We like to feed our humming birds. I’ve always just put some sugar and water into our hummingbird feeder and shook it up until it dissolved and they seem to like it. HOWEVER, recently the boss ( who is kinda getting into cooking lately) decided to try a hummingbird food recipe. He cooked it up and the birds have been flocking to the feeders! I could only capture 1 or two in the frame of the picture, but there are now usually 4 or 5 hummingbirds at any given time.
Try this recipe. It’s easy!
Nectar for the Birds 1 part sugar to 4 parts water Place the water in a sauce pan. Stir the sugar into the water while bringing the mixture to a boil. Apparently the boiling removes any chlorine and kills mold or yeast spores that might be in the sugar.
Boil for two minutes, no more. More will change the dilution ratio and won’t be as attractive to the birds. No need to add the food coloring. It is not necessary to add the food coloring and it may even be harmful to the birds. Cool the solution to room temperature and fill your feeder only part way so it wont spoil before they finish it. Store extra nectar in your fridge. Try it your birds will LOVE it.
Today has been a lot warmer than last few weeks. Even though at home, the pond started to freeze again when I left for work this morning, when I got to Oak Hills at the job, I was working in a t-shirt! unlike the previous days when I was bundled up with several layers! Today, my hubby put out a new LARGE bird seed block on the ground and a large hanging bird seed brick. Both just outside our bedroom window. A cat TV special for our kitties, Rocky and Romeo. They love to hang out on the hope chest by the window and watch all the birds. And there were LOTS of birds. I never counted less than 12 each time I looked. There were at least 4 different kinds as well. I need to get out my bird ID book and learn exactly who is hanging out there. Make sure you feed your birds. They will love you for it.
It’s finally getting colder out and we are thinking about hiding indooors for a few months. No one wants to go outside when it is wet, cold and windy. Check out our December newsletter below to get the latest tips on garden prep, winter watering, special gift suggestions and our fabulous cookie recipie!!
Click the link fo our newsletter here: December 2012 Newsletter
Ya know, you aren’t getting any younger. What will you leave as your legacy? Check out our march 2012 newsletter. and maybe get some help with that.
My job is never dull. Being a self-employed landscaper, you have to wear lots of hats during the day. Any day could see me mowing acres of grass, designing and installing a healing, memorial garden, making a client’s weeds go away for months, knee-deep in a hole of mud and pipes, teaching a class in drought tolerant landscaping or my favorite one, sitting with a client, sipping coffee and discussing their landscape just to name a few!
I got an unusual request from a client recently, that certainly was unique. It seems that my client had visited Yosemite recently with friends. Sitting under the emerald sky of the giant Sequoias, they debated the tree and its benefits and whether or not it could grow in a place like the high desert. They talked about how majestic the trees are and how many life times they have lived and how many lives they have benefited. My clients certainly have the space for the massive trees on their Mojave River-side property. So they decided to test it and brought back a Do-it-yourself Giant Sequoia Tree Kit.
Naturally, as their landscape manager and advisor, the job was handed down to me. At first, I was a little peeved. I was thinking, I mean, really? Couldn’t we just BUY a tree partly grown? Don’t they know the odds of getting the little seeds to sprout and grow under the best conditions, never mind putting them into the ground near the river where God knows what has the opportunity to have it’s way with them?
I was relating my distress at the thought of trying to bring up mighty Sequoias from a seed, to a friend. She did not see my problem. “Aren’t they huge, beautiful, green trees?” “Won’t it take a lot of skill to germinate and raise the trees?” “Don’t Sequoias live thousands of years?”
I dutifully answered “yes” to each of her questions. “The way I see it,” she said, your client has a tremendous amount of confidence and respect for your skills.” “ And to top it off, at an average life span of 3000 years, I’d say it’s job security, Honey!”
I had to laugh at that. And the thought of practically being immortal by planting giant sequoia trees, who live for thousands of years is definitely worth the hassle.
Get Immortality, plant a tree!
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
~Nelson Henderson
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