by Noel | Feb 7, 2012 | CobraHead, Environmental Issues, Gardening
Here’s a snowdrop that’s shown up over a month early. A lot of snowdrops and crocus have sprouted with our unseasonably warm weather. I’m going to drop some leaves over them to see if I can help them hang on until their normal blooming time later in March. Early blooming due to warm spells can be a real problem. Tender new growth can be frozen when the temperatures return to really cold. I worry about my fruit trees where new buds that come...
by Noel | Jan 6, 2012 | CobraHead, Environmental Issues, Gardening
The weather in Wisconsin has been super freaky. With highs of 50 yesterday and again today following a December with no snow and exceptionally mild temperatures, a lot of the locals are saying, “what the hey, this ain’t all bad!” I have to say yes and no. It’s kind of scary, and from a gardener’s perspective, in most ways not so good. I love a deep snow cover on my garden beds. The snow offers insulation and moisture. And too...
by Noel | Dec 4, 2011 | CobraHead, Environmental Issues, Gardening
I posted recently about leaf burning and why I don’t think it’s such a great idea, even if it is allowed, but I was careful to mention that I’m not at all opposed to fires. Being a relative land baron out here on my almost rural four acres, I would have some major disposal issues if I could not burn prunings, deadfall, and other natural debris. Just a little over half our property is wooded. You can see a neighbor’s house to the east of...
by Noel | Nov 12, 2011 | CobraHead, Environmental Issues, Gardening
In the village that borders us a few blocks to the west and south, leaf burning is prohibited, but it is allowed and practiced as a seasonal rite in our township. I’m not advocating a ban on burning, but I really wish the neighbors understood what they are wasting. While I was working hard today to get as many leaves as I could into my garden, I could see at least four smoke trails in the neighborhood. Too bad for the leaf burners, they could be making...
by Noel | Oct 16, 2011 | CobraHead, Environmental Issues
Turkey vultures are extremely common in Wisconsin, but it’s rare to see them flying directly overhead in my yard. Our wooded property is the main residence of an extended family of crows that controls the neighborhood skies. The crows never allow vultures, owls, hawks or other larger birds to secure the local airspace or even intrude into it for very long. This afternoon there must have been a major road kill on US Highway 18 which is the north border of...
by Noel | Nov 14, 2010 | Environmental Issues, Gardening
I was digging horseradish roots out of the compost area when I uncovered a little spotted salamander. They seem out of place here. I would expect them in much wetter areas, but I come across them frequently so I guess they like the garden surroundings. Judy was cleaning up our leek harvest nearby so I put the salamander in the wheelbarrow she was using while I fetched the camera. I took the picture and returned the little creature back to where I had found it. ...
