Return of the Chicago Mob

Crows Over a Wheat Field by Vincent Van Gogh                                

Their hoarse , cawing voices woke me this morning and while it brought back memories from my childhood and the nasty encounters we had, I welcomed them back from death's door.  The neighborhood used to be home to many of their families but they were hit with a deadly disease that wiped out 75 per cent of them.

I'm speaking of  Corvus brachyrhynchos , or the American crow , that crafty bird that works to harass or drive off predators, a behavior known as "mobbing. "   They were the bane of my existence down on the farm where we were constantly trying to dream up ways of keeping them from eating our crops and vegetables. 

This is the consumate opportunist - eating almost anything from earthworms, small animals, fruit, seeds, carrion and baby chicks.  Its also a country/city bird, often spending the day in the city and flying to the country to visit with kin.

The crow is sociable and highly adaptable and has been around since time began. To say that its intelligent is an understatement.  Did you know that they can make and use tools?  A crow in captivity was seen using a cup to carry water to a bowl of dry food, and a stick to prod insects out of a hole .

Since so many crows in Illlinois were wiped out by the West Nile Virus it is a good sign to see their return to the neighborhood.  I am going to record my sightings and report them to eBird  who is working to study the impact that this disease has on them.

Message to another Chicago mob :  Cuniculus.  Are you listening, the crows are back, you wraskily wabbits. Dejavu. Guess I'm gonna be busy this summer fighting the mob in my veggie garden.

Written by Carolyngail at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago All rights reserved

THE 'F' WORD AND I DON'T MEAN FLOWERS

Funky, frivilous, forbidding, frigid, foul, fabulous, fickle....February.  Just a few of the 'F' words used to describe February in Chicago.  The fabulous part was our warm up last week which is to end today with more snow, possibly setting a record for the snowiest February on record since records were kept.

The slightest hint of Spring causes some to dream that winter is over at last, but the longer you live the wiser you get, and I remember getting caught wearing sandals in a blizzard in April .   The liklihood of being clobbered by old man winter is pretty good.  Call me jaded but when the first warm days of the year appeared last week I didn't even think Spring, I just got out and enjoyed it while it lasted.

As the temperatures rose,  I was happy to see my garden appear unscathed by the huge amount of snow on it and was even able to do a little garden clean up and some pruning under the February sunshine.

But back to reality this week.  Check the calendar.  March 20 is the first day of Spring. Somewhere.  Just not here.  Spring in Chicago is usually mid- to -late May, unless we're lucky and it arrives in April.  See how living through many Chicago winters make you pessimistic? 

Another 'F' word which I'll soon be using is farewell.  Farewell, February.  The only good thing I can say about you is that you are short and we are one month closer to Spring.

A Flower to Greet You

A Flower is given the center of attention in the Entrance

This century-old solid oak glass panelled door is the entrance to Sweet Home Chicago.  When I first moved in many moons ago the usual lace curtain hung over the glass and hid the true beauty of the door.  Now a flower centered in the faux stained glass panel will greet visitors when they arrive.    The circle around the flower is left clear which is why you see no color there.  The faux stained glass provides privacy but allows in light as well.

I agree that its hard to beat an original but my home has only one.  It was in bad condition, but given its age it was to be expected ,  so we had it restored.

 I copied borrowed some of its pattern in my faux stained glass window.  As you can see flowers and plants were a popular motif for these early American craftsmen.

 If you'd like to create a faux stained glass window , acrylic paint , made especially for glass makes it an easier project.  It is time consuming but as the paint is water soluble any mistakes can be washed or scraped off  if you don't like the finished product.

Meanwhile over in the indoor garden the roses are in bloom .

To see what's blooming across the USA visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens , the creator of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

Did I Shave My Legs for This ?

 

SO tired of seeing this , but the temps hit 40 degrees today, a virtual heatwave, and yes I had to shave my legs and get out in the sunshine.

Signs of  green stuff under there.

And red.  Okay people, no more excuses !  Time to take down your Christmas decorations or I'll be forced to enter your yard into the Redneck Yard of the Week contest.

A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT-4th Blogiversary at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago

With all the commotion going on about the blizzard that hit us full force yesterday I forgot that it was 4 years ago that I started this blog, so Happy Blogiversary to me :-)

I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know so many other great garden bloggers around the USA and the world and I feel so much richer for the experience.

Some of the highlights during my four years were Blogger naming me as a Blog of Note which brought over 100,000 visitors to my site,  welcoming 50 great garden bloggers from Chicago SpringFling to my garden in 2009,  becoming a member of the Garden Designers Roundtable and getting to meet 3 awesome garden bloggers - Helen Yeost, Freda Cameron and Anna Perryman Looper -  in North Carolina last year and getting published in Horticulture magazine. 

By the way, that ole' groundhog was no where in sight.  I think he's snowed in as well as are many of us here in Chicago today.  Now comes the sub-zero temperatures courtesy of our Canadian friends.    

 The only good thing I can say is that we are one month closer to Spring and it won't come too soon and that it's already Spring in North Carolina, home of my little Sweetpea Lea.  69 beautiful warm sunny degrees.  Makes me feel warmer just thinking about it.

GARDEN BLOGGERS' MUSE DAY

Indoor Gardener

A February wind blows dismally,

The sky is full of dark clouds hanging low,

The garden lies in numbed frigidity

And waits the falling of another snow.

Today, I planted seeds despite the cold,

For my tomato plants will mind it not­

Their tiny leaves will presently unfold

At my south window; in a flower pot!

-HELEN BATH SWANSON

From Backyardgardener.com