Greetings again Family and Friends from Susie’s Gardens; A good bit of rain a week or so ago—at least 6 inches by us. Many got flooded out again in Richmond and areas south and east of here. Poor City of Franklin; the Blackwater overflowed again and flooded part of the downtown, but the crest was not as high as when hurricane Floyd came through. Speaking of hurricanes, they didn’t cause the problems that everyone was bracing for. That guy in Colorado should give it up. Yes, its difficult to outguess weather patterns. It’s a difficult science. Our weather people can’t do that within a five day period let alone five months! So why do it? As a former information officer with the state I found that NO information was better than WRONG information. 

     Susie’s gardens have really perked up with the rain and beautiful weather. We had a short warm spell and now it’s settled into more typical fall weather. Even had a bit of frost on the grass a couple nights ago. The western mountains got into the 20s for the first freeze. Won’t be long here. Sooz was out this weekend pulling weeds, seeding, liming, and fertilizing the lawn. We finally picked up the arch on the south side that had blown over about three weeks ago. Did some mowing and edging and the yard looks good, About 5 colors of mums, verbenas, 3 or 4 types of asters, the gallardia (or Indian blanket or blanket flower), some cannas, gauras, hibiscus, sedum, 2 types of dahlias, pink oxalis, zinnias, and roses continue to bloom. Even one of the clematis under the pergola is blooming. The cherry laurel (Otto Luykens) at the head of the driveway is blooming as is the leatherleaf viburnum. 

     From now on it will be basic cleanup so it doesn’t look so raggy come spring. Susie does all the work except the main mowing. Susie got the base of the new big bird bath set up, and now we have to figure out how to get the 200 pound bath up on it! She has her new statuary in place (a head with four faces depicting the four directions and another bunny scratching its ear). My vegetable garden is done. I have a few tomatoes that may make it yet, and we found a big volunteer cherry tomato plant back at the compost cage that has some good tomatoes on it. I have many interesting “weeds” growing there  and in the garden as well as in the open space where our monster silver maple used to be back near the compost pit. Many types of mushrooms and shelf fungus are growing on the roots under and above the ground. I keep trying to learn all I can about identifying them first, then what their families are and what they do. So many weeds, so little time! I still have some trimming cleanup to do and I hope to pull down the tomato stakes and cages before December this year. I never got a fall garden going—just a few things in pots—romaine, cilantro, lettuce, and turnips. 

     With the rain and cool weather, we had a large scattered flock of robins settle in for a week. They encompassed the whole neighborhood, and Friday evening they were all over our yard using the bird baths and feeding on the lawn. Just as the sun was setting, large groups of them headed southwest. I still can’t tell if they were on a night migrating flight (since it was clear and we still had a good half of a moon left for lighting), or if they were just going to roost somewhere. The next two evenings and even this morning I still had robins everywhere; taking baths, fighting over feeding space milling back and forth—a real circus. On two occasions I saw blue jays steal or attempt to steal food from the robins. One flew down form atop the privet and took a worm the robin had just pulled out and this morning I watched one chase the robin around the yard in flight until the robin landed right in front of the patio. The blue jay pulled up short and the robin began eating a big fat grub of some kind, only to be chased by another robin who grabbed what was left. Could be they are just laying over, staging until the next weather pattern drives them south or they may be winter residents. The robins’ winter range has moved as far north as Pennsylvania and of course it is not unusual for small populations of birds to winter even farther north than that in some years. 

      For the fourth straight year I have a ruby-crowned kinglet in the yard. It’s in the same place along the north hedge although it comes out occasionally to the dogwood, weeping cherry, or Japanese maple to feed. We had a huge hatch of tiny flying insects of some kind right after the big rain. When we had had two or three days of almost no wind and mild temperatures. The air in the evening was full of them. They’d get in your eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and in our brandy Manhattans, and I didn’t need the extra protein. The little kinglet—a wisp of a bird second smallest only to the hummingbird in size—did need the protein and was picking them off the shrub branches and sometimes off of the ground only a few feet from where we sat on the patio. They are very bold and if you sit quietly they’ll come right up to you and go about their business. I notice too that we had some yellow-rumped warblers moving through. The “hawk express” comes through almost every evening about the same time. I figured the time by watching when the house shadow is about a third of the way up the big cedar. On Saturday evening I was walking back up the driveway (to check on my grilling chicken) when Susie yelled to me. I missed it but she said the hawk had plunged into the holly hedge after some bird. Only a few scattered feathers remained and we don’t know if it got something or not. The little chickadee was on the hook where the hummingbird feeder is still hanging. In November I’ll have a feeder with sunflower seeds on it. It was as if he was waiting for the changeover. The cardinals will do the same thing. They know it was there last winter and they are looking for it already.On a sad note, fellow outdoorsman and outdoor writer Jack Randolph died October 2. Jack grew up without a father in New Jersey and was mentored and tutored by the old trappers, hunters, and fishermen along the Jersey Coast. He dropped out of school a few times to trap and earn money for his mom and sisters, but ultimately graduated. His first job was that of a game warden at age 17. He retired from the Army in 1972 after 20 years of service including a tour in Vietnam. A self made and self-taught writer and photographer, he wrote numerous articles for Stars and Stripes, as well as Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Gun Digest, and Virginia Wildlife. He made a number of trips to Africa which he always spoke fondly of. He served two terms on the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries from 1972-1978, one as Chairman, and in 1978 he was hired as Deputy Assistant Director. He always “bragged” that he started at the top and was working his way down! He did the weekly Fishing Report for about 28 years, and for 14 of those years it was tagged onto the back of my Outdoor Report. Jack died of complications due to colon cancer and was 77. “Hey Jack, keep a seat on the boat open for me!”   

     Hope all is well. Take Care, Be Safe, Hang Tuff, and God Bless you.

© 2006 Spike Knuth All Rights Reserved.

Editor's Note: If you would like to write about your back yard, please feel free to do so. And include photos. JAF