I was in the kitchen earlier and glanced out of the windows only for my heart to sink. What a mess (again!) with all of those leaves scattered everywhere. What a mess!
Hubby recently spent a couple of hours in the freezing cold cleaning up but our neighbours trees, and the trees that line the lane behind our home, all seem to wait until he's finished and goes back into the house before.... whoosh! The garden is covered in leaves again.
At least now he has his huge leaf blower/vacuum/mulcher type thingie but he'll tidy it all again and you can bet it'll take no time to need done again. Hubby never even complains, bless him. He just puts on a jacket and off he goes into the back garden with our furbaby Jade, his assistant gardener, and gets to work 💖
While thinking about the work Hubby (and Jade) are faced with again I spotted some garden guests happily eating a little food I put out for them this morning and my frown turned upside down in a heartbeat. 😊
We've been blessed with so many beautiful garden guests all year long honeys and I've loved watching this year's baby birds grow and our tiny squirrel friend visit each day for his peanuts and seeds. Jade has been desperately trying to make friends with this little chap all summer long but he's too timid to play with her, even when she tries to share her toys 💖
It's so, so important that we all try to help our garden guests. Why Rosie? Well, because they need us. It's that simple, dear ones. It's getting colder now and their food sources will be getting more difficult to find. The bare branches in the photos above belong to the blueberry shrub we planted in our first Spring in this house, specifically to act as a food source for visiting wildlife.
Luckily it's not at all difficult to give a helping hand to our tiny garden guests and with just a little effort you'll be able to help them survive through the long winter months.
Teaching children how to care for garden visitors is also a wonderful way to encourage them to see and to appreciate the natural world around us and teaches them empathy for other living creatures too that they'll carry into adulthood with them.
Feathered Friends..
Garden birds need us honeys, as much in the spring and summer as they do in the autumn and winter. By providing food, positioned in safe places, you'll be rewarded with the loveliest birdsong in your garden and being able to watch as tiny guests fly in to visit 💖
Why not learn all of the names of the different species of birds who visit your garden? Children would love to keep track of who visits and to learn their names. You can find a wonderful A to Z guide to the different species of birds at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) website here honeys.
How to Care For Garden Birds...
1. Make or buy a bird table or bird feeders. There are so many ideas on how to do this on Pinterest (you can find some ideas here) Remember to hang feeders up off the ground (our feeders are in our apple tree) and away from fences or anywhere cats can hide. I adore cats, and it isn't their fault since it's a part of nature, but we don't want garden birds to get hurt while trying to eat.
2. Provide a water source, such as a bird bath, so that birds can drink and wash. Check that it hasn't frozen over in the winter, and if so, carefully break the ice. Again, there are so many beautiful DIY bird bath ideas on Pinterest.
3. Clean your bird table, feeders and bird bath regularly to help feathered guests stay healthy.
4. Why not make your own fat block or balls? They're so easy to make. Just melt some suet or lard and mix through some porridge oats (I'm a Scot, we always have porridge oats in the kitchen) or seeds, nuts or even dried fruit. Allow to set in a mould or why not fill a coconut shell?
Note: Please be very careful when heating up lard. It is a fat after all and can catch fire. Never leave fat heating on a stove unattended and only heat on a low setting, stirring all the time until it's only just melted then remove from the heat and add your nuts, seeds etc. Also never allow children near warm fat honeys. It's always best to be safe.
5. Always throw away those plastic/nylon net bags supplied with store bought fat balls and food. Small birds can get caught up in them and get hurt.
Adorable Squirrel Visitors & Why You Should Love Them..
Yes, I know honeys, opinion is split over these little guys but squirrels have been given such a bad reputation over the years and it's simply not fair. I understand that there is strong feeling in both the pro and anti squirrel camps, they're the Marmite of the natural world, you either love them or hate them.
If I have to choose though, I'm definitely a fan of the adorable little guys, particularly one certain little bushy tailed chappy who's been visiting our garden for months now 💖 He's the tiny cutie in the photo above. Our furbaby Jade has been trying desperately to make friends with him all summer but he's far too timid to come down off the fence (or tree) to say hello.
Jade and the curious but timid squirrel...
One (very rare) sunny afternoon I was pegging out laundry in the back garden, while Jade was wandering around keeping me company as she always does, bless her 💖 Suddenly she took off across the grass, running behind me towards the fence. I guessed she'd spotted her friend Mr Squirrel and turned around to see him sitting on a tree branch overlooking the fence and Jade sitting, staring up at him with her tail wagging.
She watched him for a minute or two before running back to the patio where she picked up her tennis ball, her very favourite toy, and she sprinted back to the fence, dropped the ball and backed away again to sit back down and wag her tail some more 💗
Mr Squirrel didn't come down to play, in fact he watched Jade for another minute or so and then disappeared up into the tree. Our poor baby Jade was so disappointed 💔 I threw her ball for her for a few minutes but my arthritic bones are no good at throwing tennis balls so I finished pegging laundry and we went inside to fetch her a treat instead.💖
All very cute Rosie but why should we care about the furry little tree huggers? You should care, dear ones, because they, like all creatures, have their place in the natural scheme of things.
Reasons To Love Squirrels 💖
1. They're helping scientists to understand, and to treat strokes. Yes, you read that right. Not too shabby for a cute, little furry guy, huh? You can read more here honeys.
2. Squirrels are instinctively smart and incredibly organised, organising their food stash by how long it will last and eating it in the order that is needed in order that it's fresh. Learn more here.
3. They're natures gardeners. By collecting nuts and then burying them elsewhere, the squirrel is an eco-star in that he helps new trees and other plants to grow away from the plant/tree they've fallen from. There is an excellent article in the Washington Post that explains the process here.
4. Yes, they chew but they chew for a reason. They simply have to keep chewing honeys because if they don't, their front teeth keep growing and would become dangerously overgrown. They chew for survival. You can find ways to deter them from chewing, without hurting them, here honeys.
5. Because they're adorable! We're back to that Marmite of the natural world again, aren't we? I hope I've helped even the most anti-squirrel reader re-think their stance on these cute little guys. Jade & I adore them, I hope you can too 💖
What are your thoughts on garden guests honeys? We really do all have our place in the world and it's so important to try to help our tiny visitors if we can.
Till next time dear ones, smile lots and hug even more 💖 Hugs always x
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