My DW and I travel around the local area looking for public display gardens,
arboratea, places to walk our Border Terrier, (Birdie) and wondered where
other DGers do the same. Some of our faves are Mt. Auburn Cemetery, in
Cambridge, Ma., Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Elm Bank in Wellesley, Ma.,
Tower Hill Botanic Garden in West Boylston, Ma., and Sedgewick Gardens
at Long Hill in Beverly, Ma. No dogs allowed in Mt. Auburn or Tower Hill,
though. But it might be informative to see if there are places that are nearby
that we don't know about and can recommend.
Where do you go for gardening inspiration, birdwatching,etc?
NYBG and hiking in my area.
My back 40....loads of birds and wildlife!! I have seen an Owl, Golden Eagle, fox, and coyotes within the last month.
Send me some coyotes please!
Why Victor? Oh, the deer? I honestly can say you would not like the sounds you would hear. You'd need get the family out of there for the weekend! My DMIL was walking by the pond out back of DBIL's and stumbled upon an attack. The coyotes were killing a baby deer while the Mother watched helplessly. She had no choice but to flee and leave her baby to them in order to live herself. My DMIL called up crying, we went down but there was nothing we could do. It was mother nature, as ugly as it was, it is the circle of life here in the country. The sounds however were what haunted my sleep for weeks, that and the helplessness that I , DMIL, and the doe felt.
Yes, I would not want to witness that.
One of the down falls of living in the country...luckily they are far and few in between.
I saw a hawk swoop down and grab a bird right in front of my LR window last year. Couldn't believe it. Caught it about two feet from the window.
Ha ha! You did better than me....the first time it happened i ran out of the house screaming "You let him go, you big bully!!!" DH laughed his butt off! he said that it was part of nature here and I better get used to it. I still see it happen from time to time..and I am still not use to it!
I saw one, (a hawk), land last year on a tree branch 30' from my front window. Huge, powerful, a truly majestic bird. About 3x the size of a Blue Jay. Man let me tell you... everything, finches, Cardinals, squirrels... you name it disappeared - even the cats were nowhere to be found! This guy meant business! Awesome sight! ☺
They are pure killing machines.
But not as efficient as we are... ☺
Too true.
I had a Cooper's Hawk show up in my yard.
As fastinating as it was, I wasn't too happy about it.
I have a bunch of feeders out. I hate to think I'm setting up a Hawk Buffet.
It's scary to be a little birdie.
:o(
nancy
I don't know if it's true or not but I was told that a large hawk
swooped down and carried off a Yorkshire terrier from the town
soccer field/grasshopper sparrow refuge. Toy dog owners beware!!
I know they do rabbits and cats without a problem.
I know the hawks have to eat... but I don't really want to see it in my yard.
I feel like I'm setting the table for him.
Oh well... such is life.
True, Nancy. Same goes for outside cats. They kill plenty too.
There are a couple of cats that decided I was setting up a buffet for them.
One or the other would come into the yard & hide behind the pots.
I blocked the opening at the end of the fence between my neighbor's yard & mine.
The cats can still get in, but they have to come over the fence to do it instead of slipping in unseen.
Now it's like "LOOK! It's me, the CAT!"
The birds have a chance to get away.
Then the cat figured out to come in very early - before the birds started to arrive, so he could stake out his spot.
Now I go out early to check if he was there and scare him off.
Between the blue jays & squirrels, I usually know if the cat is back. There are alarms going off all over.
Nancy
We have plenty of coyote that live along the power lines 1/4 mile from us, and there's also deer to boot. They're always trampling through our yard and my garden. What else hunts deer, besides humans?
I can always tell when the hawks are flying overhead, because everything is deathly quiet. The birds know enough to shut up.
Cat owners need to beware of fishers,(fisher cats), a member of the weasel family which can climb trees in search of it's favorite prey, squirrels and porcupines. They are tough enough to withstand major organ punctures by porcupine quills, (heart, lungs, kidneys, etc.) A woman I know in Lyndeboro, N.H. has given up trying to own cats for this reason. You never know they are around because they are nocturnal but when an animal goes missing in an area where they might be found, it's possible that the culprit could be a fisher. Or maybe Drew Peterson,
another member of the weasel family.
Another reason cats should be kept indoors.
We do have fishers in the area, and I have three cats. But so far (5 yrs.) they've been able to take care of themselves. Nancy, I wouldn't have the heart to keep a cat in the house. Animals aren't meant to be "caged in", in my opinion.
Never heard of fishers - I'm always learning at UofDG!
Deb, they are a very aggressive mammal and will eat cats, rabbits, birds, ect....
http://animal.discovery.com/guides/mammals/habitat/northforest/fisher.html
Thanks Celeste, it's kind of cute. But mean.
There was a wildlife show years ago hosted by Marty Stouffer (before he was caught staging some scenes) that featured the fisher. That's how I knew about it.
Getting back to your original question.....I love going to Logee's in Danielson, CT. I treated myself to a visit last week and the minute I walked into the building my glasses fogged up and I knew I was home! LOL! A wonderful infusion of life at a time of year when everything is so desolate. When the weather is nicer I will add a second leg to my Logee's trip and go to New England Bonsai Gardens in Bellingham, MA to enjoy the lovely bonsai plants and to browse through their wonderful selection of pots and Chinese antiques.
As for the hawks.....I live in a pretty urban area and there is a hawk in one of the neighborhoods old, tall cedar trees. A couple of weeks ago he swooped down and snatched one of the sparrows at my feeder. I know I must sound awful, but I took out the binocs and watched him on my stone wall while he enjoyed his lunch. I've never had the opportunity to see such a wonderful bird up close like that. He was awsome! Besides, those sparrows are eating me out of house and home! LOL!
I live next door to Bellingham and never heard of that place. If you have one leg at Logee's and one at the N.E. Bonsai, you'll be doing a split!
Oh, true, it's a bit of a hike, but on a beautiful day it's just fine.