Dear $$firstname$$,

To the Rescue

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, a neighbor called Linda V. of North Salem, New York with a strange problem—a great blue heron was caught in a tree outside her house. “We called the fire department, dog pound and local Audubon Society, but no one could help us,” Linda recalls. “I suggested we wait until my father came home—he always knows what to do.”

Promptly at 5 p.m., Linda’s father—an engineer, Boy Scout leader and master of the impossible—arrived home to a group of neighbors pointing at the tree. “After a quick assessment, he saw what we had missed—the heron was trying to break free from fishing line wrapped around its wing. He cut a long branch, taped a knife to it and went to work cutting the line and freeing the bird from the tree.”

Next came the second challenge, one that required teamwork. “The heron’s wing was still tangled. As I held the bird in a blanket, my father and several neighbors painstakingly cut and unwound the fishing line. Meanwhile, other helpful neighbors fenced off a spot near our backyard pond to create an enclosure for the heron to recuperate. Once its wing was freed, I carried the bird to the protected spot.

“The next day, the heron spread its wings and flew to freedom. Everyone in the neighborhood rejoiced that we had done our part to rescue this beautiful wild bird.

“For the rest of the summer, other herons visited our pond, two, three or four at a time. My father said ‘our’ heron must have told its friends about the safe haven. Or perhaps the well-stocked pond had something to do with it.”

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Harvest of Pumpkin Fun

IF YOU’RE TIRED of the same old jack-o’-lantern perched on the front porch, check out these fresh Halloween ideas that may add a new face to your yard at harvesttime.

Several innovative readers shared their clever Halloween creations. It’s easy to understand why these pumpkin displays have received glowing reviews from friends and neighbors.

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Is The Fire Out?

DO YOU NEED a remedy for your burning bushes? If they receive full sun in the afternoon but never turn red in the fall, you may need to avoid overfertilizing these plants. Too much nitrogen can interfere with these shrubs’ fall color. So adjust your fertilizing and wait for the beautiful red leaves to appear in fall.

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Recycled Planters Bring Lunch

AT THE END of the growing season, we turn our hanging planters into extra bird feeders. My husband, Joseph, removes the plants, drills several small drainage holes in the bottom of aluminum pie plates and sets them on top of the planters’ soil. Then we fill each pie plate with birdseed.

The drainage holes help keep the seed from turning moldy, and as long as we keep the plates full, the weight of the birdseed keeps them in place.

If you’re handy, you may want to attach another pie plate (face down) about 4 to 6 inches above the plate holding the seed. This will protect the seed and the birds from the elements. —Mrs. Joseph B., North Billerica, Massachusetts

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Your Mainline to Melinda

PLANT EXPERT Melinda Myers, who writes a column in each issue of Birds & Blooms and Birds & Blooms EXTRA, wants to hear from you! What would like to see Melinda write about? Add your feedback and share your topic ideas by visiting the “Ideas for Melinda” poll on the lower right side of the Web site at birdsandblooms.com.

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Help Your Alstroemeria Hibernate

ALSTROEMERIAS, often called Peruvian lilies, grow from a tuber and aren’t hardy north of Zones 7 and 8. Therefore, these showy beauties are brought indoors to wait out the winter.

To prepare to bring in your alstroemerias, reduce watering as autumn approaches and flowering declines. Then dig up the tubers in fall and store them in moist sand in a cool, dark place—like a root cellar or cool basement. (Unheated garages are often too cold, and heated garages are too warm for winter storage, so avoid keeping them there.)

To replant, start the tubers indoors in March or April, which will result in an earlier summer bloom. Then move the young plants outdoors after the danger of frost has passed.

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Sunflowers Brighten the Winter Menu

CHEERY SUNFLOWERS have always adorned her yard during the summer months. Now they serve a purpose during the winter months, too, says Ann M. of Verona, Kentucky.

“One of my most popular winter feeders is a simple mammoth sunflower that I attach to the pillar of my porch. The birds fly in and pluck the seeds right from the flower head.

“For years I’d been trying to harvest sunflower heads and save them for winter, when the birds would appreciate an extra treat. However, I ran into a number of difficulties getting this done.

“When I put the heads in covered containers on the porch, they got moldy. And if I spread them out on my porch to dry, the birds ate the seeds long before winter.

“Finally, a crafting friend who dries flowers and herbs to make beautiful holiday wreaths offered this suggestion—hang them upside down in a dark, dry place.

“The method worked perfectly. The sunflower heads dried without losing any of the seeds. Now I have a great supply of sunflower seeds to offer the birds throughout the year.”

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Birds by Any Other Name…

YOU MAY KNOW that a group of geese on the ground is referred to as a “gaggle.” But did you know that the same group flying overhead is called a “skein” of geese?

While most people refer to any group of birds as a “flock,” here’s a sampling of the correct names for other bird groupings compiled by Jerrilyn F. of New Orleans, Louisiana:

• A cast of hawks
• A bevy of quail
• A host of sparrows
• A covey of partridges
• A siege of herons or bitterns
• A flight of doves or swallows
• A company of wigeons
• A spring of teal
• A covert of coots
• A herd of swans, cranes or curlews
• A congregation of plovers
• An exaltation of larks
• A murmuration of starlings
• A desert of lapwings
• A muster of peacocks

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