THREAT TO ORGANIC GARDENING?!....

Please contact your representives and ask them to vote against HR875 and S425.
We need the freedom to choose organic methods of growing our food. This bill would give too much power to the large agricultural businesses who are THREATENED by the success of organic growers.
They want us to think that the purpose
of regulating organic methods is for "food safety", but I feel our food safety is threatened by the producers of "FRANKENFOOD" not REAL FOOD! These bills even threaten the "backyard organic gardeners" with steep fines if they do not comply
with the new "regulations" to use pesticides,chemical fertilizers etc. which of course go against everything that organic gardening stands for!!
To my follower (s) please check this out! There are videos on YouTube from people who have sounded the alarm. The bills may be voted on as early as two weeks!
Thanks for your support!

The preceding editorial was approved by Colleen......OK she wrote it too!

WINTER BIRD WATCHING.....

Festus never did get the hang of being a scarecrow! Birds sit on his head,
pull off pieces of his clothing, yarn hair, shoestrings. The poor guy gets no respect!
Birds and squirrels are a real source of entertainment when you are out in the garden! Early Spring you can count on the grackels and starlings to
come to your "Backyard Home Depot" looking for building materials. I always look forward to the return of all of the song birds. We get quite a variety!
If you just give them a little birdseed you get back much more in return.
I'd have to say that the starlings are the most entertaining. They are fearless
and very protective of their offspring. They "tolerate" me when I have to work close to the evergreens they nest in each year, but they sure vocalize that they are keeping an eye on me, just in case!
We do have hawks come by to do their "grocery shopping". They are not always successful catching their prey, but when they are, they leave very little behind, usually just a few feathers.
Penny loves to birdwatch from her perch in the diningroom! She really gets excited when the rabbits start hopping around. They usually stop by the feeder in the early evening. I have seen about 5 different species of birds with a couple squirrels and a rabbit by the feeder at the same time.....amazing!
I am glad to see that the crow population is coming back. They were really affected by the west nile virus a few years ago. We had more sightings of goldfinches and hummingbirds last year too. Exercise, relaxation, food,
entertainment, Vitamen D, we get so much in return for our efforts in the garden!

GARDENS IN WINTER.....

CAUGHT IN THE ACT!.....
All is white, but not so calm! As you can see the squirrels got wind of their "peanut butter pinecone" decorated tree pretty quickly. It wasn't long before I had 4-6 squirrels on top of the fence each morning "waiting for treats"! At least they left most of the red and green ribbons! Bob had collected 2 trash bags full of pinecones in the Fall, but I soon realized that at this rate, the yard would be full of pinecones again, so I switched to fixing them peanut butter and crackers. I think they enjoyed them even more!