Behind the scenes......It's a Jungle out there

     It's summer in Florida! I have been watching the weather around the country...and I know we don't have it as hard as most....so I am thankful for the beautiful sunshine and plentiful rain...but as it pertains to gardening...well things just get a little out of hand around here when the heat and the tropical rains start. You can go away for a long weekend and find yourself literally in a jungle when you return home. Plants grow inches during the night, and vines like Passion Flower seem to grow feet and find themselves all over places they are not suppose to be! 

The Passion Vine scrambling over the Crape Myrtle

      We always take such pretty pictures of the nice areas of the garden...Today I wanted to share the behind the scenes looks...The things I see "EVERYTIME" I enter the garden. 

A pile of overgrown Vines that need to be cleaned up

 Look at the pile of Oak limbs that have been stacked in the fire pit!
What a mess!

And would you look at all these pavers.....will we ever get them out of there
so I can turn this area into a potting shed?
Not to mention the old truck back there:(

      These are all the flaws, that make the garden...just never close to done and ALWAYS in need of work. These areas just remind me to keep at it.  One small area at a time.....

     After all...with many small areas to maintain....one day a beautiful garden will present itself!

The main thing I want to share today is this......a garden is hard work ...and just because yours may not "appear" to look as great and inviting as some of those around the internet or the gardening magazines...rest assured...all things are not always as they appear......don't get discouraged.....every gardener sees her own garden, not through rose colored glasses but with a magnifying glass,.... it's true you can walk around the garden and take some beautiful photo shots of groupings that will encourage and inspire...but as the lazy gardener I am...at this time of the year...with the rains, the heat and humidity, along with the weeds, the children, and the desire to just play....things in the garden do get away from me, I admit it.....and my naturalistic garden becomes literally a jungle mid summer! 

This is the Pond filter area...still awaiting a deck over the barrels

      There are some areas of this garden at this very moment that even I get a bit nervous walking through....(that one included) I know we entice the wildlife in...and though I love how prolific this garden can be....sometimes the quick scurry of a snake will scare the dickens out of me!  

 This time of year is magical though....it seems everything is having babies! Enjoy a few pics of all the babies.... of late 

The Koi population has Doubled in the past two months.....

The Molly pond is at an over abundance!

My Two Grey Baby Cockatiels......another Mama is sitting on a clutch now!
These two have just recently fledged!

Even the hibiscus acetosella  is having babies

Unfortunately I missed the Red-Bellied Woodpeckers fledge...but I watched the tireless parents for a month as they kept up with the never ending feedings....Maybe I'll get a pic of one on a visit to the feeders...

So that is how summer goes in my garden...It's a mess and beautiful...all at the same time....It is frustrating and inspiring....but most of all it's mine...and I just love sitting out there with all that life going on!  So please...if it's not too hot...get out there and sow some seed!

Genesis 1:28

Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground."

The Flycatcher comes home

An Earlier writing from a few years back....

      

JUNE 2009:   OMGosh what a glorious day in our garden. This season in our backyard we have had the privilege of watching a pair of Bluebirds return to their shanty and raise two clutches, another pair of bluebirds moved into a new box (or the 1^st pair upgraded finally), and they are in the midst of raising a family right nowJ  and as I write you can hear our red bellied woodpecker baby chirping away each time mom and dad come back with a tasty morsel for it. 

"The Red Bellied Woodpecker"

    The wrens also have returned to the posts of the above ground pool, and the mockingbirds are forever swooping down on us and the dogs, protecting whichever of the nests it finally managed to start a family in. But to my surprise we managed to entice a titmouse to move into a house, I was very excited until I realized unfortunately it was, at the expense of the flycatcher that visits our backyard each year, actually…the very first bird to take up residence here. It was my first homemade birdhouse. It was designed for a woodpecker or an owl, but I was just as happy to see that unfamiliar bird sitting high on a perch on the tallest thing in our backyard 6 years ago.  She came back year after year, even when Hurricane Charlie took out our pine tree pole, and we used a shorter 4x4 for replacement, she still nested there. 

"My Fly Catcher"

     Last year I got worried because the perch had fallen off, and I kept forgetting to find a new one. Upon her return though, under a watchful eye I quickly hot glued a new one in place. Yet again she moved right in, to raise her babies.  She faithfully returned each and every year...and I faithfully looked forward to it.....

    So you can imagine how crushed I was the day she returned and I witnessed the titmouse that had already started a clutch of her own, swoop at her repeatedly to chase her away, with every attempt she made to move in.  It made my heart just ache.

     I quickly got to work and constructed a new house the exact dimensions of the last, and raised it high in the air, to the original 15 feet it was, souring above everything surrounding it. It took me just a few days, but that was not fast enough, and my sweet Flycatcher was not seen again. (That was April)……until this Sunday, that is, way up on the highest branch of the maple tree, looking guard, was no other than my sweet Flycatcher, the same treetop she has used for the last 6 years. The titmouse family have moved out, and I can only hope that she is giving her old home another chance, but whether or not she moves in this season remains to be seen. What I do know is this….she remembers…..and I feel pretty confident she will return again next year, to our yard looking for a home to raise her babies, now hopefully she’ll have a few to choose from! 

"The bluebirds"

   TODAY:  That was three long years ago.....and my sweet flycatcher did not nest that year, nor the season of 2010, or 2011....I watched and was disappointed every season....but this week as I sat out back watching all the songbirds crisscross across the yard in the new bird garden....there she was.....sitting high on the perch of "that" birdhouse, and she was going in! She was making it home!....It's been a very busy birdhouse over the past few years, it raises a few clutches each year, usually Bluebirds and Titmouse.....A young family of Bluebirds  just fledged  a few weeks ago and my daughter and I got to watch as the mom and dad coaxed their two babies into flying! Our first witness of an actual fledging...eeeeek 15 feet is a long way down for a bitty bird that can't yet fly!    

    As I sat outside this morning in awe of ALL the birds this yard attracts....I watched the wren making her second nest of the season on the patio, this time in the mushroom birdhouse the cuban tree frog was living in, and another pair of bluebirds are just finishing raising their first clutch out behind bunnyville, it's been a great season.....we also had our first flock of ceder waxwings visiting the mulberry bush, they stayed all month, along with plenty of catbirds who visit when the mulberries are ripe ..but nothing has made me smile as much as  knowing that our flycatcher is finally back home to raise another family.....She sits high on the tallest Sycamore branch and looks out over the entire yard now as I write.....She started coming here when we offered very little, her house at 15 feet was the tallest thing in the yard, now with all the trees and bushes grown well beyond that height, well....now she sits up there like she is Queen of the garden.........and righfully so....once again!

I hope the Spring Birds have returned to your yard...with a little food and shelter you may be surprised what will move right in! So don't forget....Spread some seed.....janine

Matthew 8:20

And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head

Welcome to BunnyVille

Spring Break in Florida...what to do? what to do? The weather was fabulous...but to be honest the water at the beach and the pool are still a bit cold for my liking.....soooo..... it was a perfect time to get started on The Rabbit Farm! We are upscaling an old chicken coop given to us from a friend.....This area of the yard can get a little wet for a few days after a very strong summer storm...so to be safe everything is up in the air. We picked a spot under the young Live Oaks and Pines for the natural shade and coolness it will provide for the Bunnies.

Future "Bunnyville"

Tucked into the Oaks nicely

My Husband, Dave, and son, Nate, putting the cage together....we made it a family day! First we made a trip to a local Rabbit breeder...we selected 3 rabbits. Two Does and a Buck. The goal is to keep these three and to breed them for.....meat! Yes...you heard that right...we are going to be eating our junior rabbits.....The three adult rabbits belong to my daughter....and they are pets, but the objective here is to become a bit more self sufficient off our own backyard mini farm...So let me introduce you to the girls:

This is.....Cinnamon

And this is.....Oreo

And this lil guy is our Buck....His Daddy is a giant Angora mix:

This is Peter Rabbit! Doesn't he look chill!

So while the DH and Son worked on the construction phase...My daughter, Elly, and I raided the garage for left over paint! She picked out fabulous colors and we got to painting!

In the end....we were more than pleased...it turned out better than we had expected...we loved the cute look of it so much... we decided to make the whole back area an entire little village for bunnies! I'm already dreaming up my next house design :)   This is the Doe House, the Hutch is 4x4 with enough room for a loft and some exterior nesting boxes (to be made), and the outdoor cage/run is 4x8. This will be the main habitat for the Does with babies...Peter will only get to visit....sometimes ;) We screened in one door of the hutch completely so it can be left open for added ventilation. The front of the cage is one big door for easy access.....We still have some little things to fine tune....but we are on our way to a good start I do believe! So here she is so far....and the Bunnies are loving all the Xtra room!

Cinnamon checking out her new digs :)

The hutch access door

The screened door open with Peter loving the breeze!

Yeah! She's finished! Any suggestions for a name for our new bunny abode?

How much fun was that! I swear....I'm living a little girl's dream right here in my own back yard and I'm all grown up! God is good and Life is just too much fun!    shhhhh....Elly thinks it's all hers! Keep checking back...as the rabbit farming has only just begun! and We all know how quickly this can grow......hehehehehe.... So enjoy your first days of spring .....Easter is coming, the flowers are blooming, birds are singing and the weather is beautiful...get out there and spread some seed!   janine

Genesis 1:28

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. 

Hard work on the Koi Pond

I spent most of our gorgeous weekend working on and around the pond.....We are so close to finishing it! Well that means it will have water and fish....but it will take a while to really "finish" it...as I need to build decks on two sides, place some sort of capping over the railroad/liner tops and of course I will need plants :) Here are some before and now pics to keep ya up to date....I threw in a few Garden pictures...because...well you know....we always have to remember why we go to such efforts! And what makes it worth it!

things like  ...........The Titmouse that has taken over the flycatchers home.......

On to the work:  


 beginning....I had a vision of a great Pond that would sit here...Deep enough to give my Koi more room, but high enough above ground to work as a bench to both sit with the fish, or watch the Chickens....We are far from there...but I can see it in my mind :) and it's beautiful!

Barrel set up and plumbing

Settling Chamber and static basket

I started with the filters....I went with 55 gallon drums, two in parallel will act as settling chambers coming from a Bottom drain gravity fed, the theory is the large debris will settle in the lower section and with the help of a static media basket remove it before the water goes out to the next set of barrels, which house my Bio media. I made two Strapping barrels, they will house 9000 feet of strapping material each, with a blower manifold for agitation and clean out periodically! I got the plans from a great group of people on a Koi forum...www.koiphen.com...I can not say enough about all the generous support they have given me in my adventure! 

Strapping Barrel- Bio Filter

see: Birdman's strapping barrels...can I's?

To check out my Koi Toilet Bottom Drain modification ck out that page! Look for the link....in my pages!

We went with a Hexagon design, for the ease of water circulation. I am so glad we did! Just with the little bit of water we flowed in, it swirls like a perfect vortex!

A great moment as the liner is placed and water finally flows! A year in the waiting !!

What to do with that extra dirt pile? Slope it up and create steps to what will be a small multipurpose deck, covering and hiding the barrel filters and also for relaxing and lounging!

This will be the bench side...once capped, sitting here will allow you to be up and personal with the Koi...the feeding station perhaps, but also a seating area looking towards .....well...I guess where you are sitting right now ;) is the coop... LOL......it will be a nice spot under the mulberry tree to watch the hens scratch around and get out of the summer heat....

I have alot of woodworking ahead of me :)

 I have been studying up on permaculture, I think I will incorporate this practice here around the Mulberry tree on the slope.....That will be a blog of it's own :) 

Something  beautiful to leave you with...Rosa "Love"

So remember to leave me a comment and get out there and  spread some seed...;)       janine

Time to finish the Pond!

Well I have procrastinated long enough...now that hurricane/rainy season is done I really need to tackle the finish of the pond! Fall is a great time of the year to work in the yard here....and before we can jump into our rabbit farming...it would be a good idea to finish the project I started last February :) Here is where I began and left off:

This is the site we chose.....where the fire pit was.....We moved it all out and got started on digging Feb 2011. I decided I would dig down 18-24 inches and raise it also 18 inches, as we are prone to some flooding during extreme rainy summers and I don't want to have to worry about the Koi swimming over to the neighbors yard :)

The design....15' diameter, but ended up going with a hexagon as we are using railroad ties for the wall structures! After much research and some penny pinching, modifications have taken place....we will have a four barrel filter system. One 4" BD that will flow into two 55 gallon drum Settling chamber/ Static baskets, then into two 55 gallon strapping bio barrels. This will go out  a 3" that will feed the pump which will split the water, 1/2 of which will continue through a bead filter and then all returns through two main returns and a spray bar...It will also have a skimmer for floating debris.

Digging was by hand......nice exercise! But oh so exhausting!!! The DH did chip in and help though, so I was Thankful for that! So then it was time to place RR ties..and I have to admit....they were waaaay heavy, but I did manage to help him lay the base 12....then I was spent...I did the plumbing work and made the filters while he layed most the rest, that took us through June, then came the big Halt as the rain began to fall LOL....that is where we are today, so now that the hole is nice and dry,  we can get back into the swing of things...I can't wait to release my babies from their smaller pond into this one! I love the one they are in now...but it's just not enough room for them. They will be going from about 900 gallons to a little over 4000......The last picture is the Original pond where the Koi live today...I hope to finish her off in the next few months...wish me luck! And stay tuned!