Saturday, November 13, 2010
November 2010
Cait wants pictures of fall. It's too late! for fall leaves. They fell. But a few are still hanging on, so here are some of the colors in the back yard.
And also:
Last year's winter birdseed generated a few sunflower plants, most of which died or I moved them or some other alternative. However, one very tall and enterprising plant stayed in the middle of the garden, and grew one big head. The weight of the head made it curl over forming an arch, the head only about 18 inches from the ground.
Birds like sunflower seeds - that's why they're in the birdseed. Birds like them even when the seeds remain in the flowerheads. So, here you see a chickadee at the sunflower head.
And, last but not least: it's not only birds that like these seeds. We looked out the other morning to find the sunflower bobbing and bobbing. At first, we thought a jay was attacking it, because the jays are pretty heavy. But no, it was the squirrel, jumping up, grabbing onto the flower head, and trying to gnaw or pry seeds out of the flower head before he fell back onto the ground. Then he'd get up and do the same thing again. Some times he was able to stay on the flower for only a second, sometimes up to 5 seconds - but never very long, because he had to end up using his hands to get those seeds. And the flower head bobbed like crazy, trying to escape his greedy grasp!
Cait wants pictures of fall. It's too late! for fall leaves. They fell. But a few are still hanging on, so here are some of the colors in the back yard.
And also:
Last year's winter birdseed generated a few sunflower plants, most of which died or I moved them or some other alternative. However, one very tall and enterprising plant stayed in the middle of the garden, and grew one big head. The weight of the head made it curl over forming an arch, the head only about 18 inches from the ground.
Birds like sunflower seeds - that's why they're in the birdseed. Birds like them even when the seeds remain in the flowerheads. So, here you see a chickadee at the sunflower head.
And, last but not least: it's not only birds that like these seeds. We looked out the other morning to find the sunflower bobbing and bobbing. At first, we thought a jay was attacking it, because the jays are pretty heavy. But no, it was the squirrel, jumping up, grabbing onto the flower head, and trying to gnaw or pry seeds out of the flower head before he fell back onto the ground. Then he'd get up and do the same thing again. Some times he was able to stay on the flower for only a second, sometimes up to 5 seconds - but never very long, because he had to end up using his hands to get those seeds. And the flower head bobbed like crazy, trying to escape his greedy grasp! 
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Here is the flowering maple that Soren gave me for my birthday. It's also called abutilon, except mine doesn't exactly look like the pictures. I like the way the flowers stick their tongues out. You can almost see that with some of them - brown pistil hanging below red flower. A hummingbird is at it RIGHT NOW. So I guess someone else likes it besides me. But I have no idea what a hummingbird is doing in the yard in mid-november. Silly bird - you should go south!
