What Deer WON’T Eat

February 26, 2009 at 4:13 pm02 (Uncategorized)

The bad news in our local ecosystem is that the ice storm of December 11-12 2008 shattered the uppermost branches of many trees and toppled entirely many old gnarled apple trees badly overgrown with maples and wild black cherries in a wooded area near our home.  The good news is that the deer that usually look for browse in our yard have been content to tear away the tender tips and buds of fallen apple branches on the ground instead of our landscape shrubbery this winter.
 
For many people, deer are the number one backyard pest.  In an attempt to protect their vegetable gardens, flower beds, and shrubs, my neighbors have installed fences, used sprays, and hung bars of soap on their young fruit trees. 
 
An alternative strategy to consider is choosing – and using - plant specimens that deer tend to avoid. 
 
* Both Butterly Blue (Scabiosa columbaria) and Gallardia (Gallardia pulchella) flowers have spiny centers that deer find unappetiizing.
 
* Tickseed (Coriopsis verticillata), Scented Geranium (Pelargonium sp), and Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis fruiticus) can be grown as “guard plants” around your more desirable species.  Deer tend not to step through beds of plants they don’t like to get at ones they do.
 
* Almost any plant with fuzzy, leathery, sharp-edged or prickly foliage will be left alone.  Lamb’s Ears (Stachys byzantina), Mullien (Verbascum thapsis) , and Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)  have gray, hairy leaves.  Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) and Sea Holly (Erynglium sp.) are examples of sharp-edged vegetation.
 
* Hellebore (Helleborus hybridus) and Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum) contain toxins that deer avoid. Spurge (Euphorbia sp.)  contains a latex sap that can be irritating to people as well.  Other latex sap producers are Bluestars (Amsonia sp.) and Butterfly Weed (Asclepias sp.)
 
* Rosemary (Rosemarinus officianalis), Lavender (Lavandula sp.), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Spider Flower (Cleome sp.),  Sage (Salvia sp.), and  mint family plants  have odors that tend to put deer off.  Onions and ornamental alliums (Allium sp) are not regarded fondly by deer, either .
 
Why deer don’t stick to eating acorns (their preferred food) instead of your favorite hostas, roses, daylillies, and tulips is a mystery.  It may have something to do with the high water content of these plants. 
 
For a more complete list of plants that deer will not eat, see http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/Deerplants.shtml .  The list includes trees and shrubs in addituon to herbaceous plants.
 
This post has been fact-checked using “Deer Proof Your Garden” by Carole Ottesen in Organic Gardening February/March 2009 pages 58-62 and other sources. For more stategies for dealing with deer and other wildlife, see http://www.outsmartingdeer.com
 
Seed packets for many of the plants mentioned above are available in most nurseries, home and garden centers, and local supermarkets right now. 

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February Bloom

February 22, 2009 at 1:01 pm02 (Uncategorized)

 
Snowdrop (Galanthus sp.) blooming in February.

Snowdrop (Galanthus sp.) blooming in February.

 

Incongruous as it may seem, the receding snow cover of late February often reveals the first of the spring flowering bulbs.  Snowdrop is oten planted in rock gardens and border plantings near houses.  The hardy bulbs were imported from Europe and Asia.  The single white fowers and dark green leaves are easily recognized.  Snowdrop is a pest free plant.  Rabbits and deer won’t eat them, and chipmunks and mice leave them alone.  Do you have a spot just right for Snowdrop?  They do not tolerate warm winters.  They need moist but well-drained soil near a tree or shrub.  They enjoy summer shade. The best time to plant Snowdrop bulbs is in the fall.

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Frozen in Time

February 16, 2009 at 7:40 am02 (Uncategorized)

Ice fishing on Long Pond in Danville, NH - photo by Melissa Coolidge

Ice fishing on Long Pond in Danville, NH - photo by Melissa Coolidge

 
An out-of-doors activity in mid-winter can create memories that last a lifetime.  In the photo above, Melissa is holding an 18″ Pickerel (Esox niger), one of several species of freshwater fish she and her companions caught on January 24th.  Other species they took through the sixteen inches of ice using golden shiners  as bait included Yellow Perch and Black Crappie.
 
Even if you don’t fish yourself, a healthy walk on on a frozen lake or pond in winter will let you see what others are catching through the ice.  Melissa and friends were practicing catch-and-release, so did not open up the stomach to see what the pickerel had been eating, but often you can find whole small fish, aquatic insects, and other identifiable invertebrates in the stomach contents.
 
Did you know that Pickerel:
 
* belong to the Pike family of fish
* are found along the entire eastern coast of North America from southern Canada to Florida, and west to Texas
* feed primarily on smaller fish by ambushing them from under cover of logs, weeds, and rock ledges
* are usually found in shallow coves (Melissa’s fish was caught near the shore of an island)
* have white and flaky flesh but with many bones
 
Melissa adds that you might want to use a steel leader when fishing for Pickerel and other toothy fish because they tend to bite through monofilament.  Pickerel also tend to swallow the bait, which makes it harder to remove the hook.  If you are doing catch-and-release fishing, it is best to cut the line to avoid further injury to the fish.  Some anglers use pliers to flatten the barbs on lure hooks to facilitate removal.

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Red-Osier Dogwood

February 14, 2009 at 6:28 am02 (Uncategorized)

If you take a walk on a February day, no matter what the temperature, you may encounter things that some people never notice, or to which they pay no particular attention.
 
Just one example of plants responding to the increasing amount and angle of sunlight is the reddening up of the young stems of several species of shrubs.  High Bush Blueberry shrubs in the fields and Red Oser Dogwoods in the woodland thickets  are two woody stemmed plants that are showing red right now.  Look back at the posting “February Fog” to find the reddening tip branches of high bush blueberry (to the right, beyond the low-lying Juniper bushes), even in the fog.
 

The Red-Osier Dogwood is a stand-out shrub

The Red-Osier Dogwood is a stand-out shrub

The Red-Osier Dogwood (Cornus serecia) is a straggling shrub that can reach heights of nine feet.  It grows in large clumps, generally in moist soil along streams or seasonally wet drainage areas.  Look for smooth, crimson twigs and shoots scattered with wart-like whitish dots.  If you cut a young twig, it will reveal a soft white pith in the center.  In the spring, the Red Osier will produce flat-topped clusters of white flowers.  In August, look for white berries on red stems.

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February Fog

February 12, 2009 at 5:20 pm02 (Uncategorized)

This is the time of year when a February Fog may make early morning commutes dangerous.  Low visibility results in traffic accidents, canceled flights, and delays. Most of the time, the fog “lifts” or dissipates by mid morning as the earth warms up.  For most of us, the natural event of fog formation represents a phenomenon more to be appreciated than analyzed.  A thick fog wraps you in close and heightens your senses.  Here are some fog facts:
* Fog forms when air cools to a point where water vapor condenses into tiny water droplets.
* Fog is more likely to form at night when the air cools, especially around dawn or a bit later when the lowest temperatures of the day occur.
* Fog is more likely to occur in low lying places, especially near streams.
* Fog is more likely to occur if the wind is calm and the sky is clear, and less likely to happen on a windy or cliudy night.
* Fog often occurs on winter days when snow covers the ground or the bare ground is very cold after days of subnormal temperatures, and a warmer, more humid air mass moves in.
* An overnight rain can result in fog that forms in the morning. Water vapor increases the moisture content of the air while cooling it, allowing fog to form.
February Fog in the meadow

February Fog in the meadow

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Desperation and Dilemma

February 5, 2009 at 5:28 pm02 (Uncategorized)

 
The photo above was taken by Tyler Hilton, a student at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, ME. He took the picture in the early spring of 2008.

The photo above was taken by Tyler Hilton, a student at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, ME. He took the picture in the early spring of 2008.

This is the time of year when a sudden rise in temperature results in many animals that have been otherwise denned up against the snow and cold or huddled together under the protection of heavy foliage to emerge in search of food or mates.   
 
Driven by hunger or the “urge to merge” there are several species that attempt to cross busy highways.  A drive along US Route 95 at this time of year may reveal predictable roadkill: deer carcasses, raccoons, coyote, skunks, and wild turkey, to name a few. 
 
In other instances, homeowners may experience surprise visitors: the tracks of coyotes or foxes on the lawn; an errant skunk investigating an open garage; a raccoon climbing on to bird feeders to get at seeds. Within the next few weeks, you may note other creatures “on the prowl.” 
Chipmunks are among the first mammals to go underground each winter, and are among the first to emerge in the spring.
 
 

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Storm Damage

February 3, 2009 at 8:15 am02 (Uncategorized)

Assessing the impact of heavy snow and ice

Assessing the impact of heavy snow and ice

For years we have enjoyed a huge White Pine (Pinus strobus) tree in the meadow.  It had many low side branches as big as trees themselves, growing out from the main stem like a candleabra.  It made the perfect spot for a summer reading platform with swings for visiting families with children.  During its lifetime, the tree probably had no other trees for competion so it grew outward rather than growing taller.  The squat, many-branched structure was not suited for shedding snow and ice, however, and ice storm of December 2008 shattered most of the big side branches, leaving behind a twisted, spindly, and badly scarred main trunk.  Not far away, a much taller tree with a singe central trunk and smaller branches near the top stands unscathed.  The “overnight” disaster will take days to clean up when the snow melts.

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Wintercreeper

February 2, 2009 at 9:35 am02 (Uncategorized)

Wintercreeper vines twist around the trunk of a tree

Wintercreeper vines twist around the trunk of a tree

Wintercreeper or Climbing Euonymous (Euonymous fortunei) is an evergreen vine.  It can also form dense speading patches of groundcover.  Wintercreeper has aerial rootlets and leathery green leaves.  The plant produces small greenish flowers in the spring. The fruit is a small orange capsule that ripens in June or July.  Wintercreeper was introduced from Asia and nursery cultivars were sold as ground cover.  It is not listed as an invasive vine in Massachusetts, but in some states, including Illinois, it has spread into several types of forests, including wet, wooded and brushy areas.

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February Preview

February 1, 2009 at 6:26 am02 (Uncategorized)

newwood

 

February traditionally produces the most accumulation of snow, even though the groundhog may differ. Although it may be half-past winter on the seasonal clock, this month yields some of the coldest days of the year, too. Porcupines are denned up in hemlock woods or rocky ledges, generally near a spring. Look for snow fleas or Springtails (Collembella) near the base of birch trees during a warm thaw period. Wild Turkeys may be seen in trees eating shriveled apples still clinging to trees in old orchards. Crows cease flocking and begin pairing off. Skunks mate. The younger stems of the red osier dogwoods turn to bright red.   By mid-month, maple syrup buckets hang from trees along the roadsides.  Skunk cabbage may poke out of the snow on swampy ground. Bluebirds return from the south. During unseasonal thaws, you might even see a Mourning Cloak butterfly in sunny woodlands if there is no wind.  The Great Horned Owl lays its eggs toward the end of the month. Hungry deer nibble twigs and foliage of evergreens. Raccoons mate late in the month.  Brown creepers work elm tree bark for insects. Meadow voles are active day and night. Any fine day in late February or early March is “bluebird-spotting” weather. Cardinals begin singing.  This month is peak coyote breeding season.

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