Animals in your garden

[DHB]

The heart land of New England

Hey, the east coast is the birthplace of the country, so that makes it the "heartland" in my book, even if that's not what John Cougar was singing about in his little ditty.

 

[Astrollo]

Hello everyone! I'm a newbie to this forum and pretty much to gardening also. I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is high desert country. I have a problem with skunks coming into my yard from the neighbors property. They like to dig holes in yard and sometimes spray!! Anyone have any ideas how to encourage them to stay away?

 

[DHB]

Hello everyone! I'm a newbie to this forum and pretty much to gardening also. I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is high desert country. I have a problem with skunks coming into my yard from the neighbors property. They like to dig holes in yard and sometimes spray!! Anyone have any ideas how to encourage them to stay away?

Well, if I learned anything from Saturday morning cartoons, it's that skunks love cats, so maybe encourage your neighbors to get some outdoor cats and the skunks will channel their inner Pepe Le'Pews and chase the cats around. ;-) Seriously, human hair keeps some mammal pests away, but skunks tend to not be scared of any creature, human or otherwise, due to their well deserved reputation, so I don't know if that would work for them or not.

 

[Astrollo]

Thanks DHB. There are several outdoor cats that roam around this neighborhood. Sometimes they come into my yard. But, they don't seem to scare the skunks away. Guess I will have to invest in a cage to catch them. Ugh!

 

[DHB]

Thanks DHB. There are several outdoor cats that roam around this neighborhood. Sometimes they come into my yard. But, they don't seem to scare the skunks away. Guess I will have to invest in a cage to catch them. Ugh!

Yeah, skunks aren't afraid of bears or wolves, so I don't think a house cat will give them much pause...although a house cat might actually pose more of a threat to them, simply because the cat doesn't necessarily know better than to tangle with them! A trap might be your best bet. Good luck.

 

[MaryMary]

We have new visitors to the window feeder!! YAY!!

A male American goldfinch.

On the bottom of the same sunflower, a female American goldfinch!

So I've hung two thistle feeders. One at my window, one in the back yard! Hopefully, next year there'll be more of them!

 

[Fernsdaddy]

We have new visitors to the window feeder!! YAY!!

A male American goldfinch.

View attachment 14522

On the bottom of the same sunflower, a female American goldfinch!

View attachment 14524
So I've hung two thistle feeders. One at my window, one in the back yard! Hopefully, next year there'll be more of them!

They love my cone flowers and bee balm. once they know they can feed in your yard they will come back.

 

[Beth_B]

We have new visitors to the window feeder!! YAY!!

A male American goldfinch.

View attachment 14522

On the bottom of the same sunflower, a female American goldfinch!

View attachment 14524
So I've hung two thistle feeders. One at my window, one in the back yard! Hopefully, next year there'll be more of them!

Awesome! I've been hanging thistle feeders for a few years and now have lots of goldfinches. Also last year two pairs of indigo buntings, which sadly did not come back this year. But I see them on the trail near my house so I know they're still around.

 

[Kacie]

I don't have a photo but I always have the same deer hanging out in my garden. It doesn't usually eat any of my plants but it just likes to hang out I guess. I can tell it's the same one because of a mark it has on it's side, and just about every day I see it just casually strolling through.

 

[Insekto]

I do not have pictures of animals in my gardeb, but I would like to say that there are many dogs having fun in it the whole day, that's their playhouse, there are also the typical insects and that sort of animals, nothing way too special.

 

[DeborahJane]

I know I've posted my Mr & Mrs King Parrot before but i can't resist. They visit almost everyday now, usually with more family and rosellas. Then the cockatoos come so I chase them away til the parrots have had enough. Sometimes they eat from the two different bird feeders quite peacefully. It's a lovely way to start the day.

 

[LIcenter]

Well my milkweed garden paid some dividends this year. The monarchs showed up very late, but the end result will be worth it.

Monarch chrysalis. So far I have found four hanging in different areas of my front porch.

Here's a monarch cat just going into the J position.

If things go as nature planned these will be the 'Super generation' Meaning, they will be the ones who make the trek to Mexico. Fingers crossed!

 

[Beverly]

Nice healthy looking Monarch pupae @LIcenter! I love to see where caterpillars choose to pupate and how clever they are about it. If they are healthy, they will select places other than vegetation (generally) because these are places where predators do not normally cruise looking for a snack. When they have grown up with relatively few predator problems, they will be more bold about where they pupate. During a period of heavy predation in my garden, i found a Monarch pupa that had made its chrysalis on the inside of a terra cotta ewer, right on the under curve of where the narrow neck balloons out. I didn't notice it until the chrysalis was fairly mature. I thought about moving the chrysalis but it was difficult to reach and my hand would not fit inside the ewer neck. So i just kept an eye out for when he/she might emerge. Then my quandary became how to get it out without damaging the wings. The wings had plenty of space to develop (in the bowl of the ewer) and i thought that i needed to get him out before the wings became rigid. Time was of the essence. So, i picked up the ewer and held it upside down over the patio table and hit the bottom of the ewer just like you would hit the bottom of a ketchup bottle. I hit it maybe 2 or 3 times before the butterfly let go and plopped out on the table, legs splayed out, and what i understood to be a look of astonishment. But he was complete and unharmed and i offered a finger to the splayed legs and put him on a plant that is not nectar rich or a host plant to leave him in peace while the fluid ran into the wings and made them rigid and ready to fly. I think this really illustrates how clever the healthy butterflies can be regarding their survival.

Be sure to tell them about my garden in Colima and i'll let you know when they arrive safely.

 

[SirJoe]

View attachment 15010 I know I've posted my Mr & Mrs King Parrot before but i can't resist. They visit almost everyday now, usually with more family and rosellas. Then the cockatoos come so I chase them away til the parrots have had enough. Sometimes they eat from the two different bird feeders quite peacefully. It's a lovely way to start the day.

I'm surprised there isn't a bird hunter hiding behind the bushes. Those birds would go for a pretty penny on the black market. I'm glad to see that you can still see these magnificent birds in their habitat, even though it's a bit artificial, it's much better then a cage.

 

[DeborahJane]

I'm surprised there isn't a bird hunter hiding behind the bushes. Those birds would go for a pretty penny on the black market. I'm glad to see that you can still see these magnificent birds in their habitat, even though it's a bit artificial, it's much better then a cage.

I'm afraid the only bird hunters are our cats but luckily these bird are a bit too big and fast for them.