Light posting tonight
Working on some other stuff at the house (soldering up some cables, getting a couple things ready for sale on Craigslist).
Going to the birds: have had a big hummingbird feeder up and running for the last two months and I now have a good 20 or 30 birds visiting on a regular basis. I am going through about 32 Oz. of nectar every day! I lose a couple ounces when I fill and hang the feeder but still, that is a lot of nectar -- making a serious dent in a 25 pound bag of Costco cane sugar!
(nectar: one part cane sugar, four parts water. Heat to a simmer, refrigerate and serve -- I refill the feeder after 9:30PM -- the sun is down enough that the birds are not actively feeding. Run the feeder through the dishwasher every couple of days -- a short cycle is fine.)
The good news is that the usual spring bloom of mosquitoes has not happened. Zero. Zilch.
They use the nectar for energy but hunt bugs for protein.
Now that the vegetable garden is partly back up and running, I am now working on the landscaping around the house. The previous owners had done a nice job with rhododendrons and a rose bush but the majority of these were killed by the goats. Pulling the dead stuff out and putting in some new planting - flowers for the bees and birds and herbs. Doing some bulbs this fall (irises) and looking at low evergreen ground-covers (the location can get very sunny so this is an issue).
Posted by DaveH at June 12, 2012 8:42 PM