On her way home, our Marketing Director, Caroline, encountered a pretty tough bird. It’s a good thing it didn’t have a flock, or this might have gotten ugly…

There’s one house on the way to the farm, that I always slow to a crawl when I past. The Raniers. In the mornings, their motley crew of dogs, comprised of two labs, one black and one yellow; a stout little beagle, and a bug eyed chihuahua bask in the warm sun in the middle of the one lane country road, or explore the ditches and field adjoining the road’s worn pavement. They’ve become kind of like friends, as I pass them each morning and think “good dogs” to myself and while struggling to get that last drop of coffee out of my travel mug.

The afternoons are a bit of a different story. Replacing my familiar furry friends is a flock of nervous barnyard fowl, ranging from roosters to chickens in various and sundry breeds, and a wild turkey. Yes, I said wild. Apparently, Jamie and Lori, the owners of this tiny ranch, raised this turkey from an egg their son Hunter found. The turkey has grown to assimilate to its  much smaller family of chickens without even noticing that its giant stature makes it so different.

On my way home, like any other day, I slowed as I approached the birds while they meandered across the road, scratching and pecking in the dirt that surrounds the blacktop. The only thing different about this encounter was that the turkey stood firmly in the middle of the road, refusing to budge. As I nudged my car closer, it began walking toward me, never breaking its defiant gaze. I finally put the car in park when I realized that I wasn’t going to win this game of “chicken” (pun intended), and stared back. It looked at me as if to say “this is my turf” without caring in the least that I was in a Jeep, and that it was outweighed and out horse powered. I jumped out and shooed it out of the road, and to my surprise as it slightly side stepped my path, it pecked at me! I jumped into my car and looked in the rear view as I began to pull away: the turkey was there. As if from some nightmarish Hitchcock movie, I was now being stalked mercilessly…by an evil turkey. I sped up, and he sped up. It wasn’t until I’d hit almost 25 MPH that he gave up his chase for an easier pursuit.

I got a good laugh from my friends when I told them about my day and my face off with the ornery bird, and still cautiously drive past the Ranier’s in the afternoon, always looking back for fear of that crazy turkey!

Carolina Wrens will nest just about anywhere...even in our empty watering can!

Carolina Wrens, though territorial about their range, are not picky about where they nest. Old boots, propane tanks, watering cans, mailboxes and pots…these are just some of the man made abodes that wrens have claimed as their “home sweet home”. Using everything from small sticks, moss and roots, to snakeskin, plastic bags, hair and paper, Wrens are resourceful home builders!

Wrens built this cozy nest in our marketing director, Caroline's, grandma's newspaper box!

The mating pair, which stays together for life, spend their time foraging for sturdy materials for the curved outer walls, and finish the inside up with softer nesting materials. Wrens may also build many mock nests throughout their territory, which are commonly called “cock’s nests”, choosing their favorite home for the nesting season once they are actually ready to mate. These domed nests are never used more than once and usually take about three days to construct. Once finished, the pair mate and the female lays a clutch of between three and seven small eggs that are cream colored with small brown speckles. To watch them in action, check out this great YouTube video of a pair of Carolina Wrens adding to their nest! Building a Carolina Wren Nest.

Our wrens chose the stylish pot on our office's front porch to nest in. They must not be bothered by the constant activity here since they've already laid eggs!

For a hilarious and heartwarming story with great pictures documenting the baby wrens, check out this website on the wren’s unusual nesting locations, and read about Karen Ouimet’s indoor wren experience!

Photo Courtesy of Brad Fenson

Working in the greenhouse today, we were lured from our mundane task by the uproar of several hundred, maybe a thousand Canadian Geese in the adjacent field. After a few moments of loud and excited goose talk, we all ran outside to see them fly over. Whatever it was that scared them was not so bad because most settled back where they began. Some landed in the field beyond our orchard, giving us a clear view of flock after flock gliding in on set wings.
We went back to work when most of the birds had settled back in the fields, foraging ravenously before the next cold weather arrives. And we went back to inventory. But even counting everything is not so bad when you can take a break with the neighbors every now and then.

Though beautiful, cardinals can be extremely vain!

Recently, at the end the day, I noticed a departing greenhouse worker remove a plastic nursery pot from each  rear view mirror and stow them in his tool box.  Old memories awakened as I asked him what was up with his mirrors. “That damn bird!” was his answer, and I knew a red bird had found his truck.

For as long as our greenhouses have been here, people working there have parked outside. And just as long, cardinals have found themselves irresistible in our rear view mirrors. Or maybe they see a rival that s equally matched? Whatever they see, it causes them to stay a long time and return frequently. And while they are looking deeply into the mirror, they are also digesting and leaving their droppings in large quantities. The mess is even worse when car windows are left down, then the inside is fouled too.

To keep our vehicles clean, we have to hide our mirrors from narcissistic birds!

Over the years, employees have tried various methods for stopping the cardinals from soiling their cars. Socks, hats, and various other items have been selected. But the best I have seen yet is an old nursery pot. We do try and cooperate with nature, but do not feel we need to share our vehicles with the birds.

Last fall when I first began this gardening blog, I reported on my seed collecting endeavors. Seed collecting is just the first step towards growing plants. All those ziplock bags full of seeds were carefully stored over the winter.

And now we are at the next step, which is to plant the seeds. I had collected seeds from various flowering annuals, some perennials, and a few herb plants. The goal is to plant wildflowers in all the conservation grasslands around the farm. Annual plants such as cosmos and Gomphrena will give color this year as the perennial natives establish themselves. To create a blooming prairie effect Dames Rocket and Shasta Daisies start blooming in spring and are followed by Coreopsis, Rudbeckia, Ratibida, and Echinacea in summer. A total of thirty types of flowers were planted

This year I am planting what I call “the grand finale”. Summer into fall will find Helianthus full of yellow sunflowers intermixed with the blue haze of wild Ageratum. I will have to wait until the following fall to see how it works, perennials must have time to establish. But for now we must wait and have faith that planting these seeds in the cold ground will sprout and grow in spring.