by Winding Pathways | Jul 14, 2014 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Chickens, Garden/Yard, Mammals, Nature, Pests
The charming but pesky chipmunk is an amazing forager and storer of food.
Wildlife sometime create yard mischief. Raccoons, possums, and skunks tip over trash cans in the middle of the night. Chipmunks tunnel under walls, moles heap mounds of dirt. And woodchucks and cottontails raid the garden.
Damage, or perceived damage, often infuriates homeowners. Woodchucks have the uncanny ability to harvest lettuce the day before it is to be picked for an evening salad, and raccoons raid the sweet corn patch the moment ears are ripe. Moles hump up hills of dirt that lawnmowers hit, and skunks mine into the sod for grubs. What’s a homeowner to do?
WHY WILDLIFE CAUSE PROBLEMS
There’s no mystery to it. Wild animals are attracted to yards because they are comfortable places to live or find food. All living creatures need food, shelter and water to live. Yards frequently offer these basic needs all in proximity. Create a beautiful diverse yard and wildlife will enjoy it as much as people. In most cases people love seeing most species of wildlife in their yards, but often agree that they are best enjoyed in moderation.
THREE STEPS TO CONTROL GARDEN WILDLIFE DAMAGE
There are three ways to effectively overcome, or at least minimize, wildlife damage.
Homeowners differ in their strategy on how they weigh the benefits versus problems of wildlife in the yard.
Strategy One: Tolerate damage and enjoy wildlife.
It’s a state of mind that may require attitude adjustment. How important is a perfect lawn or head of cabbage, versus watching a cottontail mom peacefully nurse her babies on the edge of the law? How valuable is the beauty and inspiration gained from seeing chipmunks pack their cheeks with seeds and scamper across the yard versus the tunnels they make in retaining walls? For many people having beautiful and interesting wildlife out the window far outweighs damage they may cause.
We had a friend who grew a tiny garden with a few lettuce plants, a short row of string beans, and one hill of summer squash. When a cottontail devoured them she was incensed and declared war on bunnies. She bought traps but never managed to catch them. She built a fence but the lettuce thieves found their way under it. Her stress level rose as plants disappeared.
We suggested she might rely on simple arithmetic to solve her problem.
“Instead of spending about a hundred bucks on fencing and traps, wouldn’t it be simpler and cheaper to just buy lettuce, squash, and beans at the farmer’s market”, we asked her. She agreed. It took some mental adjustment, but now she buys locally grown vegetables and enjoys watching the cottontails that she once hated.
SOMETIMES IT’S BEST TO JUST IGNORE MINOR DAMAGE AND ENJOY WILDLIFE.
Strategy two. Preventing damage in the first place.
The saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” holds true for wildlife damage. In most cases homeowners can both enjoy wildlife and prevent or greatly reduce damage critters might do. Some simple ways to anticipate and reduce conflict include:
Fencing: Craft fences sturdy enough to keep rabbits and woodchucks out of the garden. Cottontails, for example can jump a long ways horizontally but not high vertically. An inexpensive 18 “ tall temporary fence of chicken wire will keep them out of the garden. Woodchucks are more challenging, as they are expert diggers and climbers. A garden fence needs to extend below the ground to keep them out and needs to be at least three or four feet tall. Watch for more fencing specifics in future editions of Winding Pathways website.
Securing: Store trash cans inside the garage with the door closed to keep raccoons from tipping it over. Better yet, compost food scraps and don’t put anything in the can that will interest wildlife. Composting turns waste into a wonderful resource that improves the soil. Don’t let the trash man cart it away. Some people who prefer not to add meat scraps to the compost bin, feed them to a small flock of chickens or simply put them on the edge of the yard in the evening for the raccoons to devour. No more tipping over the trash can.
PREVENTION IS A KEY
Strategy three: Killing the offending animal.
Often people resort first to killing an animal. However killing a few woodchucks, raccoons, moles, or chipmunks will not solve damage problems. These animals are in the yard because they find perfect conditions there to live. Remove a few and others will move in. Keep killing and you’ve created a wildlife death trap.
Sometimes it is necessary to kill an animal. Upcoming issues of Winding Pathways will feature tips on how to eliminate problem animals.
by Winding Pathways | Jul 14, 2014 | Children/Play, Nature, Wonderment
Kids love huts. Often they’ll spend hours scouring the neighborhood for enough sticks to build one and spend hours inside a hut’s comfortable embrace reading, texting, or just enjoying its privacy.
Temporary huts are easy for a child and parent to build and take down. They are a sure way to encourage kids to spend more time outdoors. Our two children enjoyed many types of huts over the years. Here are some simple hut making suggestions:
A LEAN TO: Making a Lean to is as simple as it sounds. Simply gather sticks three or four feet long and lean them at an angle against a wall, tree, fence or even picnic table. The hut won’t be water tight and will have lots of gaps between sticks, but kids love them. When it’s time to take the hut down the sticks make outstanding wood for a simple backyard camp fire.
A TARP TENT: Hardware stores sell blue or green tarps for a few bucks. Buy one at least six by eight feet. Stretch a rope about three feet above the ground horizontally between two trees, yard furniture, a fence or anything else convenient. Drape the tarp over the rope. Tie short pieces of rope to the corner grommets and pull the tarp until it forms a triangle. Tie the rope off to a bush, fence or yard chair. Anything handy will do. If there’s nothing convenient drive a section of stick into the ground and tie the tent to this peg. That’s it. The hut is ready.
A tarp tent will even shed rain, so kids can enjoy being outdoors during showers.
Even the tarp isn’t absolutely necessary. An old blanket or sheet will work fine but they are harder to attach to the ropes and won’t shed rain. A grommet substitute is to put a small stone an inch in from the corner, shape the fabric around it, and tie it off with a short section of rope. This end of the rope will hold the fabric. The other is attached to a peg or something in the yard.
A CARDBOARD BOX. A big cardboard box also makes a great, if very temporary, hut. Just use a knife to cut a door in the side. Kids play for hours in these make shift structures.
by Winding Pathways | Jul 14, 2014 | Birds, Nature
September is the best time of year to observe one of nature’s most amazing animals. It’s hummer month!
Although several hummingbird species live in the southwest, only the Ruby Throated lives in eastern North America. It is the tiniest of our birds and only reaches three inches long. Hummers nest in suburban trees but aren’t frequently seen in the summer. By early fall local young hummingbirds have fledged and birds that summered in northern states and Canada are passing through on their way south.
Hummingbirds have an amazingly ability to hover as they sip nectar. They prefer tubular flowers, and the best way to attract this bird to a yard is to cultivate a wide array of colorful late summer and fall blooms. Our family loves watching hummers hover near columbine blooms out the kitchen window. They also check out Obedient plant and Crown of Thorns among other domesticated blooms.
Hummingbirds readily sip sugar water from a wide variety of hummingbird feeders on the market. So, putting a feeder outside a kitchen window is likely to attract this tiny bird for your enjoyment. Adding red food coloring is not necessary.
Many people worry that artificially feeding hummingbirds will cause them to linger in Iowa where they may be caught by cold weather. Fortunately, their migration instinct is powerful, and all hummingbirds leave the north before cold weather arrives.
By early October hummers have caught a ride on a strong north wind and are well on their way south. Now is a good time to replace hummingbird feeders with seed feeders for winter birds.
by Winding Pathways | Jul 14, 2014 | Birds, Nature, Pests
Few Americans have heard of Nicholas Pike, even though the result of his work is visible in almost every yard throughout the world.
In 1852 Pike traveled to England for the Brooklyn Institute, purchased sparrows and had them shipped back to New York City. Fifty were released near the Narrows and they soon multiplied to become one of the most numerous birds in North America. They were later introduced to Australia and are common where people live all over the world.
English Sparrows thrive near people. They are at home from the gritty pavement of big cities to the barnyards of most farms. English sparrows live around people and can be found at nearly every bird feeder. They love to dine on pizza crusts and other food debris left in city parks. About the only place they don’t do well is in large prairies and big woodlands where people haven’t modified the land.
Although sparrows are amazingly numerous today, in the late 1800’s they were even more common. Before the advent of cars, cities and towns were crowded with work horses. Sparrows found an abundant food source picking grain from manure and feed hoppers. When autos replaced horses this food source disappeared and sparrow densities dropped.
Many bird lovers hate sparrows for good reason. Messy and noisy, they crowd out native birds and aren’t very colorful. But like most humans they are prolific immigrants from abroad that found a home here and prospered.
by Winding Pathways | Jul 14, 2014 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Garden/Yard, Nature
In this herbicide and mower age too many people believe the perfect lawn is a deep green monoculture of Kentucky bluegrass with nary a weed. They mow, spray, fertilize and fuss if they see a blade of grass out of place. It’s as if the lawn is an extension of the living room carpet.
Now comes the irony. The people who create these picture perfect lawns seem to spend their summer inside. Maybe that’s because perfect lawns are boring! They certainly are sterile.
There’s an old saying that the more money and effort invested in the perfect lawn the more problems will occur. And, that is true. Find a bare patch, a dandelion, or compacted grass and some lawn care company or garden store is ready to sell chemicals and seeds to cure it
Winding Pathways thinks differently. To us the perfect lawn is a vibrant place filled with life. Rather than a monoculture it’s an ever changing blend of many plant species that supports a diversity of fascinating animal life. It is a place governed by nature’s laws that entice the owner to go outside, look, listen, and learn the many lessons nature teaches to any observant person. Even the tiniest urban lawn offers its owner a free ecological education – while saving money. The ecological lawn is diverse, dynamic, colorful, inexpensive, and ecologically healthy.
Lawns are human manipulated ecosystems, but nature takes over the moment the mower is stowed in the garage. Nature loves diversity. Ecological conditions on even the tiniest lawn vary from place to place because the soil here may be very different from the soil a few feet away. Maybe it’s shady here. But sunny there. Here it gets lots of foot traffic. There it doesn’t. Here it gets lots of water. Just over there it bakes in the sun.
No single plant species is adapted to thrive in such varied conditions. To create a monoculture lawn requires defying nature.
Diversity is stability’s key. Our lawn hosts at least 30 plant species. Each is adapted to slightly different ecological conditions. If August brings blistering heat and drought, dry loving species spread, while moisture lovers fade. Switch the conditions and the plants shift. Always changing. Sometimes puzzling but always interesting.
No two seasons are ever identical so it’s impossible to know in advance what the growing season will bring. A diverse lawn is well buffered and prospers no matter what happens. Some plants will grow without benefit of irrigation, fertilizer, or pesticides! People may call them “weeds”, but we call “mother nature’s stitches.”
Just as weather varies, so does soil. Some lawn species enjoy rich loose topsoil, while just a few feet away others struggle to thrive in rocky, sandy, compacted, or simply infertile soil. Those plants most adapted to each particular soil condition will dominate in its tiny lawn microhabitat and no single species is likely to ever prosper across a lawn in the complex mix of changing weather and varied soil.
Modern housing developments are often created by scraping off topsoil and compacting subsoil under the wheels of construction equipment. To make the home look good, builders apply a veneer of sod on awful soil and hope the house sells soon. Usually the grass of choice is Kentucky bluegrass, a species native to cool moist Europe, not late summer American droughts. Nature responds by introducing dozens of species of better-adapted plants to diversify and buffer the lawn. Sadly, too many people call them weeds and persecute them, creating an endless need to spray and water to maintain an ecologically unhealthy lawn.
The healthy lawn isn’t uniform. Its texture varies depending on the blend of plant species living from spot to spot. It will probably have white clover that adds nitrogen to the soil and allows kids to make fun clover chains. It might have some a purslane or two, which make delicious eating. Probably will have common plantain, a harmless plant brought to North America from England. Every weed has its place, its story, and usually a benefit for people.
Allowing a lawn to diversify itself offers homeowners a chance to see nature at work as plant species change from season to season and year to year. A close observer receives an ecological education while saving money otherwise spent on water and chemicals.
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