Climate Crisis

Climate Crisis

Recurring record breaking weather events such as fires, hurricanes, and flooding have become common news. Pollinators like monarch butterflies and honey bees are in decline. Research now indicates that North America's bird population has decreased by 30% in 40 years. And NEWSFLASH! You can be part of the solution.

Take Action

+  3 BillionBIrds.ORG #BringBirdsBack
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+  Million Pollinator Gardens Network
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Thursday, February 27, 2014

The Chemical Pushers..

The ground may still lay below 3 feet of snow and ice, and the frostline might be another 3 feet below, but that won't stop the lawn care professionals from visiting.

If they haven't already come to your door, you should probably expect them soon. They will come and knock upon your door and offer a free estimate for treating your lawn. If you are not home, they'll leave a brochure. Let me state now, that I do not judge these folks, they are doing their jobs and frankly doing it outside in weather below 0. However, it doesn't mean I have to accept their offers or agree with the business they are in.

Last year, we were one of a couple houses in the neighborhood that never had the yard chemically treated. And frankly it shows. We've even had neighbors comments about the clover, dandelions, and creeping charlie growing in our yard. I take their concerns as a sign we are doing something right.

In short, I assume that any product I put on my lawn which says my children and pets should stay off it, is probably not something I want on my property. The disappointing part is that we are one of few. Our dog seems particularly interested in the smell of the chemicals. She doesn't usually step up into people's yards while walking, but we've found that when she does, we will typically find one of those small warning signs.

If one these salesmen knocks upon your door, here are a few things to keep in mind before accepting their offer.
  • Studies have shown your chemicals are linked to cancer in dogs.
  • Studies have shown your chemicals are linked to childhood illnesses such as cancer.
  • Using lawn chemicals leads to chemical run off ending up in our lakes; the increase in nutrients in the lakes leads to harmful algae blooms.
  • Kudos to you if you already avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn. They cause a number of other problems not listed above. If your neighbors ever question you about your lawn care choices, point these things out to them, by asking, they have opened a door to education. If they are making even moderate use of their lawn with their kids or pets, they may want to reconsider their lawn care lifestyle.

    Wednesday, February 26, 2014

    Winged Wednesday - Birds in the News

    In tracking our feeder visitors this winter, I'd noticed a decline in activity. I've assumed for some time that this was related to the extremely cold weather we've had. I can't say that this WI State Journal article supports my assumption exactly but given yesterday's post, I thought I'd share it here.

    Apparently WI's wild turkey population is struggling with our cold weather.

    This of course relates to a more pressing issue. March 1st is only 5 days away, but the temperatures aren't expected to improve. During a typical year, we could start seeing Red Winged Blackbirds and Robins migrating back in large numbers about 15 days from now.

    Cornell's Bird Forecast seems to indicate that the migrations are already starting, so it looks like it's shaping up to be a cold return.

    Tuesday, February 25, 2014

    Ice Cream and Turkey


    Last May we went for a short stroll down to the local ice cream shop. When we returned home, we planned to let the dog out, but when I looked in the backyard I found a very large bird examining our feeders.

    He strolled through our yard and then through our neighbors' yards. We lost track of him pretty quickly. I'm not sure why he chose to visit our yard, but we'd certainly be happy to see again this spring.

    I'll post some of the other highlights from my hiatus as well over the next few weeks.

    Welcome Back

    Everything Must Change...

    When last I posted, I was an expecting father who hadn't yet put any trees in the ground. So let's do a short review. The house when we had purchased it had very few plants at all, the one plant it had in plenty was Asiatic Lily.

      In year one we made the following changes:
    • Planted native grasses: Little Bluestem, Big Blue Stem
    • Planted native flowers: Coneflowers, Black Eyed Susan, Blue Lupine, Obedient Plant, Butterfly Milkweed, and New England Aster.
    • Planted Red Chokeberry, Serviceberry, Highbush Cranberry, and Pagoda Dogwood

    In the two years since my last post, the yard has changed a lot. Each spring I've extended the flower beds and added trees. We've also had some mishaps along the way, primarily from rabbits chewing shrubs down to nothing in the winter.

      Here's current list of plants in the yard
    • Trees: Eastern White Pine, Quaking Aspen, White Spruce, Red Oak, White Oak, Eastern Redbud, and Washington Hawthorne.
    • Shrubs: Serviceberry, Black Chokeberry, Highbush Cranberry, Staghorn Sumac, and Pagoda Dogwood
    • New Flowers and Grasses: Prairie Dropseed, Prairie Coneflower, False Indigo, and Cardinal Flower.

    So far all of the plants are pretty contained. They exist in flower beds or gardens. This year's plan is pretty simple. Replace anything which is dead or heavily damaged. Remove two highbush cranberry bushes which aren't growing and which might be too close to the property (please remember to respect your neighbors), and I'll probably need to replace the White Oak.

      Of course, I'll pick some plants for fun.
    • Staghorn Sumac
    • Pagoda Dogwood
    • And something for outside of the planters in the front yard: grasses and flowers TBD.

    This year part of the front yard is going no-mow!

    I'll post updates along the way and provide more information about our feathered visitors. It's good to be back.