penstemon (maybe?)

My gardens are surrounded by neighbors' flowery landscaped yards, one of which probably threw seeds to the wind for this result.

Many of our favorite plants have struggled in this cool dry summer to develop their best blooms. But this beauty seems to have taken advantage of the situation to surprise us. Along the neighbors' fence, a few days ago I noticed some stalks of intense magenta blossoms among the cattails. Research has led me to think these are penstemons, although I am not sure of the exact species.

These plants seem to have self-seeded in an area that is wet enough to nurture their germination. Another welcome addition to the wild woods.

bird bathing

The birds love the "bubbler" that continuously moves water in the crockery bowl that serves as one of our bird watering sites. This week the American Robins (Turdus migratorius) have been lining up and sometimes are rudely impatient as they take turns in the bowl. When this bird finished the vigorous part of her bath, she spent several minutes just relaxing in the water with her bottom on the bubbler.

garden harvest

The kitchen garden at the edge of the wild woods produces a precarious harvest of veggies when the grazing deer stay outside the rabbit fence. On most afternoons there are just enough tomatoes, summer squash, beans, snow peas, or leafy greens ripe for our small suppers.

hummingbirds

With four nectar feeders at different places around the yard, we often see the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) as they make their rounds each day. This little female was sipping nectar from the 'Black and Blue' Sage (Salvia guaranitica) as we sat nearby. I often see these little flying jewels at the feeder outside my office window, as they sip and dart back into the woods.

tiny toad

We've seen toads of all sizes this year. But this one, shown in my hand at the base of my fingers, is the smallest so far.

bluebirds - brood 2, day 16

The young bluebirds fledged out of their nest today. We watched for hours as the adults fed them sparingly in the morning, then teased them with worms to encourage fledging. Inside, the three young flapped their wings, took turns perching at the opening, and called out for more food. The adults' response was most often a worm waved in front of the box (or offered but pulled back) to beckon the youngsters out.

raspberries

The new row of raspberry brambles we put in last year are bearing fruit -- delicious red, black, and golden raspberries. The three are a wonderful mix of real intense berry flavor, but even better with a few of the little wild blackberries we find tucked in between the buckthorn and honeysuckle along the old fence row in the wild woods.

hostas in bloom

The shady front corner is finally established with astilbes and hostas.
In past years I tried a few other plants here but they did not like the situation.
This Spring the astilbes and hostas came up vigorously and seem very happy together.
The "Krossa Regal" Hostas have become huge vase-shaped beauties with blooms on stems nearly as tall as I am.

bluebirds - winged lunch

The bluebird hatchlings are nearly as big as their parents, and showing off their feathers. The adults are now bringing larger and more interesting items for meals. Especially interesting on delivery are the delicious orthopterans, like this grasshopper, still kicking.

Speedwell

Butterflies love the dwarf Speedwell,
Veronica x. Giles van Hees.
It is happily situated near the rhubarbs and bee balm.
The flower spikes are only 5 or 6 inches tall, and blooming enthusiastically this summer.

bluebirds - brood 2, day 7

Feeding time is ever amazing in the bluebird nest box. We were watching while the female was in the box with 4 hatchlings; the male brought a long worm to the entrance. The worm resisted the handoff, and the female bluebird had trouble grasping it. She left the box and the male brought the worm back in to feed his youngsters. It took him a few tries, but he did succeed. This would be a challenge for any marksman: stuff a writhing worm into the gape of a wobbly-headed baby bird. These parents are doing a good job -- all 4 hatchlings seem to be thriving.

summer sumac

There is sumac growing outside my window that turns to burnished red and gold shades in the autumn. These shrubs seem to be leftovers from before the residential lots were here. Based on the property plat, they are growing along what was the old farm fence row. And, like sumac do, they strive each season to expand their position. I have enjoyed their brilliant autumn colors for a few years, but this summer is the first time I paid attention to them as they bloomed.
Another treat for us, compliments of our wild woods!

bluebirds - brood 2 hatched

The four bluebird eggs have become helpless little hatchlings. I watched today as the female brought some food, then the male brought in a many-legged item to feed them. She tried to convey it to the young but between their helpless writhing and the bug's wiggling legs, I'm not sure where it went. She did remove a "diaper bag", and he went back out to find something more suitable to feed those hungry beaks gaping in the nest.

blooming on the edge

Coreopsis and scabiosa bloom happily together at the edge of the veggie garden.

wren - second brood in snag box

In the wild woods we placed two PVC-tube nest boxes that simulate the tree snags which birds use for nesting sites. We packed sawdust in the tubes to make them seem like a decaying tree snag. Both have been totally excavated; earlier this season we watched a pair of black-capped chickadees remove all the sawdust from one tube before they built their nest inside. The other tube is excavated and has accumulated some nesting material but no active nest thus far. The tube that was the site of the successful chickadee nest is now the nest of a house wren. She laid her first egg today!

nest watching

This year, with video cams in several positions, we are able to verify much more bird nesting activity. We've watched as a pair of bluebirds fledged a brood of 5, chickadees fledged a brood of 6, and house wrens fledged a brood of 6. Last week we fed a stray baby robin several freshly-dig earthworms, then watched him sit in the maple tree the entire next day begging for more. Over the last several days we've watched as the bluebirds laid a new clutch of 4 eggs in their nestbox. The material in the snag box (formerly used by the chickadees) has been rearranged each day, and this morning one little wren egg is visible at the bottom of this deep cozy hideaway. I am still hoping to spot the nests of the cardinals, goldfinches, and hummingbirds that inhabit the wild woods.

milkweed - scented delight

Weeding the vegetable garden today was a pleasure -- what a delightful hour. The sky was partly sunny with clouds floating by to cool me when the breeze was not enough. The soil was damp enough from recent rains so the weeds came out easily. And the milkweed that Julie started downhill from the veggie patch is in full scented bloom. The whiff of milkweed blooms on the breeze is, to me, the best -- sweet and spicy with hint of honey. And the blossoms are beautiful! No wonder the butterflies adore this plant. Monarchs, in particular, lay their eggs on the undersides of milkweed leaves and their caterpillars feed on them.

toad - good citizen in the wild woods

This 3" American toad Bufo Americanus was hopping around today while I was working in the garden.
There are plenty of frogs and toads like this in the yard, especially in the wet swale and the grassy quiet dark places. They are important in the food chain -- they help control many insect populations and they are food for other creatures. The DNR web site has good information about amphibian species in this area. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/reptiles_amphibians/frogs_toads/toads/american.html

borage - improves tomatoes?

Last year, I learned that borage (Borago officinalis L.) is not only a pretty flowering edible herb, but it also improves the flavor of tomatoes when grown within a few feet of them. I did plant some borage seeds, and they blossomed profusely. I don't know if it helped my tomatoes, since weather and other variables seem to be in control here. And, this year, the volunteer borage is coming up throughout the veggie garden.

sparrow spooker

House sparrows harrassed the bluebirds that were trying for a second brood in the bluebird box. We had tried a "sparrow spooker" with mylar dangles with some success. But the persistent sparrows got too aggressive. I installed a "monofilament line" spooker on the nestbox, and so far it has kept them away. Theoretically, the monofilament lines are arranged to prevent the ground-feeding sparrows from landing or perching on the roof or front entry area while bluebirds (aerial feeders) can easily navigate among the lines.
I found the instructions and information at
http://www.sialis.org/hosp.htm   scroll down to "monofilament".

chickadees - fledged

The first brave little Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapilla) left the nest on Friday, day 17 after hatching. The other 5 launched themselves out of the nest on Saturday after much coaxing from the adults outside.

tamarack - loaded with cones

This spring the tamarack tree must finally be established and happy; it has set hundreds of cones. They first appeared in the shape and color of little rose buds. As they enlarge they turn more brown and cone-like. Bill snapped this shot and captured the sap oozing from them in the sun.

chickadees - 11 days old

Watching the 6 chickadee hatchlings on the video cam is addictive. Amazing how fast they are growing. Expect them to fledge out of the nest at day 15 or 16. In addition to this video cam in roof of the snag box, we're adding cameras outside to observe and record their fledging.

bluebird - fledged first brood

We've been watching the bluebird nestbox for weeks as they brooded 5 eggs. The resulting 4 hatchlings are 17 days old. Today the parents coaxed the young birds, one at a time, to come out of the nestbox. Each in turn perched on the box opening with curiosity, watched and listened for danger, then flew bravely to the nearby maple tree.

Now we expect the adult pair to feed them for a few weeks while teaching them to hunt. Since bluebirds usually have two broods each season, we've outfitted the nestbox with a new improved camera.

NestWatch

This year I am participating in NestWatch, a continent-wide nest-monitoring program that aims to provide a unified scheme to track reproductive success for all North American breeding birds. NestWatch teaches people about bird breeding biology and engages them in collecting and submitting nest records. NestWatch http://www.nestwatch.org/ is developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in collaboration with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, and funded by the National Science Foundation. Currently I am monitoring a bluebird nestbox, a house wren nest, a chickadee snag box, and searching for the nest sites of hummingbirds, cardinals, catbirds, and red-wing blackbirds that frequent the wild woods.
During November to April I participate in FeederWatch http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/