Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Thursday, August 09, 2012

My Garden Is For The Birds


There is a pretty amazing cycle going on in the garden.  It's probably been going on for a long time, but I'm just more in turn with it now. Each morning the birds arrive just around dawn to 'clean' up the beds and plants from bugs and slugs.  Mama and daddy quail arrive with their brood and slip through the wire fence.  Dad sits atop a fence post as lookout while mom ushers the babies in and around the 'breakfast table.'  Then they scurry over to the in ground garden for their dust baths and have a treat eating the raspberries that have fallen to the ground.  Next comes the robins and spotted towhees that eat much bigger bugs.

  The hummingbirds sip nectar from the scarlet runner beans, pollinating them.  When I water, they like to dance in the mist and fly pretty close to say thank you.  My dill is frequented by lady bugs that have kept away the aphids.



 Dragonflies and butterflies are plentiful.  Of course, there are bees and wasps that do most of the heavy pollinating, and from the looks of the tomatoes, have been quite busy.  The 'dance' in the garden is wonderful to watch.

"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden."-- Thomas Jefferson

11 comments:

Sue said...

So glad you have "help" from nature in your garden. My neighbor loves to "spray" every bug and weed-her garden is barren of any life. She always wonders why my garden is full of life. Those birds are a far better pest control than anything out of a can.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

What a great post about your garden and it's helpers.

It looks lovely and sounds very productive.

FlowerLady

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post! It's true. There's a whole other world going on in your garden. However, based on the hour you posted this, I don't think you will see the dance THIS dawn! =)

gardeningnaturallywithclaudia.blogspot.com said...

I love to sit back and see nature take care of her own. thanks for the reminder.

Mr. H. said...

Sounds like you have a very healthy ecosystem in place there. I miss the quail, before we had cats they would visit our gardens as well.

Karen K said...

Beautiful, both in pictures & in thought. What a lovely "show" to start your day. Thank you for sharing.

Jada's Gigi said...

yes...there is quite the show in my won back garden...though i do not have a vegetable garden I do have loads of flowers, a bird bath etc...my sisters loves and tends it and it loves her back while I get to enjoy the show. :)

Pat said...

It's like listening to and watching a play that only God could write. It's amazing in it's order and beauty.
You describe it in such a beautiful fashion!

Sandy Livesay said...

Mrs. Mac,
Your post is so beautiful and the pictures are fabulous. I love watching the birds, bees, and bugs doing their dance and working through the garden.
That is as long as the birds don't eat my tomatoes, lol.
Have a wonderful evening!

Wendy said...

It's lovely to observe all the busyness and life a garden brings!

Stella Jones said...

That sounds just wonderful. I would love to see it!