Summer Bird Study - Hummingbirds

This is our busiest hummingbird feeder. They also like the flowers in the pots.

We love hummingbirds. I think we pay more attention to the hummingbirds in our yard than any other bird. They are constantly at our feeders, in our garden flowers, and flying around...front yard and backyard.

There are at least three in our yard at all times, competing for the feeders and flying fast. They sit in the trees and chirp at us when we eat dinner on the back deck. They are not afraid of us when we are out in the backyard and frequently will fly right up by us as we work in the yard.

They are year round residents.

Notebook page from More Nature Study Book #4

What aspect did we focus on this time in our hummingbird study as part of the More Nature Study Book #4 Hummingbird Challenge? We started off asking questions about their feathers and how in a certain light they are very green and in then in another light they are bright red. What makes them iridescent? But then we got side-tracked asking why the Anna's hummingbird chases the Black Headed Grosbeaks out of the seed feeders. I mean they are aggressively chasing them far out of the yard. Our field guide says they defend a 1/4 acre territory. We haven't found the concrete answer to our questions yet but we have some guesses.

Maybe Flutter is like this butterfly and has an injured wing.

Also, we were fascinated this week by one hummingbird in particular. We call him "Flutter". He has a unusual sound to his flying. Most of the birds have the familiar "hum" to their wings and the Anna's Hummingbird make a clicking sound as well. But Flutter sounds like he has a bum wing...like it is not beating like the other birds. It sounds like a fluttering instead of a humming, if that makes sense. We have yet to catch him with the camera because our thought is that if we can take a photo and take a look at his wing shape, maybe he has some sort of injury.

Moonshine Yarrow - We water this once a week.

One last thing to relate about our hummingbirds this week. I was out in the yard using the hose to water a few of the bushes since it has been extremely hot and dry. I had the hose in a fine sort of mist and in the shape of an arc. Well, a hummingbird decided that it was the perfect place to fly in and out as he took a bath! It was amazing to watch and I am hoping I get to see it again some day. Our hummingbirds are quite comfortable with us right now and they will fly right up behind you and visit the feeder even if you are inches from them.

Don't forget to send in your Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival entries for the month of July. All entries using the OHC completed in July are eligible for the carnival. You can click the button and submit using the form on the Blog Carnival website.

Thanks for all your support!

You Build It and They Will Come - Butterfly Garden

This is the summer of the butterfly! We have been observing many kinds in our front yard garden...it is amazing to watch as several flutter around from flower to flower. The American Lady butterflies are smaller than we expected but they are daily visitors to the butterfly bushes.

We planned this garden for bees, butterflies, and birds and they are now moving in and taking advantage of our neighborhood oasis that we have created. Our neighbors all stop by to tell us how much they enjoy seeing our yard as they walk and drive up the street. It makes me smile.

Creating this wildlife habitat has been a dream realized. I can honestly say that we have spent time every single day enjoying the wonderful things in this space. 


The Western Tiger Swallowtails are the most frequent of the larger butterflies to visit every day. They spend lots of time on the butterfly bushes but they also land on the lavender from time to time. I think they are my favorite butterfly.


The white butterfly bush is the color that attracts the most butterflies from our casual observation. It has larger amounts of flowers so I think they may be the attraction.



We have had a few Monarch butterflies in the past week. This one looks a little tattered. It is exciting to see a Monarch though...this is exactly why we created this habitat. We looked forward to having our nature study subjects come to us...and they have.


This long thin purple flower cluster is my favorite shape and color. This could be called my purple section since I have purple lavender, sage, and butterfly bushes literally bursting out all over. The bees have found this space and they are here all day long.


The deep purple bushes line the front street and there are hummingbirds that can be seen landing on the blossoms as they take a break from collecting the nectar. The blooms don't even dip down...those hummers must be super lightweight.

There are a few more butterfly varieties that have come to visit but I haven't caught them with my camera....yet. I will share when I do.

Just for the record, the bee balm and nasturtiums started blooming this week in the back yard. Beautiful!




Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Frontyard Garden - Surprise Yard Art Sunflower

So....when Mr. A was spending all that time down in the shop over the past few weeks I thought he was working on his mini bike. Turns out he was creating a surprise for this garden loving mama.



We have a spot in the front yard that I have been saving for some garden art but so far I hadn't found anything I liked. Using his welding skills, his amazing creative eye, and a lot of hard work, Mr. A designed and then made this sunflower art and then while I was out for a walk, placed it in the garden. (Mr. A is my eighteen year old son....in case you are new to the blog.)


It is about five feet tall and is now securing situated in the rock garden area on the top terrace of my front yard. I can see it from my living room window which is really the best angle for seeing it. Didn't he do an amazing job?


The rest of the front yard has become an amazing palette of color and every corner is now filling in with living things. The hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies are always flying here and there among the blossoms. The bees are even up in the blossoming tulip poplar tree.


I am enjoying the sage this year...I think it is the shape and the delicate flowers. Or maybe it is the scent of sage that sort of lingers in the air after you walk by.


We haven't added anything new this week to the garden but the Lamb's Ear that I am trying in the rock garden is growing and filling in the space I have. My friend warned me that it will take over but I am confident that the rocks will contain it or in the end I can thin it as needed. You can see the poppies in this image too...they are being left until they go to seed so we can have a bumper crop of springtime poppies next year.

Our time this week in the garden was spent trimming bushes on the side of the house, cutting back the neighbor's blackberry vines from the fence line, and a bit of weeding around the bottoms of the bird feeders.


Here is one shot from the backyard garden. This is my rather temperamental rhododendron. Look at it! Blooming so pretty this year.

Now is such an exciting time in the garden. My focus this year has shifted from veggies to flowers since we have an amazing Farmer's Market where I can glean as much fresh stuff as our family needs without all the fussing. I may go back to growing lots of veggies in the future but for now it is nice just to enjoy the colors and shapes of the flowers. (I do have a few staples in the back square foot garden but not much more than herbs, zucchini, okra, and a tomato.)

Sigh...I love this time of year.




Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Garden Color and Fragrance - Early June Delights

My garden is full of promise...the promise of beautiful things to look at and delicious things to eat.

The daisies are filling in a big spot in the back cutting garden and we are anxious to study them as part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge later in the summer. There are coneflowers, sunflowers, and zinnias as well that have buds so stay tuned for some updates on those in a few weeks.


Some things are already smelling like heaven...the star jasmine is in full bloom and already needed a trimming back from the sidewalk. The cats lay under these plants since they make wonderful shade in the afternoon sun. Wouldn't that be delightful?


Last week when I was working with the window open I could smell this rose on the gentle afternoon breeze. It is a Disneyland Rose and it has been a faithful bloomer these past few years. It is loaded with pink/peach flowers. This rose is what I imagine the perfect rose fragrance would be...a signature scent.


The hydrangeas are bursting open this week and the delicate color of the flowers on this particular bush is one of my favorites.


A few years ago, I used my watercolor pencils to capture the pastel colors of this lovely flower and then used a fine tip marker to outline it a bit. Keeping track of my favorite garden flowers in my journal is a wonderful way to pass an afternoon.


This is something new in the backyard this year and it is really taking off. We added this Jerusalem Sage to a spot that gets super hot and dry in the afternoons up against the house. So far it is thriving...I did put it on the drip system until it is established and then I think I can back off with the water. The texture of the leaves is soft and fuzzy which adds a nice layer of interest to this side of the garden. 


The front yard has been joined by the blooming purple butterfly bush! The hummingbirds have been seen enjoying this particular bush...actually fighting over it in the early evening hours. My cat friend Cocoa is like my garden shadow these days. She seems to pop up wherever I go. You can see my sage growing in two spots in the background of this photo. It is just starting to bloom.


Another favorite of the hummingbirds is the Red Hot Poker plant. This is Mr. A's favorite plant in the garden and he has been eagerly waiting for it to bloom. It looks good this year and I may end up dividing up the plant in the late fall to fill in a few spaces in the front garden.


We have started to see quite a bit of growth in our backyard fruit. The apples are looking like apples! Not too many apples on the limbs but enough for each of us to enjoy a crisp apple come the end of the summer.

Someone asked in a comment a few weeks ago whether we had any lawn left in our yard. The answer is yes and you can see it in this photo. We have a small plot of grass left in the backyard, mostly for the dog to enjoy. We use it as her ball throwing spot and she loves to lay in the shady grass on the hot afternoons. Since it gets so hot here and there is very little rain during the summer months, we do have to water this part of the yard. I have it set on a timer and it waters five minutes a day and so far that is enough to keep it green. (I need to write a post showing how we have cut our water usage to a fraction of what it was two years ago and still enjoy a lush green garden.)


Of course the figs are loaded as usual....this is not my favorite fruit but we eat a bit and then leave the rest for the birds and other critters. We have tried several times to eliminate this tree but every time we cut it down it comes back full and loaded with fruit within a year.


I do LOVE blackberries and we have our little patch just loaded with blossoms right now. This is exciting and it really seems like summer now that the berries are maturing. My blueberries are still all plant and no signs of blossoms or berries. I hope to get a bit of fruit from them this year. We shall see.

We have rain today so the garden is getting well watered but tomorrow we are going to see the end of the rain and be back to our warm temperatures. I am grateful for the rain but I am ready for the summer heat.



Just a few reminders to participants of the Outdoor Hour Challenge:
The first of the summer challenges will post on  June 8, 2012..that is this Friday!

Don't forget to send in your June blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival by Friday, June 29, 2012.

The June (Ocean Beach) edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter has published. You must be subscribed to the blog in order to receive the download link. It is a beautiful and informative edition that I know you are going to want to have in your collection. You can subscribe on the sidebar of my blog. 






Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Updated Wildside-New Garden Arch-Delighted Nature Mama

This was a big week in the garden.

My dear sweet husband surprised me by making a new garden arch for my front yard. We had talked about adding a decorative arch, kicked around a few ideas, and then he added his creative touch. I love the way it makes a sort of  "window frame" to the lower part of the garden. He is going to fill in the bare spot with another sage. The poppies are filling in naturally and I think by next year they will be to this lowest part of the yard.



He added a few of my favorite things....birds, butterflies, vines. (Maybe all this garden beauty will distract me from my neighbor's falling down fence.)


He didn't stop there. He finished up the top terrace of the front yard....he eliminated much of my wildside garden but now it is going to be filled with more wonderful color. Just a note: He used the idea I found on Pinterest to spray a solution of vinegar and water on the weeds before trying to remove them. He sprayed last weekend and let it sit for a week. It was awesome how easy those weeds just hoed out of the ground. He was able to do this entire area in less than an hour! I didn't get a "finished" shot....I will soon.


We are adding more yarrow...a different color this time. The yarrow in our front yard is amazing right now...what a great performer with no water and lots of sunshine.



Maybe someday this new section will be as colorful as the established part of the garden. Here is an image from the top terrace looking down onto the yarrow, lavender, butterfly bush, poppies, and dogwoods. We also added some lamb's ear among the rock garden. I am going to see if spreads too much but it has added a new texture to the yard.

Switch gears now and head to the back butterfly garden.


The columbine is starting to bloom! This is such a wonderfully happy flower that loves my semi shady spot in the butterfly garden. Look at those colors!


How about the shape? Isn't it interesting to see how different the back of the flower looks from the front? I am adding this image to my nature journal...I think watercolors.


Last but not least, I wanted to share another one of my swallowtail visitors to my back garden. This magnificent butterfly spent quite a bit of time yesterday fluttering among my potted plants. He seemed to like the bright pink dianthus the best.


So now you know what I am one delighted nature mama. I love this time of year!




Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Garden Update and Nature Journal Tutorial-Window Frame

When we started our front yard remodel in 2010 I had no idea how much joy this space was going to bring to our lives. Each week it is a new palette of colors. The plants are really filling in this spring and new critters are moving in as well. Here are some glimpses into our garden and then a nature journal entry tutorial for you to give a try.

Butterfly bushes, Yarrow, and Lavender - April 2012

Lavender is the main blooming plant on display right now. The bees love it and so do we!


Along with the lavender is the forsythia, which contrasts so well with the lavender.


The poppies are just beginning to show signs of flower buds and they are just waiting to tip their "hats" and show their blazing orange colors.



This is something new this week....a critter is making a home under my big rock! They have pulled the landscape material back and exposed a little space to hide in right there alongside my front path. I wonder who it is?



I still really enjoy watching our butterfly "fly" around in the breeze. It adds a little bit of whimsy to our front yard.

Nature Journal Tutorial- Window Frame

This project may at first appear to be a little complicated but I encourage you to give it a try. The finished project is so fun to look at and remember your nature time.

Supplies:
Nature Journal
Pen
Watercolor pencils and brush


Begin by sketching a frame that includes both pages in your nature journal.


Sketch your subject. I chose this butterfly bush sample to sketch. Just for fun I made it extend outside the frame.


Now you can add water to your sketch, a title, and a little detail sketch if you wish. Add some fun lettering along the one side...add a date (which I did after taking this photo) and you are finished.

I would love to see your version of this nature journal idea. Send them to harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com. You can find more of my Nature Journal Ideas on Squidoo. I also wrote this entry that might help you get started: 3 Tips for Nature Journals When You Think You Can't Sketch.




Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!