Smarter Than We Think

by | Dec 30, 2015 | Birds, Mammals, Nature, Pests

Watching backyard wildlife yields amazing sights and education. We recently noticed two things at Winding Pathways that reminded us about how many animals are downright smart.

Both involved a manufactured trap that supposedly catches House Sparrows. We have more of this pesky bird than we’d like so we set the trap under a feeder and baited it with cracked corn.  A few minutes later an intrepid chipmunk entered the trap’s funnel-like door, feasted on seeds, and couldn’t find his way out. We gently released him and set the trap back on the corn.

A few minutes later we were amazed to see the chipmunk back and watch it tunnel under the trap to reach the bait! He’d learned that entering the trap brought trouble and figured out how to safely reach lunch.

Our sparrows are even smarter than the chipmunk. Not a single one entered the trap. Instead they feasted on corn and millet on the ground around the feeder. After a few hours they had eaten all the safe seed but they still wouldn’t enter the trap.

We now have new respect for the intelligence of both chipmunks and House Sparrows.

 

 

Christmas Bird Tree!

by | Dec 25, 2015 | Birds, Nature

Christmas Tree

De-light the tree if you must and adorn it with seed for greater natural delights!

After the holiday cheer fades and ornaments are stored away the Christmas tree can enjoy a second life alive with birds.

Nothing makes a better bird feeder than an upright fir. We take our old tree outside and set it upright. We either use the stand to hold it, dig a hole in the ground deep enough to hold the tree upright, or pound a tall stake into the ground and tie the tree to it. A few strings going out to stakes in the ground will keep it standing in high wind.

Then the fun starts. We pour a couple of cups of birdseed on the very top of the tree and let it settle down into the needles. Larger seeds, like peanuts and gray striped sunflower, work best.

So many birds flock to our tree to find seeds within its branches that it quivers with life and color.

Good sources of seeds include your local feed and wild bird stores,  Amazon, Kaytee Products, and Pine Tree Farms, Inc, and of course, many others.

Christmas For the Birds

by | Dec 19, 2015 | Birds, Nature

Christmas trees bring  Holiday spirit to a home but come at a cost. We love balsam firs for their  beauty and wonderful fragrance, but we don’t fancy sweeping up needles as the drying tree sheds.

This year we found the  solution. We set the fir up on the deck just outside our living room. A large window gives great viewing  and several strings  keep it upright on windy days. Instead of  normal  decorations we bought several bell shaped pressed seeds, a thistle sock, and some small feeders and decorated the tree for the birds. Each morning we pour peanuts and sunflower seed at the tree’s top and many  seeds settle on branches.

Our tree is alive with birds and squirrels all day. They are our living ornaments. And, after the Christmas season is over all we need to do is untie the strings, remove the tree from the stand, and sweep the deck off.

Marion and Rich at Winding Pathways wish you a pleasant winter holiday and a happy and healthy 2016.

 PUTTING THE OLD TREE TO USE

 Winding Pathways is near Cedar Rapids, Iowa where Indian Creek Nature Center  accepts donated Christmas trees in January. They  are chipped  and volunteers spread the aromatic chips on trails. A walk on a freshly chipped trail smells like the north woods stroll.

Many other nature centers and towns recycle trees, but they can also be used around the home. Clip off the branches, let them dry and  needles fall, and  make kindling from the branches for summer cookouts. The stem makes a great garden pole. Set it upright and plant a few pole bean seeds in May.  By July the tree will support delicious green beans.

 

 

 

 

Foiling Squirrels – Sort Of

by | Nov 30, 2015 | Mammals, Nature, Pests

We love watching frolicking squirrels in our yard and every year we buy bags of corn for them to snack on. We draw the line when they climb up to feeders and gobble expensive seeds meant for chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers.

Bird feeder companies all tout their “squirrel proof” feeders and a homeowner can spend a bundle on different feeders just to slow the flow of seed from feeder to squirrels’ mouths. Some preventions work better than others but a reliable company is Droll Yankee.

But, being partly of Yankee stock, we took the economical route. To thwart the hungry mammals we mounted our feeders on steel pipes and even ringed some with metal stove pipe. Somehow they managed to dig claws into the metal, climb and feast on expensive seed.

Then we discovered spray grease. It’s sold in hardware stores and is meant to spray on drawer slides, hinges, and other balky metal parts. We sprayed it on the metal pipes holding up the feeders. Squirrels gingerly put their feet on the pipe and backed off as soon as they felt the grease. It works.

Spray grease only lasts a few weeks and needs to be reapplied, but it is a simple way to discourage squirrels from climbing to feeders.

 

North Country Sojourn

by | Nov 28, 2015 | Birds, Children/Play, Labyrinths, Nature, Travel/Columns, Wonderment

What fortune to have contacted Lisa Gidlow Moriarty who was constructing a labyirnth at Healing Waters Health Center in Hudson, WI. Rich and I joined the crew and after the lines were drawn using high technology of a bucket and rope and a tire iron to gouge the circuits, we placed rocks that had been hauled in.  The concentric circuits quickly asserted themselves and the labyirnth was completed in no time at all!  The day was cold, but the hearts and spirits warm.  What a fun experience.

Spotting birds

The children are quick to spot birds and squirrels.

Time with extended family in the Twin Cities was restful and hilarious as the children explored outside, spotted birds with “noculators”, and constructed wonderful toys from Legos.

Thanksgiving morning four of us walked a lovely labyrinth at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Plymouth, MN.  Set down in a barrow area, the labyrinth is formal, well-maintained and has a light feel to it.  While set apart, it is visible and still private.  Well done.

 

 

 

 

Tundra Swans

Along the Mississippi

Our drive back along the Mississippi River yielded a fabulous view of Tundra Swans near Minneiska, MN, and a really terrific lunch at a humble looking (on the outside) but spectacular on the inside creamery now restaurant, wine tasting stop and cheesery near Alma, WI. Pretty fabulous.  And, the countryside of The Driftless” area (NE Iowa, NW IL, SE MN and SW WI) is gorgeous even on grey November days.  Decorah, IA, boasts are pretty great coffee shop and small businesses.

Turkeys: Gift To the World

by | Nov 24, 2015 | Birds, Chickens, Nature

Turkey

Strutting his stuff

As we enjoy Thanksgiving dinner we pay homage to the great gift the Americas gave the world.

Beef, pork, lamb, and chicken all come from animals with Old World origins. Shortly after Europeans discovered North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and other new worlds they introduced these familiar and useful farm animals. Before Columbus made landfall, Native Americans knew nothing about these exotic animals. But, they knew turkeys.

Of all common meat animals eaten today only turkeys came from the New World.  Before Columbus, wild turkeys abounded across much of North America. Their domestic cousins were tended by some tribes. Treated with great care, the domesticated turkeys were an important source of clothing, tools and food. Among some uses of the tribes of the Four Corners of the United States, turkeys provided feathers for coats, eggs for eating and reproduction, and bones for tools. Evidence exists that the Native Americans cross bred for certain valued characteristics. Europeans quickly developed a taste for turkey and brought them eastward across the Atlantic where they became a common European food.

Our Thanksgiving dinner consists of turkey, potatoes, and winter squash, all Native American foods. Sometimes we add acorn muffins and capstone the meal with a long time family recipe for pumpkin pie, made from a plant that also originated here.