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Nutty Idea Attracts Woodpeckers

PEANUTS…get your peanuts! That’s what reader Susan D. of Alma, Illinois offers the woodpeckers in her neighborhood. She’s been rewarded with some amazing bird activity. “We’ve had our peanut feeder up for only a few months, and the birds are going nuts over it!” Susan says. “We’ve already attracted all four species of woodpeckers that live in our area—downy, hairy, red-bellied and red-headed”

Susan filled the feeder with unsalted shelled nuts and hung it from an old Chinese elm tree near other bird feeders. “Woodpeckers naturally hang out in trees, so we thought that this would be a likely spot for them to find the peanuts,” she explains. Surprisingly, at first Susan had to coax the woodpeckers to her new offering. “They were used to eating suet in our backyard. So I mixed a few chunks of suet in with the peanuts. Before long, the birds developed a taste for peanuts…now I believe they’re hooked!

“They’ve even brought their babies to snack on the ‘goobers,’ Susan adds. “It was fun watching them figure out how to get on and off the feeder. We’ve had quite a few laughs.” As a bonus, Susan and her husband have been rewarded with steady traffic from other backyard birds to the new feeder, including black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice and white-breasted nuthatches.

If you want to attract new visitors to your yard, take Susan’s advice and give peanuts a try. She’s convinced you’ll love the antics taking place at your very own peanut gallery!

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Her Garden’s “In the Swing”

AFTER years of holding up her children’s swings and later a porch swing, the old swing frame finally wore out, writes Louise M. of Elsberry, Missouri. “I didn’t want to get rid of it, so I thought of a way to extend its service even further. I stretched chicken wire over the top, anchored it to the ground on both sides, then planted pole beans, gourds, cardinal vine, cucumbers and morning glories on both sides. Eventually the plants climbed to the top and completely covered the frame.

“As hoped, the swing frame acted as a fine trellis for my flowers and vegetables. But there were unexpected side benefits as well—our grandchildren really enjoyed playing inside the ‘vine tent’…and our dog used it as a doghouse on hot summer nights.”

Louise is already planning on using the swing frame trellis again this summer—and now she’s keeping an eye out for another used swing frame, too!

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Create a Collision-Free Zone

THUD! When a wild bird encounters one of your windows, the sound is unmistakable. Although nine of every 10 birds will survive a window collision, there are several things backyard birders can do to help eliminate these unfortunate accidents.

The best way to resolve the problem is to first understand it. Reader Robert M. of Stony Brook, New York shares this explanation: “Window strikes occur primarily for two reasons—birds see the reflection of open sky or a tree in the window and fly toward it, or the birds perceive window openings as a direct flight path through your house. There may be other reasons, too, such as illness, bad decision-making or ‘inattentive flying.’ But the first two account for most of the problems.”

Robert suggests addressing the problem by pretending you’re a bird. No—you don’t have to fly…but you should stand by your feeding station and look toward your home from the same level the birds do. “If you can see straight through a window to the other side of your yard, or see the bright reflections of sky or a large tree, you know where to start,” he says.

If you can see through your house, Robert suggests simply interrupting the flow of light. Try rearranging the furniture, closing doors or pulling shades. When it comes to problem reflections, one of the easiest things to do is hang colored streamers or ribbon outside the windows. These move with the slightest breeze and discourage birds from coming too close to your house. “Some bird lovers have had success by hanging a silhouette of an owl or hawk on large windows. These silhouettes can be purchased at bird-supply stores, or you can make your own by cutting silhouettes out of dark construction paper.”

As you can see, it’s possible to reduce the number of thuds you’ll hear with little time or expense invested. And on those rare occasions when accidents do happen, stay calm. “Many times the bird is just stunned,” Robert assures. “Before long, it will fly off—presumably with a bit of a headache and a lesson from the school of hard knocks.”

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Growing Herbs? Begin with Borage!

THE MORE borage, the merrier. Indeed, this hardy, self-seeding annual (one of the prettiest and easiest herbs to grow) has a reputation for delighting the eye and the palate. According to herbal lore, borage cheers the heart and lifts the spirit wherever it grows. It’s clear to see why—the eye-catching plant has downy gray-green leaves and sky-blue star-shaped flowers that bloom throughout the growing season.

Its flowers are lovely enough for a centerpiece, and borage brings home-grown taste to the table as well. Its petals, leaves and stems are all edible and have a subtle cucumber flavor. Young borage leaves can be eaten raw or lightly steamed, boiled or sauteed like spinach. The stems can be used like celery when peeled and chopped. Both enhance cheese, fish, poultry, vegetables, green salads, pickles and dressings. They also meld well with dill, mint and garlic.

Borage even makes a strong tea if you boil the leaves and stems. Individual flowers provide a colorful garnish to salads, dips, spreads and soups. Frozen in ice cubes, they top off cool beverages beautifully.

When harvesting borage, be sure to wear gloves, since the prickly plant can irritate the skin. Remove the hairy sepal from the flowers and the leaves from the bristly stems. Tightly wrapped flowers can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. To store borage for a longer period, use it as an ingredient in flavored vinegar.

Borage grows best in full sun and thrives in fertile, moist soil. Seeds should be sown after the last frost in spring, in shallow holes about 12 to 18 inches apart. The plant blends nicely into herb, wildflower and vegetable gardens. It’s also an excellent companion plant, helping neighboring plants resist insects and disease while attracting butterflies and bees. It’s easy to see how borage earned the nickname “herb of gladness.”

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Quilter’s Scraps Make Nice Nests

SHE’S a quilter who cuts and saves the frayed edges of cotton fabric after it’s laundered, says Evelinn K. from Port Townsend, Washington. “One spring day I saw a purple finch tug at a wisp of dry grass stuck in a wire fence near our bird feeders, and that gave me an idea. I pulled a handful of tangled threads from my cache and wove them around the fence wire.

“About 10 minutes later, my husband, Bud, and I had fun watching purple and house finches grab the ends of the threads in their bills, then flutter back and forth as they tried to fly away. If the threads wouldn’t break, the birds would fly over the top of the fence, then dive down, forcing the thread to snap.

“My contributions were gone in short order. As I went to retrieve more, Bud got his camera. This time, I draped that old fence with threads in every color of the rainbow. We were rewarded when a pair of cedar waxwings stripped the fence bare while Bud snapped photo after photo.

“After a week, the waxwings and finches had exhausted my horde of scrap threads. For the rest of the nesting season, we used cotton balls instead. It was a great experience, and you can bet we’ll be putting out more threads this spring!”

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Her Garden Has Real Personality

WHEN she wants to visit her grandchildren, nieces and nephews, Betty P. just steps outside into her flower garden in Independence, Oregon. Metal flower identification markers stand amid the colorful blooms, but instead of identifying flowers, they bear the names of those youngsters.

“As I walk through the garden and encounter each child’s marker standing beside a vibrant flower, I think about what that child is doing at the moment,” Betty remarks. “Maybe he or she is in school or playing outside or taking a nap. And when the children visit me, they hug me, then run to the garden. Seeing their name on a marker, they happily exclaim, ‘There’s my name! My flower has really growed!’

“My friends also enjoy looking at the markers as we stroll through the garden and enjoy the flowers. They’ll make cute remarks like, ‘Betty, your nephew needs watering!’ Some friends have enjoyed the idea so much that they’ve done the same thing in their own gardens. Give it a try—it’s a wonderful way to add more pleasure to your garden.”

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