New Soul

We usually focus on what's growing outside in My Florida Backyard, but we've had a recent new addition inside we wanted to share. We've added a new kitten to our family, and he loves watching what's going on in the gardens just as much as our other two cats.

"What's going on out there? I wanna see!" 

"You're an odd-looking fellow. Do you come here often?"

By the way, we're getting ready to do some planting in the gardens this weekend. Check back soon to see what's going on!

We Gather Together

Here in My Florida Backyard, holidays are generally pretty quiet affairs. Our families live many hundreds of miles away, so it's usually just us enjoying our holiday meal out on the back porch. Of course, plenty of wildlife is also around, feasting as well.

Who joined in your Thanksgiving feast? We hope it was as nice as ours was. Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a Feast Here Tonight

Regular readers may remember that back in the spring, we installed a "squirrel feeder" in My Florida Backyard. This cleverly designed feeder looks like a corn stalk, and you just add dried corn on the cob to the stakes. Well, as much as we liked it, the squirrels spent the summer ignoring it, and we were getting ready to chalk it up to another "oh, well, we tried" situation.

But then a few weeks ago, the squirrels seemed to suddenly realize this feast of plenty of was free for the taking, and they quickly began to strip the cobs of the tasty little kernels. One squirrel loves to perch atop the fence nearby as he nibbles his dinner, while this little guy prefers to use the corncobs themselves for his seat (sorry for the poor image quality - we snapped this through the window so as not to scare him off):

It's nice to know this fun feeder is finally working out. Most likely, the squirrels spent the summer feasting on insects that were readily available, and as those populations began to dwindle, they looked around for easier food sources. While this doesn't necessarily keep them off the bird feeders nearby when there's sunflower seed to be had, it does at least provide ridiculously cute photo opportunities as they enjoy their tasty corn snacks in My Florida Backyard.

Sneak Peak

Fall colors and new plants are starting to arrive in My Florida Backyard, and we've got a bunch of good posts coming up... .just as soon as we have to time to write them. In the meantime, here's a little sneak peak at a couple of fall favorites who seemed ready for their close-ups. Can you ID them?

Life in a Northern Town

Visiting family up north in Ohio is always fun, partly because the birds that visit their backyard feeders are so different than the birds that visit ours. At my dad's house in Canton, Ohio, dozens of small songbirds visit his feeders each day, most of which we never have a chance to see in Central Florida. His yard is flanked by tall trees, so even in an urban setting, it's not unusual to have 10 or 12 birds at his feeders at a time, waiting for their turn and fighting off the squirrels.

Finches especially are fond of nyjer thistle seed, like this American Goldfinch pair. The males are a brilliant yellow during mating season, with females only slightly duller. This species is known to winter as far south as Florida, and this year we plan to try a thistle feeder and see if we can't lure a few to My Florida Backyard.

Finches will eat black oil sunflower seed too, and this red-headed House Finch joined a White-Breasted Nuthatch in a search for dinner. Nuthatches are very fun to watch, as they frequently feed head-down both at feeders and along tree trunks. Neither of these birds are seen in Florida, so we have to enjoy them when we're out of town.

Perhaps our favorite Ohio backyard visitor, though, is the Black-Capped Chickadee. Another bird we'll never see in Florida, these little guys are so friendly they're often known to eat out of people's hands. Their call is easy to recognize... they sing "Chickadee-dee-dee!" early and often, and their adorable hopping behavior endears them to nearly all backyard bird lovers.

As much as we love My Florida Backyard, a trip to another backyard is always fun. The birds at my dad's are very different than those at home, and we truly enjoyed the chance to watch them for a few days!

P.S. There was one familiar visitor to this Ohio backyard... this little Tufted Titmouse dropped by to remind us of home!

American Red, White, and Blues

"May the sun in his course visit no land 

more free, more happy, more lovely, 

than this our own country!" 

 ~Daniel Webster

Happy Independence Day from My Florida Backyard!

Where Corn Don't Grow

One of the important parts of any wildlife habitat, even one that's only one tenth of an acre in suburbia, is offering food sources. We offer plenty of them in My Florida Backyard, like bird feeders, shrubs with berries, caterpillar host plants, and butterfly nectar plants. This week we added a new feeder, this one for creatures that most people have a love-hate relationship with... squirrels.

We got this fun feeder from Gardener's Supply Company, though there are other versions of it out there. We like how sturdy this one is, and the graceful design. So far, we haven't seen any squirrels visiting, but that's most likely because there's a pair of nesting mockingbirds about 10 yards away from this feeder, and they've been keeping everyone else out of the yard (more on that soon). We look forward to seeing if the squirrels eventually find and enjoy this new feeder just for them!

White Lightning

Though My Florida Backyard hasn't seen rain in several weeks, there has been rain in the area, taunting us from a distance. The other night, a line of storms about twenty miles away to the east gave us a spectacular light show. Starting around dusk, and continuing for at least an hour, the massive clouds were nearly constantly aglow with electricity; at the peak, we estimated 50 to 100 flashes per minute. Though it takes a better camera than the one we have to truly get good lightning pictures, we gave it a shot, and got a few we thought worth sharing.

The storms were so far we away that we heard only the very faintest rumbles of thunder from time to time, and mostly the show unfolded in the quiet of a summer evening. We only hope that future storms come a little closer and bring us the rain that My Florida Backyard so desperately needs.

One, Two, Three

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, the latest crop of monarch caterpillars in My Florida Backyard have wriggled their way into shimmering green chrysalises, after eating every single leaf of milkweed available. (Seriously, the plants are completely stripped!) They've chosen all kinds of odd places, including three of them on this fennel plant. Can you spot them all?

Nature creates the most ridiculously beautiful things, don't you think?

Happy St. Patrick's Day - don't forget to follow the monarchs' example of the Wearing of the Green!

Open Invitation

I'd like to invite our My Florida Backyard readers to visit the new Birds & Blooms Blog, where yours truly is serving as the Southeast Regional Reporter.

This blog is a new venture of Birds & Blooms magazine. I've been writing the regional report for the Southeast for this magazine since last summer, and I'm pleased to be writing posts now for the newly-launched blog. The goal is to provide detailed tips on birding and gardening in specific regions around the U.S. The Southeast region is fairly large, ranging from West Virgina to Florida and west to Louisiana, so it provides a new and interesting challenge for me as a writer, meeting the needs of such a wide group of people.

Regular weekly features will include Focus on Natives (weekends), which will take a look at the flora and fauna that make the Southeast so special; Places to Go, Things to Do (Tuesdays), a look at upcoming events or sites worth a visit; and Working for the Weekend (Thursdays), which will provide project ideas and help with chores for the weekend ahead. I'll also be answering reader questions and posting items of general interest.

Won't you come and join me, and tell your friends as well? This blog has something for gardeners and birders across the country, so spread the word to those who might be interested.

P.S. Don't worry... My Florida Backyard will continue just as it always has, focusing on the wildlife activities in our own little suburban Central Florida lot, with pictures, information, and tips along the way.

Love is a Rose

Happy Valentine's Day from My Florida Backyard!

The red rose whispers of passion,

And the white rose breathes of love;

O, the red rose is a falcon,

And the white rose is a dove.

-John Boyle O'Reilly

It's Just Another New Year's Eve

My Florida Backyard celebrates by watching fireworks in every direction...

Thanks for dropping by throughout 2010... we look forward to seeing you in 2011!

White Christmas

There's no snow in My Florida Backyard this Christmas (thank goodness!), but that doesn't mean we're not having a White Christmas...

Merry Christmas from our backyard to yours!

Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees

 Just in time for Christmas, the holly berries in My Florida Backyard are starting to turn red. Our holly is one of the few plants on the property that was here before we were - it's located on the west side of the house in front of a bedroom window. We feel reasonably sure it is a Burford Holly (Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii'), which is native to Asia. Fortunately, it's not considered invasive in Florida, so we were able to leave this 15-foot shrub in place without any guilt.

Florida has several really great native hollies, including Dahoon Holly (Ilex cassine) and Yaupon Holly, which has the superb Latin name Ilex vomitoria. Given the choice, we would have planted either of these natives instead of the non-native Burford, but beggars can't be choosers. Our holly berries are popular with mockingbirds in the neighborhood - several years ago a male became very territorial in this bush and even began attacking his own reflection in the nearby window to protect his food source. Interestingly, it appears that holly berries actually benefit from cold - they apparently soften and become milder in flavor after a few freezes, making them even more delectable to birds.

 
Oh, and just for fun, here's a picture of the little live tree we have on the porch in My Florida Backyard. The big (fake) tree is inside, but we just can't resist having a live tree to smell and enjoy during the holidays!

Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming...

...from tender bud has sprung.

 It came, a floweret bright...

...amid the cold of winter, when half spent was the night.