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A TOUCH OF NATURE
March 15, 2003 Issue
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DONNA'S COMMENTS
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We've had some beautiful days here in Virginia after a very long winter of much more snow than usual - seven times as much as usual! That has been the reason for the snail's pace on our house building during the winter.

Before the snow cleared up, we were able to find some tracks near the house of raccoon, opposum and bear. We've never lived with Black Bear before. Our kitties should be quite content to be "house kitties" with a screened porch to watch below.

They have got the framing done and they're working on the roof now, so maybe by the end of next week we'll have it under cover. We have already "played house" by entering, hanging up our coat in the closet, looking out the window from the living room and kitchen, and even sitting on the toilet looking out the window to the mountains.

Downstairs in the basement we've got a big window that will be in front of each of our desks facing the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the summer we won't be able to see them for the trees but that's okay - we love forests!

I took quite a few photographs and will get them on the site before the next mailing. It's exciting to share the progress with family and friends online. Technology can be very nice to be a part of.

Happy March and Happy Springtime!
Donna

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CRITTER FACTS
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DON'T TRASH THE BRUSH!

John Hadidian Since spring is the season when public works departments schedule brush pickups, our thoughts naturally turn to cleaning up the yard in that annual ritual of outdoor orderliness. But before you pile a winter's worth of tree limbs, leaves and garden debris by the curb, consider the year-round needs of your wild neighbors. You can make a difference in restoring and preserving wildlife habitat in your communities, and creating a brush-pile shelter for wild animals is a simple way to start.

Here's the rest of the article

Make Log Piles Too!

PROVIDING WATER FOR WILDLIFE

Water is a very important part of necessary features for a good habitat for birds and animals. It is used for drinking, bathing, and in some cases, breeding.

Learn a few tips on how you can easily provide water in your yard.

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THOSE AMAZING BIRDS!
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HOUSE WRENS

I think Wrens are my favorite bird! I just love them so much! They seem to sing for joy and jump up and down with glee. I love watching them take a post on our porch and begin the concert.

Male and female House Wrens look alike. They have grayish brown upperparts, buff or pale-buff underparts, and faint buff or dusky brown eyebrows. Juveniles have a reddish brown rump, and their underparts are a darker buff.. Wrens occupy the northern two-thirds of the United States and parts of Canada. They breed in forest edges, shrub lands, swamps, fields, farmlands, and suburban parks. Gleaning their food from tree foliage, House Wrens feast on a variety of invertebrates, including millipedes, spiders, snails, caterpillars, grasshoppers, ants, and beetles.

The male arrives first on the breeding territory. Once he establishes a territory, he builds "dummy nests" in all available cavities on his territory. Males begin building the nest by filling the nest cavity with small sticks. Up to 500 sticks have been counted in a single nest. High behind this pile, the female constructs a nest cup from various soft materials, like feathers, hair, wool, spider cocoons, strips of bark, rootlets, moss, and trash.

When the female arrives, she selects a nest site that may or may not be one of the nests started by the male. The House Wren's mating system is complex. A male may pair with one female for part of the season to raise a brood. He might then mate with a different female to raise the second or third brood of the breeding season. Males may also be mated to two females simultaneously.

The breeding season begins in late April for birds living in the southern portion of their range; it begins in early May in the northern portion. House Wrens nest in natural cavities, tree stumps, woodpecker holes, building nooks and crannies, and in nest boxes. They have also been known to nest in such unique places as cow skulls, flower pots, tin cans, boots, scarecrows, and the pockets of hanging laundry.

Females lay one egg per day until the clutch is complete. The average clutch size is 6 to 8 eggs, but up to 12 eggs have been reported. The incubation period lasts 13 to 15 days. Males occasionally feed their mates during this period. Both adults care for the young which fledge after 12 to 18 days. Although able to fly, the fledglings continue to be fed by their parents for approximately two weeks. The female may begin to renest while young are still dependent; the male then becomes the primary caretaker of the young.... Pairs usually raise two broods per breeding season. Some pairs can successfully raise three broods.

House Wrens are very territorial. Although they use only one nest cavity at a time, they vigorously defend all cavities in their territory. As part of this defense, House Wrens often pierce and destroy the eggs of other cavity-nesting species such as Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows that attempt to nest within their territory.

House Wrens migrate to the southern United States and Mexico for the winter. Males return to the same breeding territory year after year. There is no information on site fidelity in females.

View a photo of a House Wren

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GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE- Restoring the Balance
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RAIN GARDENS

Springtime brings lots of rain, so if you've got some drainage problems in your yard, why not plan a rain garden!

The term "rain garden" refers to a constructed depressional area that is used as a landscape tool to improve water quality. The bioretention area provides infiltration and water storage for sheet flow that is precipitation generated.

The concept of bioretention is based on the hydrologic function of forest habitat. The forest produces a spongy litter layer that soaks up water and allows it to penetrate the soil layer slowly. The site for the rain garden should be placed strategically to intercept water runoff.

Here's a couple of links with information:

Rain Gardens

Rain Gardens

ORGANIC GARDENING

If you're sketching your garden plans, how about considering going organic this year! Pesticides and fertilizers can kill helpful insects and pollute local streams which eventually begins your water supply.

Learn how to eliminate pesticides and fertilizers from your gardening routine.

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HEALTH IN NATURE
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Spring is just around the corner! A few days away. Don't know if it feels like it where you are, but we can see things shooting up all over here in Virginia. Every nice day we have, I open up the windows to air out the house and do some Spring cleaning. It's revitalizing to myself and the house!

Our bodies need Spring cleaning too! There's a lot of things that go into our bodies that are not intended to be there. Toxic air, water, foods with chemicals and colorings, and even drugs that we have to take. The liver has a heavy load to bear. Constipation is a common problem and belching, bloating and gas visit every home after meal times.

Nature offers a lot of options to clean out the body. Generations before us included traditions of taking Spring tonics and castor oil to clean out the body. I remember having to swallow castor oil when I was a kid in the springtime. I was raised by my grandparents and it was not an option.

Over-toxicity leads to many different types of health problems. You can find out more about cleansing and what types of health issues it benefits.

Clean House and Body! Get a Fresh New Start with CLEAN START - a packaged 14-day cleanse.

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"GREEN" INFO- Making It a Way of Life!
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THE DEAD CELL PHONE

If you're thinking about chucking your cell phone, think twice: Most of the 128 million mobile phones currently in use in the U.S. will end up incinerated or at the bottom of a landfill, according to a report released by the environmental organization Inform and partly funded by the U.S. EPA. By 2005, 130 million cell phones will be discarded each year, resulting in 65,000 tons of electronic waste annually, whose toxic components accumulate in plants, soil, and water.

It's not just a U.S. problem -- 1 billion cell phones are in use worldwide -- but some other countries have started pressuring manufacturers to help with the cleanup.

Australia has a nationwide take-back program, and Europe is about to go the same route. The EPA says it "is interested in working to encourage similar developments in the United States"; some U.S. companies, including Verizon and Sprint, do have take-back programs, but the industry opposes their mandatory implementation.

Source: New York Times, 08 Oct 2002

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MUSINGS: POETRY & PROSE
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"If you can't get beyond yourself, you're pretty narrow;
there is obviously a greater force beyond our comprehension,
and we respect it by preserving the creation in which this force is
manifested." -- Ernie Dickerman

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GOOD NEWS ABOUT OUR PLANET
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INJURED WHALE RECOVERING AT FLORIDA HOTEL

A rescued pygmy sperm whale has survived for three days in a resort hotel's heated saltwater pool and is showing signs of improvement, officials said on Saturday.

The 11-foot, 1,200-pound pygmy sperm whale, nicknamed Kokomo, beached himself on a Florida Keys sandbar earlier in the week. He has been recovering in a pool at The Islander Resort since Thursday, where officials moved him because of the cold.

Kokomo remains in guarded condition, but is becoming more active as he is rehydrated, said Rick Trout, director of the Marine Mammal Conservancy, a Key Largo-based organization which coordinates rescues in the Florida Keys. It is unclear whether a head injury or a disease caused the whale to beach itself, Trout said. Medical examinations showed Kokomo was suffering from anemia, severe dehydration and a suspicious wound, possibly from a harpoon or gaff, just behind its blowhole. Trout predicted the whale would need several weeks of treatment.

©2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved

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The content, suggestions, and web links in this newsletter are for informational purposes only and not necessarily endorsed by our sponsor "The Herbs Place.com" This is a personal publication by Donna Watkins. The ideas and information expressed in it have not been approved or authorized by anyone either explicitly or impliedly. In no event shall Donna Watkins or "The Herbs Place.com" be liable for any damages whatsoever resulting from any action arising in connection with the use of this information or its publication, including any action for infringement of copyright or defamation.