Its a hot and humid late afternoon and this little guy has just left his nest. The water in my backyard waterfall is cool on his feet I'm sure. There is a tall fence around the yard that keeps predators out. He can rest for a bit and think about learning to fly. There are two other sibling fledglings, who are more adventuresome than this guy, and two adult blue jays also in the backyard this evening. A busy day! One of the young jays almost landed on my head in an awkward flight.
gardenbirds
7 comments:
I do love "baby pictures" - they're so cute!!!
The whole blue jay family is still out there today. All three chicks and both parents. The kids seem pretty incompetent though. I hope they learn to fly soon. The two robin babies and their Mom last week did much better!
A wren is nesting now in the house at my community garden. I hope to get over there very early tomorrow to water the garden and see what's up with the birds. Too bad its soooo hot. Though I'm not a morning person I'm going to try to get there by 7 am. At 9 am two days ago it was way to hot already.
This is very unusual heat for so long so early. I don't see much relief coming soon. Maybe I'll have to become a morning person this summer if I want to garden in a sunny plot.
really love your blog, i found it while searching for growing tips for broccoli and kale and other veggies that i have in my backyard patch in clifton, new jersey.
do you know what happens if you clip the broccoli leaves before harvesting the head?
are they edible?
this is my second season gardening, i have tomatoes, cukes, kale, collards, broccoli, romaine (harvested), buttercrisp lettuce, peppers, eggplants, parsley, thyme, rosemary and oregano
i'm in PR and my husband and i own www.patriapet.com
thanks again for a great blog, i'll be checking in regularly now that i've found you.
if you have an answer for my broccoli question thanks in advance
-Mary
HI Mary,
I'm also new to growing broccoli. I had good luck with store bought seedlings last year (I bought them already headed up) and am trying my own from seed this year. I gave a bunch of plants to my parents and my Mom has been eating the leaves very often. She thinks they're great in salads. A bit bitter.
I just googled it and Wikipedia says "Broccoli leaf is also edible and contains far more betacarotene than the florets." So its even good for you!
I also see that broccoli flowers are edible too. In fact all parts of the broccoli plant are edible.
Here's a nice page of broccoli questions and answers. Sorry I can't find any information about whether leaf harvesting will affect head production.
Have fun in the garden. Sounds like a great selection of vegetables. It reminds me I want to plant a few more eggplants...
Now you've both inspired me to check in my copy of Damrosch's Garden Primer on the chapter about broccoli, even though I'm not growing any this year. I'm curious!
Lovely waterfall, beautiful bird, nice shot!
~Jain
Thanks!
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