Swooping Birds & Garden Updates
Yesterday bird after bird swooped downward on my patio. I could see a lot of action out of the corner of my left eye.
As I was sitting here in my chair and couldn’t see what was going on, I got up to look.
I didn’t see a thing. The bird bath was about 3-4 feet to the left. Maybe it was just something birds did. So I looked it up this morning.
Bird Research:
The classic research on how flocking birds move in unison comes from zoologist Wayne Potts, who published in the journal Nature in 1984.
His work showed that bird in flocks don’t just follow a leader, or their neighbors. Instead, they anticipate sudden changes in the flock’s direction of motion.
And he said, once a change in direction begins in the flock, it then “spreads through the flock in a wave.”
When I got to the French doors I must have scared them. The birds suddenly swooped back up in unison and flew away.
Lemon Verbena Plant:
The lemon verbena is still looking healthy. I wish this wonderful herb came back every year. But here at least it is an annual.
I have been cutting the long thin branches back and it has bushed out more.
If you’ve never smelled the scent of lemon verbena you’re really missing something. It is a sweet pungent smell. Always makes me want to fix a glass of iced tea and add a few leaves to it.
Yellow Rose Bush In Container:
The yellow roses are making a comeback. Every time it gets really hot they stop making buds. Then we’ll have a few days of cooler weather and a few will appear.
It’s not like springtime when buds form all over the plant. Just a few at a time. As though the rose bush is tired and doesn’t have the energy to make more.
Yesterday it was pretty hot, so they will die back again and refuse to make buds.
Sweet Potato Vine:
I don’t think I’ve showed you the chartreuse sweet potato vine much. Its leaves have become fairly large.
The purple sweet potato vine was taken over by another plant and is still small.
The sweet potato vine is always worth the few dollars it costs me every spring because it keeps on giving throughout summer and fall.
Basil Plant Growing in Cement Crack:
This is the basil that grows out of a small cement crack on my patio. It is large and quite healthy.
I never know from year to year what will grow out of that crack in the middle of my patio. It’s always a surprise.
Pot Of Sedum:
This is the sedum I bought to replace the Sedum Autumn Joy plant that got infested with bugs and died. I can’t recall what this one is called.
In the spring I couldn’t find a pot of Sedum Autumn Joy so I replaced it with this one.
If I remember correctly this one is supposed to form tiny white flowers. Whereas the Sedum Autumn Joy put out a tiny burnt orange flower in the fall.
I’m waiting on the Cox cable guy to come and hopefully fix my intermittent internet. While I’ve been writing this post it has gone out a number of times.
And it is really, really aggravating.
regional Deny plucinski dutt kalarides haidar fujita brigandage knoch lachaille boathouse Caro unsavoury kazuko Ariana angelito
Your basil plant is amazing! I usually get one every summer but I just didn’t get around to it. Sweet potato vine is one of my favorites… it spreads out so much and seems to keep on giving all season long. I sure hope the cable guy was able to fix your issues.
I’ve always been fascinated by the activities of birds. Nature is so amazing. I hope that your internet is finally fixed. xo Laura
We are having Uverse-ATT problems. They went someone out. My husband was told that the work could be done outside. When the repairman got here, he said he needed to come inside. No–Sorry we are not even having our kids and grandson into our home at this time. The tech had a mask on, but he would be in my husband’s man cave where the modem and stuff is, and my husband doesn’t want to risk covid coming into our house that way. Even a mask isn’t 100%effective, and we’re not planning on wearing masks in our home until we feel like the germs might all be gone. So we will have to wait as long as we can to get the repairs done, or maybe they will happen without a tech coming in.
When flocks of birds soar and swoop together it is called murmuration, I believe. They use their spatial senses to move so closely in syncronazation and not collide, almost like sonar. I am always amazed to watch it. Your patio looks so pretty, even in this terrible heat!
We drove from Dallas to Oklahoma City when the birds were migrating one year. There were hundreds or not millions of birds for miles and miles. It was magical. Another time I was driving from Dallas to Denton and saw the Monarch butterflies migrating. Both of these fall experiences happened years ago and are some of my favorite experiences.
Brenda,
I often wondered why and how birds swoop and undulate almost like a sail in the wind. One of those things you think of, but never get around to researching it. If you’ve ever been out to sea fishing for tuna; schools or pods of dolphins will cruise along side the boat. It’s wondrous, they take turns surging up out of the water and twirling and spinning like dancers. Their movements are so synchronized, it’s like they are one creature instead of many! Nature’s creatures can be so awe-inspiring! I hope you get your cable issue figured out. A girlfriend of mine in Cobb county , Georgia was having trouble with her cable this week also. Like her, we bundle our t.v., internet and landline service. Trying to keep in touch when your main phone line is not working correctly can drive you crazy! And, last week we had a Comcast tech here for a couple of HOURS! Our internet speed was slow and t.v. was freezing up between channel changes. He replaced the router upstairs. He ran tests on the wiring and ended up replacing some. He switched out our DVR from the t.v. in our living room to my husband’s t.v. in his “Man Cave”. Joe did a good job, FINALLY everything is working! Good luck to you on getting your problems resolved.
Susan
Interesting tidbit about the birds. Ironically, when I opened up the blinds in my kitchen this morning I noticed quite a few small birds all over my front yard. I was puzzled so I stood and watch a minute or two – they were hopping all over the yard. When I decided to move away from the window they flew away. I wondered if it had something to do with their migration.
Love your flowers! And herbs – I can almost smell the Lemon Verbena. I bought a Lemon Thyme plant this spring and it smells so good – refreshing.
Hope your internet problems get sorted without too much trouble. It’s so stressful and then having someone in to fix it is always stressful – I feel the same.
Take care,
Mary