Melody,
This is just fantastic! Thank you and Monty for sharing!
-Len
On Apr 7, 2023, at 3:26 PM, Melody Huffman <biblebarn3432@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Len, We let some weeds grow. Monty's idea of gardening is controlled
chaos. If we had not let weeds grow, we would not have had painted buntings,
lazulie bunting and redwing blackbirds, hermit thrush,spotted towhees come
through.The curved bill thrashers love our "pineapple" (named by our 3 year
old neighbor, as do the mockingbirds. There is a battle going on now as to
who builds in it this year. Our front yard is very much Native. We have
lots of wildflowers when it rains just right, We have cosmos, horse candy,
bluebonnets to name a few. Several places of lantana that birds and
butterflies alike love.
In the backyard, we have 4 water places. 3 are bird baths using planter
bottoms. The largest water is a small pond which is our marsh and meadow
area. Cattails are just beginning to grow. We have 3 suet feeders, one
squirrel feeder and a platform feeder that we used a wire cage to protect the
seed from the doves (since they love to gobble it up and not share) . We
scatter seeds on the patio area for them. However, sometimes, one or two
always manage to get inside the cage. Sometimes they get out on their own,
other times we have to help them. We also hang a sock for the finches. The
bowl on top of the feeder is for peanuts for the bluejays (they love to
choose their own peanut). Lately the grackles have been eating peanuts too
and love to soak them in the birdbaths so we have been changing water more
often as a result.
Our newest feature is a brush pile in the corner where the side and back
fence meet. We used forked branches to make it airy for them. It's fun to
watch them fly into it. Their navigation is amazing! Each winter, Monty
does his pecan dance several times a week where he crushes pecans on the
patio. We do have two pecan trees. Oh, Monty does have one pot of some kind
of reeds that we keep water in. The bees, butterflies and birds love it.
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I'll attach a few photos of our yard. You can email us privately at
biblebarn3432@xxxxxxxxx com if you want, too.
On Fri, Apr 7, 2023 at 10:57 AM Len Hovey <len_hovey@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thank you all for the great tips!
-Len
On Apr 7, 2023, at 10:22 AM, Anthony Hewetson <fattonybirds@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
If you have trees that drop leaves, do not discard the leaves. Find a
place to spread the leaves: I spread them along the inside of my fence
to keep unwanted weeds down. Over the years, these leaves will
provide shelter to invertebrates and small vertebrates, they will
increase the moisture present in your yard, and, in time, they become
soil. I have been doing this for close to twenty years: my back yard
is four inches higher than either of my neighbors.
Regards; Anthony
On Fri, Apr 7, 2023 at 8:10 AM Len Hovey <len_hovey@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
All,
I know many of you have fantastic back yards designed to attract birds.
I’m looking at doing some work myself and seeking ideas.
I’d love to see some pictures, as well as learn any advice, tips, and
tricks folks might wish to share.
-Len