Enjoying the Fruits of my Labors– Birds in the Garden

Sometimes it takes getting the flu to make you slow down and enjoy the fruits of your labors. I am in day 7 of doing just that.

The bird action around my home and out in the garden is entertaining, relaxing, fascinating and just plain fun. The spot that I have created in my home to write and work is in the front entry with windows overlooking the front garden and onto the pasture. I have a platform seed feeder outside this window that is seated amongst shrubs, a crepe myrtle tree and lots of ground cover- perfect for bird cover.

The visitors to this feeder are surprising at times- it has one of those cages installed over the feeder to help deter the hawks from picking off my friends so easily. This cage is suppose to also keep the big bully black birds at bay to allow the little guys feed more freely. Today I had a thrasher in there eating, he is huge, I watch as he easily popped through the cage openings to help himself to black oil sunflower seeds. So much for keeping the big boys out.

The crepe myrtle is the perfect dining area for chickadees and titmice, they grab a seed from the feeder and go to the tree to eat it, I have a perfect view. I could watch for hours. The shrubs planted at the foot of the tree and feeder are a type of holly- (they look like boxwood shrubs) the birds love running around under them and also hopping around on top of them. It's like my own little show going out there constantly.

Beyond all this action is the front garden where I have left the beds intact full of dead plants full of seed heads. The birds love this. I also left the self-appointed towering sunflowers that are sprinkled around the garden. There flower heads that where once full of seeds are pretty much exhausted by this time of year so we just put out fresh sunflower heads for them.

I harvested a bunch of sunflower heads after that had dried in the garden to save for just this time of year. They have about a 18" stem still attached and heads full of seeds. I rubber band several stems together and them hang them out in the garden on the fence. It doesn't take long for the goldfinches to find them. They are constant visitors to the flower heads in the garden.

The bluebirds are also always present this time of year- they love to bath! Just a little water next to an open area will bring these guys in the garden.

I wonder if there is the level of action year round in the garden and I am just so blame busy out there all spring, summer and fall that I miss it all.

Stop and enjoy the fruits of your labors.

Happy New Year,

Lisa Ziegler
www.shoptgw.com