BRRRR, It’s Cold Outside
It’s been a little chilly here at Chiot’s Run, single digits during the day, negatives at night (tonight it’s supposed to be -4, now that’s cold). I don’t mind since I am able to stay inside my toasty warm home, but this weather is tough on all the wildlife.
On days like today we make sure the bird feeder and heated bird bath are filled so our little feathered friends have enough food to stay warm and water to drink. We also see deer rummaging through the flower beds looking for something to eat. Here’s a video we made last winter when we had a cold snap. It includes the wildlife we see frequently in the winter gardens here at Chiot’s Run (as well as shots of Lucy back when she was still mobile). It’s only 2 minutes long, enjoy!
[flv:/video/a_moment_of_zen.flv 480 270]
What kinds of wildlife frequent your gardens?
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Politics and Gardening
Like many Americans I’ve been closely watching Obama’s cabinet appointments. I was hoping that CHANGE would be coming, but it looks like it’s politics as usual at the Office of the President Elect. I’m particularly disappointed in his appointment of Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. Here’s a quote from the Organic Consumer’s Association about Tom Vilsack:
While Vilsack has promoted respectable policies with respect to restraining livestock monopolies, his overall record is one of aiding and abetting Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) or factory farms and promoting genetically engineered crops and animal cloning. Equally troubling is Vilsack’s support for unsustainable industrial ethanol production, which has already caused global corn and grain prices to skyrocket, literally taking food off the table for a billion people in the developing world.
If you are also disappointed by the appointment of Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture, head on over to Organic Consumer’s Association and sign the petition to oppose it. OCA is hoping to get over 100,000 people to sign this petition.
If you would like a more sustaineable candidate sign this petition to draft Jim Riddle (a long-time advocate of sustaineable and organic agriculture) in his place.
Despite a deluge of over 100,000 emails and petition signatures from organic consumers and farmers objecting to the appointment of biotech and biofuels booster Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture, the Senate is scheduled to begin confirmation hearings for Vilsack today.
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is disappointed in this controversial appointment, and we are calling on our national network and allies to pressure Obama to move beyond “agribusiness as usual” by drafting Jim Riddle to head the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the department that oversees organic food, farming, and standards. Riddle is an organic farmer from Minnesota, former Chair of the National Organic Standards Board, and a longtime advocate for sustainable and organic farming. With Riddle heading up the AMS, farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture, transition to organic programs, and the National Organic Program will finally receive the attention, technical assistance, and funding they deserve.
If you would like to give input on many of Obama’s cabinet members visit this page at the Organic Consumers Association website for more details.
Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now. But this appointment really concerns me, does it concern anyone else?
Here’s a very interesting article over at Civil Eats about this.
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Great Gardening Books: A Year at North Hill
Joe Eck & Wayne Winterrowd are gardeners on a whole different level than most people are, “fanatic” might be a good way to describe them. That being said, their books and very in depth and full of much useful information for the less “fanatical” gardener. 
A Year at North Hill : Four Seasons in a Vermont Garden
I don’t think I enjoyed this book quite as much as, Living Seasonally, perhaps since I am more interested in growing a few edibles at this point. But it is still a worthwhile read if you like trying new & different plants, not the typical big garden store kind of plants. I think that eventually this book will make it onto my gardening book shelf, it will be a good reference book when I want to try new & interesting plants.
Visit their website if you would like to see some photos of the gardens at North Hill.
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Winner Winner Burt’s Bees Lip Balm
Originally I was going to have Lucy pick the winner of the Burt’s Bees Lip Balm contest. I was going to hide numbered dog treats around the house and whichever one she found first was going to be the winner. But since she’s laid up and can’t roam around the house I had to come up with another plan. She was very disappointed she couldn’t help out.
I tried to think of a way to have the cats pick, but they’re cats. You can’t get them to do anything you want them to. So I reverted to the old, write numbers of pieces of paper, fold them up, put them in a hat and choose a winner.
I did put the numbers in my gardening hat at least, perfect for a gardening blog. And the winner is:
The winner is Carol from The Country Mouse.
This is what Carol says about herself: “I’m a mostly stay-at-home wife and mom living in rural Ohio with my wonderful husband and the sweetest baby boy in the world. I like to read, cook, eat (unfortunately), knit, and sing. I spend way too much time doing all of those things instead of mopping the floor.”
The funny thing is that I’ve known Carol since high school. She helped set my sister up with her cousin (who my sister married and is now my brother-in-law). Paul and Carol have the cutest little boy named Levi. Head on over to Carol’s blog and check out what’s going on at The Country Mouse.
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So Long Ago: Tulips in Bloom
It seems like so long ago that the tulips were blooming. I guess soon enough they’ll be back up again, how exciting!
Every year in the fall I say, “I’m not buying any bulbs next year to plant”. But then I’m taken by the photos in the catalogues & on the boxes in the store and I end up buying more than I can plant. Then each spring when they’re in bloom I think, oh I guess it was worth the $75 and the hours of work.
I’m really fond of Negrita, Queen of the Night and Shirley Tulips and anything in the cream through purple range, but I have a few other kinds as well including some Mickey Mouse tulips they’re one of the few red flowers I have in the gardens.
I do have trouble with the deer eating my tulips. The ones close to the house usually are left alone, but the ones on my front hillside are fair game to them. By looks of my lack of blooms out front they must be super tasty treats! I suppose I should just plant a few extra for them.
I also have trouble with the chipmunks. The first year we moved in here I planed 400 crocus bulbs and I only had one bloom the following spring because the chipmunks dug up every single bulb. I now coat the bulbs with garlic powder and that seems to keep the chipmunks away.
Here in Ohio tulips don’t always come back each year. Those big yellow and red ones often do and my Mickey Mouse ones do, but most of the other ones die off after a couple years.
Anyone else have a favorite tulip? Or a great tip to keep the deer from munching on them?
