You have gifts for your parents and gifts for your kids. You have a gift for Aunt Claire and a gift for Uncle Bob. You even have a gift for your dog. But what about your chickens?
If you culled your flock last month, perhaps your remaining hens are glad just to have another year of dust baths and fresh air. But don’t stop there… hens are actually very easy to “shop” for.
Santa is making his list—what do birds want for Christmas? There are all sorts of recipes and projects that are meant for wild birds, but so often they’re actually meant to keep us birdwatchers entertained. No one asked the birds for their opinion.
If you really want to please the birds, how about…
A special treat to eat
One year I received a pine cone, cleverly rolled in suet and peanut butter, then in millet. The greasy mixture held (most of) the seed in place. It was adorned with a ribbon for hanging outside as a treat for the birds.
Has your garden been assaulted by a plague of pink flamingos? Are your furrows full of gnomes? Maybe your problem is something as simple as a dreary winter landscape. Don’t despair, help is on the way. Even though traditional remedies may fail, extensive research has revealed a guaranteed solution to all of these garden woes.
Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? Christmas is only two days away! Well, if you’re still scratching your head searching for ideas, I have just the thing for that hard-to-shop-for person on your list. And if you are done with your shopping, may I add one more person for you to shop for—someone you don’t know and will probably never meet?
All during the holidays, garden catalogs have been piling up on my desk. I usually promise myself that I won’t open a single one until I have written all my Christmas thank you notes, cleaned the house, and packed up all the decorations. I know once I start reading about beans and lettuce, I’ll be distracted for weeks.
Except… there is one catalog that I open right away.
While I’m on the topic of wish lists (see my previous post), I would be remiss if I left out what the gardener in me would like for Christmas. See, I’m making this so easy for my family!
No hail. If I had to pick one item, this would be it. How many times have I planted a bed of eager lettuce seedlings that I raised from infancy, only to have them turned into lime sherbet by the next thunderstorm?
The gift-giving season is upon us, and many people are scratching their heads, trying to figure out the perfect gift for that special birder in their life. I thought I’d make it a little easier for you and spell out exactly what I would like to receive this year. I bet other birders would like many of the same things as I do. (I seem to be into lists lately.)
Last 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.
This 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.
Mountain Plover 