Habitat Home

Bluebird houses

2012-01-31T08:36:00.000-06:00

On Monday, January 30, our neighbor and bird expert Jim came over and set up three new bluebird houses at Habitat Home. The houses are located in the savanna area along the northern path. Savanna areas are excellent habitat for other birds as well such as Blue Jays, Hawks, and Orioles to name a few. These houses will have to be monitored to remove any house sparrow nests. House sparrows will attack and kill both young and adult bluebirds and destroy their eggs. Another pest of the bluebirds are raccoons, snakes and opossums. The white tubing should prevent any of them from climbing the pole and getting into the boxes. Yet another pest of bluebirds living in boxes is the blowfly. Their larva will suck the blood of nestlings at night. But a natural control of blowflies are parasitic wasps which will over winter in the boxes. So it is a good idea to leave old nesting material in the boxes until just before the new breeding season begins. Also bluebirds often roost in nest boxes in winter and the nesting material will add insulation.
We have not seen any bluebirds on these warm winter days but soon we will. Hopefully there will be nesting pairs in each of the boxes our expert bird neighbor installed here. Thanks Jim!

Blackout

2012-01-18T12:34:00.001-06:00

Today (January 18 only), Habitat Home's header is blacked out in sympathy with the internet protests of the proposed SOPA/PIPA legislation in Congress. While not normally political in nature, Habitat Home is engaged in information exchange. We worry that any legislation which allows the creation of a federal framework for regulation and control (the real intent of this legislation, stated copyright/piracy feel-good intentions notwithstanding) with vague directives and likely no real oversight, is too dangerous for the future of unfettered information exchange in particular and digital innovation in general. Is it too paranoid to say that the futures of Habitat Home and its parent Blogger are at stake? It's less paranoid, and not unreasonable, to imagine that this legislation is designed to allow the federal government to create new winners and losers, seemingly its big business these days.

Learn about what's going on, and write your Congressional representatives.

Tractors

2012-01-14T19:27:00.002-06:00

If you live in the country you need a tractor. Here at Habitat Home it mows the savanna area every year, maintains the driveway, transports rocks, and enables us to be neighborly country folks. Tractors are just the thing for towing city folk who end up in the ditch on their drive out to see beauty in a snowy countryside.

Beaver

2011-11-18T14:38:00.006-06:00

I recently purchased this sign and thought it would be a cute addition to Habitat Home. While walking the trails this morning I spotted evidence of a beaver. I thought this little chopped down tree was interesting and a good example of what a beaver does.

But then as I walked further along the path, I came to this ....

The beaver or beavers are doing some damage here. Beavers are herbivores and will use just about any tree along our river corridor; willow, river birch, maple, cottonwood, sweet gum, black cherry, dogwood, and oak. The beaver is probably living in a burrow dug into the riverbank which is about 20 feet away. Beavers, the largest rodent in Illinois, were once almost extinct in Illinois. They were reintroduced in the 1930s and are now thriving. We could apply for a trapping permit as trapping is allowed from November through March. But we won't as it looks like we have lost the trees already. Maybe tonight we can watch him finishing the job!

Prairie Wedding Day Photos

2011-11-02T08:41:00.002-05:00

October 29th was a BIG day for us at Habitat Home. It was wedding day! The ceremony was actually at our small rural church about 3 miles away, but it was a desire of the bride, our daughter, to have wedding photos taken in the prairie. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day and even more thanks to our wonderful farmer friend for providing tours about the property on his tractor-driven hayrack.

Sun Art

2011-08-24T21:07:00.004-05:00

Something new for the little garden shed.

Woodchuck

2011-08-17T15:58:00.002-05:00

We noticed this large Illinois herbivorous rodent, the woodchuck (Marmota monax) or groundhog, out sunning on our patio under the deck this afternoon. By the time I fetched the camera, he was hiding out under the stack of firewood behind the house, and attempts to get a closeup view resulted in a rather (for a woodchuck) quick escape (photo above). But we had a calming conversation with him for a while in the garden before he ambled off into the woods.

Habitat Home is a great place for woodchucks, although we rarely see them. They like forest edges but can be found in more open fields, stream banks, railroad embankments, and even residential areas. This little guy will probably start putting on some weight now in preparation for his true hibernation over winter. He will curl up in a burrow, body temperature dropping to 39°F and heart rate to 10 per minute; woodchucks rouse once in a while, and might even emerge briefly on warm winter days, but only rarely on February 2.

Giant Swallowtail

2011-07-06T20:08:00.007-05:00

We have noted the bottlebrush buckeyes (Aesculus parviflora) previously, but have never posted about this frequent visitor to them, the giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes). This largest of Illinois butterflies (4 to 6 inch wingspan) goes through two generations in Illinois and then overwinters as a chrysalis. They feed on a variety of vegetation found at Habitat Home, including these bottlebrush buckeyes, milkweed, clover, and phlox. They are a beautiful sight as they make their "hopping" flight way across the yard. Note: the photo above is one of those that is worth clicking on to open up a higher resolution version to ponder in more detail; for example, it looks like the butterfly's proboscis has passed behind or right through the flower.

Apple Trees

2011-07-03T18:46:00.005-05:00

We have three standard apple trees on our property. Like the cicadas (see previous post) the apples are unusual this year. This is the first year that we have apples on all three trees. The trees were planted in 1993. Previously, all have born fruit but not all in the same year.

Since all the trees are producing fruit this year I may just have an opportunity to harvest some apples this year. There may be enough for the deer, raccoons, squirrels, birds, possums, skunks and us!

13-year Cicadas

2011-06-18T19:22:00.008-05:00

Upon returning from our vacation to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, we were welcomed home by the droning trill of thousands of cicadas. 2011 is the emergence year for so-called Brood XIX, the Great Southern Brood of periodical cicadas. One species of Magicicada, these cicadas (not locusts, that's a whole different order) live underground for 13 years, feeding on the sap of friendly tree roots. By some unknown signal, they then all emerge in May and June to quickly fly around, eat, mate, and lay eggs in a matter of 5-6 weeks. A strange life cycle, to be sure, but apparently a successful one. 13- and 17-year periodical cicadas are found only in the eastern U.S. and nowhere else in the world.

I am incapable of picking out to which of the 3 (or four?) species that these Habitat Home cicadas belong. Apparently, one species differentiator is the song, sung only by the males. So I have included here an audio recording for those who might care (see link below). This recording includes an obvious bird in the background, but both the chirps and the drone are from these cicadas, mostly in the crab apple tree where these photos were taken.

For more information, see:

Iris and Golden Alexander

2011-05-18T15:51:00.008-05:00

After seeing how iris was invading the cemetery in the prior post, I spent the day removing iris from several natural areas at Habitat Home. I love iris, they are beautiful and so easy to grow. But they are not native and look rather out of place in a native habitat area. They can wander about and form large patches eliminating the native plants. I removed any iris from the large native areas that are being restored to native habitats (savanna, prairie and the meadow).

The iris in the above photo, however, is in a front bed planted with both natives and exotics. This iris blooms at the same time as the Golden Alexander, Zizia aurea. That is all it does, it looks lovely while they are both blooming. It adds no value for birds or insects or mammals. Even the deer leave iris alone. I wish I could.

Prospect Cemetery Prairie

2011-05-14T07:56:00.001-05:00

Thanks to a recent Facebook post from Grand Prairie Friends, we decided take a short ride to Paxton to see some spring prairie flowers. The site is right off the road and one enters though the unlocked memorial gate. There is no path so we just wandered about the cemetery complete with old grave stones lying about. The site has a serious Day Lilly and Iris problem which is being worked on. It was so enjoyable to see plants that once were native to this area that, sadly, one seldom sees any more.

prairie phlox, Phlox pilosa

false toad-flax, Comondra umbellata

yellow star-grass, Hypoxis hirsuta

wood betony, Pedicularis canadensis

hoary puccoon, Lithospermum canescens

This site is a reminder of what we have lost. It was sad to see the barren adjacent farm field, the plastic factory across the street, the landscapes of the neighborhood homes and the neglected tombstones lying about. All signs of what our society is up to, except for some folks at Grand Prairie Friends who make an effort to maintain some of the few remaining high quality prairie remnants in our area. The folks at Habitat Home thank you.

Wolf River Apple Tree

2011-05-04T16:58:00.005-05:00

Our three apple trees are loaded with blossoms this year. These are the blossoms of the Wolf River Apple tree. We also have a Honey Gold and a Lodi apple tree. All three apple trees are standard size trees which we planted in 1993. They are reminders of an idea of having an orchard at one time. I am however glad that we did plant them. They do provide food for many animals and birds and add beauty to the site.

Great Egret

2011-04-28T19:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the whole bottom field was flooded. This is the area that we burned last month (see the previous post).

Today as we watched the flood waters recede we were delighted to see this bird in the bottom flooded field. Great Egrets (Aredea alba) were once threatened in Illinois due to both habitat loss and the desirability of their feathers for ladies hats. But today, egret feather hats are no longer in style and many habitats have been restored to suit the egret. They like marshes, wetlands, and river floodplains where they patiently walk about seeking frogs, fish and snakes. This egret successfully stabbed a frog and walked about with the frog clamped in its bill, as shown in the photo above. It dipped the captured frog in the water every so often, then squeezed it between its bill. After about ten minutes of this it finally swallowed the whole frog. The egret stayed around all day and was joined by a great blue heron and a pair of Canada Geese.

Day after 16th Annual Prairie Burn

2011-03-26T15:42:00.007-05:00

The view from our deck this morning.

Yes, we do burn every year because the area is a floodplain and produces so much vegetation. Please note the intentionally unburned areas on the right and very back of the prairie, leaving some bird and insect habitat intact.

Annual Prairie Burn

2011-03-26T15:10:00.012-05:00

This was the 16th burn of the tall grasses (Big Bluestem, Indian grass, Switch grass, and various forb stems) in the bottom floodplain at Habitat Home. We were a little reluctant to do the burn yesterday (Friday, March 25th) as there was not much wind (wind speed 5 mph with gusts to 8 mph) and it was cold (39 degrees). However, neighbors Tom, Sue, Rachel, Jake and friend Phillip, neighbors Betsy and Peter, and Master Naturalist Eileen were all able to help out despite the short notice. (It is spring break after all!)

We gathered together at 1 pm. Lex was the burn boss and explained the plan to the group. Everyone was outfitted in cotton clothes, boots, gloves, flappers and handkerchiefs. Water, both for drinking and fire suppression, was readily available. The local volunteer fire department was notified as were the neighbors. The burn was started against the wind, along the west edge and south borders, then moving to the upwind side along the east and north edges. It was one of the most classic burns, actually putting itself out when the various lines met. We were treated to high leaping flames and the heat from the fire was welcomed on such a cool day. The 5 acres were burned in less than 90 minutes. Thank you neighbors for all your flapping, and thank you Rachel for the photojournalism and permission to use this photo.

Trash removal

2011-03-12T21:11:00.011-06:00

Or is it Art?

We usually try to remove objects when they first float in, but for some reason this tire has remained in its artful position till today.

Today the weather was great for a spring cleanup. This time of year it is easy to spot trash that has been previously hidden by leaves, plants and snow.

This year there were a lot of plastic bottles, the usual aluminum cans, Styrofoam items and another tire. Unfortunately we were not prepared to haul out the old refrigerator that floated in. Wonder how we are going to get rid of that? It truly is not a piece of art.

Shed Antlers

2011-02-20T15:41:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was a warm sunny day. Perfect for a walk around the property and a good time to look for shed antlers. Cory, our wonderful hunter, was lucky enough to find this pair. Even though the antlers are very different, Cory thought that they were antlers from the same deer, the smaller antler a possible result of injury of some sort to the deer.

Antlers are shed every year about this time. They are not always found as they lie among the leaf litter and since they are calcium rich, they are sought by many other animals, for example, this squirrel we watched a couple years ago.

Ice

2011-02-03T09:53:00.004-06:00

We are spending the day digging out from the previous snow and sleet storm here at Habitat Home. Everything is covered in ice. A beautiful sight this morning as tree branches and the snow sparkle in the bright sunlight. In this photo you will notice the ice but what you might not notice is the lack of crab apples on this crab apple tree. They are all gone. Usually the crab apples on this tree last though the winter (they must not be too tasty). But this year, the apples were all gone by Feb. 1. So remember to feed the birds. There is not much out there for them to eat and what is out there is covered in ice.

Starved Rock

2011-01-28T07:40:00.018-06:00

The last few days have been spent at Starved Rock State Park.

The weather was cold but with proper clothing one was able to hike the icy trails to see the beautiful frozen water falls,

and hike up to starved rock and view the bald eagles and other waterfowl.

We stayed at the Lodge which has the largest double stone fireplace in Illinois. If you do decide to go I would strongly recommend a pair of ice grippersfor your shoes or boots. The well traveled trails have become a combination of matted snow and ice and are very slippery. A week day visit is preferable; I was told that the weekends can get quite busy.
If you prefer guided tours, there is an all day trolley tour on Wednesday and on Thursday morning there is a guided hiking tour.

Evaluation Time

2011-01-21T20:28:00.007-06:00

I have been reading the Prairie Ecologist blog for some time now. I was particularly thankful for the information he imparted to his readers in the recent post "How should landowners evaluate their prairies."

I have often wondered about this. What should one be looking for and how could we actually measure what we are doing? Mr. Helzer has given us some very specific things to do and observe, one of which I can start doing tomorrow: observing tracks in the snow.

A very good blog and a very helpful post.

More Snow

2011-01-15T08:54:00.009-06:00

Due to the cold and snow, there is not a lot happening at Habitat home. It is very enjoyable to walk around and observe the beauty of winter but being so cold brings one back indoors rather quickly...at least me!

So I have just finished reading Urban and Suburban Meadows: Bringing Meadowscaping to Big and Small Spacesby Catherine Zimmerman. Not only is this book informative, with a wonderful plant list of native plants grouped according to soil type and information on where they occur naturally in the US, it also has great photos. The author explains in great detail and with wonderful photos how to establish a meadow and then how to maintain it. If that is not enough, there is a great regional resource guide in the back of the book.

Unlike most of the books listed on this site, this is not just about the Midwest. But I am adding it here because it is an excellent and easy reference source to check and see if that plant you are adding is indeed native to your area and if it will grow in the type of soil you are planting it in whether with plugs, plants, or seeds.

Resolved: Projects for 2011

2011-01-01T11:19:00.002-06:00

It being 1/1/11, we "naturally" are drawn to the notion of making new year's resolutions. Here they are:

Build and place more bluebird houses. We appreciate the presence of bluebirds as they are excellent insect hunter/gatherers, and undoubtedly contribute to moderating the number of mosquitoes and wasps in our back yard. Habitat Home has at least one bluebird family in residence every season. In 2010, one pair had two broods, and there were bluebirds flying about through late fall, although it is hard to say if these were all local juveniles or birds migrating through. But the houses need to be watched during the May through July nesting season, and sparrow nests must be removed as they occur. We resolve to be more encouraging to returning bluebirds.
Invasive species removal. We have written about this issue at length before, but it cannot be overemphasized. We did not accomplish our goals for removal in 2010, but then the job will never be finished. So this year we resolve to be out at least once per week with the chain saw, clippers, and spray bottle of glyphosate (to apply sparingly to the stumps and/or plant leaves as appropriate) to remove the Habitat Home "Big 4":

Bush Honeysuckle
Autumn Olive
Lespedeza
Yellow and White Sweet Clover

Remove old fencing. This is not so much a habitat improvement goal as an aesthetic and safety improvement. We'll leave the ten foot corner marking the section boundary (Habitat Home occupies pieces of two sections of South Homer township) but remove some of the remaining fence separating the old tilled fields from the hillside woods and older pig grazing areas.
Enhance the meadow. The hillside east of the house started as four garden beds, which have slowly evolved into a meadow by some minimal introduction of native plants. Our plan this year is to intentionally manage this area by increasing the diversity of natives (providing sources for seed for propagating elsewhere on the property) and to group them (better serving as a showcase for the different plants for visitors and ourselves). We patiently await our 2011 catalog from Bluestem Prairie Nursery (Hillsboro, IL). A major spring project, this!

Sounds like quite a bit of work, eh? I'd better stop writing and get outside!

American Robin

2010-12-30T15:51:00.005-06:00

These robins along with about 20 more were foraging in our back yard this afternoon. The weather has turned warmer and the snow cover is melting. The snow was practically gone on this south facing slope that is our backyard. These over-wintering robins did not seem to find many larvae, insects or earthworms in their search, but they certainly were busy looking under all the dead leaves.

Snowshoeing

2010-12-26T17:33:00.009-06:00

Today was a perfect day for getting out the snowshoes and hiking about the prairie path. We have had a lot of snow but today was sunny and not very windy. While walking along the bottom prairie path we noticed various animal tracks and that the river was not frozen over yet. But mostly I just enjoyed the beauty of the season and the company.

Ground Feeders

2010-12-23T15:17:00.010-06:00

The back brick patio at Habitat Home (once it is shoveled) is just perfect for throwing a scoop of cracked corn and sunflower seeds on to feed the birds. A few of the partaking birds are a blue jay, junco, mourning dove and sparrow.

Bird Feeders

2010-12-17T19:02:00.014-06:00

Bird feeders are so important this time of year. Deep snow, cold winds and ice all make it difficult for the birds to find food. Not only will you help the birds survive this time of year but you will benefit also from watching the beautiful birds at the feeders. These are just a few that visited our feeders this afternoon.

A tufted titmouse, the downy woodpecker and the little chickadee.My friend reminds me that: Tomorrow [12/18/2010] is the annual Champaign County Christmas bird count. The circle of territory runs from approximately Flicker Woods Trail at Homer Lake to the east and Busey Woods to the west, so if you are within that area please consider counting a few birds tomorrow, either at your feeder, on a special trail, in your car, or at Homer Lake with some of the Champaign Co Audubon folks. Folks will be at the Homer Lake Nature Center at 7AM and the building will be open from 11-1 for indoor bird watching at the feeders.

Happy Birding!

Ring-necked Pheasants

2010-12-16T23:56:00.007-06:00

We were pleasantly surprised to see an unusual sight today, a group of about eight ring-necked pheasants wandering through the back yard. There has been quite a bit of snow recently, with the latest inch or two falling last night. These birds, six males and two females (plus or minus), walked in from the bottom prairie, explored and foraged among the trees behind the house, and then flew in a rush a couple hundred feet to the east for some additional searching for something to eat.

We frequently remark about the apparent decline in the number of pheasants we've seen in recent years. Ten years ago, it was an almost daily occurrence to see or hear one of these beautiful birds flying into the prairie, moving around in the upper savanna, or running across the road in front of the car. Today, it is rare that we see a pheasant anywhere in the area. Apparently, this is not an isolated situation; pheasants are having a hard time throughout much of North America. Although not native (pheasants were introduced from Asia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries), pheasants thrived here. However, their population peaked around 1950 and has been declining since.

Loss of habitat heads the list of reasons for the decline, likely locally as well as regionally. These birds like hay and grain agricultural areas, especially where there are grassy borders and pockets of tall grass and trees (sound familiar?). They historically did well in the agricultural Midwest, but the changes from small multi-crop farms to large monoculture farming practices have taken their toll. Alas. Anyway, it was so fun to see this "large" group, that I have to include another photo.

Marcescent oak leaves

2010-12-12T16:41:00.007-06:00

Even in today's blizzard with snow and 35+ mph wind gusts, the oak leaves are still hanging on. Withered and dry they are, but they will not fall off till spring when the spring buds push them off. Marcescent leaves, leaves that hang on even though they are dead, are a characteristic of younger oak tress. This particular tree was planted about 20 years ago. That is young for an oak tree. Another characteristic of marcescent leaves is that they occur on the lower branches as exemplified here. There are various theories about why certain trees, mostly oak, hornbeams, and beech do this and but not a lot of research has been done.

The Dawes Arboretum

2010-12-02T14:39:00.002-06:00

On a recent trip out to Boston, we decided to stop and visit the Dawes Arboretum in Newark, Ohio. We were certainly glad we did. It is a wonderful combination of trees, history and nature. Although the Dawes family's country home was closed to visitors that day, there was plenty else to do. The friendly person at the gift shop informed us of the Dutch Fork Wetlands just down the road. It was a sunny cool day, perfect for hiking around the arboretum and wetlands. We barely got to see everything before the place closed at dusk.

There is a nice Bonsai collection at the visitor's center. On the lower level of the visitors center is the nature center that has this really nice observational bird feeding station.

Holly Hill is where you will find a mature collection of hollies. The hollies were really nice to view this time of year with all their red berries.

The rare tree and oak collection was a good place to collect nuts.
Perhaps my favorite place to view was the Cypress swamp, even though it was dry at this time. This would be a great place to see in the spring.
One of the nice things about this place is that you can drive to all the various collections and sites to see. We did not spend much time at the Japanese garden. the Azalea Glen and Rhododendron Glen were not at optimal viewing, nor did we take the time to hike the "Deep Woods." There is also a nice observation tower that overlooks the lake and hedge lettering if you like that sort of thing!

We took the short drive over to Dutch Fork Wetlands and hiked the trail to the bog and back.
Perhaps one of the unexpected delights of the place was seeing many really old Beech trees which we do not have in East Central Illinois.

Green Dragon

2010-11-22T18:43:00.004-06:00

Doesn't look like much does it? But I was so excited to receive these bulbs. These are what will hopefully produce green dragons (Arisaema dracontium) this summer. Green dragons are similar to jack-in-the-pulpits, however the green dragons bloom later in the summer, are taller and have beautiful large foliage. Neither or these plants were growing here when we bought the property. I have introduced jack but had a difficult time finding any green dragons. A friend dug up these bulbs from his yard and suggested that I plant them in a shady damp location. The middle bulb is younger and hopefully will also produce a flower. The bulbet on the left was removed from the large bulb on the right and planted separately in an experiment to see what it will produce. They are all planted in the woods along the river where it frequently floods. The bulbs are not eaten by animals as they contain a toxic substance, calcium oxalate. But insects visit the flowers and many animals eat the berries. The foliage, unusual flowers and bright red berries of the green dragon are a beautiful addition to any moist shady area.

Invasive Plants

2010-11-13T15:18:00.002-06:00

What are invasive plants?
Alien or "exotic" plant species are those which have been introduced by some non-natural process (primarily human transportation and/or planting) into an environment in which they did not naturally evolve or spread. Some exotic species are able to thrive outside their normal zones, and those termed "invasive" are capable of aggressively competing with native species to the point of displacing them. To accomplish this, invasives tend to exhibit very strong vegetative growth, abundant long-lived seed production, a high degree of germination, and rapid maturation to seed-producing capability. While there can be overlap, the term "invasive plants" generally refers to natural areas management, and is distinct from the more legal designation "noxious weeds" applicable to economic impact in agricultural systems and regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Why should we worry about invasive plants?
Invasive plants can have a tremendous negative influence on balanced ecosystems of soil, water, plants and animals. They can crowd out primary or even sole source species of food or hosts for a variety of insects, birds, mammals, and other organisms, and can restrict wildlife movements and natural migration patterns. The long term effect can often be a significant reduction in the diversity of species occupying a local or even regional ecosystem, in some extreme cases leading to native species extinction. Such a reduction in diversity can place both terrestrial and aquatic habitats and their occupying animal populations under great stress. Government agencies and local park districts charged with enhancing and preserving natural habitats face rising costs in their efforts to remove invasive plants and reduce their spread.

What can we do about them?
At Habitat Home, we follow a few simple rules. First, we try not to introduce exotic plants of any kind, using only native plants in both our natural areas and in the landscaping around the house. By the way, we consider the house landscaping to be just another case of the natural areas management we are doing in the prairie, savanna, and riparian corridor areas of the property. Second, we actively remove invasive species as we find them. And find them we do! It is a never ending process. The biggest problem species at Habitat Home are bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), and yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis). Mowing helps, especially for the olives, but we cut the clover and honeysuckle and spray the honeysuckle stumps with a small amount of glyphosate (for example, Roundup).

Indiangrass

2010-10-31T18:43:00.003-05:00

What a majestic beautiful plant Indiangrass Sorghastrum natans is. Or perhaps it just seems so because it is the last plant of the tall grass prairie plants to bloom and therefore just looks better than its neighbors. It is now a glowing golden color and will remain so throughout the winter. It is the tallest of the grasses in our prairie, reaching well over six feet tall. Indiangrass is often a co-dominant species with big bluestem, and usually sparser. In our prairie these two grasses are in separate areas so it will be interesting to see how they do develop together. Curently there is a very healthy stand of Indiangrass.

Rose Hips

2010-10-03T15:32:00.002-05:00

Rosa carolina produces beautiful rose hips every year if you leave the pink flowering roses on the plant. These rose hips are actually a structure called achenes, an urn shaped receptacle that contains the fruits of the plant. Rose hips are sought after by deer, rabbits, squirrels and birds all winter long. Rose hips are very high in Vitamin C and can be used in Jellies, jams, and to make tea. The best time to harvest the hips are after the first frost but leave plenty for the wildlife.

Salt Marsh Caterpillar

2010-09-25T21:32:00.000-05:00

My potted tomato plants are gone now. The other day the leaves were all eaten. I wondered who did it, but being the end of the season, I just dumped the soil and what was left of the poor plants onto the compost piles. This morning as I watered some scented geraniums, I noticed this caterpillar. Looking so cute and fluffy, I asked the resident photograher to photograph it. It was not until tonight as I was looking up what it actually was that I realized it had eaten the tomato leaves! I think it is a salt marsh caterpillar, the mature larval form of the salt marsh moth (Estigmene acrea). The larvae are well known for their ability to skeletonize foliage of vegetable plants, one of which is tomato plants. Doesn't look so cute and fluffy any more.

Migrating Monarchs

2010-09-22T16:32:00.004-05:00

Last year, we removed most of the bush honeysuckle from the edge of the path adjoining the woods at the northwest corner of the bottom field near the orchard. This year, this cleared area is awash with volunteer brown-eyed susans (Rudbeckia triloba) and wingstem (Actinomeris alternifolia, image below). While we routinely observe Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) through the summer, this area has been visited by hundreds of monarch butterflies in the past two weeks; at any visit to the site now there are usually 20 or more present, both on the flowers and in the trees. These images were taken in the early evening, essentially standing still and rotating in place.

Monarchs (the State Insect of Illinois) are present in the state all summer, having up to three broods. But those that have become adults by September are ready to migrate south, either to the gulf coast or all the way to "traditional" breeding grounds in the highlands of central Mexico. These fall migrant Monarchs were born in Illinois or points north into southern Canada, probably three or more generations removed from their ancestors that left the winter roosting grounds last winter/spring. They have never made this trip south before, yet somehow they know when and where to travel. As many as 300 million will congregate in Mexico's Transvolcanic Plateau. How and why they pull off this feat is a mystery. Monarchs are the only butterfly that has such a fixed migration pattern; the migration behaviors of other butterfly species are much more erratic.

It's nice to see all these flowers still blooming and providing these Monarchs with some nectar as a source of energy for the next leg of their long flight ahead!

Trumpet vine

2010-09-16T20:36:00.001-05:00

Campsis radicans is doing a fine job of attracting hummingbirds this summer with the large number of flowers it is producing. With its lovely orange flowers, lush foliage, and interesting seed pods this is a very ornamental native vine to grow. However, the vine is very aggressive and can take over an area, so be careful where you plant it. Often in the country one sees it growing in full sun on sign posts and old fence posts where it freely creeps over the whole fence. In addition to attracting hummingbirds, several insects are attracted to the flower, and a variety of songbirds will nest in the tangle of branches where they are hidden by the dense foliage.

Gray Treefrog

2010-09-14T20:05:00.004-05:00

This little creature, Hyla versicolor, joined us for breakfast the other morning. It was a sunny morning and the wooden deck had warmed up when what should appear but a tiny treefrog. It sat there for quite a while. Long enough for us to run and get the camera and take a few photos. It then hopped off onto the trumpet vine by the deck. Treefrogs are great to have around as they eat all manner of insects like crickets, grasshoppers, flies and moths. They are also interesting in that they will change colors gray, green or brown depending on the temperature and background.

Burr Oak

2010-09-10T14:28:00.011-05:00

These beautiful acorns are not growing here at Habitat Home. These acorns are growing on trees planted in Millennium Park in the heart of Chicago. These Burr oaks are planted just outside the Lurie Garden that is also located in Millennium park. This garden is full of native plants and designed by one of my favorite designers, Piet Oudolf. The diversity of plants and the way in which they are planted has made me wonder about redesigning the meadow area at Habitat Home. When I first started gardening I wanted one of every plant, now after seeing this garden, I want hundreds of just a few native plants. The massive plantings were quite impressive especially when viewed against the city skyline. It was also interesting to sit on the benches and watch as the dragonflies and other insects flew above the plantings.

The last photo is of Cloud Gate, a sculpture, also located in Millennium Park. No photo can do this interactive piece of art justice. It was so engaging to all who viewed it. I would be very satisfied to have just one of these!

Colorado Mushrooms

2010-08-22T16:11:00.003-05:00

Who knew that there would be so many mushrooms along the hiking trails in Rocky Mountian National Park near the YMCA of the Rockies where we stay. I need help identifying them. These are just some of the photos.

Hairy grama

2010-08-22T14:57:00.003-05:00

While in Colorado, I was able to do a lot of hiking in the Rocky Mountains. The wildflowers and grasses and even mushrooms were all in abundance due to the amount of moisture the area has received this year. Perhaps the most delightful sight for me was this field of Hairy grama that is shown above. It is an interesting native Rocky Mountain grass and one that is not readily established in the Midwest, although we have a similar grass here: side oats grama. I was lucky to see Hairy grama (Bouteloua hirsuta) blooming in its natural setting and even see the tiny seeds.

Black-and-yellow Argiope

2010-08-22T14:22:00.002-05:00

Having just returned to Habitat Home from a long vacation in the Colorado Rockies, we found this spider waiting (for us?). It has established its web in amongst the flowers along the front entryway sidewalk where it is sunny but not too windy. We stood and watched for awhile as many innocent flying butterflies and insects fluttered by barely missing being trapped and eaten. These spiders will eat just about anything smaller than themselves. Spiders taste with organs on their feet. The end segment of the leg has several holes containing taste and smell organs. This spider is common in most of the United States but it is not common in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Grayhead Coneflower

2010-07-15T18:20:00.003-05:00

Ratibida pinnata, a native coneflower, is making quite a show this year. I scattered seeds several years ago. Those seeds germinated, grew and produced abundant seed. The self seeded plants are now growing in the meadow, the savanna and the prairie. It is growing tallest in the prairie where it competes with big blue stem and Culver's root. This plant at the top of the photo is reaching upwards to 6 feet. The plants in the drier savanna area are only about 4 to 5 feet tall. The flower heads start off green then brown and finally mature turning gray and the bright yellow petals fall off. Seeds are eaten by some birds, the flowers are a source of nectar and pollen for many insects and the leaves are browsed by some mammals.

Black Swallowtail

2010-07-14T11:55:00.001-05:00

Is it my imagination, or that blogging makes me more attentive, or are there actually a lot more butterflies about this year? I'm thinking the latter. The cone flowers in the back have been loaded with multiple tiger swallowtails, monarchs, red admirals, and these guys, black swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes), essentially non-stop, dawn to dusk. It wasn't until I examined the image that this was actually a black swallowtail and not a spicebush swallowtail, as I had originally thought when observing them. But the two are very similar. They both mimic the pipevine swallowtail, whose larvae store aristolochic acid from their host plants and pass it along to the adult stage, making them toxic or at least bad tasting to predators. The mimics don't share this toxicity, but trick predators into avoiding them by their close resemblance to the pipevine swallowtail. Click on the image below to view it at full resolution, a quite different and closeup view of these beautiful insects.

Culver's Root

2010-07-13T18:04:00.004-05:00

Veronicastrum vriginicum is an interesting native plant, especially now that it is blooming at Habitat Home. The plant shoots straight up, produces lovely whorled leaves and then flower spikes in great abundance. The abundance helps attract many insects; bees, butterflies, wasps, and bumble bees seem especially fond of the flowers. The common name comes from Dr. Culver, a physician in the eighteenth century who popularized the use of the plant for digestive problems and constipation. The plant grows in partial shade but it is also found amongst the tall grasses in our mesic prairie.

Phoebe Family Feeding

2010-07-11T11:53:00.005-05:00

By Friday, the phoebe nest (see Phoebe Nest Compendium post) was on the ground and there were no birds to be seen or heard. I wished them well. Then this morning, out the bedroom window (no, I wasn't climbing trees, at least that early) I saw a phoebe-size bird fly off the deck and out onto a nearby tree branch. Sure enough, also on the branch was one of the little guys. The adult made a couple more quick visits over a ten minute period, and the camera managed to catch one of the transfers of an insect to the hungry kid. Guess the adults aren't finished caring for the family yet, and we're glad to have the flying "mosquito collectors" still in residence. I may tend to anthropomorphize everything, but doesn't Mom look a little haggard here, at least compared to four weeks ago?

Barn swallows

2010-07-09T20:21:00.003-05:00

Habitat Home does not have a barn, but our neighbors do. We were over visiting our farm neighbors this morning and they showed us these wonderful nests that have been built in their barn. The barn swallows will return to the same nest site every year, repairing or rebuilding the nest. They eat mostly flies but they also eat beetles, bees and wasps. All taken on the wing. There were two other nests in the barn. The male and female were quite busy feeding this brood and did not seem to mind having visitors about.

Thanks Tom and Sue for sharing your barn and birds with us.

Phoebe Nest Compendium

2010-07-07T19:07:00.006-05:00

For those of you who can remember (through the recent avalanche of flower and plant posts here) and may have been watching for a follow-up to the story on the pair of Eastern Phoebes who built a nest above my den window, I'll sneak a synopsis in here. The last post (Nesting Continues) showed that after a lengthy courtship, the phoebes finally got down to business at least three weeks after the nest was complete, and were rewarded by June 14 with four white eggs. Almost two weeks later, on June 27, there were four hatchlings as seen here.

Last week, on Thursday (July 1), after watching from the den window as both parents worked very hard at gathering insects for the chicks, I made an attempt to photograph the parents doing a feeding. This is made difficult by the location of the nest immediately under the deck where there isn't much light. So I strung up a shop light with a 100w incandescent bulb, and although this allowed me to actually see a feeding, the results were not too clear photographically. You can see her pushing that insect way down the gullet of the chick. It was not clear from the photos that day how many chicks had survived.

After almost a week of procrastinating and getting involved in other projects, I realized it was now or never, so today I finally did the right thing, setting up my studio strobe light under the deck and running the sync cable down the hill to the camera. This provided much more light and gave much better results. Unfortunately, I could only see and photograph three young ones waiting for their mom or dad to show up with something to eat. Apparently one of the chicks had not survived. But wow, they are big and continually move around in the nest, standing up on the edge, switching positions, etc.

I sat quite still, and finally the pair of adults returned and made several visits to the nest. I watched and took photos, but their repeated visits seemed to be very short (five to ten seconds) and did not seem to involve feeding.

Seen with their mom here, they sure look almost fully grown. Perhaps she was trying to tell them something. Although I'm sure she always looks like this when flying away from the nest, you want to imagine that she is trying to show them how to do it!

Anyway, I watched the adults make five visits to the nest, all apparently without food. So I wrapped up the shoot, took the camera and tripod into the house and came back outside to take down the strobe and its tripod, which was on the patio about 8 feet from the nest. There, under the tripod, was brother (or was it sister?) number four, apparently the adventurous one. Or perhaps his brothers and sisters kicked him out?

He just sat there and looked at me while I collapsed the tripod. When Joan came out a few minutes later to see him, we started to approach and the little guy took a couple hops away from the house and took to the air, in more or less a climbing flight, down the hill and about fifteen feet up into a tree. Success!

Hoary Vervain

2010-07-06T14:02:00.002-05:00

It sometimes happens, that while walking about the property we find something like this Verbena stricita. A plant that we did not introduce here but yet there it is. I was glad to see this plant as many bees, wasps, butterflies, and skippers are attracted to its flowers. The flowers are interesting in that they bloom from the bottom up and will be blooming for most of the summer. The seeds are eaten by many songbirds, so the seed was probably brought in by the birds. It is growing in our savanna area which has rather poor soil. I hope to collect seeds this fall and scatter them about the area.

Purple Prairie Clover

2010-07-02T14:33:00.002-05:00

This plant was previously known as Petalostemum purpureum but now it is Dalea purpurea. Confusing as that might be, the plant itself is rather simple looking until it flowers. Slender and V-shaped in growth, it has a very delicate appearance. The flowers open in a spiral along the cylindrical cone and are a stunning shade of purple. There is also a white variety. Prairie clovers are often hard to establish because the plant is so highly palatable. Here at Habitat Home, they are growing in amongst some prairie dropseed, so perhaps the rabbits and deer do not like to venture in amongst the grasses to eat them. Purple prairie clover is also an important plant because it fixes nitrogen in the soil.

Wild Petunia

2010-06-27T19:05:00.005-05:00

Ruellia humilis is a native plant that grows well in several different habitats. It is blooming all over Habitat Home now and will continue to bloom for most of the summer. I will trim it in the fall and scatter the seeds about. From the book Nature's Garden(published 1915) I found and quote this interesting information about the use of the flower.

One frequently finds holes bitten in these flowers, as in so many others long of tube or spur. Bumblebees, among the most intelligent and mischievous of insects, are apt to be the chief offenders; but wasps are guilty too, and the female carpenter bee, which ordinarily slits holes to extract nectar, has been detected in the act of removing circular pieces of the corolla from this ruellia with which to plug up a thimble-shaped tube in some decayed tree. Here she deposits an egg on top of a layer of baby food, consisting of a paste of pollen and nectar, and seals up the nursery with another bit of leaf or flower, repeating the process until the long tunnel is filled with eggs and food for larvae. Then she dies, leaving her entire race apparently extinct, and living only in embryo for months. This is the bee which commonly cuts her round plugs from rose leaves.

Japanese beetles

2010-06-25T16:03:00.002-05:00

I have been hearing reports that the Japanese beetles have arrived. I have not seen any. But last evening, while weeding amongst the Joe-pye weed plants, bottlebrush and river oats grasses I found them. My reaction was one of amazement. The way these beetles chew the interior of the grape leaves to produce these lacy leaves. I left this situation as it was. In a few day I will go and remove what is left of the summer grape plant (Vitis aestivalis) that was smothering the plants I was weeding amongst. Could this even be a case of the Japanese beetles being the good guys and removing the grape plants before they smother everything else? But even grape plants have merit. Tasty dishes can be made with their leaves and jellies and jams with their fruits. The fruits are also eaten by many birds, the leaves are browsed by deer, and the bark is used by some birds in their nests.

Butterfly Milkweed

2010-06-23T10:52:00.006-05:00

The rains have stopped, at least temporarily, and the butterflies and dragonflies are seemingly everywhere. This butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) in the back garden is always very popular, as seen above with visitors pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor) and monarch (Danaus plexippus).

We have seen many pipevine swallowtails this year, which is perplexing as we have no pipevine family plants, to our knowledge. We have white snakeroot, although that is not a reported larval host. There is plenty of wild ginger here, which some have reported being used, but this is sharply contradicted (as "certainly incorrect") by Bouseman and Sternburg in their book Field Guide to Butterflies of Illinois.Anyway, the adults are here and enjoying the milkweed and other flowering plants, and we enjoy seeing them around.

American Goldfinch

2010-06-21T17:48:00.008-05:00

A small band of goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) were eagerly examining the Rudbeckia maxima. The plant has grown tremendously over the last weeks and has sent up shoots that are about ready to flower (see post from last July). The stems are still rather weak and not even strong enough to support the finches that were examining it. Notice how bent they are in the photo. I have seen finches ride the branches all the way to the ground. They are quite amusing to watch with all their upside down antics. However, they will have to wait a bit long for these seeds to ripen and even longer for their favored thistle seeds.

Widow Skimmer

2010-06-20T22:33:00.003-05:00

While in Chicagoland last week, we spent some time at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Joan attending a workshop on sedges and me occasionally walking around. Although hot and muggy, I wanted to take advantage of the different geographical location (northern Illinois) and habitat (small lake) to photograph and identify some new dragonflies. So Friday afternoon I braved the sun, the 95 degrees, and the humidity to walk around Meadow Lake, staying close enough to the visitor center to be able to scurry back into climate control as necessary. The lake is very nice (as is the rest of the arboretum) with well maintained and labeled plants along the banks and, in some cases, in the lake. But to my surprise and disappointment, I saw only two dragonflies, and they were buzzing in a line from some distant point A to some equally distant point B and did not stop to let me examine or photograph them.

Back home Saturday, I saw only these two dragonflies, male and female widow skimmers (Libellula luctuosa). These are very common in Illinois, the male especially easily recognizable with the large dark dark and white patches on all wings. While the book would say that the male is usually found defending its territory near the water, I saw both of these in the savanna and prairie, about 200 yards from the river or nearest pond.

Nesting continues

2010-06-15T16:31:00.004-05:00

There has been a nest built by an eastern phoebe, located under the deck above my den window, for the past six weeks or more. I have checked a couple times in May and never saw any eggs or chicks, but this past weekend the activity of the pair going in and out of the nest has increased markedly, and sure enough, there were four eggs in the nest yesterday. This nest is quite solidly constructed, built on a foundation of coax cables going to the internet satellite dish (three photos above, the image of the eggs is taken with the aid of a mirror). It's good to have another pair of flycatchers in residence.

On a related note, I cleaned out the empty bluebird nest from the house about ten days after the May 23 post/photo of the chicks. A check yesterday revealed another nest and another five eggs (photo below). I'll try to get a photo of the newly hatched young, since I missed that stage when we were out of town last month.

Flooding

2010-06-15T12:35:00.004-05:00

There have been times when we have been flooded in here at Habitat Home. Will this be such a time? The culvert under the driveway drains the savanna area and is sometimes not adequate to drain heavy rains, so the water washes over the driveway. Although still able to drive through this, the creek further down the road has a similar problem and floods the road. This we can not get through. It is not a wise idea to go though deep moving water on the country roads.

We are also watching as the river rises and floods the back tall grass prairie. The whole area may be covered with flood waters from the Salt Fork River by tomorrow morning.

A Closer Look

2010-06-14T17:11:00.006-05:00

In order to accurately identify the penstemon in a recent post, a close-up photo was taken of the flower. The photo revealed the pretty purple lines (nectar guides for pollinating insects) on the lower lips of the flower. Also, the plant is not hairy. Thanks to the information from a new (to me) site I found on line, I was much more confident of my previous identification. I have added this site to the side bar and encourage you on this very rainy afternoon to explore it. It has great photos and information about Illinois wildflowers.

Damsels and Dragons

2010-06-11T13:04:00.008-05:00

Dragonflies and damselflies (together comprising the order Ordonata) make up one of those classes of living things that I see all the time but have paid little attention to, at least beyond noting them flying about and the different colors of their wings. So because they are quite abundant around here this month, I decided to take a closer look. A single trip around the bottom field path figuratively netted three very different species, two dragonflies and one damselfly. It was easy to identify the guy to the left here as a damselfly, because he is holding his wings folded high when stationary, while dragonflies sit with their wings stretched out. Damselflies tend also to be distinguishable from dragonflies by their lacy, fluttering style of flight. This is a quite colorful example (probably because he's in the sun) of an ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata).

I'm no dragonfly biologist, let alone a card carrying member of the International Odonatological Society, so please correct me, but using James R. Curry's beautiful and informative book Dragonflies of Indiana,I have tentatively identified the dragonfly below as a female blue dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis). Note the stretched and slightly downfolded wings, the white face, eyes close together and double row of yellow markings on the abdomen.

Dragonflies are amazing. Their larval stage is spent under water for a year or more, after which they emerge and go through a metamorphosis for a brief but frenzied few days or weeks as a flying adult, focused exclusively on eating and mating. And dragonflies are big eaters, they can consume their weight in flies and mosquitoes in an hour. Their compound eyes are composed of as many as 30,000 individual lenses each, and it is a testament to the wonder of life that their small, literally pin-head size brain can both coordinate their beautiful and intentional movements as well as interpret the rapidly changing visual scene in order to hunt prey and find a mate. Although some dragonflies get along almost anywhere near water, many species are adapted to very specific environments. This is another reason to conserve, recreate, or manage the specific habitats we find ourselves living in.

Finally, as an aside, I was reminded by the blue dasher image of why I like to take photographs. Click on her image immediately above to open a full resolution image in a separate browser window. OK, sure, taking pictures is something I can actually do. But it ends up as both a motivation and a path to examining the natural world. Examining almost any photograph (yes, sometimes even family snapshots) can reveal startling, unexpected, and beautiful details that aren't available in "real time," and force you to consider the differences, the commonalities, the "something new" present in those details. As stated above, I had never thought much about dragonflies, never having had the opportunity to look at them in the way we can look at butterflies or even birds, let alone a tree or blade of grass. But these images do something extra for me beyond the also enjoyable walk in the woods, and I hope they do for you as well.

Baptisia alba

2010-06-10T14:57:00.002-05:00

White is the predominant flower color of the prairie now. The penstemons have been blooming for awhile, fleabane daisies are blooming and now the white baptisia is starting to flower. What a majestic plant this is. It shoots straight up from the surrounding grasses and then starts to branch out. This plant will be of interest for the rest of the season due to the curious black seed heads that will eventually form from the flowers. These plants take about five years to reach maturity but when they do they make a fasinating scene. Baptisia alba is both an important caterpillar host and nectar source for many of the sulfur and blue butterflies.

Foxglove Penstemon

2010-06-07T14:54:00.005-05:00

The penstemons are blooming in the prairie. This is a smaller plant about two feet tall. I think it is Penstemon digitalis but there are at least 8 white or whitish species in our area and it is difficult to tell them apart. Penstemons are also blooming along the river corridor and here again I am unable to distinguish between the species. Penstemons are one of the largest plant groups native to the United States. Most species prefer a drier climate and are found in abundance out west but this showy little plant is abundant in our area and seems more prevalent than in past years.

Eastern Box turtle

2010-06-04T16:33:00.003-05:00

Notice the eyes. If they are red, it's a male, if brown a female. She may look a bit upset but if she were, I think she would have withdrawn into her shell. Box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) can shut themselves completely into their shells. In the spring or fall of the year, they are usually out walking around looking for food as this one was. If it is hot you can find them under logs and leaves and if it is really hot, they will seek out a shallow mud puddle. In winter they hibernate in two foot tunnels in the ground that they dig. They like open woodlands and pastures by streams; this one was not far from the little creek that runs from the upper savanna to the lower prairie. Box turtles can live 100 years and I hope she can live that long at Habitat Home.

Happy Birthday!

2010-06-03T14:39:00.006-05:00

Sunday, June 13 marks the first birthday of Habitat Home (the blog). What better excuse than that to have a party? We don't know of one, so we welcome friends, neighbors, and blog followers to Habitat Home (the place). Join us for an evening of food, fellowship, geography (real and cyber), and (weather permitting and you stay long enough) some telescope views of the planets.

When: Sunday, June 13 Any time after 5:00pm, we'll eat at 6:30pm
What: summer grill fare: hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, birthday cake, drinks of all kinds
Where: Habitat Home (the place)
Bring: maybe a lawn chair

Plan to join us as we usher in summer and Habitat Home(the blog)'s second year! Please RSVP by reply email or blog comment.

Baby Fox Snake

2010-05-31T12:28:00.006-05:00

"People are both repelled and fascinated by snakes"...E.O. Wilson

Don't be alarmed if you see this little snake in your backyard. Fox snakes have hatched and are out and about. They like to sun themselves on warm stones, highways and, in the case of the little 14" snake above, on our deck. They eat mice and other rodents, bird eggs and young hatchlings. That perhaps is their only fault. They are not poisonous and will quickly move away from you. There is really no need to kill any snake in this area as none are poisonous. However, if you are one who is repelled by snakes, find someone who is fascinated by snakes and ask them to remove it from your yard. They will be glad to do so.

Sedges

2010-05-29T15:45:00.009-05:00

I have been noticing more sedges (genus Carex) here at Habitat Home now that I am reading about them in a recently acquired book Field Guide to Wisconsin Sedgesby Andrew Hipp. Sedges have edges, grasses are hollow and rushes are round. This saying refers to the shape of the stem (culm) of the plant and is about as much as I know about sedges. Of course, as with all such sayings, there are exceptions. Sedges are an important part of all natural habitats so introducing sedges to any recreated habitat contributes greatly to the biodiversity of an area, but in order to do so one must be able to identify sedges. Many native nurseries are now offering sedges and even some regular nurseries are offering sedges for home gardeners because of the ornamental value sedges provide to a home garden. The Morton Arboretum is offering a workshop on sedges (June 17-18, 2010), which will be led by the Andrew Hipp, the author of the book mentioned above. I will be attending and if you are interested in recreating natural areas, I encourage you to learn more about sedges and attend the workshop.

If you get an error on the "workshop on sedges" link above, go to the Morton Arboretum site, click on "Adult Programs" in the Education tab, and then click on "Current Schedule of Courses..." link. This will give you a cookie that will allow you to successfully click on the workshop on sedges link. Bad peopleware.net!

Chain saw, weed whacker, fence cutter and herbicide sprayer.

2010-05-26T18:41:00.003-05:00

This morning was spent using the chain saw to cut down the huge honeysuckle bushes along one of the old fence rows. The stumps were then sprayed with a 50% solution of Roundup. After the honeysuckle was removed we were able to remove some more of the old, old, fence that years ago confined the pigs that lived here. We then noticed some invasive yellow clover blooming in one of the old fields. So out came the weed whacker. The morning was spent dealing entirely with invasive species and old fencing. This can at times be overwhelming but one must remember that every invasive removed is helpful and that the job will never be finished. So, do not fret and worry, just do what you can to remove the invasives and old fencing from your property. These tools will all be out on many more mornings.

Azure Butterfly

2010-05-25T18:59:00.003-05:00

While out weeding the flower beds on this hot humid day, I noticed a lot of azure butterflies out and about. Are these spring azures or summer azures? It is so hard to tell, and this is probably the crossover time period for the two species to appear. This small butterfly is seen here feeding on white clover, notice the proboscis extending into the flower; its wing is less than three quarters of an inch long.

Bluebird chicks

2010-05-23T18:13:00.001-05:00

We were away for a week, and then didn't check the birdhouses last week. But today, we took a look at the bluebird house and found four chicks, all fairly large with well developed feathers. This is the same nest as covered in the April 30 ("Time for Eggs") and May 4 ("Revisited") posts, where five eggs were incubating. Unlike the calm female we found in that previous post, today she was quite agitated, complaining loudly from the nearby trees as we opened the box. These four will likely fledge in the the next few days, and likely receive yet another post, especially if we can see the little guys afterwards.

Land Snail

2010-05-21T14:50:00.003-05:00

We will be seeing more of these with all the rainy weather we are having. I rather enjoyed watching the little critter with it's beautiful shell inch along the stump it was walking on. Land snails can be a huge pest to both vegetable growers and gardeners as they are especially fond of lettuce and hostas. They deposit their eggs in the soil and within two weeks the eggs hatch into fully developed little snails, fully mobile and ready to eat. They themselves though are an important food source for many others, including birds, snakes, turtles, beetles and even humans. Don't think I will eat him/her however, I am glad to see land snails here at Habitat Home.

Fringe Tree

2010-05-20T19:50:00.004-05:00

Our poor fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus). It must have been just the right size for the deer this year; they totally destroyed it. Or so I thought. I was just about ready to give up on it when I started to see new growth. This small shrub or tree has a great ability to recuperate after heavy deer browsing. This is not the first year this has happened but it will be the last. I plan to securely fence this tree this fall before the deer start rubbing on it and break off the branches.

A fringe tree can be a beautiful specimen tree for the home landscape. It produces abundant fragrant white flowers in the spring, it's berries are eaten by many birds, and the leaves turn yellow in the fall. However, locally it is hard to find even one for sale.

University of Wisconsin Arboretum

2010-05-16T15:06:00.009-05:00

On our recent trip to northern Minnesota, we stopped at the Universty of Wisconsin Arboretum in Madison, Wisconsin. There we viewed and hiked a number of recreated native habitats, prairies, savannas, woodlands and ponds. The visitor's center has been entirely landscaped with native plants. It was a delight to experience and that is where I saw the plant, cream false indigo Baptisia leucophaea. I was particularly interested in this plant because I have tried to establish it here at Habitat Home but have not been successful. It was growing in an area that was much like those at Habitat Home so I will try once again.

Another recent interest was furthered by the purchase of the book Field Guide to Wisconsin Sedgesby Andrew Hipp at the arboretum's bookstore in the visitor's center. My interest in sedges was previously aroused by reading the book The American Meadow Gardenby John Greenlee, in which the importance and prevalence of sedges in recreated meadows was discussed. Since we have a meadow area already started at Habitat Home, I am interested in further developing that area with sedges. So perhaps there will be future photos and information on native sedges...of which there are a lot!

Wild Ginger

2010-05-05T16:12:00.004-05:00

Nature's Garden, a book printed in 1915 written by Neltje Blanchan, asks these questions about wild ginger (Asarum canadense):

Like the wicked servant who buried the one talent entrusted to his care, the wild ginger hides its solitary flower if not actually under the dry leaves that clothe the ground in the still leafless woodlands, then not far above them. Why? When most plants flaunt their showy blossoms aloft, where they may be seen by all, why should this one bear only one dull, firm cup, inconspicuous in color as in situation?

So as poetic as it all sounds, the reason is to attract the gnats and small flies that come crawling out of the warming soil looking for something to eat. The color and location of the flower are similar to the food they are seeking: dead meat. The gnats and flies pollinate the flower and a leather capsule develops which eventually bursts and discharges many seeds.

Time for Eggs - Revisited

2010-05-04T12:26:00.012-05:00

It's been four days since I checked the nests in the birdhouses (see the previous post, "Time for Eggs"), so time for another look. This time, mom bluebird sat and posed for about a minute, but as you can see in the left photo below, she didn't look too happy to see me. She finally had enough and took off, revealing the five pale blue eggs still incubating.

The white-breasted nuthatch nest, in the right photo below, was more interesting. Again, and unlike the bluebird, the female left the birdhouse as I approached within 30-40 feet. The five eggs have all hatched and the chicks are waiting for mom to return, presumably with their next meal. It's hard to believe looking at them, but these chicks' wing feathers and muscles will develop sufficiently in 18-26 days for them to leave the nest. Their mom and dad will continue to feed them for another two weeks after that, and then they'll be off to find and establish their own territory.

Time for Eggs

2010-04-30T12:52:00.007-05:00

I belatedly checked the birdhouses this morning, and results were somewhat as expected and somewhat surprising. The tree swallows we covered last week did not take occupancy of the bottom field west birdhouse. However, those bluebirds they were keeping their eye on did establish a nest in the house to the east, and this morning, after opening the top of the house and then finally getting mom to temporarily leave the nest, the five pale blue eggs were visible (image above left). Five is very common for bluebirds, and incubation time is 13-15 days, so although I'm not sure how long it has been since she laid these, let's say hatching might occur in about a week.

Moving to the upper field, I approached the house there and a nuthatch flew out before I got very close. Apparently, she is a bit more nervous than the bluebird. The nest (image above right) is a two tier affair, with a deep mass of short green grass pieces (I've mowed a couple times around there recently) and some drier grass and hair(?) on top. Looked pretty soft to me! A count of five eggs is in the lower range for the nuthatch (usually 5-10, commonly 8), and incubation time is 12 days. Unlike bluebirds, the nuthatch pair will only have one brood this season. We'll keep looking, and maybe catch a picture of some newborns.

Spring is such an amazing season. These things happen every year, and it's new each time!

Shooting Star

2010-04-28T18:33:00.003-05:00

This is common shooting star, Dodecatheon meadia. Although there is nothing common about it anymore. There are very few areas left where they can grow naturally. One such place is along the sandy Salt Fork River bank under tall trees that are just leafing out. In this particular spot, the river is cutting away the bank and the plants are falling into the river. So after getting permission from the landowner to remove the falling plants, I transplanted a few to Habitat Home. Shooting star is a small plant about 12 to 15 inches high when it is blooming and can also have pink blossoms. Once the plant is done blooming it produces seeds and then goes dormant for the rest of the season.

Prairie Trillium

2010-04-27T16:09:00.004-05:00

Today while walking in the woods, I noticed that there were just a few trilliums still blooming. At Habitat Home, we only have one species of trillium, Trillium recurvatium. I would like to add more species but they are so expensive to buy. They are not that hard to grow, it is just that a plant takes about seven years before it blooms, so they are not economical for growers to raise. Trillium seeds are myrmecochorous, which means they have a mutually beneficial relationship with ants. The seeds have an edible lipid rich appendage called an elaiosome. The ants carry the seeds to their nests and eat this appendage but leave the rest of the seed unharmed and buried, ready for germination.

Pasque Seed Head

2010-04-25T16:20:00.010-05:00

On Easter Sunday I posted about the blooming pasque flower, Anemone patens. Today, several weeks later, this is what has happened to it. It has developed into a beautiful silvery seed head. The attractive seed head will remain for several more weeks until the ripe seed is dispersed by the wind.

Woodland Blue Phlox

2010-04-23T15:17:00.001-05:00

Some seventy species of phlox can be found in various North American habitats. This is Phlox divaricata, a very common one. Note the five pale blue petals radiating from a central tube, opposite leaves and a sticky hairy stem. Also notice that blue phlox's bisexual flower components are hidden inside the central corolla tube. These flowers are pollinated mainly by bumblebees who have the specialized mouth parts to reach down into the tube. This native plant is found in rich moist woods and has a nice scent. Woodland phlox produces two types of growth, short sterile stems that form a low year round leafy ground cover and a leafy upright stem that supports the flowers. This simple little flower is actually much more complex that it looks.

Managed Earth

2010-04-22T13:13:00.001-05:00

Today is Earth Day. The map below illustrates what the earth at Habitat Home is looking like. I have found it very helpful to name the areas that we are recreating here. This is not restoration work as there was nothing to restore here but corn and beans. This land had either been farmed, mowed or grazed for many years prior to our ownership. We decided to manage for types of areas that had existed in east central Illinois prior to settlement. We are recreating a tall grass prairie, a savanna, the riparian woodlands, an orchard, and a meadow. We have also created the landscape around the house.

Most of the land in Illinois has been disturbed and that is why we must manage. In well established prairies and woodlands and meadows, invasives are not able to get a foothold. But when the area is small and not established many plants can grow there and they will. I have added a new sidebar link to the Midwest Invasive Plant Network. Please check it out. The site does a much better job than I do of explaining why we should be concerned about invasive species and gives lots of information about how to manage your property.

This earth day is a good time to consider what type of earth you want, and then manage your property accordingly. Large or small acreage or yards can be used to grow native plants that in turn attract native insects, birds and mammals. And that is what makes us uniquely east central Illinois...and, of course, the corn and beans.

Tree Swallows

2010-04-21T12:33:00.003-05:00

The west bird house in the bottom field is being thoroughly checked out by this pair of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). They've been in and out several times, but we've not seen them bringing nest material in yet. Although these boxes are occupied by combinations of bluebirds and sparrows every year, this is the first time we have seen tree swallows on and in them. But the neighborhood is big enough for everybody and, like the bluebirds, we welcome more bug eaters!

In the next couple of days we (like the swallows in the photo below) will be checking out the pair of bluebirds that are in the house next door, about 150 feet east (left in the photo).

Dandelion

2010-04-18T19:02:00.004-05:00

The last post was all about taking the time to view the beauty of spring beauties up close. So while you are down on hands and knees examining the flowers, move over and look at a dandelion. They too are spring beauties.

Spring Beauties

2010-04-17T19:52:00.005-05:00

Claytonia virginica, spring beauties, are so common now that we often do not give them much attention. But here at Habitat Home, they are covering the woodland floor with white and demanding attention. Taking time to bend over and really look at them can be delightfully surprising. The flowers are actually quite colorful with their pink striped petals. The flowers then develop into seed capsules. And here again, you will be rewarded with a closer inspection. The seed capsules when ripe will explosively eject the tiny seeds up to two feet. But by late spring the leaves have died back and the plant lives underground as a corm for the rest of the year. But here again, you can be rewarded if you know that the corm is edible and some say almost as tasty as a potato. But who would want to dig up and eat such potential?

Yellow violets

2010-04-13T19:24:00.001-05:00

There are several varieties of yellow violets. I think I have correctly identified this one as Downey Yellow Violet (Viola pubescens). This native variety has heart shaped leaves, dark center lines and is found in dry woodlands.
Habitat Home also has many blue violets blooming in the front flower beds. Violets of all colors attract fritillary butterflies that lay their eggs on or near the violets, which later serve as caterpillar food. Birds will eat the violet seeds and rabbits like to eat the leaves. So please do not spray or remove the violets, they are an important wildlife food source. Also, violets that are not subjected to herbicides or pesticides can be eaten in salads or sugared for desserts.

Collins Pond

2010-04-05T17:38:00.011-05:00

We left Habitat Home and took the short quarter mile walk to Collins Pond, part of the Champaign County Forest Preserve District's Homer Lake Park. The spring ephemerals are in more abundance and variety than we've seen on our property, as in the scene above showing lots of spring beauties and dutchman's breeches in the woods just above the Salt Fork River. Several other photos of the flora and fauna are included below.

American toad (Bufo americanus)

another American toad (Bufo americanus)

Slider (Trachemys scripta)

White Trout-Lily (Erythronium albidum)

Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Left: Great waterleaf (Hyfrophyllum appendiculatum), basal variegated

Right: False hellebore (Veratrum viride)

easily uprooted small honeysuckle

Pasque Flower

2010-04-04T19:59:00.005-05:00

Anemone patens or pasque flower is actually blooming this Easter Sunday. Pasque is derived from the French word Pasques which means Easter. This is a native plant of the prairies, open grasslands and dry areas which usually blooms around Easter. The entire plant has a covering of soft hairs. The bright purple flowers develop into a very attractive feathery seed head giving this plant a long season of interest in the garden.

Added 4/26/2010: See the Pasque flower seed head of this plant in a subsequent post.

Toothwort

2010-04-03T14:35:00.002-05:00

Another native spring ephemeral Dentaria diphylla is blooming at Habitat Home. This woodland plant was found not far from the bloodroot plants in the previous post. The roots of this plant have tooth shaped projections hence the common name, toothwort. A less common name is pepperroot because, as you might guess from that name, the root has a peppery taste. The flowers are very delicate, early blooming and the leaves have a fine texture. These attributes make this plant a great addition to a native woodland garden.

Bloodroot

2010-03-31T19:24:00.004-05:00

While walking the sloping woodland trail today, I was lucky to spot these white flowers of the spring ephemeral Sanguinaria canadensis, commonly called bloodroot. It has this name because of the reddish orange sap found in its thick rhizome. Bloodroot can be found in the rich soils of mixed deciduous forests in most of the Eastern United States. The flower is short lived but the leaves continue to open and grow more interesting all season. This is a good native plant to consider if you are looking for some unique texture in a shade garden. Often bloodroot grows in massive sweeps but I have only found a few scattered in the woods at Habitat Home.

Barred Owl

2010-03-30T15:21:00.001-05:00

We noticed this barred owl sitting on the electric wires along the road early this morning. Barred owls are common around here, often seen swooping around or watching from a tree or utility pole, but we're not sure if we've ever seen one on the wires. This owl has a good view of the large upper field with conveniently short grass, but he's keeping a watchful eye on the traffic on the road, too, including me.

Barred owls feed on a variety of small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and even fish, so the environment around here is perfect, with a mix of grassland, trees, bogs and the river. They haven't nested on the property for several years, though, so we're hoping maybe this one will settle down.

By the way, Joan prides herself on a great imitation of the barred owl's call, and claims to have had many two-way conversations.

Prairie Burn

2010-03-23T22:00:00.007-05:00

Today marked the (mostly-)annual burn of the 5+ acre Habitat Home prairie. There wasn't much wind, so the burn was not as "exciting" as it sometimes is, but the grasses were quite thick following the good season last year, so everything burned quite well.

Although it looks like it could be dangerous, and you always have to respect fire, we are always very careful and methodical about our burns. We always start burning from the downwind side, creating slow-burning firebreak extensions to the existing natural breaks around the perimeter of the field, and have a crew armed with flappers and a roving water tank. The video above (about two and a half minutes) shows a couple of scenes from the more upwind side where the wind, such as it was, pushed the fire a bit more aggressively. Note the smoke in the background where the firebreak fire is burning slowly upwind.

Grass fires were a common, natural occurrence in the North American Prairie. Burning is very beneficial to native grasses: it can promote seed germination, it kills competing species (e.g., trees, shrubs, and non-native, invasive plants), it releases nutrients into the soil, and opens the ground up for light and warming that encourages new growth. Following a burn, we often see more owls and hawks around the perimeter of the field, where they have an easier time spotting mice, voles, and snakes moving around.

The prairie field is an important part of Habitat Home. The tall grasses - mostly Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum), Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), and Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) - and forbs provide seed, nectar, and cover for a variety of insects, butterflies, birds, and small mammals. There are so few acres of prairie left in Illinois that every little bit helps!

All in all, a successful burn!

p.s. I apologize for the black frame, rather than the first content frame, in the initial view in the video window above. This has been happening for the past six weeks or so. It appears that google is trying to discourage blogger-resident videos and get us to use youtube. They don't force it, they don't say it, they just make it increasingly inconvenient to upload and use videos in blogger. Bother!

Pussy Willow Shrub

2010-03-20T13:35:00.002-05:00

The big beautiful pussy willow shrub (Salix discolor) is now blooming in our front yard. We planted it years ago. Even though the deer love to rub on it, it has grown really big. This makes it difficult to cut and bring in stems, I have to get out the ladder. But, it is also nice to just stand underneath the big bush and look up at the blooming flowers. Male and female flowers are produuced on seperate plants. The males being more ornamental than the females. The flowers are gray and very silky to the touch. As the pollen ripens the flowers will turn yellow.

Burning Little Bluestem Clumps

2010-03-13T16:20:00.003-06:00

A few days ago, the weather was perfect for burning clumps of little bluestem in the yard. It was sunny and not too windy but windy enough to carry away the smoke. The little remaining snow acted like a natural firebreak. The clumps looked rather sooty for a few day but the rain today is cleaning them up. The birds will miss the few remaining seeds and the voles and rabbits will miss the cover but burning is the easiest and quickest way to get these prairie plants ready for spring.

Crocus

2010-03-10T15:50:00.003-06:00

These are the first flowers to bloom at Habitat Home. These crocuses have managed to survive my constant digging up of plants in my efforts to change over to native plants. Also, they have not yet been eaten by the deer. They are so bright and colorful and such a welcome sight after a long snowy winter.

Red-Tailed hawk

2010-03-08T14:30:00.002-06:00

In our upper savanna area, the trees are finally getting big enough to support these large birds. They like to sit at the very top of the tree. We often see one flying from one tree top to the next and also to the top of the telephone poles. We watched as this one swooped down and captured something. It then flew to the top of a distant telephone pole and with its back to us, ate whatever it caught. These hawks are fond of voles, rabbits, mice, chipmunks, birds, snakes and frogs.

Spring Clean Up

2010-03-06T14:26:00.003-06:00

One of the first things I try to get done come spring is trash removal. Living along the river means that when the river floods it brings lots of trash with the flood waters. Then as the water recedes, the trash is deposited here. So on this nice sunny day I walked the river trail and the prairie trail picking up everything from bottles to shoes. There is still a tire with rim out there that will require the lawn tractor for removal. The most prevalent of all, however, is styrofoam - foam cups, foam plates and foam containers. So I am getting on my soap box here and asking readers to think about styrofoam and what an impact it has on the environment. I encourage you to consider alternatives to styrofoam NOW, today, on this beautiful sunny day.

Opossum

2010-03-03T11:35:00.004-06:00

This opossum (Didelphis virginiana) was walking around the yard this morning looking for something to eat. He eats just about anything. He was checking out the compost bins, the bird feeder and then the garage door; they like to live in outbuildings so make sure your doors remain closed. They can become a problem if they get into buildings. But we rather like the little critter as he eats everything and I am always amazed when frightened opossums play dead. He looks really cute here because you cannot see his ugly naked tail.

Organ Pipe Wasp Nests

2010-02-19T09:40:00.007-06:00

Minding my own business at the computer yesterday, the sound of pecking outside the window was enough motivation to go out in the cold to see who, or what, was trying to take the siding off the house. Slowly approaching the pecking sound, now identified as coming from the underside of the deck above the window, something fell down and bounced on the patio, and then a downy woodpecker flew out. The photo above shows one of the several organ pipe mud dauber wasp nests constructed under the deck. You can see the damage the woodpecker has done (to the nests), probably looking for larvae or spiders that the wasps left last fall. Mud dauber wasps tend to be nice to have around, they are not aggressive, eat lots of spiders, and are, in turn, eaten by birds - I've watched bluebirds take wasps on the wing.

Ash Wednesday

2010-02-17T11:34:00.004-06:00

No, we are not burning the prairie yet. Although, I have always wanted to do a prairie burn on Ash Wednesday. I am tired and weary of all the snow. Mostly because it looks so tired and weary marked by deer beds, pawing and other nasty things. So, we are preparing ourselves for spring! And what better way to start than with Hot Cross Buns.

Winter Brushpiles

2010-02-09T14:51:00.008-06:00

We were out snowshoeing today,
and noticed trails into all the brushpiles.

We have set up several brush piles on the property. These piles are mostly honeysuckle bushes that we had cut down last summer. We haul and pile up the branches in good spots, the best being locations at the edge between two adjoining habitats. The photo above shows a pile at the edge between the woodlands and the prairie, and quite a path coming from and going into the pile. I could not discern individual tracks, so I am free to speculate what is making these paths. Various animals use brush piles for both home and shelter from predators. Chipmunks, rabbits, voles, groundhogs and even Bobwhite quail (if you are lucky ebough to have Bobwhite quail!) use brushpiles. I checked several sources and not one mentioned squirrels using brushpiles, but we have so many squirrels here that they are probably the ones making or at least contributing to these paths.

Snowing

2010-02-06T15:52:00.003-06:00

Last night it snowed yet again. Everything was covered in snow this morning and it was beautiful! So many people say that they are getting so tired of the snow, but I cannot really say that, for each snowfall has been so different. Each snowfall has created it's own unique scenes at Habitat Home.

Mangy Squirrel - Not a Pretty Sight!

2010-01-30T16:14:00.003-06:00

We noticed this squirrel up on the potting bench this morning. A rather unusal place for a squirrel. It did not take us long to realize this squirrel was unusual in other ways. Notice areas that lack any hair. A quick google search leads one to ponder if the hair loss is due to mange or a fungus. But I think it is mange as the squirrel seemed to be uncomfortably scratching. Mange and fungus often occur when squirrel populations rise, so we may be seeing more hairless squirrels. There is not a lot to do about this and some references even go so far as to suggest that this is nature's way of thinning the squirrel population. Only the strong survive!