Duke

This morning, as Duke and I walked, a particularly noisy finch hailed us from the highway oak. The vigorous chirp had me looking for a cardinal. 

My mind said, “You need to get the birdfeeders fixed up.” 

Two years ago during a drought, I had finches and cardinals all year.  The adults:  cardinals, yellow bellied woodpeckers and downy woodpeckers brought their juveniles to the tree.  I watched a father cardinal feed his young the sunflower seeds that had gotten kicked to the ground.

But, this spring, with twice the usual rainfall, must have brought lots of native chow because they all left and abandoned food in the feeders.  Only the hummingbirds were home.

I’ve seen  juncos, doves and jays hanging around.  And a titmouse…even titmice?  But, the beautiful cardinals are few. There is a bit of milo that grew along the sidewalk from seeds they missed last winter.   The brush honeysuckle is heavy with berries as is the viburnum. I’ve thought I had some time. 

 Today, after some potato soup for MY lunch, I even left the birds to their own designs and took a little nap! After all, it is nearly a holiday and I pushed hard last night and early this morning to finish that project for Vanetworking.com.  I could squeeze in a doze while listening to the New World Symphony on npr.   Forgive me, BigCountry99, but I needed to rest!

While getting my brains back in order, I heard a soft banging on the window.  NO JOKE!  No one is around, but me, the dogs, the birds and the very fat cats.  The dog is confined to the deck, the horses and chickens are in their pens…that leaves the very fat cats and the birds!   A closer look showed me some toe tips along the bottom of the screen.   I thought at first that Phoebe, the kitten had discovered another access to me and because she isn’t very fat yet, had hauled herself up.  Shortly, she would be tearing holes in my screen!  

But, no Phoebe!  Instead, a wren had come for Thanksgiving and the bright eyes clearly stated that I had better get the bird seed out or ELSE!!!   Working on another website will have to wait a while.  It is warmer outside than inside today and truly, I didn’t mind slipping out to fill those glaringly empty feeders.  There will be some very full birds for Thanksgiving!  All the feeders are hanging so that they aren’t even tempting to very fat cats, trust me!

I had thought I had seen my Thanksgiving birds at Antioch Park in Kansas City when Hannah visited with the geese on the stepping stones.

Hannah and Geese on the Stepping Stones at Antioch Park

Flags Fly in Antioch Park

Several years ago, I read about this formula. Gather enough eggshells to fill (without crushing) at quart jar or a gallon jar. Add water to the eggshell contents of the jar and leave for 24 hours. Then, drain the water and pour it onto plants.

This gave the plants an interesting little kick, but I had only used it on containers such as houseplants.

This summer, the neighborhood conversation about the locally sad condition of our watermelon growing efforts told us that our melon plants were crying out for calcium. Without more calcium than they were getting, the baby melons rotted and died a few days after setting on.

There are ways of adding calcium, but the eggshells immediately came to my mind. I had some saved up, so I put about two quarts of eggshell water on the base of the plant. That last, lonely little melon grew to be a fine treat.

Was my eggshell nectar partially responsible. We have no scientific way of knowing, but the melon plant and product improved remarkably after receiving the little calcium draught.

We’ve shared the melon with the grandchild who found it first. With the work of summer done, the vine still flourishes across the grassy area. A volunteer without nearby friends or ability to attract other vermin, the melon vine has grown beautifully, holding out for frost.

I have found that if a drenching with eggshell water is good once for a house plant, it does not follow that the plant will benefit from treatment more than once or twice a year. Too often can set a little mold fungus growing on the top of the plant ‘dirt’.

The majority of the egg shells are crushed and scattered about the garden and flowerbeds. Eventually, they will be worked into the soil to share their calcium content and act as air spacers in the dense, clay soil. A small amount is pulverized and scattered over the nightcrawler beds. There is opinion that the calcium of the eggshells, in crumbs or whole, benefits the nightcrawler fertility. The fine dust makes a good resource for grit in the gullets of the diligent little composters.

Egg shells are indeed at the front of mylist for gardening bits and wisdom.

We’re gardeners of the heart, constantly watching and learning. Thank you for stopping by to read our post.