There is something about these birds…

While working through a pile of writing assignments, I find myself easily and cheerily distracted by the bird activity just outside my window.

Until recently, I never had a bird feeder and rarely did I stop to watch these feathered creatures being, well um, birds. Now I enjoy noting their personalities and habits. The sparrows are greedy and aggressive, flapping other birds off the feeder, the chickadees are stealthy and energetic, flitting in and out with seeds to hide away for winter, and the cardinals wing their way in, or often come around late in the day (about thirty minutes before dusk) to bulk up before bedtime?

Yesterday, two downy woodpeckers stopped by for water, a few bugs and sunflower seeds. I wonder where they will settle this winter? From what I’ve read, they look for dead tree trunks into which they excavate their nests.

I assume the cardinals will stay near here; Belmont is filled with tall evergreens and hedgerows and in the past a pair nested in my hemlocks.

Two chickadees are nesting in a birdhouse next door, but I’m not sure where the other half dozen who visited today hang out. I hope they will stay in the neighborhood this winter; they certainly have the capacity to withstand the cold, although last year’s winter was pretty brutal.

 As for other backyard visitors, the squirrels have grown less annoying, now that months have passed since they ate all my peaches, and I hope the chipmunk is still around, preparing to bed down deep under the lawn for the winter. Then there are the neighbors' cats. For the sake of my feathery friends, I hope they either pass through my yard or take out a few mice, who tend to find a way into my nearly century-old, porous house at this time of year!

Now back to work on rounding up future meadowmakers and hopefully bird, butterfly, bee, insect and mammal supporters!

Healing the Earth - One Meadow at a Time

Last summer, Waltham students and Meadowscaping staff replaced a tough turf lawn at 750 Main Street, Waltham MA with a sunny native plant meadow to: a) attract pollinators and provide wildlife habitat, b) educate youth about biodiversity and the seven other pillars of meadowscaping, and c) heal the Earth one meadow at a time.  Since then, we have been photo-documenting the seasonal evolution of our urban meadow. Notice that the native perennials in this 500 sq. ft. plot are already twice as tall as last year!

August 2014

February 2015

July 2015

We are pleasantly surprised by the beauty and scale of this year-old meadow bursting with variety and color—Aster, Bee balm, Boltonia, Coreopsis, False Indigo, Joe Pye Weed, Swamp Milkweed, and 20 other flowers, shrubs, and grasses! And while most plants grew larger in the areas where we placed them last year, the progeny of several varieties, particularly the Echinacea, Black-eyed Susan, and Vervain have popped up all over the place! Passersbys are pleased by the aesthetics and allure of this place, while wildlife, including insects, pollinators, birds, and bunnies are thrilled by its function!

A Living Laboratory

 This meadow is a living lab that is changing all the time. Each week, we observe and record site conditions, measure plant changes, and identify and record visiting pollinators, noting which flower appeals to which pollinator, and for how long. To date, we have tracked at least five types of bee/wasp pollinators: Bumblebee; Honey Bee; Black and Yellow Mud Dauber; Yellow Jacket; and Paper Wasp. We have seen several flies other than the house variety: Deer Fly, Bee Fly, Hover Fly. We have overturned several soil lovers: earthworms, wireworms, wood lice, centipedes. And we have discovered beetles, fireflies, and caterpillars. Of all the visitors, my current favorites are the butterflies! A few types started to arrive in the third week of July: Cabbage Butterfly, Red Admiral Butterfly and, yes, an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail! Have a look! Enjoy!

Bumblebee on Echinacea

Paper wasp

Baby Yellow Jacket on Vervain Leaf

Earth worm

Wood Lice

Caterpillar. Winter Moth?

Robin bathing

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Blue Gian Hyssop

 

MEES 2015 Conference

Meadowscaping's Jean Devine and Barbara Passero presented a workshop, "Soil Smorgasbord" at the 2015 MEES Conference at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA, on March 11, 2015.

MEES participants get dirty while experimenting with soil below:

       

    

Meadowscaping's soil tunnel intrigues participants who are on a scavenger hunt for items above, below, and on the surface of the soil. Trying to avoid ant burrows, earthworms, and all kinds of tiny creatures, they take turns going through the tunnel.