Theories in nature
Country Notebook
By Rogene "Jeannie" McPherson
Journal columnist
Nature is awakening from our recent summer nightmare. With little to no moisture, plants shrank to become brown masses of vegetation. Animals capable of searching for what water remained in farm ponds and creeks followed their instinctual behavior including eating the leaves from my hostas, getting small amounts of liquid and food.
Many of my perennials are coming back, looking much like they hopefully will in a spring warm-up. Lilacs are blooming twice this year and a spring ornamental tree had more blooms this fall than in the spring. Just hope this sudden boost of energy following the recent rains will not stifle the blooming cycle next April.
The yard looks like death with only a few clumps of grass trying to turn green once again. I over-seeded the front yard with a product called Rebel from Pennington Seed™. Supposedly the roots grow deeper with this product. Check with me next October to see if I am endorsing this variety of grass seed. Hope a big water bill in November will be worth my efforts.
Wandering deer have found the ripe acorns in my backyard. They devour the acorns as fast as they can while watching cautiously for human activity. An exhausted squirrel took a nap on the arm of one of my plastic yard chairs. I can only guess how many miles he’s run gathering acorns from the same ground as the deer. I hope he remembers his planting locations in flowerpots on my deck when he’s hungry this winter. If not, multiple oak trees will have sprouted in the containers even before spring flowers are planted.
These same females are already being observed by a young buck. My theory is that he has messed up hormones as the rut is still weeks away or he grew up in this herd of does and was just stopping by to acknowledge their presence, especially if his mama is still part of this herd.
An adult box turtle scrimmaged through my backyard just before one of our fall rains. I suspect he was searching for fat and juicy insects in preparation for going underground in a few weeks. Owls and hawks are suddenly everywhere, searching for reptilian creatures to eat before hibernation. Recently, an owl swooped down in the grass and arose with something that looked like a stick, but it may have been the owl’s snake dinner.
I always know summer is nearing an end, when the sunflowers and goldenrod pop up in pastures and roadside fence lines. With beautiful bright yellow blooms, these native plants make me smile.
The downside is that they can be aggressive as related to their prolific reproduction. Birds don’t seem to mind as they make a great snack when the seeds are mature. The sturdy stalks of the sunflowers sway back and forth with the wind when the birds land near the plant’s crown. Their skill in transporting the seeds sometimes for miles is remarkable.
I suspect a bird brought in a couple of wild sunflower seeds and dropped them in an inviting space in my backyard next to the house. Mistakenly, I let them grow for one season, 4 years ago. Yes, I had once again blooming sunflowers this August. Cutting them out before seeds mature slows down the spread, but a few plants still emerge each spring.
Yellow is not my preferred fashion color, but in nature, I can hardly wait for native coreopsis, often called tickseed to bloom. It reminds me of miniature sunflowers. This year I’m harvesting the native coreopsis seeds when the currently blooming plants are done showing off their colors.
A long time ago I harvested some purple berries, grown on pokeweed. Thinking they were red grapes, I spent much time harvesting, cooking and draining the juice in an attempt to make grape jelly. Big mistake as it was inedible and fortunately not poisonous. Pokeweed makes a great dye for fabric, for example, however, I find it more aggressive than I want anywhere on my land. I still can’t believe I was that naïve and careless in my research.
In the zeal to utilize the gifts fall brings, I’ve learned to respect what can be useful and legal, especially when it comes to hunting animals and birds. I don’t hunt and I'm not critical of those who hunt or fish, provided permission is sought if not done on their own land.
Many of us were deprived of a reasonable summer and some may believe our very hot temperatures are due to climate change. Whatever the reason, I suggest we consider ways for nature to endure. Too much heat and not enough water consistently devastate vegetation like Alberta Dwarf Spruces. I’ll soon be removing several large dead trees.
I’m not the brightest bulb in the daffodil package, but even I know not to plant any more spruces and to prioritize my watering needs. Look around at the beautiful native grasses like Big Bluestem. They received only rain water during the extreme temperatures but somehow managed to survive and thrive. My theory is to look for what has worked in nature for years and often go native when planting.
Rogene “Jeannie” McPherson, from the Centerville area, is a regular contributor to the Linn County Journal. Her latest book Posts from the Country, Adventures in Rural Living is available online at Amazon.com, Thriftbooks.com, and Barnesandnoble.com.
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