Dear $$firstname$$,

Safe Haven

IN Palestine, West Virginia, Lisa H. was looking forward to hanging the new birdhouse she'd received as a Christmas gift. Waiting for a warm spell, she sat the birdhouse on her kitchen counter.

"The first weeks of January were unseasonably warm, so I left some of our windows open, even though the screens had been removed," Lisa relates. "But winter's chill returned before I got the birdhouse hung. One day shortly afterward, I came home from work to find the house in a complete shambles--drapes torn down, papers scattered on the floor and trinkets toppled from their shelves.

"I suspected my three cats and three dogs of the mischief. One of the cats was sitting on the kitchen counter intently eyeing the birdhouse...and as I shooed him away, I heard something move inside the birdhouse.

"Cautiously lifting the roof, I was surprised to see a small house finch inside! The poor thing must have come in when I left the windows open, only to end up trapped inside with my dogs and cats. The birdhouse was the safest place it could find!

"I put the roof back on, took the birdhouse outside and hung it in a tree. After I was a safe distance away, the finch popped out of the entrance hole and flew away."

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A Late Bloomer

ONE FALL, she covered a small rosebush with a pail to protect it from the cold, says Patsy Ann P. of Harper Woods, Michigan. "The pail also covered a small primrose. Boy, was I surprised when I picked up the pail in the middle of December and saw that the primrose still blooming.

"It bloomed all winter...I took some photos in mid-January. When I removed the pail for good the following spring, the primrose kept right on blooming all summer, too."

Oh, yes--the miniature rosebush also did great.

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That's a Cold Quail!

DURING Alaska's long winters, Ann B. and her two young daughters enjoy watching and learning about the feathered friends that visit the many feeders in their Fairbanks yard. "After the first snowfall last winter, we noticed a new visitor--a northern bobwhite quail that ate seeds off the ground around our feeders," says Ann. "This was unusual because bobwhites aren't usually found in Alaska...plus, we have three Labrador retrievers.

"We called a few local bird experts and received little encouragement about the quail's chances of surviving our first cold snap. Hoping for the best, we put out some special game-bird food in a ground feeder for the bird, which my daughters named 'Curly'.

"Curly showed up each day to eat and took up residence under our deck. He survived the entire winter, enduring temperatures of -50 and little sunlight, eating alongside chickadees and common redpolls, plus an occasional grouse and ptarmigan.

"When spring rolled around about a month earlier than usual, our then-fat friend packed up and went looking for a mate. We hope to see Curly again this winter."

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Mystery Came Out in The Wash

SHE'S NEVER been known for her green thumb, confides Mary H. of Kirkersville, Ohio. But she always had the earliest crocus blooms on her block, year after year. "We ruled out all the most logical explanations for this oddity, such as bulb type, soil drainage and the fact that the crocuses were planted on the south side of the house," says Mary. "Many of our neighbors had similar growing conditions."

The answer became obvious one January day as she stepped outside to admire the crocuses after putting some wash in the dryer. "The flower bed was right in front of a basement window where the dryer vent was located. Every time I did laundry, the dryer blew warm air directly onto the flower bed where the crocus bulbs were planted. I was fooling them into thinking it was already spring!"

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She Uses 'Elbow Grease'

DEEP SNOW and frigid temperatures around Sterling, Illinois keep many senior citizens like Violet F. indoors. "But that doesn't mean I let my bird feeder go empty in winter," she assures. "I keep it well-stocked by delivering the seed to the feeder from an open window.

"I just pour the seed into the elbow of a 5-foot-long downspout and then tilt it so the seed slides into my nearby feeder. This routine is already familiar to a blue jay that pecks at my window to alert me that the tray is empty!"

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In the Zone

NOT ALL of your most useful gardening tools are out in the garage along with your rakes, hoes and shovels. One is probably inside your home in the back of a gardening book--the Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

The first hardiness zone map was developed in the 1930's by Henry Skinner, second director of the U.S. National Arboretum. Skinner worked with horticultural scientists to classify tens of thousands of woody and perennial plants by how well they tolerate cold weather. He also helped develop a map showing temperature zones in North America. Each zone is based on a 10-degree difference in average annual low temperature recorded at thousands of weather stations across North America.

The first zone map was published by the USDA in the 1930's. It was revised in 1965 and again in 1990. Today's zone map has 11 different temperature zones. (If you have a zone map with only 10 zones, it's an older version and should no longer be used.)

Zone 1 is the northernmost, or coldest, zone, with an average annual minimum temperature of -50 degrees or below. Zone 11 is the southernmost, or warmest, zone, with an average annual minimum temperature of 40 degrees and above, making it the only zone that's essentially frost-free.

The map has long been a boon to gardeners. With just a quick glance at a plant tag, you can determine if the plant will survive a winter in your area.

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Tube Feeder's Fast

SIMPLY lift the lid and pour in the seed...soon birds will be flocking to this tube feeder's six feeding ports! It's made of hunter green metal and strong, clear polystyrene, 18 inches high and 3 inches in diameter, and comes complete with hanging chain and "S" hook. Easy to wash.

To order the Tube Feeder from Country Store On-line, click here.

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