cactus report

[low_delta]

Thursday's high was 15°. Friday was up to 27, and the weekend was in the forties. Today was above 50.

I checked the cacti for the first time in a while. Everything looked shriveled but alive. Except the opuntia. The one upright pad is completely beige. The trigloch is pretty brown too.

We had polar vortex temps all through February. November was pretty bad too, so that early freeze could have caused them trouble.

Now that it's warmed up, I don't know how we'll use up all this bird feed. The downy woodpecker has just about finished the suet. I've got a five gallon pail of a mix. Plus a couple smaller bags of sunflower seeds.

Comments

[cynnerth.livejournal.com]

It's only early March. We'll still get more snow and cold temps.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

It better not get back down to polar vortex.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

Just keep feeding the birds no matter what the weather. They'll love you forever.
;)

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I'll be putting food out for a while, yet. :-)

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

My outside opuntia are shriveled and purple. Is that normal? The two planted in pots inside plumped right up after I stuck their ends in dirt, and remained green.

Just keep feeding the birds, they eat year round. If you don't want the mess around your flowerbeds during spring and summer, you can move the feeders farther out in the yard.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's normal. They desiccate themselves, so when the water in their cells freezes, it doesn't do as much damage.

I'll have to find a place for the pole, that I don't have to mow around.

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

Raccoons. They will keep the base of the pole clean... damn things. They are digging every night, DEEP holes, to get at the grubs and insects that like to hang out in the dirt under the seed "mulch".

Right now they are driving me CRAZIER than I normally am.

Have you considered hanging feeders from chain (I recommend this because squirrels will not chew it down) from the trees so you can mow under it?

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't really considered anything at all, since this is the first year we've even had feeders. Last year the only reason we had one, is because Cindy made one, out of a gourd. It was nice (but broke) so we decided to try again.

There aren't any trees close to the house, where we could watch the birds.

Have you noticed that white pipe sticking out of the ground, just beyond the round garden? I could put the hook for the feeders up against it.
Left side of pic: http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/low_delta/18150/829703/829703_original.jpg

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

That would be a good place for it, and give that pipe a positive function.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I just realized I put this in my journal, and not the garden journal. I have to make a copy of it for there.

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

I WONDERED about that!