Gardening With a Side of Birdsong

I love the cosy look of the greenhouse before the sun rises. Thank goodness Ted installed lighting! I was able to pick some fall Mesclun mix greens before it got light. When the sun rose, our migrating bird population woke up too. I had no idea there were so many different birds sleeping in the surrounding trees. When I heard what sounded like an owl, I got my phone from its resting place inside and had Merlin listen while I picked.

Not everything is perfect here. About 2/3 of the carrots were nibbled on by worms this year. They will go into the fridge and I'll salvage the good parts for us. I see a lot of roasted carrots and carrot soup and carrot cupcakes in our future.

But, there were some nice ones for our neighbours.

Parsley is a plant that just keeps on giving.

I've been waiting for the wild asters to bloom. Today, was aster day. They make a great filler plant. I think of our flower bunches as part of the "slow flower movement". They don't last as long as hybridized and chemically sprayed flowers that you would buy in a flower shop. But, what they lack in keeping power, they shine in sustainability and exuberance.

Merlin never did pick up that owl. It moved on before I connected to the app. But, still there was a pretty impressive list of birds in the neighbourhood this morning.

• Rock Pigeon

• American Crow

• Eastern Bluebird

• Ruby-crowned Kinglet

• Downy Woodpecker

• Black-capped Chickadee

• Brown Creeper

• Black-throated Green Warbler

• Yellow-rumped Warbler

• Tennessee Warbler

• Cedar Waxwing

• Northern Cardinal

• Blue Jay

• American Goldfinch

• White-throated Sparrow.