A Place for Wildlife

Very busy week.  The 50 or so tender perennials that overwintered in the sun room are outdoors basking in the fresh air, gradually being relocated from full to part shade to part sun and so on... New growth is already appearing as the somewhat Winter-bedraggled plants respond to the increased light and amazing warmth of this very unusual Spring.  With the temperatures due to drop this week they will be quite surprised when they are suddenly whisked away from Paradise and shut into the shed, the cold frame and alas, even back into the sun room.  Just about 100 seedlings have emerged and are under lights in the sun room, as another 80 or so seedling pots are being meticulously surveyed several times daily for signs of life. I'm not sure where I'm going to put them all when I sow my "6 and 4 weeks before last frost date" seeds.

Painting garden structures, planting a new section of rock garden, raking leaves ...AGAIN...and lugging compost, brush, bricks and rocks from here to there are filling up the days.  There are also business matters that need attention:  seller's license to be renewed, sales tax account to set up, business cards to order, should I purchase a designated business phone?  But it's so hard to come inside to deal with those things.  At least as I'm lugging piles from here to there, I get to stop and take a look at all the beautiful things coming up out of the Earth!

Not too much time to read this week, but I did come across 2 magazine articles that gave me something to think about other than my aching back.  The National Wildlife Federation has a program to certify backyards as National Wildlife Habitats.  We were certified years ago but I had become a little skeptical about the whole thing.  It was just too easy to become certified and there was the  junk mail and free gifts with donations thing... An article in their latest issue (April/May 2012, www.nwf.org ) gave me a chance to rethink my dissatisfaction.  "Certified Success" describes the beginnings of the program in 1970 by 2 US Forest Service researchers in Massachusetts who proposed that suburban backyards could be converted into mini-habitats for wildlife by following the same principals used by wildlife managers.  Provide food, water, cover and places to raise young and they will come.  In 2010 a researcher spent the Summer finding out if certified backyards actually did provide habitats to wildlife not available in noncertified yards.  She studied 50 certified properties, 50 noncertified properties adjacent to these, and 50 randomly selected  noncertified properties.  The researcher recorded 51 species of wildlife (ranging from common to rare to endangered) in the certified yards.  In the adjacent noncertified yards only 14 species were recorded and in the other 50 noncertified yards 21 species were observed.  Conclusion:  the program works (I guess I'm not taking down our Backyard Habitat sign!).

The other article deals with a topic near and dear to Paul's heart.  "Where are the peepers?" he moans, "Why can't we hear the peepers anymore?"  Save the Spring Peepers (Country Gardens Magazine, Spring 2012 Vol.21, No. 2) tells us all about it.  For those not familiar with "peepers",  they are frogs that inhabit seasonally wet meadows and woodlands...and they sing (!) at dusk and into the night.  The author describes the childhood wonder of tracking the frogs' song to their habitat in hopes of catching a glimpse of the peepers.  Then returning home for a visit years later to find the song had been silenced.  Frogs and other amphibians are especially sensitive to pollutants in the environment.  Pesticides and herbicides are contributing to a worldwide population decline.  We can do something about it.  Working with your community to reduce the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, constructing a pond or rain garden on your property, and planting native grasses and trees will provide frogs with a healthy environment for their young.  You can contact your local state department of  natural resources or fish and wildlife service for more information.  Other resources:  US Geological Survey's North American Amphibian Monitoring Program ( www.pwrc.usgs.gov/haamp ) and the North American Reporting Center for Amphibian Malformations (NARCAM) at  www.nbii.gov .

But before you do that, go outside and count the wildlife in your yard.  Happy Gardening!