This layout of my garden makes it look a lot better than it really is. Returning North after the Winter in Florida allowed the weeds to take over any area not closely planted. The rose garden and iris are in pretty good shape, and I have dug the annual garden at the back (around the little statue). The garden around the pond is so closely planted that weeds are rare. What you can't see is the East side garden which is covered with the old black plastic pool cover. The weeds and grass were up to my neck! I had two years fighting chiggers and will NOT sit down and start weeding again so I just covered the whole thing. I said goodbye to the Astilbe, Philipandula, and Saxifragia. They can be replaced easier than weeding would be. By the time my son can come and rototil the garden the weeds should be dead. Then I will recover and plant just one section at a time. This time I will put the plants closer together and use a lot of Preen.

These two weeks I am taking care of my 6-year-old granddaughter during the day. She loves gardening with me and has helped groom the rose garden and the path. Then Amazon delivered my copy of "Best-Ever Backyard Birding Tips-Hundreds of Easy Ways to Attract the Birds You Love to Watch". She read parts of it and I read other interesting tips. We started by digging out all the birdbath dishes hidden in the closets and garage and setting them up. Birds came from all over! There already is a fountain bubbling in the middle of the garden, and a table-top fountain on the deck. Very popular, especially with all of the young birds!

Then we dug out all of the feeders and hangers. We washed up the feeders just as they say to do in the book. We don't have a birding store anywhere near, though. We settled for Aco Hardware and were very picky. ONLY Nijer seed and shelled black oil sunflower seed. Now there are 4 seed feeders, one with 3 tubes. Unfortunately, the black birds are all over the feeders and the other birds are only here when the bully birds move on. The Baltimore Orioles are liking the oranges but no traffic to the hummingbird feeder that I can see so far.

The back fence behind my garden is quite covered with forsythia, wild grape, yellow lilies, and weed-trees. This usually drives me crazy as I try to keep my side cut back to the fence, but I am aware that it offers privacy. The book, however, says a hedgerow is the first and most important feature to consider when making a yard friendly to birds. HA! I already HAVE that! And the two evergreens, which I considered cutting down, offer nesting and shelter.

Now I am looking at planting bird and butterfly friendly plants in that long garden, once all of the weeds are gone for good. The book will be handy for deciding just what to plant.

My granddaughter and I also ordered seeds for the annual flower garden, and vegetable garden from Renee's Garden Seeds and Park Seeds. I found a short full size flower zinnia at Park as suggested by a gardening friend. It is called Magellan. I also ordered Angel's Trumpet Ballerina Yellow. I hope they will flourish on my trellis.

Renee's had collections of seeds and I ordered the Children's collection and the Bird and Butterfly collection. Time will tell how well these do in my yard but I really am hopeful. The zinnias from Renee's have done really well for two years. Watch here and I will show the gardens after they start to come up.

I had been home for a week when I was browsing my next door neighbor's garage sale. He pointed out this robin's nest right in the corner of my house and back gate...on the top of two boards just leaning there. The parent did not seem to mind our being there and the babies were not particularly quiet.

This is the Chamber of Commerce building which was on Main Street. Now it is on the park. I still can't tell what will be parking for cars and boat trailers and what will be street.

So I grabbed my little camera and stalked the big bird. Not that he cared. I could have probably gone closer, but I was not that brave. It was a BIG BIRD! THis bird had the adult markings of the Sandhill Crane as opposed to the teenage parents I photographed 2 days ago. (last post)

I just had to include this photo of three yellow-headed ducks swimming past our friends' lawn. They really do see a lot of wildlife for living in a totally settled area.

I was sitting on my bench, by the seawall around our lake when I heard AND saw this Sandhill Crane. Evening is not the best time for a photo with the setting sun behind the subject but, well, it was so close! The spots mark it as a juvenile, or so I thought.

From "All About Birds" from Cornell University:

Wikipedia says this:

The Florida Sandhill Crane is far less common, with some 5,000 individuals remaining. They are most threatened by habitat destruction and probably depend on human management in the long run. In Florida, it is protected, and if killed, carries a very high monetary penalty. This subspecies is under protection of state and federal law at this time. Since the loss of habitat is a somewhat controllable cause of a declining population, habitat preservation is a valuable management measure. The current outlook for the Florida sandhill crane, if it can be maintained on the protected habitats, is good. Transplanting wild birds, as well as introducing captive-reared birds into suitable areas where crane numbers are low, appears to be a viable technique in the management of this threatened species. It is hoped that these management strategies, plus continued ecological research, will prevent the Florida sandhill crane from reaching a more critical status.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Florida Sandhill Cranes (Southwest Florida Water Management District)

Florida sandhill cranes are long-legged, long-necked, gray, heron-like birds with a patch of bald, red skin on top of their heads. Sandhill cranes fly with their necks outstretched with powerful, rhythmic wing beats. Florida's sandhill cranes are a threatened species that are found in inland shallow freshwater marshes, prairies, pastures and farmlands. Sometimes they can be seen on lawns throughout Florida. They are sensitive birds that do not adjust well to changed environments and high human populations. Sandhill cranes are usually seen in small family groups or pairs. However, during the winter, Florida's sandhill crane population increases as cranes from northern states spend the winter in Florida. Sandhill cranes are omnivorous, meaning they eat a variety of plant and animal matter. Some of their favorite meal items include seeds, plant tubers, grains, berries, insects, earthworms, mice, snakes, lizards, frogs and crayfish. Unlike other wading birds, such as herons, sandhill cranes do not "fish." The voice of the sandhill crane is one of the most distinctive bird sounds in Florida. This "call of the wild" has been described as a bugling or trumpeting sound, and can be heard for several miles. Florida sandhill cranes stay with the same mate for several years and young sandhills stay with their parents until they are about 10 months old. Like their endangered relatives the whooping cranes, sandhills live to be older than most birds. In fact, some sandhill cranes live up to 20 years.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok...that answers everything except the youth of the parents and their SWIMMING.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash land on the palm tree and this fellow posed nicely for me.