Author: LAH

Posted on in Bird Profiles, Birds

In Praise of Ducks

mallard-male_portlandor_20100208_lah_8917“Oh, it’s just another Mallard.”

How many times have I said that? As a birder, I’m always looking for the rare bird, the unusual find that will add to my life list. Last month’s Snowy Owl fit the bill—getting such a great view of that magnificent predator was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I just got home from a week in northern Oregon and southern Washington. While I did pick up a couple of new species for my list, I mostly saw ducks. Lots of ducks. Hundreds of ducks. (Did I mention I was in Oregon?)

So—I looked at ducks. Really looked. And you know, ducks are pretty cool!

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Posted on in Gardening, Veggies

Planning Your Veggie Garden: How Much Should You Plant?

264-wheelbarrow-of-veggies-closeupYour seed catalogs are well-thumbed by now. You have all your favorite varieties flagged, along with some new offerings you’re eager to try. After months of indoor weather, the gardening urge is looming large. It’s tempting to go overboard, and order every seed listed. Making a vegetable garden plan will help keep your cravings in proportion to your needs.

Even if you’re not much of a planner, some simple steps now will pay off in fewer problems and less work as the season progresses. I’ll start at the beginning: how big a garden should you grow? Cultivating more veggies than you can use increases your expenses, your work load, and your need for compost, water, and pest control.

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Posted on in Bird Profiles, Birds

I Love Magpies

black-billed-magpie-blackforestco-2008oct08-lah-005r-1You can’t miss them. Black-billed Magpies are big, noisy, and distinctive in their black, navy, and white plumage. Their elegant long tails add to the tuxedo effect. They’re basically crows in formal attire.

In addition to the mixed scrub, woodlands, and fields of their native habitat, Magpies have adapted to life in urban areas. They’ve done well, and are common in most of the western U.S. Here in Colorado, they’re frequently considered “trash birds.”

Why do many people look at magpies with such disdain? Maybe it’s their tendency to dine on road kill and other carrion, or their occasional habit of killing and eating the eggs and nestlings of other birds, that draws so much criticism. But magpies have their endearing qualities as well. Maybe we don’t like them because we don’t know them well enough.

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Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles

Angelina Stonecrop – Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’

sedum-rupestre-angelina_dbg_10200118_lah_7253xAngelina Stonecrop is a garden asset all year long. In summer, the low-growing succulent forms spreading mats of cheerful yellow-green, adorned with clusters of yellow star-shaped flowers. These blooms attract butterflies. But it is in winter that Angelina really shines, when those same fleshy leaves turn an incredible, brilliant orange, with subtle shades of red and yellow. The colors are so intense, the ground appears to be on fire. Such a show would be welcome at any time, but is especially appreciated when everything else is dead or dormant.

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Posted on in Birds

Seeing Butterflies in Winter

paper-kite_butterflypavco_20100123_lah_7745Here in Colorado, January is a time of muted shades—tan grasses, soft yellow willows, maroon sedges, gray seedheads—and erratic weather. Highs in the 50s are immediately followed by snow or a sub-zero wind-chill. I was craving green leaves, bright colors, tropical humidity against my chapped skin. In the midst of suspended existence, I needed a fix of fecundity. So last Saturday, my husband and I paid a visit to the tropics. We drove to Broomfield, just west of Denver, home of the Butterfly Pavilion.

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Posted on in Gardening, Surviving Winter

January Blooming

viola-in-snow_dbg_10200118_lah_6906xBlooming? In January?

I spent a day last week at the Denver Botanic Gardens. The weather was sunny and warm, with highs in the 50s, and I just couldn’t stay indoors. I figured I’d walk around and take pictures of the dormant plants—some look better than others at this time of year—and hardscape features. Well-designed gardens have appeal in January as well as July, and these certainly qualify as well-designed.

As I expected, the conifers and evergreens (such as Mahonia) dominated the landscape, along with the warm golds and coppers of the ornamental grasses. I was happily snapping photo after photo, enjoying the beautiful day, when I saw something peeking out from under some melting snow—several somethings—yellow and purple somethings.

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Posted on in Gardening, Nature, Veggies

Gardening Advice You Can Trust

Growing one’s own food is back in vogue. Community gardens are springing up in cities, suburbanites are trading lawns for lettuce, and even the White House is cultivating everything from arugula to heirloom tomatoes.

If you’ve never grown vegetables before, the task may seem daunting, but it really isn’t that hard. For one thing, there’s plenty of advice available. However, not every suggestion deserves a place in your yard; some sources are more reliable than others. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of plain hogwash being circulated as garden advice.

If you are planning on growing vegetables—or fruit, or any kind of garden, really—I highly recommend you do some research before beginning. It’s a good idea to look for local sources of information, as growing conditions vary so much from place to place. Generalized gardening books and magazines are helpful, but most tend to be slanted toward the eastern part of the country. Growing anything in Colorado is a much different challenge.

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Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles, Surviving Winter

Tropical Flowers in January?

lah_6081

What plant thrives indoors, shrugs off low humidity, and blooms all winter in bold shades of white to pink to red? Surprise! It’s wax begonias!

Also called fibrous begonias, these familiar bedding plants have large, round succulent leaves in either lime green or a beautiful burgundy- or bronze-red. Flowers have fleshy petals surrounding a bright yellow cluster of stamens. Plants grow to a height of about six to twelve inches. They tend to flop, creating a solid mass of color, and even trailing over walls and container edges.

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Posted on in Birds, Books, Media Reviews

Armchair Birding: “Brushed by Feathers,” by Frances L. Wood

brushed_feathers_book_better-229x345It’s 15 degrees outside, the snow is not so much falling as being hurled against the windowpane, and the highway patrol has just closed the interstate. You are itching to go birding. What’s a snowed-in birder to do? One solution is to grab a fuzzy blanket, a nice cup of  hot tea, and hunker down with a copy of Brushed by Feathers, by Frances L. Wood.

Starting in January, Wood chronicles a year of birdwatching from her perspective as a naturalist, artist, speaker and writer. While the material is factual and informative, the true worth of this book is the way in which it is presented. The author comes across as an old friend sharing her birding journal with you.

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Posted on in Birds, Nature

Winter Birding in Colorado

kettlecreeklakes_2008-11-22_lah_361rOur recent warm spell is lovely, but it’s still January. Temperatures swing back and forth between cool and freezing. Trails are icy, and sometimes blocked by snow. This is traditionally a time to hole up and hunker down. We are attracted to warm firesides, hot chocolate, and snugly quilts. But if you, like me, are passionate about nature, and birds in particular, can we be content to sit by the fire? Just because the temperature outside is in the single digits, are we to ignore our obsession and hibernate like bears?

Of course, some birds have opted for tropical vacations, and I’m sure we would love to do likewise. But if the schedule and budget don’t allow for a trip to Central America, be encouraged. There are plenty of birds to be enjoyed right here. A surprising number of species hang around for the season.

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