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Birds
& Blooms brings
beautiful backyards from across America into your living
room through vivid, full-color photos. It's like a friendly
"chat" over the back fence with your bird-and-flower-loving
neighbors.
To subscribe or give a gift on-line,
click
here.
To
visit our website,
click
here.
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The General Store
That Fits in Your Computer!
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here. |
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Dear
$$firstname$$,
Greetings from Birds &
Blooms magazine! We hope you enjoy this month's
newsletter, which includes a humorous checklist for birders, a
traveling flower bed, a pleasing pumpkin pie and more. Read on
and you'll discover...
> It's Obvious
You're a Birder
> Flower Bed Is on the Go
> The Scoop on Pumpkin Pie
> Ducks Defy Gravity
> Presto Change-o!
> Wildlife Guides Go On-Line
> Make a Date with Birds & Blooms
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It's Obvious You're a
Birder
 PAULA
B. of Waynesboro, Tennessee says it's easy to tell she
loves backyard birds, even if you don't count the 12
feeders in her yard.
"See
my binoculars? My field guide? My hair full of seed?
It's obvious I'm a birder," she writes.
These
telltale signs aren't the only ways to distinguish a
bird lover, she adds. Use the checklist below to see
if you just might be a birder, too:
>
Traffic near your home slows to look at the variety
of birds in your yard.
> You plan vacations around migration seasons.
> You plan your landscape to meet the needs of feathered
friends.
> You can recognize most of the birds in your yard
by their songs.
> You're presented with a sack of birdseed for every
gift-giving occasion.
> The name of every bird at your feeder rolls easily
off your tongue.
> Suet is the only kind of cake you buy.
> You can find most birds in your field guide without
using the index.
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Flower
Bed Is on the Go
THE BLOOMS
come along for the ride when Eleanor and Harrie A. of
East Freetown, Massachusetts go on their frequent camping
trips.
It all
started when Eleanor remarked that it sure would be
nice if they could take their flower bed with them when
they left home. Her comment--and a little creativity--led
to the design of a "traveling flower bed".
Harrie
made it by welding lengths of electrical conduit into
the shape of a bed frame. He personalized it by adding
a letter "A" to the design at the foot of
the bed. Flowers are planted in two small plastic planter
boxes.
The portable
bed measures about 12 by 18 inches, so it's small enough
to carry on all their trips. And the bright blooms of
their "bedding" plants add a nice splash of
color to every campsite they visit.
To view
a photo, click
here.
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Scoop on Pumpkin Pie
 TASTIER
and meatier than the larger varieties used for carving,
pie pumpkins are perfect for cooking.
If you've always wanted
to bake a pumpkin pie from scratch, try preparing the
filling right inside the pumpkin shell--it saves steps,
plus it's fun watching your pumpkin 'grow' into a pie!
Pumpkin
Patch Pie
1 medium pie pumpkin (about 3 pounds)
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
1/2 cup milk
Pastry for a single-crust pie (9 inches)
Wash pumpkin; cut a 5-in.
circle around top stem. Remove top and set aside; discard
seeds and loose fibers from inside. Combine 1/3 cup
of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and salt; sprinkle
around inside of pumpkin. Replace the top. Place in
a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at
325 degrees for 1-1/2 hours or until very tender. Cool.
Scoop out pumpkin; puree in a blender until smooth.
Place 2 cups pureed pumpkin in a bowl. Add ginger, nutmeg
and the remaining sugar and cinnamon. Stir in eggs,
evaporated milk and milk until well blended. Place pastry
in a 9-in. pie pan; pour filling into crust. Bake at
375 degrees for 75-80 minutes or until a knife inserted
near the center comes out clean. Yield: 6-8 servings.
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Ducks Defy Gravity
By Barbara
R., Mentor, Ohio
 WE
HAVE several acres of hilly terrain. One day while
I was out for my daily walk, I spotted a male
wood duck, and I was amazed to see it fly into
a tree and perch on a high limb.
Back home, my husband,
Duane, thought that I was crazy. "It must
have been a pigeon or a crow," he said. "Surely
not a duck!"
He kidded me for
a long time. Then one day he joined me on a walk
down by the creek. Hearing a great crested flycatcher
screeching weep, weep, weep, Duane followed
its flight with our binoculars.
Then he saw another
movement in the tree. He looked long and hard,
then started laughing. "I don't believe it!"
he said. "You're right--there's a male wood
duck perched in the tree!"
I grabbed the binoculars,
and there was the duck on the highest branch of
the oak tree.
Now it's my turn.
I guarantee it's going to be hard for Duane to
duck my ribbing.
To view a photo,
click
here.
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| Presto
Change-o!
HYDRANGEAS can range in
size from small potted plants and bushes to 25-foot
trees and 75-foot climbing vines.
If you're growing bigleaf
hydrangeas, you can change the color of the flowers
like magic--and you won't need a magic wand to wave
over your garden.
To make the typical pink
blossoms of this unusual plant change to a striking
blue, the secret is in the soil.
Acidic soil (pH below 5.5)
brings out the flower's blue coloring, while less acid
to alkaline soil (pH of 6.0 or higher) enhances its
vibrant pink color.
If you'd like blue flowers,
add aluminum sulfate (alum) to the surrounding soil.
If you prefer pink blossoms, add agricultural lime.
Bigleaf varieties are the
only types of hydrangea that have the ability to change
their flower color. The dozens of other hydrangea species
are most recognizable by their clusters of showy white
flowers.
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Wildlife Guides Go On-Line
 Trying
to identify a bird, butterfly or plant from your
yard or neighborhood? Want to learn more about
local wildlife...or about the birds, plants and
animals in another part of the country?
Our
free on-line Wildlife Guides can help!
Visit the Birds & Blooms Web site at
http://www.birdsandblooms.com
and look for the Free Wildlife Guide link in the
right-hand column. Enter your zip code (or an
out-of-state zip code) to access hundreds of photos
and detailed information!
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| Make
a Date with Birds & Blooms |
Birds & Blooms
Calendar
Birds & Blooms
Hummingbirds
Calendar
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EVERY DAY is bright and
cheery when it starts with a glimpse of one of our
Birds & Blooms Calendars.
Outdoor enthusiasts will
love the colorful country gardens, amazing bird closeups
and dozens of gardening and bird-attracting tips in
the Birds & Blooms Calendar.
Hummingbird fans can see
every detail in the delicate, iridescent feathers of
a dozen tiny flying jewels in the Birds & Blooms
Hummingbirds Calendar. In addition to awesome color
photos, it includes plans for a garden designed to attract
hummingbirds.
These BIG, colorful calendars
open to 13 inches by 21-3/4 inches and are printed on
heavy, glossy paper.
To order the Birds &
Blooms Calendar from Country Store On-line,
click here.
To order the Hummingbirds
Calendar from Country Store On-line,
click here.
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A FRIEND who enjoys bird-watching, bird feeding
or backyard gardening? Feel free to forward this newsletter!
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**********
Birds
& Blooms magazine
brings beautiful backyards from across America into
your living room--through vivid, full-color photos.
It's like a friendly "chat" over the back
fence with your bird-and flower-loving neighbors.
To subscribe
on-line, visit http://www.birdsandblooms.com/rd.asp?id=28
**********
Copyright
2002 Reiman Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Birds & Blooms, P.O. Box 991, Greendale WI
53129-0991
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