Bird Help

January 5 is National Bird Day.

Learn more by clicking here, at the Avian Welfare Coalition website.

We will not purchase items made with feathers, as they are illegally sourced.

My video above are all of wild birds or birds cared for at zoos, except one Amazon Parrot who has been a part of a family for decades, and who I've had to pleasure of bird-sitting.

Am no bird expert; I just like them, and want to help them survive.

Part of my drive to remove all non-native species of plant from our property, is so the local birds, bees, bats, and mammals can enjoy.

Blooms

Native Spring blooms at Eastside Cats:

White Trillium

Wood Poppy (yellow) and Rue Anemone (white)

Red-berried Elder

Trout Lily (first year coming up!)

Bloodroot

Pussytoes

What is a native plant?

"Native plants" are plants that were wild before Europeans settled in Michigan in the 1700s.

These plants are well-adapted to the local climate and ecosystem, meaning they require less time and effort from their gardener, generally requiring little fertilizer, pesticides, or supplemental watering to keep them looking great. 

Native plants provide valuable habitat to birds, insects, mammals, amphibians, and other wildlife.

In addition, we 'leave the leaves' every autumn, as we are encouraging a woods-like habitat in our yard.

Am thankful for the natives!

Let's Hop!

May Day, May Day!

April showers bring May Flowers!

Celebrate May Day by enjoying a few of the spring flowers in our yard:

Wood Poppy
(Stylophorum diphyllum)

Red-berried Elder
(Sambucus racemosa)

White Trillium
(Trillium grandiflorum)

Woodland Phlox
(Phlox divaricata)

Rue Anemone
(Thalictrum thalictroides)

Spring Beauty
(Claytonia virginica L.)

Downy Yellow Violet
(Viola pubescens)

These are plants that experts say were alive and well in Michigan before Europeans settled.

The native birds, bees, bugs, and bats all evolved with these plants, and they are acclimated to our environment.

🌿🌞🌧️

Amidst the Leaves

Mother Nature shows off in our native plants gardens:

Stonecrop

Mapleleaf Viburnum

Early Meadow Rue

White Snakeroot

Thimbleweed

Wild Geranium

We allow the autumn leaves to fall and stay in our backyard, and are thankful for it.

The leaves are havens for overwintering insects.

Some day, our entire yard...front and back...will have no lawn, only plants and trees that are the same as what was in our part of Michigan before Europeans came a'calling.

The wildlife and ecosystem evolved together, and invasive species take away nutrition and pollinators.

Wild plants are acclimatized to Michigan's seasons, and therefore are almost maintenance free.

There is one plant, however, that volunteered itself, yet must go:

🙀Poison Ivy🙀

Let's Hop!

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Monty

It's Caturday!

While on a recent plant nursery shopping trip, I reacquainted myself with tabby Monty.

Monty has acres of plants, trees, and shrubs to play in, with wild meadows, fish ponds, and old stone buildings too.

Not to mention the cat-crazy plant shoppers, who spent more time tracking Monty from greenhouse to greenhouse, rather than choosing items to take back home.

Monty's images was colorized by Prisma, using the Jellyfish filter.

Click on the image to enjoy a jigsaw puzzle.

FYI, the plants that I brought home:

1 large Black-Eyed Susan plant

3 Beardtongue

3 Golden Alexander

3 Downy Skullcap

Managed to get them into the ground in the afternoon, then we experienced heavy rainfall overnight.

That's the way to do it, especially for a lazy gardener like moi.

Let's Hop!

Click on the badge to visit Athena Cat Goddess!

Garden Wildlife

The idea was to fill the yard with native plants, so the wildlife could eat it's fill, pollinate their little hearts out, and make babies so the cycle can repeat.

The bees like the Ironweed.

💓

A smallish groundhog pigged out on my Cup Plants and Milkweed.

Don't mind one bit; eat up, lil fella.

💗

Even slugs are welcome!

💖

And then one looks up from the garden, to witness more wildlife!

(My educated guess is that this is Chili Bruce)

😻

Looky!

 While on a trip to Wildtype Native Plant Nursery and environs, we happened upon some new sights:

Official Wildtype kitty

A wee non-venomous milk snake

Look at those blue sapphire eyes!

The pawparazzi got a bit to close for her liking.

Having lived in The Motor City for my entire life, this logo was puzzling!
 Research says Holden or General Motors-Holden, made in Australia.

Goes to show that there are interesting things to observe and experience, if you look around.

👀👓👀

Buzzy!

 Our gardens are attracting bees!

Butterfly Weed, with friend.

Milkweed, with bumblebee.

Bee Balm...without bees for now.

Am learning more about the native plants that we've put into our gardens, and delight when we have visitors.

🐝Is this cool or what?!?🐝

Let's Hop!

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Gone Native

We are thankful for our yard and gardens.

I choose native species, and am always delighted with what comes up in the spring.

Jacob's Ladder

Mapleleaf Viburnum

Canada Anemone

Columbine

Wha OH!!!!
Poison Ivy

When a plant shows up that wasn't put in by the gardener, it's called a volunteer.

Sorry, this volunteer cannot stay, even though the berries are terrific for birds in Autumn.

Nope, The Hubby is allergic, and I don't want to find out if I am!

Let's Hop!

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World Bee Day

 May 20 is World Bee Day!

The observance of World Bee Day worldwide aims to: 

• Draw the attention of the world’s public and political decision-makers to the importance of protecting bees.
• Remind us that we depend on bees and other pollinators.
• Protect bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries. 
• Halt the further loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems, and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

A bee visiting milkweed blossoms in our yard.

Our native bee house is busy.

Bats are also great pollinators; look at those wings.

Video taken in our yard, at dusk.

There are more than 450 kinds of bees in Michigan, 3,600 types of bees in the USA, and 20,000 bee species around the world.

Be nice to bees, birds, butterflies, and bats.

Sprunging

We are thankful that Spring is sprunging!

A few images from our garden:

Pussytoes

Pussywillow

Jack in the Pulpit

Wood Poppy

Violets

The first two plants were must-haves for us, since they refer to cats!

There are other plants with weird names: Doll's Eyes, Spiderwort, and Rattlesnake Master.

Every plant that I add to the garden is a native Michigan plant, meaning it was thriving here before Europeans walked through after 1492.

Native plants are acclimated to the climate; they don't need to be pampered.

In addition, they attract native bees, bugs, birds, and bats; creatures who are under stress from lawn chemicals and insecticides, noise pollution, loss of habitat, and diseases brought in by non-native hosts. 

Let's Hop!

Click on the badge above to visit Brian's Home Blog!

October 4: World Animal Day

Each and every one of us can make a difference for animals.

Make animal issue front page news - a vital catalyst for change.

Help make this world a fairer place for all animals.

Go to: https://www.worldanimalday.org.uk for more information!

One of our choices for helping animals:

Planting native-to-Midwest plants.

Native plants and native animals evolved together, and are co-dependent.

My gardens attract bees, birds, and bats.

We don't use pesticides.

Virginia Bluebells, in early Spring

Wild Petunia, in early Summer

Hyssop in Autumn

Be nice to Mother Nature and all of her children.

Don't buy furs or give your business to any company that promotes the fur trade.