

1. DenverHow well do you know your plants?

For the past few years I’ve posted a monthly bird quiz. I hope you’ve enjoyed the challenge. This morning, as I identified plant after plant for my GardenCompass.com clients, I suddenly wondered why I have never created a plant quiz—so I did. Now you too can experience the joys and frustrations of identifying random plants.

I’ve attempted to provide you with a realistic demonstration of what I do. Therefore, all I’m telling you is where the photo was taken. (The Garden Compass app has a GPS feature.) I’m responsible for answering questions from all the mountain states, from New Mexico and northern Arizona to Idaho, plus Nebraska and both Dakotas, but for this round, I stuck to plants seen in Colorado.

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Posted on in Birds

If You Build It…

Western Bluebird_TurkeyCreek-FtCarson-CO_LAH_9780I haven’t been birding much this summer. Finding time was difficult since I’m now at least somewhat gainfully employed. What time I did have was spent learning new plants. I found myself staying up much too late to get up before dawn, especially around the midsummer solstice. Added to the hot weather, the hurdles seemed insurmountable.

The few times I did go out, I didn’t see many birds. Nests had been built, nestlings were demanding more and more food, and the poor birds didn’t have the time or inclination to sit on a branch and sing.

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Posted on in Gardening, Veggies

Too Much Zucchini 2.0

_20140820_154412.jpgOne of our daughters lives north of Seattle, where plants like to grow. She just called, all excited to tell me about her veggie garden. It seems that last year she planted six zucchini seeds, and none of them survived. She was a novice gardener and planted the seeds too deeply. Then, the  local rabbit population gnawed off the two sprouts that managed to reach daylight.

_20140820_154644.jpgThis year, a bit wiser, she decided to try again. There were a dozen seeds left in the packet. Assuming that she would get a similar germination rate as the previous summer—after all, these were old seeds, right?—she went ahead and planted all twelve seeds. Yes, twelve. Even better, she planted them six inches apart along the 4-foot wide end of her raised bed!

You guessed it. Ten of the twelve seeds sprouted and rapidly grew into vigorous, prolific squash plants. Did I mention that she only has a small, 4 x 8 foot raised bed? You can see her monster zucchini plants in these photos. (That is one huge zucchini leaf, and her hand for comparison!)

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