NOTE--To see an on-line version of this newsletter, copy this link and paste it into your web browser: http://www.birdsandblooms.com/rd.asp?id=497&firstname=$$firstname$$&emailaddress=$$email$$&refurl=$$refurl-link$$ Please do not reply to this email. If you have questions or wish to unsubscribe, see the instructions at the bottom of this email. Dear $$firstname$$, Greetings from Birds & Blooms magazine! Even if you're not headed back to school, now's a great time to learn something new. With that in mind, we've got great lessons on photographing birds and brightening your garden well into autumn. You'll also read about a squirrelly pigeon, an unusual outdoor heirloom and more. Read on to discover... --> Put Feathered Friends in Focus --> Showy Shrub Provides Late Color --> Pigeon Was Feeling Squirrelly! --> A “Backyard” For Boaters --> Novel Birdbath Is a Family Heirloom --> Experts Share Some Timely Tips --> Birdhouses Are Cute, Comfy --------------------------------------- Put Feathered Friends in Focus IF YOU want to take close-up bird photos good enough to be published in Birds & Blooms, follow this advice from amateur photographer Jay F. of Henderson, New York: "To get really close without scaring the birds away, you need a simple blind. My bird blind is basically a frame 4 feet long by 3 feet wide and 5 feet tall. The front angles out a bit to make room for the legs of my camera tripod. I made the frame from scrap two-by-fours and covered it with an inexpensive plastic tarp. I cut an L-shaped flap in the tarp just large enough to accommodate my camera lens. "Just outside the blind, I put up a tray feeder and cover the tray with a few small tree branches to create the illusion that the birds are in a forest instead of in the middle of my backyard. It works like a charm! "I've found the best time for photographing birds is first thing in the morning or late in the day, when the sun is at a lower angle. This gives the images a warmer, softer light. I use a 35mm camera with a 75-300mm zoom lens. With a lens that big, a tripod is a necessity--make sure you use a sturdy one that will hold your camera nice and steady. "I usually have good luck shooting in the 'automatic' mode, which allows the camera to select all the necessary settings. But occasionally I play with the settings myself, especially when I feel the telephoto lens will not let in enough light. "The best tip I can give: Practice, practice, practice. Keep shooting lots of pictures. Before long, you, too, will have photos good enough to appear in Birds & Blooms!" --------------------------------------- Showy Shrub Provides Late Color IT MAY BE a late bloomer, but as many gardeners know, rose of Sharon is well worth the wait. A member of the hibiscus family, this deciduous shrub's beautiful trumpet-shaped flowers make their appearance from late summer through mid-autumn, long after many other flowering plants and shrubs have already finished blooming. Also known as shrub althea, it's been grown in the United States since Colonial days--and in England some 200 years before that. While the original plant produces dark pink flowers, many hybrids have been developed, featuring red, purple, blue and white blooms. The flowers, which range from 2 to 4 inches in size, grow both singly or in pairs, depending on the cultivar. The plant itself grows as high as 12 feet and usually spreads about 6 to 8 feet wide. Rose of Sharon will grow well in full sun or partial shade and in moist, well-draining soil (though it will tolerate other soil conditions). Young shrubs are especially susceptible to cold-weather damage during their first winter or two. So if you live in northern areas, be sure to plant them in spring instead of fall. And don't fertilize them for the first couple of years--you don't want to encourage too much new growth. For winter, protect the young plants accordingly. Once established, rose of Sharon tends to survive winters better. In fact, mature shrubs are generally hardy as far north as Zone 5. Just as it's a late bloomer in summer, rose of Sharon takes its time leafing out in spring. In fact, newly planted rose of Sharon is so tardy in leafing out that many a gardener has removed it after wrongly concluding it was dead. So if you have a new plant, give it some extra time before doing anything rash! As a general rule, this shrub should be pruned regularly in the spring before the plant leafs out. If you don't, the flowers will be profuse but small. For larger flowers, heavily prune the previous year’s growth to about two or three buds. Good things are worth the wait--plant rose of Sharon and see for yourself! --------------------------------------- FREE Hotel Night Up To $150.00! From World Wide Country Tours Hurry and receive a FREE additional hotel night in the U.S. or Canadian city where your 2006 World Wide Country Tours vacation begins or ends. Limited Time Offer. Hurry, offer expires October 31st or while supplies last! 2006 itineraries now available, visit: http://www.countrytours.com/rd.asp?id=1301&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ Hurry and reserve your vacation today! To claim your BONUS HOTEL NIGHT Call us Toll Free at 1-800/344-6918, or visit http://www.countrytours.com/rd.asp?id=1300&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ Be sure to mention promotion code BL16 when you make your reservation to receive your FREE night. Offer valid on any 2006 Tour. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Hotel selections provided by World Wide Country Tours. World Wide Country Tours Exclusive Tour Operator of Reiman Publications 1-800/344-6918 -------------------- Pigeon Was Feeling Squirrelly! IN Stratford, Connecticut, Beverly T. had a pigeon that thought it was a squirrel."To keep the squirrels away from our bird feeders, my husband made a 'squirrel in a bottle' feeder--the kind with a large glass jar that the squirrel can crawl inside," explains Beverly. "We were surprised when a pigeon checked out the feeder and ventured inside. But after eating its fill, the pigeon couldn't get out--when it tried to go in reverse, its feet would slip on the glass. Finally, that poor bird looked at us as if to say, 'Well...are you going to help me, or are you going to leave me here till a squirrel comes along?' "I carefully removed the jar from the feeder and took it down. When I tipped it, the pigeon slid out and flew away--it never touched the ground. We're glad that a squirrel didn't come by for lunch while it was stuck in the jar. That would've been quite a sight!" View a photo: http://www.birdsandblooms.com/RD.asp?ID=493&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ --------------------------------------- A "Backyard" For Boaters AFTER living on a sailboat in San Francisco Bay for 15 years, Nancy S. of Alameda, California was ready to mutiny if she couldn't get her hands back into the good earth. "Just in time, my husband and I moved our boat into a marina that included some land with small garden plots," Nancy says. "The gardens had begun a few years earlier when one boat resident started digging and planting in a neglected patch of land. Soon, others joined in. The harbormaster liked the idea and had wooden frames built and filled with topsoil for additional raised gardens. "The gardens are an eclectic collection, reflecting the interests of each of the dozen or so volunteer gardeners who work the plots. My own plot includes vegetables and herbs, a flower garden for hummingbirds and butterflies, plus a patch of wildflowers native to California. "Now all sorts of feathered friends come to the gardens and nest in the surrounding trees. We've spotted mourning doves, scrub jays, American robins, brown towhees, northern mockingbirds and house finches. I've also seen Anna's and Allen's hummingbirds as well as eight species of butterflies. Longtime residents say there are more birds here now than they've ever seen. The ever-changing gardens have become an interesting focal point in the harbor for residents and visitors alike." View a photo: http://www.birdsandblooms.com/RD.asp?ID=494&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ --------------------------------------- Novel Birdbath Is a Family Heirloom AS A TEENAGER, Mollie L. frequently walked past a quaint old home with a colorful mosaic garden pond in its front yard, relates her daughter, Bronwen M. of Victoria, British Columbia. "One day, Mum decided that she, too, would have a mosaic pond in her garden--or at the very least, a birdbath," says Bronwen. "She started collecting items for this project when she was a young bride." "Every time Mum broke a piece of china or a Christmas ornament, she saved the pieces. Whenever we moved, a boxful of broken bits (and many memories) came along, too. It sure got heavy over the years! Later, Mum found a garbage can lid she thought would be perfect for a birdbath. That lid was also moved many times along with the box. "Finally, Mum found a colorful ceramic urn in a secondhand store. She thought it would make a great base for her birdbath. That was when my brother decided it was time for Mum to realize her dream. Working side by side, they assembled a beautiful birdbath by gluing the broken bits onto the lid and mounting it on the urn. "Today, Mum's birdbath is surrounded by shrubs and plants from her own mother's garden, plus other plants grown from cuttings she took from other yards where she's lived. It's a wonderful heirloom that was years in the making!" --------------------------------------- Experts Share Some Timely Tips HERE ARE some helpful hints from our resident bird and garden experts, George Harrison and Melinda Myers: - To help control algae in your backyard pond or water garden, make sure your pond includes plenty of oxygenating and floating plants such as starwort, fanwort, water violet and water milifoil to compete with the algae for food and light. These plants will keep the problem under control while creating a better environment for the fish. Also, be sure to keep leaves, plant debris and lawn fertilizer out of the pond--all add nutrients that feed algae. - Discourage ground-feeding birds such as mourning doves from using your platform feeder by mounting a roof about 3 inches above the platform. This should exclude doves from feeding, but still allow enough room for smaller birds to use the feeder. - Insecticides don't always help with spider mites on rosebushes. That's because mites are not insects--they're close relatives of spiders. Instead, try using insecticidal soap, which is a soap formulated to kill mites, aphids and other soft-bodied insects without burning the plants. You may need several applications to get the mites under control. Wait 1 week between applications, and read and follow the label directions carefully. - To keep starlings off your wire-basket suet feeders, mount the suet feeder under a dome-shaped squirrel baffle. Starlings are uncomfortable feeding under a dome and hanging on to a feeder for any length of time. --------------------------------------- Birdhouses Are Cute, Comfy THE sturdiness of a traditional wooden birdhouse is combined with the soft appeal of an all-natural sea grass exterior in our Nesting Pocket with Wood Roof! You get a set of two, each measuring 12 in. high and 5 in. deep. Base, back and roof are wood. Easy to hang with predrilled hole in back. Order a set of Nesting Pockets from Country Store On-line. http://www.countrystorecatalog.com/rd.asp?id=1717&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ --------------------------------------- Our Featured Item from Country Store: Scarecrow Decorative Birdhouse http://www.countrystorecatalog.com/rd.asp?id=1716&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ --------------------------------------- THIS NEWSLETTER is from the editors of some of your favorite magazines, including. 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: http://www.birdsandblooms.com/RD.asp?ID=496&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ To visit our website: http://www.birdsandblooms.com/RD.asp?ID=495&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ --------------------------------------- Backyard Living is the all-new, one-of-a-kind magazine that's guaranteed to help you improve and enjoy your backyard like never before. Each issue is packed with easy projects, great gardening hints, luscious recipes for backyard entertaining, and more! To subscribe or give a gift on-line: http://www.backyardlivingmagazine.com/RD.asp?ID=109&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ To visit our website: http://www.backyardlivingmagazine.com/RD.asp?ID=110&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ --------------------------------------- This email was sent to: $$email$$ HAVE A FRIEND who enjoys bird-watching, bird feeding or backyard gardening? Feel free to forward this newsletter! If this newsletter was forwarded to you, please use this link to sign up for yourself. http://www.birdsandblooms.com/rd.asp?id=501&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ Please do not reply to this message to unsubscribe. If you do not want to receive further editions of this newsletter, please use this link to unsubscribe. http://www.birdsandblooms.com/rd.asp?id=500&email=$$email$$&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$&OptID=1 If you would like to change or edit your email preferences, please visit your Personal Preferences page. http://www.birdsandblooms.com/rd.asp?id=499&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ To learn more about Reiman Media Group's use of personal information, please read our Privacy Policy. http://www.birdsandblooms.com/rd.asp?id=498&pmcode=$$refurl-link$$ --------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 Reiman Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. 5400 S. 60th St., P.O. Box 991, Greendale WI 53129-0991 1-800/344-6913