Greetings from Birds & Blooms magazine! We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter, which includes some bloomin' bloomers, a jelly-loving sapsucker, a butterfly surprise and more. Read on and you'll discover...

> Winter Hatchlings Await Spring
> Hang Some Bloomin' Bloomers
> Sapsucker Is on a Jelly Roll
> Butterfly Was a Blessing
> Build a "Bench Garden"
> Nesting, Feeding Is in the Bag!

Winter Hatchlings Await Spring

NOT ALL BIRDS wait for the warmth of spring to begin their families, notes Kelly G. of Blooming Glen, Pennsylvania. "After other birds had left for the winter, I had a chance to watch great horned owls nest in an old tree near a friend's yard," she explains.

"They laid their eggs in late winter when temperatures are quite cold here. Owls use this unusual nesting cycle because their babies don't grow as quickly as smaller birds.

"Both adult owls incubated the eggs for nearly a month, then stayed in the nest with their offspring for about 2 more months after they hatched.

"By spring, the juveniles left the nest even before learning to fly. Their parents continued to feed them on the ground while teaching them the skills needed to hunt on their own."

Hang Some Bloomin' Bloomers

ARE YOU just hanging around waiting for spring so you can begin gardening? In Jamestown, North Dakota, Deb G. keeps busy making unusual hanging planters.

Creativity must be in Deb's genes (or is it jeans?), because her planters are crafted from worn-out children's pants. "People comment on how cute and unique they are," she shares, "and they're so easy to make."

To assemble her "Petunia Bloomers", Deb sews together the bottoms of the pant legs, fills them with foam packing peanuts and places the waistband around the rim of a hanging pot with drainage holes. (The pants may get wet when watering, but they'll quickly dry, she assures.)

Pants without elastic waistbands work, too. Just put twine through the belt loops when hanging the pot. The recycled jeans then become "Potted Pants".
 

Sapsucker Is on a Jelly Roll

IN FEBRUARY, Sue M. of Ridgeland, Mississippi sometimes sees a yellow-bellied sapsucker drill holes in a pecan tree in her backyard. It returns regularly to feast on sap and insects in the holes.

"We usually have mild winters," Sue says, "but recently freezing rain coated the tree for a few days, interfering with the bird's feeding routine. So I thought I'd help. I smeared grape jelly on the tree just below a circle of holes the sapsucker had made. It found the jelly and finished it off quickly.

"After making several trips to replenish the jelly, I decided to make a jelly feeder from a clear plastic 35mm film container. I cut a small hole at the bottom, just large enough for the jelly to ooze out, and tacked the feeder to the tree in a protected spot.

"The sapsucker immediately tried it out and used it for 2 days until the ice cleared."

Build a "Bench Garden"

HERE'S another "plan-ahead" project that'll help make gardening more enjoyable for older family members or those with physical challenges--a bench garden.

"Because I have arthritis," writes Shirley H. of Spokane, Washington, "I needed an easier way to garden. My husband built a planter box that's about 11 inches deep and sized to fit on top of a large wooden bench.

"It has a series of drainage holes in the bottom. I place coffee filters over the holes, then fill the planter with soil. I've planted tomatoes, beans, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, petunias and sweet peas in it--all at once! In another bench garden, I have herbs, lettuces and green onions.

"We keep the benches right outside the back door so they're easy to get to, and I can garden sitting in a chair next to them. This would also be suitable for a gardener in a wheelchair."

LAST WINTER, one family's cabin fever turned into cabin delight when they found an eastern black swallowtail butterfly on a curtain in their living room.

"We were thrilled," says Linda F. of Racine, Wisconsin, "and also puzzled. How did a butterfly get into our house in winter? We finally concluded that it was concealed as a chrysalis in a patio plant brought indoors for the season.

"We gave our winged wonder the run of the house. It enjoyed resting on our poinsettias and basking in the afternoon sun on the side of a chair. It was quite tame and ate a mixture of grape jelly and water from our fingers.

When our children and grandchildren came for a visit, the butterfly was the highlight of their trip. It brought unforgettable joy to two families that live 2,000 miles apart."
 

GIVE your backyard friends a helping hand with our Best Nest Builder bags and Thistle Pouches. Birds appreciate soft nest-building materials, so simply hang the mesh bag of fluffy cotton near a feeder or on a tree limb and watch them help themselves! Hang one of the thistle pouches nearby, and your yard will become the favorite snack stop for neighborhood birds!

To order Best Nest Builder bags (set of two) from Country Store On-line, click here.

To order Thistle Pouches (set of two) from Country Store On-line, click here.

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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. 

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