The American Natural Philosopher’s Notebook

A fairly uneventful day after yesterday’s deluge which supposedly dropped 2.9 inches of rain which I find a bit hard to believe as my backyard near the plant bed has normally been like a large puddle when we get rain, but not this time even after 2.9″. Could the plants have changed the soil in that area where it isn’t holding water any longer? Something to consider and for me to investigate.

Flora: More coneflowers are blooming along with a few more on the black eyed Susan and surprisingly the brown-eyed Susan has produced a flower. The Wild Ginger continues to struggle but is still with us.

Fauna: The squirrels have been hampered in their ability to get to the bird feeders, but I did put some walnuts out for them. Walnuts are better than peanuts because squirrels have some sort of dietary issue with one of the minerals. I will look it up again and mention it at some point.

After most of the day being fairly nice, the severe thunderstorms have started. I watch the incredible power of nature with rain and wind. Just a half hour ago, there were birds at the feeder and a rabbit in the yard. They scattered as I approached so that I could bring the feeders in.

Short post today as I sit an watch these storms with amazement.

Another beautiful day where I was greeted in the morning by two rabbits playing and hopping over each other and then two squirrels playing and rolling around on the ground but in my garden. The little rascals have also solved the puzzle and are able to get to the bird feeders again.

Flora: A few more purple coneflowers have made their appearance and keep the scene nice while we patiently wait or impatiently wait for the Black and Brown-eyed Susans to bloom. Just one flower so far.

Fauna: Yes, the play of the rabbits and the squirrels is endearing, especially the game of bunny hopping. There has been good activity at the feeder and my Cornell Lab Merlin Bird Song Identifier is working well. It keeps detecting Robins, but I haven’t seen them at the feeder. It also detected a Northern Bobwhite this morning, which would be a great find for my little nature preserve. Just look at this picture of one, I sure hope it is somewhere around my yard and I get to see it soon. A lot of activity this evening, with the woodpecker coming back and the Northern Cardinals figuring out the seed cake because I had to squirrel proof the tube feeder with the cage and they don’t fit. fa

The beautiful days keep lining up and today is bound to be another one as we enter the last part of July. Saturdays are my days for plant and landscape maintenance as well as getting the opportunity to check out the flora and fauna more closely.

Fauna: Today the two male and one female American Goldfinches are active at what has seemed to have become their finch bird feeder. The House Finches spend a little of time there but most of the time they are on the tube feeder. It is amusing to watch the House Finches basically throw seed out of the feeder which the awaiting Eastern Gray Squirrels are more than happy to enjoy.

Flora: The replanting of the tickseed seemed to go well and I will keep an eye on it in its new home out front with the other tickseed I had replanted several weeks ago. The other plants are doing well and the Purple Coneflowers are blooming.

It is nice when nature decides to treat us with multiple great weather and days especially toward the end of July. It is a spectacular day today and after cleaning and refilling the bird feeders late yesterday afternoon, I have been treated to a consistent stream of wildlife. Tomorrow will be my time in the gardens doing the maintenance that is needed and replanting a tickseed.

Fauna: The woodpecker is back and hanging out on the inverted suet feeder. I am still unsure as to his identity as a hairy or downy. I wish I could get close enough to get a good picture of him. The male and female American Goldfinches are back, as well as the Northern Cardinal couple, at least I think they are mated.

Flora: Both back and front gardens continue to grow well. The backyard has more coneflowers popping out it seems every day and the Black and Brown-Eyed Susans look like they are really going to burst forth with flowers soon.

After some thunderstorms and heavy rain overnight the backyard nature preserve is fairly tranquil. The Eastern Gray Squirrels found their way onto the bird feeders again after several months and so the cage goes back on the tube feeder and the game is afoot to see what I need to trim back to force them to figure out the puzzle again. It took them over a month to figure it out. So, I look out my study window waiting for them to make more attempts. I am happy to see that the garden of natives is doing well and the Wild Garlic plant is hanging in there.

It is always interesting watching the woodpecker at the seed cake or the inverted suet feeder. One of the few that frequents these feeders along I think with a dead tree that stands in my yard which has obvious indications of woodpecker activity. I had white patches below the blooms on my coneflowers (echinacea) originally thought aphids, but I sprayed with Neem oil and little white, “crystalline”, grasshoppers with sails popped up and Gemini believes them to be plant hoppers. I will continue to watch the activities. Meanwhile, it appears that thunderstorms may be rolling in and we can use the rain as Delaware is down about 7 inches of rain this year.

I didn’t have much time for observation, but the wind brought in a lot of smoke from the Canadian Wildfires and air quality not that good. I did refill the bird feeders and have noticed the food going quicker this week than in the past. I am hopeful it is because all of the fledglings are enjoying the bird feeders. The smoke does seem to have kept the temperature down but at the cost of air quality and what feels like more humidity. The birds look no worse for the wear.

The birds were less active and mostly trying to survive the oppressive heat. I feel bad for them, but I did refill the bird bath. The birds and squirrels do share the bird bath. I do hope they all are doing well. The Native plants seem to be fairing the weather well, but still concerns about the aphids.

The birds are very vocal at Sunset tonight, one thing that makes me sad is that I don’t know their songs and which of my feathered friends are being the most vocal. I can only assume it is mostly the house finches, but I can tell there are others out their chirping away. My native plants are doing fairly well, but the Wild Ginger continues to struggle and the aphids seem to be sticking around, it looks like I may have to move to insecticidal soap. Too bad their aren’t more ladybugs around.