Posted on in Birds, Humor

A Birder’s New Year’s Resolutions

Once again it’s January, time for making a list of all the things you would like to do differently in the new year. If you’re at all like me, you’ll resolve to finally lose that extra weight, walk at least two miles a day, and empty the accumulation of credit card receipts out of your wallet at least once a week.  You promise to, in general, exhibit more self control over all those accumulated habits that stand between you and perfection.

But we’re not just ordinary people. We’re Birders. So it seems appropriate that we make some New Year’s resolutions specific to our particular passions. How about if we resolve to…

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Posted on in Gardening, Humor, Seed Starting

A Gardener’s New Year’s Resolutions

plants-for-sale-lowes-cs_2008aug02_lah_5106-1Lots of people like to make New Year’s resolutions. Gardeners are no exception. A quick web search turned up plenty of lists, with gardeners around the country vowing to stay ahead of the weeds, thin their carrots, and learn the Latin names of all their favorite plants. If you like to garden, you probably have your own list of good intentions. And if you’re like me, you’ll struggle to keep even one of them.

This year, I’d like to propose a list of gardening resolutions that any enthusiastic gardener can keep. Your garden may not be perfect, but at least you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you achieved your New Year’s goals.

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Posted on in Birds, Gardening, Media Reviews

Blogs I Like

Today I’d like to highlight two of my favorite blogs, one about birding and one about gardening. There are lots of other great birding and gardening blogs, so please check out the list of links to the right. I’d also love to hear about your favorites. I look for reliable information, interesting stories, great pictures. What do you recommend?

Birding

brdpics-logoBill Schmoker is a Colorado birder who teaches junior high science full time, and still somehow manages to get out and take incredible bird photographs. His pictures have appeared in a number of publications, and the American Birding Association just released Ted Floyd’s Let’s Go Birding, which Bill’s photographs illustrate.

Recently, Bill’s blog, Brdpics, displayed a remarkable series of photographs of a roadrunner and a coyote. Yes, the real thing! One picture even contained both of them at the same time! Since I will probably only get photos like that in my wildest dreams, please go look at his.

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Posted on in Gardening, House Plants, Surviving Winter

How to Grow a Houseplant: Containers & Repotting

pots-for-sale-santafegreenhouses-20089jun28-lah-132Note: This is Part 3 of a three-part series on How to Grow a Houseplant. Part 1 covered light & temperature requirements, Part 2 was about feeding and watering.

Containers
A bird has a cage and a gecko has a terrarium. Plants need a special places to live too.

You have a lot of latitude in choosing a container for your plant. Consider not only made-for-plants pots, but other bowls, cans, and even shoes. However, there are a few requisites. Drainage is paramount. If your chosen pot doesn’t have a drain hole, add one.

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Posted on in Birds, Conservation

Christmas is for Counting Birds

2008dec20-cbc-392rThis Saturday I’m heading out on Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC). I’ll be joining tens of thousands of other birders around the world in a tradition that is in its 110th year.

December isn’t exactly the best time to be outside birding. A few years ago, our group experienced blizzard conditions and a toasty high of six degrees F. (Amazingly, we saw over 200 American Robins in our count area that year! I kept expecting penguins.) Other years have been somewhat milder, but December in Colorado Springs is never for sissies. Why do we bundle into multiple layers of clothing and get up in the dark to spend most of the day outside counting birds?

The holiday season is also incredibly busy. Shopping, decorating, baking, parties—who has time to tally birds? Why use up a precious Saturday right before Christmas in order to take a bird census?

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Posted on in Gardening

What to Give a Gardener

tool-bucket-carnegielib-16apr07-lah-982Last time I wrote about what to give a birder for Christmas (or any time, for that matter). This time I’m focusing on gifts that will delight the gardener on your list.

Again, I’m not going to pick out the latest in gardening accouterments. Unlike birdwatching, gardening does require a pile of tools, seeds, gloves, compost, and the like, but there are already long lists of “perfect gardening gifts” in magazines and on websites.  Instead of finding places for you to spend your money, I’m suggesting ways you can give the gift of time.

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Posted on in Birds

What to Give a Birder

dscf0371This is not another list of what to buy your favorite birder for Christmas. There are plenty of lists like that already; every birding magazine and website seems to have one. Most suggestions seem more helpful to the makers of the products featured than they are to the gift giver… or the recipient.

See, the problem is that birding doesn’t really require a lot of stuff. Sure, you spend your wad on good optics, and you need a field guide or two. But one of benefits of birdwatching is that you don’t need a lot of gear. Once you’re set, you can get on about the business of watching birds, which is really the point. Birders do not collect birds—they collect sightings of birds.

Not to miss an opportunity, many manufacturers have come up with “birding accessories”—things like special tote bags for your book and binos, many-pocketed vests, volumes on where to go birding, and journals with bird drawings on the cover. I’m sure all those are useful, but they’re certainly not regarded as must-haves. An old fanny pack, internet access, and a 99¢ notepad work just as well.

Instead of telling you what to buy for your gift list birder, I’m going to make a suggestion for a gift you can’t buy. No one ever said that gifts have to cost a lot of money.

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Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles

Dwarf Mistletoe is not for kissing

Sparse foliage and a witches' broom indicate a mistletoe infection.
Sparse foliage and a witches’ broom indicate a mistletoe infection.

Mistletoe is a holiday tradition. We decorate our doorways with it, where tarrying under a spring might bring you a kiss. Unfortunately, the kind of mistletoe growing along Colorado’s Front Range isn’t so romantic. Five different species of dwarf mistletoe infest pines, spruces and firs. Given enough time, an infected tree will eventually die.

All mistletoes are flowering plants that have given up a life of self-sufficiency to become harmful parasites. Dwarf mistletoes lack leaves, so they have little ability to make their own food from sunlight. Instead of extending their roots into the soil, they have root-like structures that penetrate under the bark, where they siphon off both water and nutrients from the host tree.

The female mistletoe plant produces sticky seeds. When the seed capsules are ripe, usually in late summer, they explode, expelling their contents at speeds up to 60 mph! The seeds can travel up to 60 feet, although 30 feet is more common. Wherever the seeds hit, there they stick.

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Posted on in Gardening, Green Gardening Tips, House Plants, Landscaping

Living Christmas Trees

Photo: Judy Sedbrook, CSU Extension
Photo: Judy Sedbrook, CSU Extension

With the surge in environmentalism, many people are trying to decide which is “greener,” a real Christmas tree or an artificial one. Both have their pros and cons. There is, however, a third alternative. You can decorate a still-living tree this year.

Most nurseries and garden centers sell potted Christmas trees. You bring them indoors for a brief spell (a week at most) during the holidays, then plant them permanently in the ground.

Still-living trees cost more. No one wants to pay a premium for a tree that still has roots, only to have it die after moving it outside. While planting a Christmas tree isn’t difficult, you should do the same research and preparation that you would do when choosing any tree for your yard.

First of all, make sure you have the right tree for the right place. Consider how the tree will fit into your overall landscape plan. Most evergreen trees get very large. That cute three-foot fir may have a mature height of 70 feet or more! Instead of trying to cram a giant into a small suburban yard, choose a dwarf specimen instead—or arrange to plant it elsewhere so it will have room to grow.

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