What's happening in your part of the world?
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Georgene A. Bramlage
- Schipperke
- biogardener
- biogardener
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Georgene A. Bramlage
- biogardener
- Schipperke
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Georgene A. Bramlage
- biogardener
- FYNFAN
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Georgene A. Bramlage
- Re: Whether Your Weather... central VA
Hi Mary,
Your bulb flowers should be all right...as it got colder the stems and buds just stopped elongating. The foliage, on the other hand, will probablyt look ratty. This, however, will not damage the overall health of the bulb. What is detrimental (and if I am incorrect maybe MaryLou G. will happen along) is a lack of waterdoughtly conditions), than water, and then a lack of water...in a cycle. Also, if the air temperatures get really hot while the bud is elongating, a condition known as "bud blast" takes place. Other things influence "bud blast", but to my knowledge these are the worst.
Georgene
-- posted by Georgene A. Bramlage
» Schipperke - Re: Re: Whether Your Weather... central VA
In response to Re: Whether Your Weather... central VA posted by Cercis:Thank you so much for explaining that to me. They did stop elongating. Now they have a nice little blanket of snow to keep their feet warm!
-- posted by Schipperke
» biogardener - The Hawaii Situation
The Hawaii situation reminds me of that in SE Asia. Scientists from all over the world warned that a tsunami was imminent in the area. Some even predicted the time with great accuracy, including one Univerity of Manitoba professor who passed his findings on to scientists in Taiwan, but they were unable to get their government to respond to the warning. Governments do not like to make announcements which might keep tourists away. At least they could have informed their own people on how to react in tsunamis in general.I hope that Hawaiians are taught how to get to safety in case of eruptions. After all, they have happened there before.
-- posted by biogardener
» biogardener - Crazy Weather
By the end of this week our weather is supposed to go above the freezing point. With the snow piled high everywhere and the storm sewer outlets frozen shut, our streets are going to be flooded. Usually we have solid frost till March. Then the city comes around and steams the sewer outlets open so the water can drain.We have also been told that the extreme amounts of snow of the last month are going to cause the Red River is going to flood again in the spring. Probably not as badly as in the 1997 Flood of the Century which turned southern Manitoba into a lake, but bad enough to affect everything south of Winnipeg. The city of protected by the Red River Floodway which diverts part of the Red River water around the city, but in 1997, the floodway had to be supplemented by sandbag dikes.
Flood protection was supposed to have been improved immediately after the flood to prevent a recurrence of the disaster of 1997, but the three levels of government have been bickering about the methods and the way to pay for them. So nothing has happened in the last 8 years.
The present forecast is based on the current amount of snow. What makes them think that this is the end of it? It is only February, and I well remember the Blizzard of the Century on March 4, 1966. Even if we won't get another blizzard this winter, we will certainly get more snow.
Well, it is too late to do anything about it now except to pray for a late spring which will slow down the thawing of the huge mountains of snow all over the Red River Valley.
-- posted by biogardener
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Georgene A. Bramlage
- WOW! And Home on the Range...
Well, Traute...
And I thought we had a few problems here 
I can only imagine having to steam the storm sewers open! I think it's bad enough when we need to take a low-heat hairdryer to our windows to open them for the birdfeeders.
We have had sun and higher temperatures since Saturday. Temperatures have been hovering around and then slightly below zero (F)as soon as the sun disappears.
Birds are flocking to our feeders in record numbers...this gives us a good deal of enjoyment when we can't get out. (Some of us have been "logging" our bird sightings at The Backyard Bird Almanac.)
Our "yard" has become "home on the range" to a number of local VA whitetail deer. Snow around the house is so churned up it looks as if a bevy of preschool children live here
The deer alway start by nibbling the "yew" under my bedroom window and then branch out to the one in front of the lamp post. Now they're feeding on every "yew" planted around the house. This doesn't bother me as we can always prune and clean them up in spring.
What does bother me is that now they are starting on my favorite ornamentals...the yellow Chamycyparis, Fothergilla, etc. I haven't looked far and wide, but it seems as if they are eating anything with buds above the snow...even the magnolias!
Usually when things are bad they stay down and paw through the compost pile at the edge of our woods. I am seriously considering getting hay and feed corn at the Farmers' Supply and putting that down by the compost pile.
More snow...even the forecasters can't "promise."
Georgene
-- posted by Georgene A. Bramlage
» biogardener - Feeding not a good idea
I spent a lot of time in Alberta's Rocky Mountain national parks, and I have been thoroughly indoctrinated through the educational programs which the rangers offer to the public in the summer. I have also gone on many all-day mountain hikes with rangers. The one thing which they make sure that everyone learns is not to leave any kind of food for wild animals, not even some seeds for the chipmunks. It is, in fact, against the law to do so, and campers are given strict instructions to leave all food stuffs in locked vehicles rather than in knapsacks or tents.To assure the long-range survival of native species, we must allow them to find their own food. Only under extreme rare circumstances will the rangers themselves provide food like hay.
I wrap my young trees willow trees with 1" chicken wire mesh to keep the deer from chewing off bark. They are welcome to chew the twigs which poke through the mesh, but they can't destroy the trees that way. In sandy areas of the province, people do the same to spruce trees, because there are no juicier trees around.
-- posted by biogardener
» Schipperke - Re: WOW! And Home on the Range...
In response to WOW! And Home on the Range... posted by Cercis:In reference to the deer:
They will eat anything once. They ate my firethorn (which must have HURT) they ate daffodils (I thought they were poisonous?) and just about everything. I use DEER OFF spray to try to discourage them.
Wait till the spring when the black bear comes back to see what's in my birdfeeders!
-- posted by Schipperke
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Georgene A. Bramlage
- Re: WOW! And Home on the Range...
Well, Traute and Mary...
I probably won't feed the deer...but I do get a chuckle everytime I go into or out of the house, or look out the windows and see all that churned up snow!
And so, Mary, you have bears come to your feeders also. I can't say I've ever had the pleasure but many friends have had their feeders - the expensive squirrel-proof ones - carried off. Apparently, there is a bear-proof feeder yet to be invented.
However...one very smart gray squireel has figured out how to access one of our feeders which hang from the roof overhang. He ate "gourmet" bird food for over an hour and would not budge at sight or me, my camera or the cat. I thought he would fall off, but he just curled up and made himself at home
Mary...the bulbs are definitely non-edible to deer and other varmits. A lot damage, however, is done when they dig up bulbs, find that they are not edible, and of course leave them on the soil surface to dry out.
We have quit planting Asiatic lilies because as my husband so nicely put it "The deer know where to come for desert!" They do not eat the bubls, but love the flowers and foliage. Of course if the foliage gets clipped often enough the bukb doesn't replenish food supplies and dies. For some reason, up to now, they've left the "Tiger Lilies" alone...these spring up in amny beds in the yard.
G.
-- posted by Georgene A. Bramlage
» biogardener - Feeding wildlife
The most interesting visitor to my birdfeeder one winter was my own cat. She must have gotten intrigued by the sparrows in it, because I found her wedged in it firmly, unable to turn around. She had no way of getting back out by herself, and it was hard enough for me to help her.I have written an article on poisonous spring flowers, including bulbs, explaining in which way they may do harm. Spring flowers are more dangerous than those in other seasons for a good reason. If they were edible, they would get devoured before they had a chance to bloom, because wildlife is keen of finding fresh growth to eat after the long winter.
Here it the article:
-- posted by biogardener
» FYNFAN - Re: Feeding not a good idea
In response to Feeding not a good idea posted by biogardener:We have the same laws here in Florida to protect people from themselves in regards to feeding alligators, raccoons, coyotes, etc. Leaving dogfood outside is usually the culprit for raccoons and coyotes, but we have the usual tourists and snowbirds who find feeding the alligators entertaining and then leave to go home. THe alligators still want fed when the tourists go home and start to look for other viable food options, i.e. dogs, cats, small toddlers. It can get out of hand very easily.
I am wondering if the deer have headaches and that their own instincts lead them to chew on the willow trees. Or maybe they don't get them because they eat the willow bark? LOL Thanks for some good fodder for a discussion!
-- posted by FYNFAN
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