Wisconsin Winters

They do drag on, and on.  This was the view as seen through our living room window on March 20th.  The snow had melted.  The robins had returned and were busy searching the waterlogged soil for worms.  I had begun putting together a mental checklist of the outdoor projects I wanted to tackle this year.
                                                                                                               
And then this happened.
Snow began falling on the night of March 22nd and continued through the next day leaving us with a staggering 17 inches of wet, heavy snow.  The birds weathered the storm in nearby evergreens and left only to quickly fill their bellies with seed or to clean their feathers in our heated bird bath.  I've read that March is the toughest month for birds and this storm really emphasized that fact.

I adore killdeer.  This pair showed up in the backyard a couple of weeks ago.  They just scream, "Look at me!", with their long legs, prominently striped bodies, and bright red eyes.  They scurry around so quickly and are particularly camera shy.  I love listening to them call out to each other.

There is a second killdeer hiding in the above photo.  Can you find it?

March in Wisconsin is like a wild roller coaster ride full of dramatic twists and turns, highs and lows.  One day you're opening your windows and breathing in that wonderfully perfumed, damp Spring air and the next you're shoveling snow.  And so it goes.  Mother Nature may be a bit of a sadist but patience has shown that she always relents.

Typical

We slowly made our way to the Christmas tree farm, taking in the scenic beauty of the country drive.  The owner greeted us with a smile and a hand saw with which to chop down the tree of our own choosing.  We drove up the hill to an area planted with majestic Scotch pines.  The late afternoon sun bathed the many rows of trees in beautiful golden light.  I hastily retrieved my camera from the back seat.  Equipped with my trusty 50mm lens, I angled myself for the perfect shot.  The shot that would encapsulate the beauty and serenity of this place.  One final check of the camera settings and then a quick snap of the shutter.  Success!  I pressed the button to review my glorious image and...wait.  "No memory card."  What??!  The string of obscenities swirling inside my head were not appropriate for the family friendly venue.  I opted instead to take many wonderful mental images of our experience.  Now if only I could find a way to develop the film.

Endings and New Beginnings

It's been some time since I updated.  Maybe it's because I was busy preparing to get married on a beach on Maui!  The experience was everything we had hoped for and we look forward to many happy years together.

While we were away, many changes were taking place out in the yard.  The leaves of the bittersweet vine climbing the pergola turned a brilliant shade of yellow.  The aspen tree is almost bare now and it's leaves litter the landscape.  We mowed over some and then added them to the garlic bed as winter mulch.  I planted 40 cloves of garlic in two equal rows.  One row is cloves I got from my dad and the other row is cloves that I grew earlier this year.  The cloves from my dad were slighter larger than my own so I thought it would be fun to monitor both rows and observe any differences.  Sadly, I have already forgotten which row is which.  Figures. 


As so many plants are beginning their long Winter sleep, others are just hitting their stride.  The goldenrod I planted last year bloomed for the first time.  It adds a gorgeous pop of color to the Fall bird garden.

Ripening crab apples and winterberries take center stage.  The berries on my "Tina" crab apple tree hang from bare branches like tiny little Christmas ornaments.   I planted a "goldfinch" winterberry shrub last year along with a male pollinator. At the time it had maybe a dozen berries on it.  This year it has settled in nicely to it's new home and berry production has increased tenfold.   I like this shrub so much that I am thinking of adding a couple more next year.  It is popular to use winterberry branches in Winter floral arrangements but I just can't bring myself to clip mine yet.

Plants aren't the only changes taking place in the yard.  Summer birds have moved on to their Winter homes while new birds have taken their place.  We have lots of woodpeckers and nuthatches.  They are year-round residents but their numbers increase at the feeders this time of year.  Both enjoy feasting on peanuts and scaling the aspen trunk in search of insects.  I typically see downy woodpeckers in the yard but have recently been receiving frequent visits from a red bellied woodpecker.

Last weekend we celebrated Halloween.  There was a hard frost that morning which made for a fun photographic opportunity.  Midday we ran to town to stock up on candy for trick-or-treaters.  Then we rushed home to begin carving our jack-o-lanterns.  Such a hyphenated holiday! :)  Jeremy passed out Halloween candy to all of the excited children while I snapped a few photos.  Then we delved into our stash of "premium" candy we'd set aside earlier in the afternoon.  And thus commenced the season of over-indulging in tasty treats.

Dog Days

Heat. Rain. More rain. Bugs. More heat. That pretty much sums up the month of July. So far August has been drier but still very buggy and humid. This is definitely the hottest Summer in recent memory.


Some of the plants in the garden have benefited from all of the rain and heat while others have really struggled. My tomatoes are ripening about a month ahead of schedule but the plants have suffered severely from the excess rains. I harvested the last of my garlic last week and was very pleased with the crop.  I am a third generation grower of this particular hybrid.  The cloves are super spicy.   I've already used some in cucumber salad and in two batches of homemade pasta sauce. As soon as I pick some more romas I plan to make a batch of salsa.

The excess of rain has caused some plants to put on a lot of new growth.  The front yard is looking very green and lush.  I'm worried that the little serviceberry tree on the front berm has put on too much new growth.  Some of the branches are starting to bend downward and others have been breaking in the many strong storms we've had recently.  I've pruned it somewhat and time will tell whether further pruning will be required. 

The backyard bird garden is a fun work in progress.  Some of the perennials that I planted last year are blooming for the first time.  I am particularly excited about the butterfly weed.  The blooms are such a brilliant orange color and are already attracting butterflies.  Success!  The joe pye weed and swamp milkweed look like they're both going to bloom for the first time as well.  Soon I'll have the thriving butterfly habitat I've been dreaming of.

Earlier this year I made the mistake(?) of filling one of my bird feeders with a mix that included sunflower seeds.  Soon after I had to spend a lot of time pulling up all of the little plants that sprouted from the spilled seeds.  I decided to let a few of them remain and they just started blooming at the end of last week.  They are petite, standing about 3 feet tall with flowers approximately 5 inches in diameter.  I am excited to watch the seed heads develop.  



Staring at the center of the flowers has a rather hypnotizing effect.  Or maybe I just need a nap. ;)

We haven't been spending too much time in the backyard due to the voracious mosquito population.  It's kind of a bummer since the area surrounding the patio is so pretty right now.   Here are a couple of photos taken from roughly the same spot.  The first showcases the russian sage in full bloom.  The little crab apple tree in the background is starting to branch out horizontally.  I think it will be a really pretty specimen in a couple more years.  

 This last shot was taken in the evening as Jeremy burned some yard debris in the fire pit.  This is my favorite time of day.  I love the way the clumps of little bluestem grass are illuminated by the evening sun.  Soon they'll develop seedheads and begin to take on the beautiful bronze shades of Autumn.

Wind in the Willows

Today was overcast and windy, providing a good opportunity to make a video of my dwarf blue arctic willow shrubs. They look so pretty when they sway back and forth in the breeze.

Bird Garden

We recently got a good amount of rain, and now the perennials are really beginning to bloom out in the bird garden.  At this point most everything is a shade of purple, but soon there will be white, yellow, orange, and pink.

One of my favorites is salvia.  I have several kinds planted throughout the yard, but this variety is more blue than purple.  Salvia has a long, reliable bloom time and is a favorite of bumblebees.  If you deadhead it after the initial blooms fade, it will even bloom a second time later in the summer.  Sweet!

I started this garden in the summer of 2008.  A few of the perennials from the 2008 season did not emerge the following year.  I replanted some, but now I think some of the 2008 plantings have returned!  Maybe they were patiently establishing their root systems last year?  Whatever the case, I was pleasantly surprised to see them all emerge this Spring.  I will remember this and try to be a bit more patient and optimistic in the future.

There is one particular perennial planted in 2008 that is blooming beautifully for the 3rd year in a row.  Unfortunately, it is the only plant whose identity I can't remember.   I'm pretty sure it's a native but I can't find it listed in my "Native Plants of Wisconsin" book.  It's blooms are purplish magenta but have bits of blue near the tips.  They are small but tubular in shape.  Today I noticed a bumblebee tucked inside one of them and thought surely these blooms must attract hummingbirds as well.  The entire plant is about a foot tall by a foot wide.  Maybe I'll come across the name in one of my Google searches.

The young Shasta daisy plant that I planted in late April has it's first bloom.  I've had trouble getting daisies established in other parts of the yard so I'm really hoping this one will do well.  They are such cheery flowers and their crisp white color really brightens up the garden.

I'm happy to see my joe-pye weed emerging in two different areas of the garden.  This is one of the plants that I replanted last year after assuming the first planting had died.  Other perennials that will be blooming soon are bee balm, butterfly weed (2 kinds!), blazing stars, echinacea, and moonbeam coreopsis.  I am excited about the butterfly weed since milkweed is the only plant that monarch butterflies lay their eggs on.   It is also an important food source for caterpillars and adult butterflies.

Each new year brings exciting new changes to the bird garden.  It is a pleasure to watch it mature and become a haven for all of my little winged friends.

Otherworldly

The bird garden looks like some sort of fairy tale land when bathed in the early morning light.

 

My orioles

Early May signals the return of one of my favorite birds, the Baltimore oriole. Their brilliant coloring and cheerful song makes them a real standout. This year they endured a grueling migration through an oil spill in the Gulf and record flooding in Tennessee. If I could understand their language, I bet they'd have some interesting tales to tell.

This is the third year that I've used special feeders to attract orioles to my backyard. The first feeder is a very small one that Jeremy and I made from scrap wood and a bit of tin. It has a small perch and an old nail that holds a chunk of fresh orange. It's tucked back in the bird garden near most of my other bird feeders.

I also bought a jelly/orange feeder from my favorite birding website. It has a small glass cup that holds the jelly and two copper spirals that you can twist pieces of orange onto. Clearly a crowd pleaser, I've often seen two orioles feeding from it at the same time.

Lastly is the new feeder that I just put out yesterday. It's made from a really cool antique strainer ladle that I found at an antique mall a couple of years ago ( for only $3.00!). I knew right away that it's bright orange color and shape would make for a fine feeder. Jeremy carefully drilled a small hole through the handle. We then hung it right near the jelly feeder on our pergola, and I filled it with orange flavored suet nuggets.

It's hard to imagine a more pleasing month than May, with the lilacs blooming and the orioles returning to nest. Springtime in the garden holds such a sense of excitement and hope for whatever lies ahead, just beyond that last frost warning.