It's Not Easy Being Green

Grandma had a Frigidaire like the model advertised in this video clip. It was older than me and when Grandma moved out of her big house in 1984 we took the fridge and put it in our basement. We sold it in 1987 when we moved to another house and I wouldn't be surprised if it is still humming along keeping someone's drinks cold on this hot summer day. We are told that old appliances use huge amounts of electricity and efficient models are ENERGY STAR rated by the Canadian government's Office of Energy Efficiency. Being conscientious citizens, we gradually replaced our old appliances with pricey, but environmentally friendly ones.

The Becka informed me this morning that our six year old front loading Kenmore washer was making an odd metallic sound. The sound needed a professional assessment and the polite serviceman gave the machine a prognosis of about two months. He balanced the drum on its broken support and I paid him $90 plus HST. Apparently this model has a life expectancy of five to eight years and breaks down on average six months after the warranty period is over.

Green is a very expensive colour. Hybrid cars cost more than any gas savings accumulated over several years. Solar power and wind power options are over-regulated and over-priced. My front load washer supposedly saved me water and detergent, but not enough to afford a new machine in such a short period of time. Is the environment improved with ENERGY STAR appliances stacked up in the local garbage dump?

Grandma's colour TV is in our living room. It was over ten years old when she died in 1990. We have used it for twenty years. It has thirty channels and I bet it will last longer than the two year old flat screen TV in the the family room.
Our first low flush toilet was installed last fall when we did major renovations. We are told by powers that be that "the new lower flow toilets have been mandated to save precious and limited resources." Our high boy model is good for bad knees but any substantial deposits in the unit require at least two flushes for complete removal. I am not sure what precious resources it is trying to save.

So now we have to shop for another washing machine. Cement washboards are standard in the laundry areas of Mexican homes. Perhaps a portable washboard would be better as it can also be used as a musical instrument. Mom had a wringer washer until the 1970s but they are no longer in production. But I found this very efficient model online. It has all the benefits of a wringer washer and a gym membership. And I would have to take Mondays off work to do the laundry.

Here is Becka's take on this story. She posted a video of our exact problem.

Beautiful Wings

Red Admiral on Bleeding Heart

The weather last year was cool and wet and butterflies were scarce in our area. The Monarchs in our garden did not eclose until October and by then it seemed impossible that they could journey to Mexico due to autumn storms and cold weather. We went to Monterey, California at the end of October expecting to see wintering Monarchs in the pine groves near the coast, but they were few and far between there as well.

Red Admiral on Forget-me-nots

I have seen more butterflies in the past week than I saw all of last summer. Dozens of Red Admirals and Mourning Cloak butterflies have been in our yard along with several smaller species. I haven't seen any Monarchs yet but we have not pulled out the Milkweed plants which have popped up in the side garden. Mom, who is now recovering at home after last week's surgery, was telling me that she is seeing fewer butterflies in her part of Mexico, perhaps due to agricultural pesticides.

Local Green Darner Dragonflies

Weather variations do have an influence, but butterflies and other insects do reflect the general health of our environment along with amphibians and other small creatures. Herbicide and pesticide use on lawns is now outlawed here, and while dandelions and other weeds are taking over parks and yards, these insects may benefit from the change. Chemicals are still widely used in agriculture and on golf courses locally and around the world.

I do hope these early butterflies are indicators of a good year ahead for all beautiful wings.

Earth Week 2010

This is Earth Week, a celebration which aims to increase awareness of the natural world around us. This year, the biggest event is ongoing and is staged by the earth itself. The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano has disrupted the lives of millions of people and will undoubtedly have an ongoing effect on weather and the economy this year. We have friends stranded in Switzerland and a co-worker is having to extend her vacation in Paris until at least this weekend. While we concern ourselves with mankind's carbon footprint, the power unleashed by storms, earthquakes and volcanoes can change our environment in a few minutes.

Buying local goods at our farmers' market

Since the inception of Earth Week and Earth Day in 1970, progress has been made in preserving some of earth's treasures. But in third world countries, survival usually takes precedence over conservation. North America is a throw-away consumer society and thoughtless excesses are detrimental to our health and the health of our environment. Living a simpler life takes time and requires that we step out of the pace society now accepts as normal.

Composting kitchen waste

Our community is hosting a number of events this week, from roadside garbage cleanups to nature walks and presentations. This is the most beautiful spring season I ever remember and it is not hard to stop and enjoy the flowers and sunshine after the winter. Ongoing changes to our lifestyle are much more challenging to sustain.

Here are some ways we are trying to change our habits and thinking;-

• reducing use of plastics in general and for food preparation specifically
• buying animal products locally and avoiding packaged meats from factory farms
• reducing the use of animal products substantially
• making use of our composter and green bin for all kitchen and garden waste
• buying local foods and goods as much as possible even if they are more expensive
  
• avoiding mass-made, inexpensive items i.e. "Made in China"
• eliminating processed foods and eating more meals at home
  
• contributing to reputable charities who assist people in third world countries to go to school and to run sustainable businesses

Have you any ideas to add to the list?

Willie was Wrong

Easter Weekend Daffodils

By the beginning of February most Canadians think winter will never end. Groundhog Day is a silly attempt to wish away snow and cold temperatures and by the time spring does arrive, most of us have forgotten what the groundhog predicted. I think spring is often a non-season in this part of the world. Some years we have snow and cold through the month of April and into early May, and then we get hit with a heat wave that lasts through the summer months.

But this year Wiarton Willie, our local rodent prognosticator was wrong!

He apparently saw his shadow and therefore predicted six more weeks of winter. Quite frankly, I believe his handlers had it wrong because the day was overcast and any shadow from the sun on February 2nd was 10% real and 90% imagination.

Guelph Lake near the end of last week

Spring came early and stayed on. We had no snow in March which is very unusual, and April arrived with summer-like temperatures. Forsythia is blooming in my garden a good three weeks ahead of usual and spring bulbs are coming up everywhere. This is somewhat alarming because we are sure to have frosts in April and May which could damage early blooming fruit trees. Our mosquito and black fly season is going to have a head start and the ground is exceptionally dry. Vernal ponds in fields and meadows are very small or non-existent so there will be fewer frog choruses heard during their mating season. My husband is concerned about an early start and end for spring lake trout fishing and lakes are rapidly becoming ice-free.

Forsythia in our garden today

Some people will preach global warming and win converts to their theory in this "El Niño" year. But weather norms are averages and our last two winters were exceptionally cold, snowy and long. Last summer was cool and wet and we never needed our garden hose. My niece in Spokane WA is experiencing snow and sleet this long weekend. I like to consider all sides in the climate change dialogue.

Weather is a favourite conversational topic for Canadians, and why not? I plan to enjoy each day as it comes.

Red-winged Blackbird Song

Male Red-winged Blackbird

The Red-winged Blackbird is one of the commonest birds in North America and one of the earliest to arrive here in early spring. I usually see or hear them in the first few days of March, about ten days or so before Robins return.

The Becka phoned me at work to say she heard a RW Blackbird today. (she says she is not interested in birding!) So we took the dog out to the field at the end of our street and sure enough, two males were calling back and forth. One of them posed nicely right in front of me while he belted out his call...conk-a-reeeeeeeee!

Sad to say, this may be the last year the birds return to this old landfill site. A section of the park is now a sledding and biking hill, and the field above is to be developed further this year. Two soccer fields, a parking lot, picnic area and splash pad will be constructed.

Frogs sing and breed in the vernal ponds, Red-tailed hawks and Kestrels hunt for small rodents, ducks, Kildeer and blackbirds nest in the cattails and grass. Many other birds and animals are at home here in the middle of a subdivision. Thirty-five years ago this area was on the edge of the city and undeveloped but houses and malls now sprawl several kilometers beyond this point.

and the squeeze continues...

Death and Life in the Park

The first bird we saw as we drove through Algonquin Park was a Golden Eagle which flew from a tree top in front of our vehicle. It was the first time I had seen this large bird which winters in this region. Near the east entrance to the park, the visitor centre had several displays featuring taxidermic animals and birds. One showed a Golden Eagle feeding from a deer carcass while Ravens and a Bald Eagle waited their turn.

Park rangers placed a road-killed deer far out in a bog below the visitor centre and had a telescope focused on the animal. Wolves had been spotted earlier near it but there were none around when I took this picture. Three days later, wolves removed the carcass and the pack is shown on this YouTube clip.

My husband is standing on the balcony of the visitor centre looking for action around the dead deer. Winter is difficult for wild creatures and many do not survive the harsh conditions. There are few seeds and berries for the birds this year and feeders here have supported Goldfinches, Gray Jays, Pine Grosbeaks, Chickadees, various woodpeckers and a few Pine Martens. Pine Martens are particularly fond of eating Red Squirrels and there were plenty of squirrels around the feeders.

We are very used to Chickadees feeding from our hands but Red-breasted Nuthatches seldom are this tame. The birds were accustomed to humans and flew toward us before we had seeds ready for them. While we saw very few animals in the days we were there, fresh tracks criss-crossed the snow and provided evidence of life in the bogs and forests. Most of the action was taking place during the night and pre-dawn hours of the day. We stayed in a nice motel in town, but I would consider staying in one of the yurts (with electricity and floors) which are available for winter camping in the park. Perhaps I would see the animals who leave the tracks as they work to survive in the wild.

Laurentian Wetland

I never used to be particularly fond of swamps and feared they harboured snakes and hordes of mosquitoes. It would never have occurred to me to buy a house which backed on a wetland for fear of having a wet basement and other flooding problems. A couple of years ago another nature lover introduced me to a wetland near our home. I started going there regularly and saw much more than the obvious Mallard Ducks and Canada Geese. I posted pictures from the swamp on Flickr and came to know other people who were interested in conserving this area. It is surrounded by a nursing home, two elementary schools, a large plaza and many houses. There are a few irresponsible characters who do not respect it and use the area as a dump for garbage.


A number of people from the community teamed with the city and have started to clean up the area. They hope to have benches and a viewing platform constructed in the future and the local schools have involved their students in caring for and learning about the wetland. Three large signs have been erected and give information about the area. The picture poster above is featured and shows some of the diverse wildlife in the wetland. I was pleased to have two of my photographs included in the poster.

The area is frozen over now and there are few signs of life these dark December days. But in two or three months migrating birds will arrive, the ice will melt, frogs will sing and turtles will sun themselves on logs. And that is something to look forward to on this dark winter solstice night.

Clutter, Chaos, and Creativity

Sunset at Pacific Grove CA

I have been back in Canada for a little over two weeks and during that time the contractor has been at the house daily continuing with our renovations. Things have taken shape nicely but we move from rooms which are almost empty to rooms which are crowded with furniture and other displaced items. The clutter and disorganization have sapped my energy and most evenings it is easier to just go to bed rather than deal with the mess. The project will not be completed until the end of the first week of December. Yesterday the baseboards were finished in the living room and we put the basic furniture back in place....one room to relax in. I have decided to wait a few weeks to put pictures on the wall and have packed away the knicknacks (dust collectors) for now. How does one accumulate so much "stuff"?

The Lone Cypress, Pebble Beach CA

I love open outdoor landscapes, the simplicity of the horizon, the sun and moon, a body of water, a tree. Creativity is unleashed when we have space for our ideas. My New Year's resolution was Simplify and I have this opportunity to act on the one word guide I chose for 2009.

Where are the Butterflies and Bees?

Northern Pearly Eye

We are continuing to experience unusual summer weather this year. July was cold and wet and while the temperatures have warmed up in the past few days, we have been drenched by frequent heavy rains. Our lawn is thick and green and needs cutting twice a week. The garden is butterfly and bird friendly with plenty of flowers, milkweed, parsley and water.

My August Garden

In normal year we do not need to cut our grass in July and August as the lawns generally burn out and become dormant. My garden is lush and the tomato plants are over a metre and a half tall. But I have very few tomatoes developing even though the plants have plenty of blooms. My grape tomatoes have not yielded a single ripe fruit this month. It seems this weather has discouraged or destroyed many of our pollinators. Butterflies, bees and other flying insects are scarce.

Lots of meadow flowers but few butterflies

We went for a walk in a natural area close to home last week. The meadows and ponds attract many butterflies and dragonflies and I took pictures of a variety of species here last year. In an hour we saw one Monarch butterfly, two Yellow Swallowtails, half a dozen Cabbage Whites and a few grasshoppers and dragonflies. We did not encounter a single mosquito. The Northern Pearly Eye in the first photograph is the only butterfly I have encountered at close range this year.


I did find an active wasp nest high in a tree along a trail. I destroyed one last year which was being built under our picnic table but no wasps have even approached my hummingbird feeder this season. I seen hummingbirds only twice this summer and have heard other people comment that they are not around much.

I have added a link below to an article on the CBC website about the unfortunate state of Monarch Butterflies this year. Hopefully they will make a comeback in the future.

Southern Ontario Sandhill Cranes

I have several bird books, from a 1947 edition of Peterson's "A Field Guide to the Birds" to a 2006 edition of "Sibley Guide to the Birds". The distribution of a number of bird species has changed significantly in the sixty years between the publishing of these two books. In a few more years, changes will have to be made again.

In 1947 Northern Cardinals and House Finches were rarely seen in Southern Ontario. They are now very common year round residents. Sandhill Cranes were found in the Canadian Prairies and east as far as Michigan. My current Sibley guide indicates they now migrate and breed in northern Ontario as well. They are seen in Southern Ontario as they pass by in the spring and fall.


In the past couple of years, there have been reports of breeding Sandhill Cranes in our region within a thirty minute drive from our home. My husband and I found a pair earlier this month and I returned today to check them out again. We have seen many Sandhill Cranes on Manitoulin Island but it is difficult to approach them so most of my photos have been taken from quite a distance.

This pair stood close to the country road as they were feeding in a farmer's field. I don't know why they were engaging in mating behaviour as nesting season should be over. The eggs need a month to incubate and the young birds or colts do not fledge until they are 65 to 75 days old. I was able to watch these two birds dance together, something I expected to see only if I travelled to Manitoulin Island in April or early May.

The Sandhill Crane does not breed until it is two to seven years old. Mated pairs stay together year round, and migrate as a group with their offspring. If these birds find this area satisfactory for breeding, their numbers will undoubtedly increase each year if their offspring return with them. And the bird guides will be re-written...

Here is a link with more information on Sandhill Cranes.

Attracting Wildlife: Part 2- Using Bird Songs

Baltimore Oriole responds to a birdJam call

I appreciate the thoughtful comments on my previous post and agree that keeping clean and protected feeders is not a disservice to birds, as long as the welfare of the bird or animal is put first, not the interests of the person attracting them.

I have purchased a couple of different CDs of bird songs in an effort to learn to identify birds I may not see. It is not easy to use a CD in the field and some of them would not track back to a specific bird, but rather to a family of birds. That would require me to listen to all the ducks, for instance, to find the one I wanted to hear.

I read about birdJam, a program which organizes bird songs on an Apple iPod. I had an under-used iPod Touch and decided to download the program. It is very, very user friendly and with the touch of my finger I could see each bird and hear all its different songs and calls. I had no external speakers besides my earphones and I did not plan to use the unit to call birds.

Last month I went on a group hike led by Neil Taylor. He used external speakers attached to his MP3 player to attract a Red-bellied Woodpecker that was nearby. He explained that the player should be used briefly as not to stress the bird. I read more about attracting birds this way and decided to get some portable speakers for my iPod. The iMainGo is a powerful portable speaker that is easy to carry on a wrist. I picked one up for $20 at Circuit City.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male)

Armed with my high tech gear, I went to the river and tried the unit out. No one else was around that evening and I could hear many birds singing in the trees. I knew Baltimore Orioles were around so I tried that call first. Immediately, an Oriole looked down from the treetop. I then tried the Rose-breasted Grosbeak song. Again the response was fast as a pair of them appeared on a tree beside me. I noticed they looked very alert and somewhat alarmed and the female had some nesting material in her beak. It seemed they were concerned about another bird in their territory and I felt badly that I had presented a false challenge to their nesting area. That ended my experimentation. The unit did work, but bird songs are not just pretty melodies;- they are a language. There are risks to calling birds during nesting times. They may leave a nest unattended and predators can take advantage of this.

I saw this Philadephia Vireo in a tree and a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds nearby. (I did not attract it by sound). An empty nest is an opportunity for the Cowbird to lay an egg for another bird to raise.

Mike Burrell, an experienced birder and researcher from our area had this to say...

As far as bird song playback goes. It certainly stresses a bird. But, so does pishing, squeaking, etc. The difference between playing bird song for photography and pishing is that pishing might stress a bird for a few seconds, while playing a song would probably be for several minutes. I think that season doesn't really matter, you are stressing the bird no matter the time of year. What does matter to me is basically that the bird isn't repeatedly stressed. For example, I wouldn't play a tape for a bird at Point Pelee in spring, but playing a tape for a Yellow Warbler in your local park once a season is reasonable. Again, if you pay attention to the bird, you should be able to tell you are stressing it. In all reality I think anyone who wants to play recordings should ask themselves if one person getting a photo of a bird is worth causing it stress. Doing bird research obviously has a purpose which we weigh as more important than the possible consequences of your actions. If birders are educated about the bird, they will make good decisions...

Brown-headed Cowbirds

The birdJam site has an informative article in the ethical use of the software here. "Some birders using playback keep on playing the songs until the bird lands right in front of them. We believe that's going too far."

I listen to the bird songs in my car through the external speakers on the way to work. ( I don't like earbuds) I don't expect to use the unit on a regular basis to attract birds, and if I do use it in the field, I must put the welfare of the bird ahead of my own interest of seeing it in the open.

Attracting Wildlife: Part 1

We have plenty of cute critters in our neighbourhood and go out of our way to attract some of them to stay around. Thankfully we do not have slithery reptiles around the house like Jayne and Mary (uggh!). This week we managed to get this little chipmunk to eat peanuts from our hand. I started by placing peanuts on my Crocs and after the rodent got used to that, it started coming to my hand for treats.

The minute we go and sit outdoors, the chipmunk is right there looking for a handout. Who could resist it as it stuffs its cheeks with whole peanuts and scampers away to the yard?! I have various feeders and a bird bath to attract some feathered friends. The Red-breasted Nuthatches and Chickadees are the most tame birds and will come over when I am filling up the feeders. It is essential to have shrubs or trees near the feeders for the safety of the birds, and various fruit bearing trees are also bird magnets.

Our Saskatoon berry bush and Mountain Ash attract many birds. On Sunday I noticed a Wilson's Warbler resting in the lilac bush outside our window. This was the first time I had seen this species and it was the fourth different warbler to visit the lilacs in a week.

There are photographers will not take pictures of birds on feeders but prefer a natural perch instead. Our birding forum has had discussions about inappropriate baiting of animals for pictures. An extreme example would be the use of a fake mouse on a fishing line to attract a raptor. There are unprincipled photographers who will use this technique to get a picture of a large bird in flight.


Improperly placed feeders can expose birds to predators and disease can be spread when many birds congregate for food. Birds do benefit from supplemental foods in the winter, but we also put bird feeders up for our own pleasure.

Where is the line between attracting wild creatures with food and disturbing them inappropriately by baiting?

Next post: iPod Birding

Slumbirds

Travelling the major highway connecting Toronto and Niagara Falls Ontario you must pass a large "bird slum" along Burlington Bay. The off ramp just before the Burlington Skyway leads to a road along the docks and industrial basin of the city of Hamilton. It is home to thousands of community dwelling birds. Two weeks ago they were tending nests in their crowded tenement and no young birds were visible. I am sure this has changed by now.

Double Crested Cormorants are gaining a reputation with some as a nuisance bird. (I wrote about them in this post a year ago) Their looks, habits and smell do not endear them to most people but they are a native bird and have made a comeback in numbers after suffering from the effects of DDT. They nest in trees in large colonies and the nests incorporate all types of materials, from twigs to plastic and garbage collected along the shoreline.

We pulled to the shoulder of the road and rolled down the window to take these pictures. The stench of dead fish was very strong even from the vehicle. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of Cormorant nests along this stretch of road.

Beneath the Cormorant nests were thousands of Ring-billed Gulls. My bird guide calls them "colonial, nesting in a shallow scrape in the ground lined with plants and debris." Pairs of gulls tended nests that were crowded together along a narrow strip of land. There was plenty of noise and smell and it was hardly safe to venture outside the vehicle without an umbrella. The wind was strong and many birds hovered in one place above the nesting grounds.

Many birders were out on this May weekend but we did not see anyone else visiting this area. The others were looking for pretty warblers, migrating songbirds and majestic birds of prey. These abundant, smelly "slumbirds" were best avoided. But they have their place and have adapted well to city environments. This area of the bay must have a plentiful food supply to support so many birds and that may speak well of efforts to improve the water quality in the industrial basin.

Advantages of being Disorderly

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is
constantly making exciting discoveries.
A. A. Milne

I cannot remember when I became aware of this quote*, but it describes my philosophy very accurately. I like reading articles which report that children who grow up in excessively clean homes are more likely to develop allergies. Our mother taught us to make our beds, do the dishes, and keep the bathroom clean and I make sure these tasks are done. But daily dusting, vacuuming and floor washing would reduce my discovery time to an unacceptable level.

Gray Catbird

Our next door neighbour uses the corner of the yard adjacent to our deck to pile her yard waste. It is quite an eyesore and we built a privacy screen around our deck to hide the view. A rusting, roofless shed contains old firewood, and pruned branches from her shrubs are thrown against a broken up picnic table. Lilac bushes on both sides of the fence provide plenty of leafy branches for cover. The area has become an ideal place for birds and small animals to rest in between visits to my feeders.

Female Eastern Towhee on the brick border of the garden

We live in a very typical urban subdivision but have had some interesting visitors this spring. Besides our usual numbers of Chickadees, House Finches, Goldfinches, Cardinals, Mourning Doves, Robins, Blue Jays, and Blackbirds, we have a resident pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches, and visiting White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Pine Siskins, Hermit Thrush, White-throated, White-crowned, Chipping, Song and Fox Sparrows, Cedar Waxwings, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Cooper's Hawk, Great Horned Owl, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pine Warbler and this weekend, an Eastern Towhee and Gray Catbird. The last two visitors prefer thickets and underbrush and our neighbour's yard provided the perfect environment.

The "disorderly" corner of our neighbour's yard, bottom left

My husband will not keep a messy yard, but the brick work he built around our flower beds and the mulch under the shrubs have also attracted birds. He also avoids the use of toxic lawn and garden chemicals. We were all amused by our visitors this weekend. The Gray Catbird aggressively chased the other birds and squirrels away from the feeders until it was done. The female red squirrel is nursing her babies and comes boldly for quick treats on the deck. I have not found her nest yet, but watched her move one of her babies in her mouth across the top of the fence. By the time I got my camera, she was gone. We also watched the male Cardinal lovingly feeding his mate, beak to beak, while sitting on the fence outside our window.

Being a little disorderly can be a good thing for sure!

*I saw the quote on Michelle's blog