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A Touch Of Nature
August 15, 2004 Issue

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What's Happening Here at Bluebird Cove
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Hi Fellow Nature Lovers!

If you get my email devotional, you've already heard of my butterfly rescue that occured the day before I sent out that mailing. I was so excited I just had to share. The butterfly has since left so I assume he healed up and flew away. Since this is the nature newsletter, I certainly couldn't not tell you about it.

We were in Charlottesville to do errands a little over a week ago and one was to return a hose reel that was leaking. When Randal got it out of the car and knocked it against the door, a snail fell off in the Lowe's parking lot. He had hurt his wrist earlier in the week when he fell while playing tennis, so he hadn't looked very close at it before loading it in the car. After inspecting it further, we had a total of 5 snails that I placed in a plastic cup in the trunk with some papers on top to keep them 'in place.'

Our last stop of the day was a gas station and while Randal was inside, I saw a butterfly on the ground walking towards a car that was oozing with black smoke. I kept telling it to fly away and then thought it might be too overcome with fumes to do much of anything, so I got out and went to pick it up deciding I'd take it back to Bluebird Cove [what we call our humble abode]. I noticed it had an injured wing as I picked it up and placed it on the backseat of the car in the sun. I then turned the A/C on so it would be still. Butterflies need warmth to move about.

When we got home I put it on the butterfly bush surprised that he didn't instantly begin drinking nectar, released the snails to an area below the gutter downspout, and went inside to feed the cats. I got the butterfly book to identify our new little friend. When I went outside to ID him, he still wasn't eating and hadn't moved. I discovered he was a Comma butterfly and that they don't eat flower nectar at all. They like mud, rotten fruit, dung, tree sap, etc.

So, I dug a little place with some mud under the bush and put him there. Instantly his "tongue" came out to bury itself in the mud. He just kept it there like a thirsty kid slurping up the entire slushy with a straw. When I released the snails I'd noticed plenty of brown "residue" from the five little guys, so I took the dung to the butterfly for a "fresh" meal :-)

I went inside and got a smushed grape and piece of apple core from the" wildlife bowl." This is a bowl we keep on the counter for scraps and then empty each night onto the ground for the outside critters which includes raccoons, skunks, and opposums.

I noticed several times that it did "vibrational therapy" on it's wounded wing. He hung upside down and vibrated only that upper wing. Very interesting. Maybe he hung so circulation could get to it and the vibrational movement healed and strengthened it. I want to believe he flew away and wasn't found by a bird under the bush.

Wish you could spend a few hours at Bluebird Cove with us. That would be such fun! If you're ever going to be near Palmyra, Virginia, you'll have to let me know so I can tell the critters to put on their smiles.

Hugs,
Donna

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Critter Facts
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Poisonous Species in Your Backyard

Plants and animals have developed some unique defensive strategies: fangs, poisons, stinging tentacles. And while it's important for us to avoid contact with these species, we must also remember the vital roles they play in their ecosystems. Get a list of the poisonous and dangerous species in your neck of the woods and learn more about how they have developed.

 

Call of the Wild Bed And Breakfast

Love nature and big cats? Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge offers an exciting B&B with a view of their residents. Watch lions and tigers playing throughout the night from the safety and seclusion of Turpentine Creek's bungalow. Lions and tigers inhabit the grounds near the cozy hide-away, where you and your party can sleep in secluded comfort.

They also offer a Tree House which seems to be the most unique bed and breakfast in America. It sleeps two to four, and gives you a beautiful view of the refuge complex and those magnificent big cats. It's modeled on the concept of those in Africa that allow people to safely view exotic animals up close. Get more info

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Those Amazing Birds!
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Wrens

I love this little joyful things! They seem to live to sing a song of praise to the world around them. They are territorial and have quite a courtship. The male sees the female and flies fast and low towards her. She flies off and he chases in twisting rapid flight. He will then sing to her and lead her to one of his nests. They build several nests [sometimes 6-12 in a three month breeding period].

At the nest, he motions for her to enter by repeatedly inserting and withdrawing his head. The female may go inside while the male sings from a nearby perch. She looks around and if she likes it she will add to the nest lining.

There is no striking difference between the male and female. The male will attract several mates and spends no time incubating or feeding nestlings unless it's at the end of the season. A maximum of ten eggs are laid, incubation takes 12-20 days and nestlings fledge in 12-18 days.

Their diet is exclusively invertebrates, mainly insects, spiders and also butterfly or moth larvae and adults

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Nature's Bounty For Us
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Nature offers essential oils with potent properties that can be used in many areas around the home. For health, bath, beauty, and household cleaning supplies. Here's our featured recipe for this issue:

Constipation

Massage the following in a counterclockwise direction over lower abdomen
three times per day:
15 drops Rosemary
10 drops Lemon oil
5 drops Peppermint oil
Dilute the above oils in 2 tbsp. massage or vegetable oil

Read more about the benefits of these oils, find other recipes, and purchase oils

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Pets Are Part of Our Nature
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Pet Success Stories Using Nature's Remedies

Free Natural Pet Email Newsletter

Flint River Ranch - Oven-Baked Dog and Cat Foods and Treats

Healthy Pet Corner - Links for Birds, Cats, Dogs, Horses, Rabbits and Reptiles

Healthy Pet Net - Natural Pet Supplements, Treats, Foods

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Gardening For Wildlife - Restoring the Balance
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Deer Don't Eat Daffodils

For some of us, we have to garden NOT for wildlife. While you are providing a landscape to benefits birds and animals, it's nice to have some of the color and old favorites too.

Where we live there are plenty of deer to eat things, so we get very excited to find things that they won't touch. Daffodils is one of them.

I read about a farm in Ohio that has heritage daffodils. These are feral, practically wild, daffodils. Their ancestors were planted 150 years ago. They're still growing in front of the gardener's home. Over a century, they have continued to spread.

Read more about these heritage daffodils and find how you can order

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Nature Around the World
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Clever Sheep Outsmart Humans in England

Their reputation as innovators and adventurers is thus far slim, but it appears some sheep may be smarter than you might first think.

According to astonished eyewitnesses, a particularly adventurous flock in northern England has found a way to get past supposedly hoof-proof metal grids installed across roads ╉ by executing a neat commando-style roll over the top.

Determined to get access to the rich grazing of local gardens in Marsden, a town in the hilly Pennine region, local sheep have worked out how to get past the barriers, the Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.

" I've seen them doing it and they're clever," said an impressed Dorothy Lindley, a local councilor.

" They lie down on their side, or sometimes on their back, and roll over the metal grids until they are clear."

At times also hurdling five-foot- (1.5-meter-) fences or squeezing through tiny gaps, the enterprising flock has laid waste to a series of gardens, as well as flowers in the graveyard, the newspaper reported.

" It's a serious problem because they make a mess of people's gardens," Lindley told the paper, saying that she sometimes barks at rogue sheep like a dog in an attempt to scare them off.

The grids were installed 10 years ago after one irate gardener rounded up a series of stray sheep and held them hostage, demanding action, the report said.

Now new measures seem necessary as more and more sheep ╉ this time fitting to species stereotype ╉ copy the roll maneuver.

" What we really need is more fencing to stop them, but they would probably find another way out before long," Lindley complained

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" Green" Info - Making It a Way of Life!
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Simple Living - New TV Show

Simple Living is no Frontline expose on our runaway bad habits. It's a friendly reminder that if we "do the math" we'll discover that our little acts of wastefulness at home turn into cultural trends with global consequences.

Wanda Urbanska was once an aspiring business writer for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner who was told she was on the fast track to the Wall Street Journal. At the same time her husband, Frank Levering, was cranking up his Hollywood screenwriting career. They lived life in the fast lane, frequented trendy restaurants, hung out with celebs, went to Hollywood screenings and kept late hours.

Eventually they became disillusioned and decided speeding was not for them. In 1986 they moved back to the Levering family cherry tree orchard north of Mount Airy -- Mayberry, as it's called, thanks to its distinction as Andy Griffith's hometown. They came in search of a simpler, slower llife -- a life with meaningful friendships, conversations they could actually remember a week later and Norman Rockwellian values.

These days Urbanska is traveling with her husband and a camera crew shooting segments for the upcoming PBS TV series "Simple Living." The series, which Urbanska hosts and produces, has begun airing on PBS stations in June. Find out more about it and see video clips of the show

 

Sunshine Concentrate - Detoxify Your Cleaning!

This environmentally-friendly cleaning and washing concentrate is nothing less than wonderful!! We've used this for 15 years and love it for laundry, hand soap, pet baths, soaking produce, dishwasher, cleaning, and a multitude of other uses. This product has saved us hundreds of dollars over the years. Makes life much simpler and takes away the "itch" of chemical soaps.

Sunshine Concentrate for Non-Toxic Cleaning

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Musings Of Nature
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Thought on keeping our diversity of species:
" To keep every cog and wheel is the first rule of intelligent tinkering."
-- Aldo Leopold

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Featured Nature Center and/or Preserve
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Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge
Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Turpentine Creek is an animal lover's paradise with over 100 large animals rescued over the years, it includes Lions, Tigers, Cougars, Leopards, Bears, Monkeys, Deer and Birds.

Located on 450 beautiful acres in the Ozark Mountains, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is one of very few U.S.D.A. licensed shelters for large carnivores in the United States. They rescue neglected or unwanted animals and provide them with a safe home in a caring environment.

Turpentine Creek's mission is to provide lifetime refuge to unwanted, abused, or neglected animals with a major concern focused on Tigers, Lions, Leopards, and Cougars, particularly those in immediate threat of destruction.

Turpentine Creek is currently caring for over 150 exotic animals, of which over 100 are large cats. It costs over $1,000 a day to feed and care for these animals.

More about the place

They've got a tree house B&B as mentioned above, so take a look if you'd like a safari view without going to Africa.

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Long Distance, Internet Access & Cellular Phone Comparisons
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Long Distance, Internet Access, and Cellular Phone Options

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Disclaimer

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.