by Winding Pathways | Oct 26, 2017 | Birds, Nature
This fall thousands of hunters will bring millions of ringneck pheasants home to be converted into delicious meals. Pheasants have been around so long that many people think of them as native birds. They’re not but they provide a lesson on how to structure a modern yard to attract wildlife.
In the 1880s Judge Owen Denny was stationed as a government agent in China. He and his wife took a fancy to colorful and tasty pheasants, which are native to Asia. They had some captured and shipped to Portland, Oregon where Denny’s brother released them on the family farm. They reproduced like crazy, and just ten years later Oregon opened the nation’s first pheasant season. About 50,000 were shot.
Pheasants began spreading out on their own and people speeded the process by capturing many and releasing them all over the country. The birds never took hold in the hot humid south but thrived in northern farmland that was a patchwork of grain and hayfields separated by brushy fence rows. By the mid-1900s they were abundant in the Midwest and eastward to the Atlantic wherever farms provided the right habitat.
Pheasants live near human activity. They love farmland yet shun forests. The bird did well until enormous changes in agriculture took place in recent years.
Because of rises in grain prices, huge increases in the size of agriculture machinery and fields, and modern pesticides farmers began tearing out the brushy fencerows the birds loved. As corn and soybean prices shot upward hayfields began to disappear. Pheasants lost safe places to nest.
Because of habitat loss pheasant populations are smaller than they once were but when habitat improves pheasant numbers swiftly rebound. It’s a good lesson for homeowners.
Pheasants generally aren’t backyard birds because most people live in shady suburban neighborhoods or big cities. Homeowners with yards backing up to farm fields might enjoy pheasant visits but otherwise, the birds are denizens of agricultural land.
However, pheasants provide a graphic example of the importance of habitat that applies to all species, including the loved and valued wildlife that lives in suburbia – or might if they find good living conditions. Chickadees, woodpeckers, goldfinches, cottontails, barred owls and dozens of other fascinating animals enjoy sharing yards with humans. If backyard habitat is improved they will come.
Here are a few ways to structure a yard, even a tiny one, to attract a variety of interesting wildlife:
- Create Diversity. Plant trees, shrubs, grasses and flowers that offer wildlife food and shelter. The greater the diversity of plants the greater the number of species that will take up residence.
- Shun Pesticides.
- Provide water. A tiny backyard pool or even birdbath will be appreciated by wildlife
Adding food might or might not help wildlife. It depends on what expert you consult, but adding a feeder certainly encourages wild animals, especially birds, to come close to the window so they can be seen. One of the very best seeds to put in the yard is black oil sunflower, which many species enjoy. The worst is milo, which is shunned by native species but devoured by House Sparrows. Corn is inexpensive and enjoyed by many wild animals.
An exciting and rewarding project is converting a sterile mowed and sprayed lawn into a wildlife haven. Pheasants probably won’t come but dozens of beautiful and interesting animals will.
by Winding Pathways | Oct 19, 2017 | Bugs, Nature
At Winding Pathways, we take joy in fall’s colorful leaves, cool days, and clear air, but we know insects are on the move.
Box Elder Bugs, Asian Beetles, other insects and spiders, and mice all sense that frigid air is on the way and seek shelter from the cold. Houses offer secure nooks and crannies to hide in and central heat to keep them toasty warm. Houses also imitate natural wintering places. Asian beetles, for example, naturally winter in the cracks of rock outcroppings. So, a house makes a perfect substitute.
Filling a Crack
Homeowners have options for reducing winter insect infestations. Many turn to insecticides when they spot beetles or bugs clustering on interior windows and walls. We avoid poison and opt for nontoxic solutions.
At Winding Pathways, we simply make it hard for bugs and mice to enter. We can’t keep all of them out but we greatly reduce their numbers. Here’s what we do before the first frost:
- Load a tube of exterior caulk into our caulking gun and inspect our house’s exterior. We squirt caulk into every crack and hole in the siding. Likely bug entry points are where wires, cables, and pipes enter the house and around door and window frames. Often old caulk has split or fallen out, so we replace it. We also inspect thresholds to make sure there is no space beneath doors for bugs to enter. Sometimes we need to replace weather stripping around doors and windows.
- Keep most firewood outside. We used to bring several days’ worth of firewood inside to make feeding our woodstove convenient but insects, like mosquitoes, hitchhiked on the cordwood and then roamed around the house. We now keep the wood in the cold just outside the door and only bring in a few pieces at a time when we need to feed the fire.
- There’s an added benefit to excluding insects and mice. The holes and cracks they use to squeeze into the house also invite in winter’s cold air. Sealing them up keeps the house warm and lets us use less fuel in our furnace and wood stove.
- Cleanse houseplants. We move some houseplants outside for the summer and bring them back indoors before the first frost, but insects can ride the plants into our home. To prevent this, we carefully clean and repot plants. Master Gardener, Tina Patterson, had an excellent column in The Gazette, Living Section, Sunday, October 1, 2017, that describes in detail ways to safely clean your plants and keep them healthy inside all winter. We have reprinted this with permission of the Gazette, Linn County Master Gardeners Program, and Tina Patterson.
FROM THE GROUND UP | LINN COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
Don’t bring in bugs with those summer plants, By Tina Patterson, Iowa State University Extension
Time to bring in those houseplants that have been soaking up the sun outside all summer. As temperatures drop, it is a good idea to make sure they make the trip alone. Bugs and spiders and even tree frogs have made their way into my house before I learned a couple of little tricks to keep them at bay. Trevor the tree frog hid in the soil of a lemon tree only to pop out one warm winter afternoon. Before you bring pots into your home, prep them for the trip. A large bucket of water with a mild soap without degreaser or detergent should do it. Trim off damaged leaves while inspecting for insect eggs on the undersides. Submerge the pot into the bucket and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. This should be long enough for any bugs lurking under the soil line to leave.
After removing, let it drain. Scrub the outside and bottom of the pot with a stiff brush to remove dirt and possible bugs. Rinse foliage that did not getsubmerged with a slow hose. Don’t be concerned about soil floating out of the pot. Just top it off with fresh soil once it has drained. Skim any leaves or soil that floats free. You can soak four to five pots in the same water before refreshing.
If you suspect insects deep in the soil or the plants are in need of a fresh pot, it might be a good idea to remove them from their pots, rinse the soil off the root system, let them soak for 10 to 15 minutes and repot in a fresh pot with fresh soil. Boston ferns are good candidates for this because their roots can benefit from a good long soak before coming indoors for the cold months.
Another method for dealing with potential insects is to give them a one-two punch by adding a systemic insecticide that may keep pests where they belong. Added to the soil and watered in, systemic pesticides are water soluble and are absorbed by the tissues of the plant to reach the leaves, flowers, fruit and roots. One fairly simple remedy is one part 3 percent hydrogen peroxide mixed with four parts water, which will drastically reduce gnats in your pots.
Physical traps can help to cut the insect population down to size. Yellow sticky traps or insect tapes are good for fungus gnats that live in the first inch of soil. Keep air moving on well-lit plant shelves. It will help keep mealy bugs and aphids away.
With a little prep work, your plants will be healthy and happy through the winter months – and relatively bug free.
For questions, call the Linn County Extension Master Gardener Hortline at (319) 447-0647.
by Winding Pathways | Oct 12, 2017 | Preparedness
Fall is a perfect season to be outdoors. We look forward to the delicate lace of the first frost on our russet oak leaves.
When outside be sure to look up. You might catch sight of a raptor, perhaps even an eagle, way up high catching thermals and moving south ahead of the cold.
Birds migrate, reptiles hibernate, and plants go dormant but people carry on through winter. Fall is the best season to prepare for the blizzards and cold wind to come.
A good friend, Jean Perkins, who is a realtor and helped us find and buy Winding Pathways in 2010, has a list of tips on the Skogman Realty website about how to prepare for the cold season. We’re passing it on and encourage all our Winding Pathways visitors to prepare their home so it’s comfortable and safe in the cold months. Then, they can enjoy all types of weather and seasons.
by Winding Pathways | Oct 5, 2017 | (Sub)Urban Homesteading, Energy Efficiency
(This story first appeared in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.)
A few months ago, my wife called me to her computer to view our electric bill. Although the weather had been mild the previous month we were still proud to see a $13.18 bill, or about 45 cents a day.
That’s a low bill for us but even when we figure in higher use during hot and cold seasons our monthly average bill is $38, or about 32% of the average $114 residential bill. Our medium size home has typical appliances and lights yet we annually pay Alliant Energy about $936 less than other families.
We’ve done nothing magical, and nearly any home following our strategy is certain to reduce their costs without sacrificing comfort or convenience. Here are gradual steps we took to save money and electricity.
First, we exercise the power of the human index finger. If it’s not in use, we turn it off. The sun provides free light and heat yet never sends a bill. In winter, we open south facing blinds to welcome the sun’s light and warmth and close them at sunset.
Second, we embrace technology. Incandescent bulbs are bygone era dinosaurs. Modern LED bulbs provide better light while consuming much less electricity. Although costly just a few years ago, now LED’s are competitively priced. We didn’t gradually replace incandescents. Instead we tossed out those still working to convert the whole house to efficient lighting. It was a bit of an “ouch” for Marion, who is a “Yankee of the “use it up, wear it out, make do our do without” philosophy. However, almost immediately our electric bill shrank enough to cover bulb costs. Savings will continue for years.
Third, when buying a new appliance, we purchase the most energy efficient model available, which generally wears the Energy Star logo. Old appliances are costly thieves. Efficient replacements normally cost slightly more than less efficient models, but utility savings quickly erase the difference. Efficiency is a wise financial investment.
With high efficiency in place our bill shrank to $55 a month, or just under half the average home’s cost. We wanted to do better so contracted with Site Gen Solar in Cedar Rapids to install a solar electric, or photovoltaic, system.
Just before the 2016 June summer solstice they installed a modest system and six months months later we received tax credits that dropped its cost nearly in half. Every day our photovoltaics convert sunlight into electricity. When we’re making more power than we’re using electricity runs our meter backward, enters the grid, and helps power neighboring homes. The photovoltaic system dropped our average bill to $36, and we’re enjoying an 11% return on our solar electric investment.
Efficiency and photovoltaics do more than reduce cost. They help us avoid burning coal and gas used to generate electricity. We have taken a positive step toward reducing climate change. It feels good.
During our quest to reduce cost we had a surprising partner – Alliant Energy. Alliant gave us information and financial incentives to buy less of their product. It’s an ironic position for a company. Imagine Exxon Mobile or Walmart doing the same! We are neither employees nor stockholders of the utility but appreciate their help.
Nearly every family can protect itself from increased cost and help the environment by using energy efficiently. Some can add photovoltaics to further cut cost. For information on how to receive a free energy assessment, rebates for efficient equipment, and several other ways of easily reducing cost contact Alliant. For anyone interested in adding photovoltaics the City of Cedar Rapids and Linn County are partnering a Solar Group Buy this year to reduce installation costs. To learn more access www.SolarizeLinnCounty.com.
