We finally got some cold weather and I have been enjoying watching (from the warmth of my kitchen window) the birds coming to my bird feeder. Today I saw a hairy woodpecker, blue bird, tufted titmouse and a chickadee. I’m constantly on the lookout for a great blue heron that likes to terrorize my koi and gold fish!  I spotted a Cooper hawk the other day and have noticed several black vultures around. I’ve been “practicing” identifying birds in preparation for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Heron stalking my fish!

Each year thousands of people across the country count birds during the four-day nationwide bird count. This fun and free event will be held this year from Friday, February 17 – Monday, February 20. The best part – you don’t have to go anywhere to participate. Your backyard is the perfect place to count birds. Or, you can go to a local park, school yard, nature preserve – any where you can find birds. The purpose of the count is to encourage people to become more interested in birds and to help researchers determine the winter movements of birds across our country during one specific time-frame.

Beginners are welcome and families are encouraged to take this opportunity to get their kids outside to appreciate nature and learn more about our feathered friends. You can commit as little as 15 minutes on one day or you can choose to count on one, two, three or all four days for as long as you like. You can download from the Great Backyard Bird Count website a Regional Bird Checklist that details what birds you will find in our area and a Data Form with instructions on what to do and to help you keep track of the birds you are counting.

Northern Cardinal

Tufted Titmouse

Here is a list of the top ten birds most frequently reported during the 2011 count: Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, Dark-eyed Junco, Downy Woodpecker, American Gold Finch, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch and Tufted Titmouse. Most of these birds can be spotted in Georgia. So, dust off those binoculars and get ready to count birds!

Dan and I were at the recycling center today dropping off some debris that I didn’t want in my compost bins.  It was a warm day and it appears lots of folks decided it was a good time to prune their crapemyrtles. I saw crapemyrtle limbs everywhere!

The pruning of crapemyrtles (often called crape murder) is usually over-done, poorly executed and often leaves behind a very misshapen tree.  I see landscaping companies routinely topping these trees in late winter and I guess the rest of us just follow their lead.

It is better to not even prune a crapemyrtle than prune it improperly. Once you start hacking on it each year, it is hard to develop the nice tree structure that is so attractive. We’ve all seen those well-hacked trees with the huge knobs sprouting dozens of tiny branches.

Yikes! Not a good look!

Recently the members of the Peachtree City Garden Club pruned four crapemyrtles at Braelinn Elementary school where we are helping to create a memorial garden for a young student who was tragically killed last year in an accident. We are so honored to be part of this project in memory of Anna.  A gazebo has been built by donations from the community and our task is to design and plant some beds around the gazebo in Anna’s favorite color – pink. 

At first the school representatives wanted to get rid of the four very dense and shrubby crapemyrtles around the gazebo. Teachers complained they could not effectively watch students on the playground because you could not see through the trees. We asked the school if we could try to save them by thinning out and limbing up the trees.  On a nice warm February day (where is winter this year?) we worked on the trees and feel very pleased with the result.

Garden club members work to thin out and limb up four crapemyrtles, trying to maintain a natural and pleasing shape.

The trunks of this tree have been limited to just a few which opens up the shape. We'll then prune out small branches and twigs at top.

Dan's and my trusty truck was full of branches!

Our garden club crew pauses in our work for a photo.

Before pruning a tree, it is good to ask yourself a few questions:

How does the tree’s shape look overall? 

Does the branch structure seem balanced? 

Are there dead or diseased limbs?

Are any limbs growing at tight angles (growing straight up the middle of the tree) or crossing other branches?

Are there branches too close together or rubbing each other?

Are suckers growing at the base of the tree?

Pruning out dead, diseased limbs; branches that deter from the over-all shape of the tree and crossing limbs goes a long way in pruning a tree correctly.

An example of good corrective pruning of a crapemyrtle

January 21 was “Squirrel Appreciation Day.”  Who knew!  Since I was taking care of my nieces and nephew while their parents were on a trip, I decided this celebration of our annoying but athletic little squirrel friends was a good excuse to get my charges outside.  Amid some moaning and complaining that it was cold, going to rain and boring, I did manage to get our group over to walk the paths of Suwanee Creek Greenway, a wetlands habitat near their home in Suwanee, Georgia. We heard frogs calling, saw a heron flying and viewed twisted trees covered in lichen. And, yes, we did see some squirrels at play! Near the end of the walk, the heavens did open up and it started to pour, but getting wet is a part of the adventure! They came home rosy-cheeked and hungry from the cardio workout.

Happy kids on the Trail!

Gorgeous lichen-covered branches in the wetlands

Children today spend very little time outside experiencing nature. They are becoming the “lost generation” when it comes to loving and nurturing our parks and wilderness areas. Sure, kids have lots of head knowledge about our environment but very little actual hands-on experience. Today’s youth spend much more time indoors (an average of 7 hours) than previous generations and as little as four to seven minutes outside in unstructured play!* (*cited from National Wildlife Federation).

There is a huge body of evidence that getting outside in nature is conducive to our health and well being. It nurtures us physically, spiritually and mentally. Kids who interact with nature are calmer, sleep better and have lower blood pressures. They are better able to concentrate, more energetic and less obese.

Kids just chilling out at Line Creek Nature Preserve in Peachtree City

It’s up to us in the “older generation” to be the mentors for these kids. Unfortunately many parents today see the outside as a dangerous place where bad things happen. Kids no longer have any freedom to roam and explore. If you have not already done so, pick up a copy of Richard Louv’s ground-breaking book, Last Child in the Woods, and it will motivate you to want to share your love of gardening and nature with the kids in your life.

I love to see children in my garden. They can feed the fish, pick a flower or look for worms in the compost bin. Let children plant their own vegetable and herb garden and you will alleviate the problem of picky eaters because kids love to eat what they have grown.

My pond is full of life - fish, frogs, dragonflies and flowers

Squirrel Appreciation Day may be over but we still can instill in our children the wonder and beauty of nature by getting them outside in our gardens and in our local parks and green spaces.

A good place to start getting kids interested in nature is the Children's Garden at Atlanta Botanical Garden