keeping the hummers happy and the hornets away

As the summer progresses, the hummingbirds are more frantic about sipping as much nectar as possible so they can gather their strength for the long migration ahead. Their acrobatics as they confront their rivals and their constant cheeping is fearsome.  I'm just glad they are as small as they are - they would be pretty scary if they were bigger. 

Caring for a hummingbird feeder is fraught with problems.  The ant moat on top is filled with soapy water and is supposed to capture the ants that want some of that sweet stuff.  But they get into the feeder anyways, and end up drowning. And don't get me started on the racoons, who also like sugar water and have even unscrewed the feeder to get every last drop.

Our strong winds often push the feeder sideways, which spills the nectar and attracts even more ants.  I came up with the bright idea of tying the feeder to the railing with shoe laces, which is a bit inconvenient, but stops the endless swaying.   

By August, the ants were joined by hornets of every size who also wanted some sugar water.  I tried making a fake hornet next with a paper bag, but it didn't scare them at all.  Then I thought about making a trap.  I poured sugar water into a plastic container, set it under the feeder, and voila!  the hornets and many of the ants made a bee-line for it, and ended up drowning, while the feeder became safe for the hummers.

When I clean out the feeder, there are far fewer dead bodies now.  This used to be chock-full of dead hornets, and now there are just a few ants.

feeding critters

 

When I put away the bird feeders this spring, I missed watching the wildlife, although it was nice to wash off the bird poop and reclaim the deck for ourselves.  I hung a bird feeder on the washline pole, and it took less than half an hour for the chipmunks, squirrels, and birds to find it.

gems in a late summer garden

By mid-July, the fireworks in the garden seem to be over.  The spring bulbs, irises, and peonies are but a distant memory, and the spent blossoms have been cut off.  You have to look more closely to see what is now bravely blooming, and these are all the more precious for being rare.  Above is a bottle brush plant, with soft pink fuzzy flowers.

 Daylilies come in all colours, and I like the bi-colours best.  They are actually not lilies at all, but from the hemerocalis family.  They suffer from no pests, and that makes them easy to care for.  All I do is cut off the spent stems after they stop blooming.

I wish I had more purple cone flower plants.  They are tough and bloom a really long time, and come in shades from dark pink to pale to white.  And as a cut flower, they last for weeks.

Foxgloves appear scattered throughout the garden.  I don't plant them on purpose, which makes them all the more precious when they appear.

This scaggy little plant is Edelweis.  Three years ago, we were in Vienna.  I excitedly bought a small can of Edelweis seeds for 15 Euros (about $25) which is an astronomical price.  I froze the seeds for 5 months, and then carefully planted them indoors.  A few germinated, and I cared for them tenderly until planting them outside.  Then they all disappeared.  This year, just this one plant came up, and I am delighted.  It is an alpine plant, so not really suited to the humidity and heat of a PEI summer, but it is hanging on.

wild berries

 Here on PEI, it has been an exceptionally dry summer.  We have received only 20 percent of the normal rainfall, and things are parched.  The lawn is crispy, my raspberries dried up much earlier than usual, and I am sick of lugging a hose around trying to keep my plants alive.

Yesterday I took a bike ride along the Confederation Trail.  It's a 180-km former rail line that spans almost the entire Island, through fields and woodlands.  This time of year, wild blackberries are everywhere along the trail.  I pack containers into my bike basket, and usually pick at least 8 cups of berries.  Those wily blackberries make me work for their fruit.  Wicked thorns and prickles snag my skin, and they are most abundant on the edges of steep banks.  But the fruit is so rich and tasty, I pick them anyways.

This year, because it has been so dry, it was really hard to find any berries at all.  I had almost given up, when one rich vein made the long ride worth it.

The best berries are clustered around a memorial to Gordie Constable, who died at the site in 2001 as a result of a snow mobile accident.  I met him once - he fixed my car.  I never fail to say hi and thank him for the berries when I pass his memorial.

I braved the thorns and the steep banks to pick about a cup of berries.  They tasted all the sweeter for the effort it took to get them.