Birdfeeding: Friends of a Feather Flock Together

These pictures are mostly from the prairie garden.

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Today is sunny.

I took the flats of pots outside and watered them.

I've seen two starlings, a mourning dove, and a blue jay in the forest garden.  Two vultures flew overhead and landed in the tall trees.  :D

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I fed the birds.  

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- We walked around the south lot to decide where to mow a path.  Now my partner Doug is out mowing.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- We walked around the south lot to see what had been mowed.  Yay, progress!

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I planted a peppermint in the strip garden, a catnip in the cistern garden, a pineapple mint and a rosemary in a trough pot on the old picnic table.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I planted the 'Ohio Treasure' black rraspberry in the patch at the edge of the prairie garden.  This concludes the Edible Landscaping order.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I planted hepatica and Jack-in-the-pulpit, each 2 in the forest garden and 1 in the streetside forest yard where the trilliums are growing.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I planted Dutchman's breeches, bloodroot, and white trillium, each 2 in the forest garden and 1 in the streetside forest yard where the trilliums are growing.  This concludes the American Meadows order.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I planted Dutchman's breeches, bloodroot, and white trillium, each 2 in the forest garden and 1 in the streetside forest yard where the trilliums are growing.  This concludes the American Meadows order.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I raked the mowed north-south path that is second in from the west in the prairie garden and connects with the east-west flower path.  Last year this north-south path was sown with wildflowers, this time I put Little Bluestem grass seed.

EDIT 4/28/25 -- I raked the mowed north-south path that is farther west in the prairie garden, sowed it with 20th anniversary wildflower seed mix plus extra zinnia seeds from the Charleston food forest, and watered it. I raked the mowed east-west path and sowed it with Monarch Butterfly Wildflower Seed Mix plus extra zinnia seeds, and watered it.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

These pictures mostly show the south lot. See the House Yard, South Lot, Savanna and Prairie Garden, and Back Toward the House.

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Today I took pictures around the yard. It's cloudy, so the lighting is bad, but so much is happening that I wanted to capture it. See the House Yard, South Lot, Savanna, and Prairie Garden.

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Today we visited the Charleston Food Forest.  I took pictures and rescued some plants that were growing in the paths so they don't get trampled. These pictures are mostly from the right side. See Part 2 Left Side.

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Grand Prairie Friends is our local nature organization, currently managing about 1200 acres of land around central Illinois. The biggest is the Warbler Ridge Conservation Area at 1059 acres. Some is actual prairie with native grasses and wildflowers. Some is a mix of upland forest and riverbottom; we have multiple riparian zone patches. If you're in the neighborhood, drop by for a hike, forest bathing, or some creative inspiration!

Here's an update on federal funding in the current situation -- it's okay for now, and backup plans are in place should it disappear. There are links where you can donate or otherwise support the cause if you are concerned about its economic safety and/or just want to support healthy habitat.

How are your local nature organizations doing now?

These pictures are from Sunday, but it's after midnight so the timestamp will say Monday. See the savanna and house yard.

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Here is my order for Pinetree Garden Seeds. We discovered that the catalog numbers are incomplete in paper, so look them up online and cross-reference with cultivar names. :/ This is the first of three paper catalogs.

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Yesterday we got several inches of snow. Today I went out and took some pictures. The quality is largely poor due to the cloudy sky -- without sunlight, the snow didn't sparkle and the camera struggled to focus in the low contrast. But I got some worth sharing. (See also the Midwinter Grove, Savanna and Prairie Garden, and Heading Back Toward the House.)

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