IN THE COOL OF THE MORNING - 9/9/20

 IN THE COOL OF THE MORNING

BY: PEGGY WILLIAMS AKA Birdie of Mississippi

 

In the cool of the morning I have continued to try to do some work in my yard.  We have been blessed to have fall like mornings even though by noon we are headed for the 90’s.  But, as I was adding some pine straw to my flower bed I looked up and sitting on a branch was a Carolina Wren singing its little heart out.  Even though I was busily moving down below it didn’t seem to matter to him, he wanted to sing.  As I write this I am trying to remember its song, but can’t.  So I am kicking myself for not taking my phone out and recording it.  I looked the wren up in one of my books and it says their song is “Teakettle-teakettle-teakettle….maybe that’s what I heard.  All I know is that his song made me happy that he was in my yard singing to me.  Well, I say he was singing “to” me, but that might not be true.  He may have been singing to his girlfriend, but I know that I liked it!  And it made me want to have more and more song birds come to my yard. 

 

So as I write this I am surrounded by my books on “birds” and how to make “bird gardens.”  It is nice to have friends like Debbie Perkins who knows my love of birds and flowers and gives me really beautiful books on these subjects. In 35 Garden Blueprints by Maggie Oster there are diagrams that show where to plant flowers, shrubs and trees in order to make a bird and butterfly garden.  Maggie says, “Anyone who thinks a garden is just plants probably hasn’t been gardening for very long.  A healthy garden will actually be a veritable cosmopolitan ecosystem, complete with a full range of animals, insects, and birds as well as assorted microorganisms and other critters large and small.  Two of these, birds and butterflies, are among the most desired.”  Birds and butterflies are two things that I desire in my yard – no more squirrels and no more raccoons!  Studying books and listening to friends share about their gardens has helped me to learn more about what to do and not to do in my yard to have a successful ecosystem that encourages birds and the right insects to come live in my yard.  And the good thing about having birds live in my yard is that even though I have an abundance of insects, the birds will eat the majority of my yucky bugs!  According to allaboutbirds.org a “Hummingbird can consume 100 percent of their body’s weight in sugar water or nectar every day, in addition to as many as 2,000 tiny insects!”  Last week I learned about the hummingbird territories being expanded by placing my feeders in different corners of my yard and my hummingbird numbers have tripled because my 3 feeders are now spaced far apart.  The idea of how many bugs that they are consuming in my yard is mind boggling and something to be thankful for!

 

So as I plan my bird and butterfly garden I will have the task of balancing birds, plants, shrubs, trees, water, and critters that will work together in harmony to be a yard that meets many needs.  And even in my senior years I learn something new every day that can get me excited about life and encourage me to continue to learn as I continue to “Look at the birds of the air…” Matthew 6:26.

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