I'm not a gardener - just the proverbial "black thumb".  I'm looking for help keeping squirrels away from my bird feeders.  They're hung on hooks on my deck (the only way I can get to them), so the ingenious baffles, poles, etc., aren't an option.  I just feed black sunflower seeds in the regular feeders and dried mealy-worms for the bluebirds.  I've tried mixing in cayenne pepper and/or safflower seed, neither of which fazed the squirrels at all.  Last year I finally stopped putting the feeders out entirely, and I'd love to find some solution.   And, no, I can't just shoot them.  I do turn the hose on them when I can, though.

Mary, I can sympathize with your squirrel problem.  I have a metal feeder which requires a bird to sit on a lever to release the seeds.  The squirrels figured out pretty quickly how to climb up on the feeder and lean down and push the lever, then run down the tree and eat the seeds.  Squirrels are wily creatures!  They've also figured out how to drink water from my water bowl.  I have some cardinals nesting in my fence where I have greenery growing.  The cardinals fly down below the feeder and eat the grain the squirrels knock down.  I guess the cardinals ignore the squirrels!

Sue

Since yesterday, I seem to have found a natural squirrel deterrent.  I have two bluebird houses - both occupied.  One of the males is quite territorial, and has been dive-bombing the squirrel - even when he tried for the other feeders (with sunflower and safflower seeds).  I'm cheering him on! 

We have two birdhouses my husband put on the 6ft wooden fence in the backyard.  One has a bluebird and the other a Chickadee.  We’ve seen the male bluebird go to the entrance to feed the misses.  They incubate about two weeks so we are looking forward to seeing some little bluebirds soon.  The Chickadee is small and so fast in and out of the house we are not too sure what is going on there, but we think the female is also incubating several eggs.

Squirrels were driving me crazy going into my garbage .chewed holes in it. Now I just hang a cloth wet with ammonia onto side of it. Worked on raccoons also. On the gutters on porch gutters where  sparrows would make nest. I sprinkle moth balls in there. Seems to work.

Jeanne, sounds good - but I'm not sure that would be safe around the birds' food.  I might try mothballs around the bottom of the deck railing.

Today we had some Goldfinches at the feeder.  I've been hoping they would show up.

We’ve been enjoying watching the Bluebirds guard their house.  The male dived at a nosy squirrel and had the squirrel running.  Papa Bluebird meant business.  We are a little concerned about the Chickadees.  Pretty sure the eggs have hatched but don’t see much action from the parents.  Wondering if something happened to them or they are just too quick in and out for our noticing.  Looking forward to seeing some little birds flying out of the nest.

When we lived in Maryland, we had a Robin’s nest in a bush next to the patio door.  We watched as the parents pushed the birds out of the nest.  They would fly about 20 feet to the fence then fly back.  This went on for a while and then one day we noticed the empty nest.

My husband checked the Chickadee nest and it is empty.  Those little birds are so fast we couldn’t keep up with them.  We did see the Chickadee leaving the nest with a white pouch in her mouth several days ago.  She or he was cleaning up the nest after the little ones.  We are so relieved they have safely added to the local Chickadee “community”.  The male and female look so much alike it is hard to tell the difference in the male and female.

I have a woodpecker that I wish would go somewhere else...any ideas how to get rid of one ?

First you put some salt on it's tail.   

They look for bugs, so if they are tapping on your house do some inspecting. 

Not on my house..on a telephone pole in front of my house

It's also a way of attracting a mate.  The guy making the loudest noise gets an advantage.   

We have a woodpecker that raps on the chimney cap.  If we toss it a peanut it grabs it and flies away.  We're suckers for feeding the "wildlife".  But I very much enjoy watching them.

I once had a flicker that perched on my TV antenna (before cable) and the bird would rat-a-tat on the antenna and the antenna would vibrate sending sound throughout the house.  The first time it did that, I thought it was the water softener and looked all over the house to find out where the noise was coming from.  I no longer live in that house and I have not seen a flicker where I live now. 

Mary Ann

We often have a Red Bellied Woodpecker visit the suet.  Larry has two suet containers and keeps no melt suet “Peanut Delight” in them and most of the birds give them a visit.  All the birds seem to like it.  We have lots of different kinds of birds, but, surprisingly I haven’t seen a crow.  We do have grackles and blackbirds.  Yesterday we saw the first Flycatcher.

I have a pair of cardinals nesting in my yard.  They take turns coming to my feeder and eating whatever the squirrels have left on the ground.  So far, haven't seen any babies.

Sue

After a couple of days of soft rainfall, my Gardenias have burst into bloom and are gorgeous.  I have one bush in my backyard which has full size gardenias, but has never had many blooms.  However I have a mass of gardenias at the curb down by the street which is in full bloom and they are simply beautiful.  And the smell is lovely.  I have to be careful when I'm weeding around them, though, as I am allergic to bee stings.  I keep an Epi-Pen ready just in case of bee stings.

Sue

Sue, Norm and Dot had a gardenia in Florida and it was so pretty and smelled so nice.  It usually was ready to blossom when I was there in late February and/or early March.  I don't do any gardening up here; I gave it up.  My neighbor takes care of planting some flowers in front of my condo.  What I have planted in the past are perennials such as little blue bulb flowers, snow drops, trillium.  I do buy two or three hanging baskets so I have some color.

Mary Ann

I had some lavender plants out front but they didn't fare well through the winter. There's just a hint of life in them so I think I'll have to replace them.  Don't know what with yet.  A neighbor's lavender seems to have made it OK.

I've been outside for about an hour cutting back ivy.  It has grown all over the sidewalk to my front door and I did get it into a presentable look for now, but know that it will be back shortly.  It's hot outside and I have lots more I'd like to get done out there, but I just don't want to get over heated.  I'll try again when the sun starts to set.

Sue

I just lost a post about weeding and pruning my pyracantha bush.  Needless to say I'm H-O-T and am going to take a shower and call it quits for outdoor work.  The temperature today is supposed to get up into the high 90's--and it's on it's way already at 9:30 a.m.!

Sue

Good morning!  It's going to be another scorcher here.  I am going outside shortly to pull some weeds in one of my flower beds, but that will probably be it for today.  I have blooms on my butterfly bush and my pyrancantha and plenty of weeds!  The temp is already up in the high 80's and expected to get up to at least 95* today.

Sue

any butterflies visiting?

Good morning, Bubble.  Very few butterflies here so far.  My newspaper has mentioned several times of a scarcity of bees and butterflies--I don't remember what the articles said was causing this. But I think it was the overuse of insecticides.

Sue

It's pretty chilly here this month and not much going on in the garden and lawn. I have been cutting back ivy from my front sidewalk and other clean up chores, but not much else to report.

I hope other gardeners will check in and let us know what's going on in their gardens.

Sue

I'm checking in but nothing going on here.  Too cold.

Sue, this is not gardening weather up north.  We can dream, but that is about all.  Ask us again in the Spring.

Mary Ann

Good morning, Mary Ann.  Right now my gardening chores are cleaning up the MANY leaves down from the oak trees in my yard.  Not my favorite job!

Sue

Sue, where I lived before coming to this condo, I had 60 oak trees in the large yard.  Half of the leaves would drop in the fall and half would stay on the trees only to drop in the spring.  Tom lived with me then and he'd get some of his church school kids to come over and rake leaves onto a drop cloth.  A cemetery was across the road from us and they'd drag the drop cloth over there to an unused area and dump the leaves.  I lived there three years.  The condo hires a company for lawn care and that includes blowing leaves, however, every year leaves fall after they're done, snow falls on it and we have leaves on the ground!  We have an English Oak in front of our building and there are leaves on it yet. 

Mary Ann