karczel

Today is Audubon Day.  Here are some ideas about gardening for birds.

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In 2023, I posted about birds in honor of birdfeeding. If you are new to this community, we have an Introduction tag and questionnaire that you can use to tell us about yourself.

I also made a blogging questionnaire in 2022, which people are welcome to use.

Today is sunny and hot, with fluffy white clouds in the sky.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I refilled potting soil into the hollow logs at the front of the log garden.  Then I planted a 4-pack of white impatiens in the holes.  

I put the flats of plants outside to get some sun.

I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches plus a male cardinal.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I watered the impatiens and flats of plants.

I've seen a starling at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I potted up four green sweet basil plants and one purple ruffles basil, then watered them.

I've seen a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- We hauled the new bag of grass seed out of the car.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I sowed grass seed in the big bare patch at the west edge of the south lot.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- We hauled out the tape hose and the new sprinkler head.  There is not enough hose to reach the grass patch, and with the low water pressure that we have, the spray only covers about 6 feet wide.  *sigh*

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I planted a small trough pot with orange mint, mojito mint, and apple mint.  There is room for one more mint there.

EDIT 4/23/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I watered the grass patch using the watering can.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.
 

Today is sunny and warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few house finches. Red-winged blackbirds are singing in the trees. I've seen others at the drainage ditch, so I wonder how long these will stick around.

I put out water for the birds. Honeybees have been draining the birdbaths.

I set out my small flats of seedlings.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I planted 4 snapdragons and a yellow-and-orange lantana in the barrel garden. I realized that I forgot to pick up the firecracker plant for hummingbirds that I meant to get yesterday. >_< I may get back to DeBurh's another day, or somewhere else might have it.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I planted a pineapple sage besides the barrel garden.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I planted a Yellow Pear tomato, a Santa (a red grape tomato), a Cherokee Purple (a slicing tomato), a Mr. Stripey (a sweet yellow-and-red slicer), and an Old German (a slicer, mostly yellow with a bit of orange or red inside) in the new picnic table garden.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I planted 4 'Safari Yellow' marigolds around the 'Santa' tomato. I need to watch for more marigolds; my attempts at sprouting them from seeds didn't produce many this year.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- We picked up sticks from the west end of the south lot, so that can be mowed later today. There is a big patch of ground there which is either bare or growing weeds from having the big branch on it for several years. So it needs to be mowed close, then raked and sown with grass seed. Friday looks like rain.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I watered the newly planted things.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I buffed the apothecary cabinet, so that part is done. A couple of the hanging pegs on the bottom are loose, so I want to put wood glue on those before we hang it.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I planted a fennel, a sweet marjoram, a curry plant, and a dill in the large trough pot on the old picnic table garden.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I raked the west end of the south lot.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/22/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I planted the Forever Purple heuchera in the forest garden and watered it.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Today is mostly sunny and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen several house finches and a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/20/26 -- I planted a flat parsley and a curly parsley in a trough pot, then sowed both kinds of parsley seeds around them.

EDIT 4/20/26 -- I planted two million bells in the barrel garden, one solid red and the other streaked in shades of yellow and orange.

I planted the solid black petunia and the black-and-yellow pom-pom petunia in one pot of black pansies, and the burgundy oxalis in another pot of black pansies.

EDIT 4/20/26 -- In one white pot, I planted two portulaca, one yellow and the other orange streaked. In another white pot, I planted two more portulaca, one pink-and-white striped and the other solid white.

EDIT 4/20/26 -- I planted two pots, each with four dianthus pinks around a dusty miller artemesia. One set of dianthus is white with pink streaks, the other pink with a darker center.

EDIT 4/20/26 -- I planted the two white owl pots. One has two dark purple torenia and a dusty miller artemesia. The other has a purple-and-yellow million bells, a purple-and-white nemesia, and a dusty miller artemesia.

EDIT 4/20/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/20/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 4/20/26 -- I watered all the newly planted things.

I finished planting the older flat of flowers. I did not finish the newer flat, but I'm down to clusters for two pots: one yellow and white flowers, one shades of pink, red-violet, and burgundy. Not bad for a day's work.

Today is partly sunny, breezy, and cool. There is a frost warning for tonight, so I'm doing non-planting tasks today.

I set out my flats of plants to get some sun.

EDIT 4/19/26 -- I fed the birds. I've seen a few house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/19/26 -- I wanted to waterseal the solid-top pallet today. But while I was trying to lay out the dropcloth for that, the wind picked up so much that it wouldn't lay still no matter how I weighted the edges or middle. I had to give up and undo everything. >_< Frustrating.

EDIT 4/19/26 -- I started finishing the apothecary cabinet that I plan to use as a spice cabinet. It has doors over the shelves to block light. We set up the worktable in the garden shed and covered it with a garbage bag, then set the cabinet on top. I used an old hand towel to spread the finish, which is made of orange oil and beeswax, very pleasant to work with. I wanted something reasonably natural for a spice cabinet, although it doesn't need a finish meant for food preparation like butcher block wax. I spread on a very thin coat over the top and sides, and that will need some time to dry before I do another section. I still need to coat the inside and the back. While I don't have the woodworking skills of my parents and grandparents, I did pick up the "assistant" level skills, so I'm very pleased that I still know how to finish a piece of furniture that someone else constructed. :D

EDIT 4/19/26 -- I did more work on the apothecary cabinet, covering the inside with the door open. It turns out there will be very little work to do on the back, as much of that space is covered by a thin fiberboard to minimize weight, which doesn't need to be waxed. Progress!

I've seen more house finches, a few sparrows, a pair of cardinals, a brown-headed cowbird, and a fox squirrel.

EDIT 4/19/26 -- I finished the back of the cabinet. The waxing is done. \o/ I'll let that dry overnight. Tomorrow I'll buff it with a dry cloth, and then it should be ready to hang.

EDIT 4/19/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 4/19/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 4/19/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Today is mostly sunny and mild.  Last night we finally got a good soaking rain.  :D

I fed the birds.  I haven't seen any yet.

I put out water for the birds.

4/16/26 -- We stopped by Whiteside Garden again.  This time I picked up a holly.

Then we went to Rural King for an extension cord.  I also got two pastel poppies, two 4-packs of pinks and one of dusty miller artemesia, a curly parsley, and a flat parsley.

4/16/26 -- I opened up some of the water jug greenhouses with big plants to let them get more sun.  I also brought some of my indoor flats outside.

4/16/26 -- I planted the holly in the Midwinter grove on the south side.