JESLED Lighting (98% positive lifetime feedback) via Amazon is offering a 2-pack of its Solar LED Landscape Spotlights for $14.63 Prime shipped with the code BEBETNIV and when you clip the on-page coupon. Down from its regular rate of around $25, this is among the best pricing that weve tracked all-time and is the lowest available. Spring is just around the corner, so its time to start preparing to spruce up your landscape. These spotlights are powered by the sun, meaning it takes just a few hours of light to keep them going all night. Rated 4.2/5 stars.

Govee US (98% positive lifetime feedback) via Amazon is offering a 2-pack of its Dusk to Dawn LED Light Bulbs for $10.39 Prime shipped with the code QTVQSZCF at checkout. Down from its regular rate of $16, this is among the best pricing that weve tracked all-time. Rated 4+ stars from 60% of shoppers.

Instead of illuminating your landscape, brighten up a walkway with this $13.50 Prime shipped LED solar light. Just remember toclip the on-page coupon to redeem the discounted price. While it wont shine a light on your landscape, itll easily let your guests know how to get to the backyard for spring parties.

Dont forget to check out our daily Green Deals roundup. Today, its headlined by a 56V backpack blower at $99 thatll make cleanup a breeze when it comes to yard work. Youll also find an electric pressure washer and more there, so be sure to give it a look.

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Brighten up your landscape with a 2-pack of solar LED spotlights at $14.50 - 9to5Toys

Theyre back, but migrating hooded orioles hardly got the welcome mat this week as they arrived amid cold temperatures, rain and generally miserable weather.

These beautiful songbirds may be wondering why they bothered to leave the comfort of more tropical conditions in Mexico.

But theyre back, having started dribbling into the county late last month, and now showing up in most areas.

The earliest reports were about three weeks ago when the colorful birds were reported in Borrego Springs and at a few scattered locations along the coast.

Its an annual homecoming I anxiously await, and the thrill of seeing the first hooded oriole of the season is hard to describe.

Id have to say its about as exciting for me as Winnie the Pooh finding a honey tree.

Sure, we have flocks of white-crowned sparrows and yellow-rumped warblers who brighten up bouncing around in our gardens all winter, but the arrival of the orioles is nothing less than magical.

The neon-yellow and orange along with jet-black coloration make the hooded oriole one of our most colorful summer visitors. Like clockwork they arrive in numbers around the first week of March and with equal punctuality depart about the first week in September.

Over the last several years I have recorded the first male arrival on either March 7, 8 or 9.

Males return first, followed by the less colorful females about 10 days two weeks later.

For the next few months the orioles will begin nest building, generally in palms, and by mid-summer their population will noticeably increase as fledglings begin feeding to build strength and energy for the fall migration.

Keep an eye on fan palms or broad leaf plants such as banana trees or rubber trees. The orioles use the fiber strands from palms for both nest construction and to sew the pouch nest into the broad leaves where eggs and chicks will be protected from rain.

Orioles add both color and animation to your bird feeders and will keep you busy providing fresh nectar, grape jelly or slices of orange.

Residents who want to attract the birds can do so easily by offering several types of oriole feeders available at local bird supply outlets.

Most popular are nectar feeders, because they will provide food for several days. The nectar is a mixture of one-part sugar and four parts water, mixed in boiling water and allowed to cool. Clean feeders well when refilling.

Hooded orioles are also just plain crazy about grape jelly. Thats a bit more expensive than nectar, and they arent very neat about eating it, often flinging it about. Its a good idea to put jelly feeders out in the garden away from patios or walkways.

Oranges cut in half or quarters can be placed on a tray or on a spike and the birds will also enjoy that, however, try to keep them out of hot sunlight.

In the natural environment, hooded orioles also feed on insects by hanging upside down to examine the underside of leaves.

One of the most appealing things about these summer visitors are their antics. They are the clowns of the bird world, also hanging upside down from your feeders, sliding down the string or wire holding a feeder, chattering and bickering with each other.

They are nervous and animated birds, dashing in and out of feeders and exploding in a flurry of flying feathers at the appearance of a human. Ive found the best way to watch them is from a window. You might get a view if sitting perfectly still near a feeder, but generally they seem to recognize the human shape and bolt immediately.

I have nectar feeders on my patio by the kitchen window, right at the window of my office, and by my bedroom window. This gives me a good view as they come to feed.

Hooded orioles are a beautiful addition to any landscape. With a little effort, you should be able to attract them to your home.

Email ernie@packtrain.com or visit erniesoutdoors.blogspot.com.

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Column: Attracting the colorful hooded oriole to your yard - The San Diego Union-Tribune

It seems a no-brainer in the desert that harvesting rainwater would be a common practice.

It hasnt been lately, but as the Southwests dwindling water supplies pose growing concerns, the concept of natural irrigation is blossoming, and in the Green Valley area, thats thanks largely to Charlene Westgate.

A landscape designer for 20-plus years and avid desert gardener for 30, the Oklahoma native has soaked up lots about sustainable landscaping in a climate where temperatures swing from triple digits to below freezing, and when it rains, it pours.

Quite shocked to find Arizona so different from the rich soil and plentiful rain in her home state, she applied her landscape background and 12 years in construction design, then set to learning about Southwest horticulture the hard way, she said.

It seems shes found the formula, if attendance at her free educational talks and mushrooming business clientele are indications.

Her company, Westgate Garden Design, launched in 2016, turned a profit within a year, doubled in 2018 and again in 2019, with no signs of withering. She recently hired a draftsperson, a retiree with architectural experience she met at the local Business Expo.

Westgate just began a spring schedule for her free garden talks at Desert Bloom.

Shes awed by her success. Its exceeded my wildest expectations, primarily by word of mouth, she said. A lot of people are caring about (working with nature).

At age 65, she could be retired. Instead, Westgate dove into and still is discovering new information, connections, resources, business contacts, subcontractors and ways to promote water conservation, whether it leads to a paid gig or just making another conservation convert. She loves sharing, as her ongoing community involvement attests, is making lots of friends and reaping valuable feedback.

Her focus: helping garden enthusiasts create and maintain beautiful yards compatible with nature as well as their interests. Her things native plants, which, to anyone from lusher climates, might sound limiting. Not so, with 2,500-plus native species here in one of the worlds most biodiverse collections.

They can be as colorful, shade-producing and rewarding to grow as anything, and less costly and time-consuming to maintain, Westgate said.

And the process is pretty simple, entailing use of strategically placed passive water-collecting basins and swales (shallow depressions resembling small puddles or ditches), which reduce or even eliminate the need to irrigate.

Landscape designer Charlene Westgate is pictured in the rain garden she designed at Desert Meadows Park in Green Valley. To the right is a good example of a swale, or ditch, which collects rainwater to prevent a portion of the nearby Anza Trail from flooding. It also provides water for native plantings along the way, and habitat for birds and butterflies.

Method in motion

Aliceann and Doug Christy were among Westgates first clients after they retired in Sahuarita following years of relocating around the United States for Dougs job in the railroad business.

The water-saving aspect of Charlenes work, which Aliceann learned of at one of the free presentations Charlene does to acquaint the public with desert gardening, Aliceann said.

The Christy yard was already landscaped when the couple bought their house, but as a Master Gardener studying desert gardening, Aliceann foresaw changes. The existing backyard was equally divided between planting area, hardscape (manmade surfaces), statuary and patio accoutrements.

To me, it was stark, not alive, Aliceann said.

Westgate helped the couple with a plan involving removal of 16 existing plants, transplanting others, and adding a couple dozen new low-water lovers that attract birds and butterflies. Goals were set based on an extensive questionnaire of wants.

Depending on those, Westgate consults her Roladex of referrals for applicable contractors, suppliers and artists for the project and to maintain it. Theres no vested interest in what all will be involved; installations done by someone else, Westgate said. She serves as client advocate through project completion.

Except for some hand-watering to establish a young lemon tree, weve used no irrigation since October, Aliceann said.

Their backyard now boasts several small planting basins lined with wood chips, which keep the soil cooler, feed plantings, attract worms and, of course, retain water.

Aliceann Christy and pooch Sophie with their new backyard, designed by Charlene Westgate with input from Aliceann and husband Doug. They wanted a garden full of life to replace the starker one that came with their Sahuarita home, which was nearly void of birds and butterflies. Out came several non-native plants; others were transplanted and new ones added, along with a mountain stream-like water feature. Already, plants are starting to thrive with water-collecting basins such as the one at lower left.

A new pump-driven water feature trickles gently down the backyards slope, adding to the tranquil setting perfect for outdoor get-togethers, potting plants, reading, and enjoying the wildlife.

A former hospital nurse, Aliceann immersed herself in gardening, crediting her early appreciation to her mother and grandmother.

Theres just something about nurturing something and seeing it respond, she said. Its relaxing. It centers me, grounds me. The yard now reflects rusticity, a little wild, but thats what provides coverage for wildlife.

Aliceann has taken other garden-related classes, including one on creating yard art. In the 10 different states the Christys have called home, theyve sought help from many design professionals and truly value their input, she said.

Lessons applied

Aliceann Christy applied skills learned from Charlene Westgate's shared garden tips to revamp her front yard, removing an olive tree then adding three cactus and various sizes of rock for a distinctly more Southwestern feel.

The front yard is Aliceanns baby. With skills learned from Westgate, shes had a thirsty olive tree replaced with three tall saguaros, large landscape rock and stream-style beds where rain can collect. Westgate said shes enjoyed seeing her spread her wings.

The lifestyle sure beats white-knuckling it on the way to work driving icy roads where she used to live, Aliceann said. Westgate chuckles knowingly.

Excerpt from:
NATURE CAN THRIVE IN YOUR YARD! Sustainable landscaping in Sonoran Desert - Green Valley News

For additional information and to register, visit: https://masshort.org/upcoming-classes

Fruit trees pruning and care

When is the best time to prune apple trees? What can I apply to prevent peach leaf curl? Come ask these questions and learn so much more from Stockbridge School of Agriculture Director and Professor of Pomology Wes Autio. He will present a talk on pruning fruit trees in the home landscape and will discuss the physiology of fruiting trees, methods for dwarf-tree pruning, ways to enhance fruit production, and other interesting facts for creating and maintaining a home orchard.

The class will be held at Mass Horts Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington St., Wellesley, on Thursday, March 19, from 7-8:30 p.m. Fee for member is $15, for nonmembers $20.

Fundamentals of landscape design

Have you ever looked at your yard, no matter how big or small, and wanted to create a self-made oasis, but you didnt know where to start? Heres your chance to learn how to create a space that is completely your own from beginning to end.

This six session course, led by Mark Ahronian of Ahronian Landscaping and Design, focuses on landscape design for the do-it-yourself home gardener. He will lead you through all the steps of designing your chosen space and class will include two Saturday morning field trips. One is a visit to Weston Nurseries, where youll learn how to make plant selections. The other visit will be to a home, where we will discuss and visualize design elements. Each participant will leave the class with a complete design of their own making.

Clasess will be held at Mass Horts Gardens at Elm Bank, 900 Washington St., Wellesley, on Tuesdays from March 24-April 14, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., and two Saturdays, April 4 and 11, 10 a.m.-noon. Fee for member is $340, for nonmembers $390.

For additional information and to register, visit https://masshort.org/upcoming-classes/

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Mass. Hort in Wellesley offers programs - Fall River Herald News

Auburn Universitys campus is foremost a place of learning, but it is also a thriving community of 1,785 acres an area that takes a number of hands and offices to make the Loveliest Village on the Plains live up to its nickname.

Justin Sutton, director of landscape services, said there are about 50 landscapers at Auburn. For daily maintenance, they have six zones, each with a supervisor and five to six employees.

Those are mostly the people you see out and about every day, Sutton said. They maintain their area of responsibility, and that goes everything from mowing grass to trimming shrubs to applying fertilizers.

Sutton said along with maintenance, landscaping has projects they plan and execute. They also assist with capital projects that are installed by a contractor and once the projects are complete, they keep up the maintenance.

He said the cost of maintenance and materials average around $340,000 a year for landscape services. About half of that cost is for the materials used for projects.

Within that number, pine straw and mulch average about $78,000, fertilizer and pesticides $53,000 and soil $3,600 respectively.

This [soil] number is low due to a lot of our soil and amendment coming from our compost yard, and the soil that is milled off of Jordan-Hare Stadium, he said.

Sutton said most of the plants on campus are drought-tolerant. However, their annual colors, like the flowers, rotate frequently, he said.

We grow most of what we put on campus here at our facilities site and our greenhouse, he said.

Sutton said he gives credit to the staff who earn each landscaping award the University receives.

We got a lot of guys who are just dedicated to their job and are proud of what they do, Sutton said. They just keep campus going great no matter what time of year it is.

Morgan Beadles, the director of the Donald E. Davis Arboretum, said the arboretum helps with conservation.

Beadles said the upkeep takes a lot of specialized maintenance and hands-on work with pruning shrubs and fertilizing.

We have a collection to protect, so we cant have big machinery out here, she said. We cant have big, heavy equipment moving around because you have to protect the roots in the collection.

Beadles said the workload is always heavy, but the type of work changes with the seasons.

Theres a balance between it feeling natural and manicured and not overly manicured, but still safe, Beadles said.

Between student employees, repairs and materials, Beadles said they spend about $40,000 a year on maintenance.

She said they get a semi-truck load of pine straw, and this year, they got about 1,568 bales of pine straw.

Through this effort, Beadles said they have won the AU Spirit of Sustainability Award, the Eagle Award from the Auburn Chamber of Commerce and have been the American Public Garden Associations featured garden of the week twice.

Maintaining scenery isnt only about keeping campus visually appealing, but also about providing a learning space for certain majors to gain practical experience.

Some schools make use of Parkerson Mill Creek as a teaching tool for students, but because it runs through campus, it also requires annual cleanup.

All the trash thats on the streets that goes into the gutters ultimately ends up into the creek, and so we try to promote initiatives that keep the campus clean, said Tom McCauley, environmental program manager of Risk Management Services. We try to bring awareness to the fact that the creek is a resource. Its an attribute to campus, and we should try to preserve that as best we can.

Unlike other environmental affairs, the yearly creek cleanup is entirely a student and faculty effort. McCauley said its not financial funding but an investment of time and energy from the Auburn Family that allows the program to exist.

All of our efforts are volunteer efforts, McCauley said. We try to involve faculty and students as best as we can, [and] we try to partner with the City because we have a mutual interest.

Not only has the cleanup benefited major programs like hydrology, aquatic behaviors and ecosystems and engineering, it has additionally helped the University receive a designation for its sustainable water system.

The University was designated as a watershed of excellence, which means weve got the means to promote watershed conservation, McCauley said. Theres no better way to show it by example than creating a watershed here on campus thats a preserved specimen.

McCauley said cleanups usually occur in cooler months during late winter and early spring when volunteers might be more amenable to collect trash.

Several times a year well try to gather some momentum, get some involvement through some campus organizations, McCauley said.

Its latest events were on Feb. 23, in a partnership with Omega Phi Alpha, and on March 1, in association with Alternative Student Breaks. It has one other cleanup planned for the semester on April 4, with the Office of Sustainability in advance of Earth Week.

Waste Reduction and Recycling is the department that sees the rest of campus land and litter maintained each year. This is a significant responsibility for an institution of 30,000 students, and the office receives strong financial backing by the University to uphold its mission: to strive to make recycling accessible and convenient, said Joan Hicken, WRRs manager.

[Our] yearly budget is about $500,000, and the solid waste and recycling collection contract is about $600,000 annually, Hicken said. We want to encourage students, staff, faculty and visitors to incorporate recycling into their daily routine on campus.

A sizable portion of this funding goes into upkeep for WRRs containers and machinery. These include over 400 hand-pick trash bins, 130 front-end loaders for solid waste and 200 95-gallon recycling bins, among other utilities.

Altogether in 2019, the University recycled 371 tons of cardboard, 219 tons of paper, 50 tons of scrap metal, 41 tons of plastic, aluminum and steel and 3.5 tons of printer ink cartridges and toner.

Most notably, WRR collected 2,041 tons of construction and demolition debris from on-campus projects in the past year that included sidewalks and sheds that were destroyed. The removal of Allison Laboratory, while not factored into this count, also brought the department a lot of recycled and reclaimed material.

3,161 tons of concrete, 196 tons of asphalt, 129 tons of metal and 85 tons of wood were removed and recycled, Hicken said. In addition, 45,265 linear feet of lumber was reclaimed for future design use by the University.

All concrete, metal and wood that made up Allison Laboratory was fully recycled by the department, she said.

Football season is perhaps WRRs most important time of year; a plethora of people visiting campus for games means a wave of waste follows and is a high cost for the department.

They started the Gameday Recycling program to bring hundreds of recycling bins in and around Jordan-Hare Stadium to ensure fans put their trash in the proper receptacles.

Gameday Recycling is an opportunity for the University to demonstrate to the campus community that recycling and waste reduction activities are not limited to the home, Hicken said. To provide waste and recycling services for each home football game is on average $15,000 per game. Each home football game generates, on average, 52 tons of waste and recycling.

Hicken said WRR performs its functions in tandem with other offices such as Housing and Residence Life, Tiger Dining, Risk Management Services and Auburn Athletics to achieve the Universitys land-grant mission of improving the lives of Alabamians and people beyond.

The entire campus community plays a role in our progress to becoming a more sustainable campus, Hicken said. There is not an aspect of campus life that is not touched by waste and recycling.

Keeping campus beautiful isnt just a job for a single group. At Auburn, it takes a team of departments and organizations to maintain the campus landscape and promote a loveliness the University seeks to preserve.

Read the original here:
What it takes to maintain the Loveliest Village on the Plains - The Auburn Plainsman

My Brevard Yard(Photo: Submitted photo)

The end of winter is near, and the plants are still not actively growing. Therefore, this is a great time to learn how to care for your lawn, landscape or edible plants without harming the environment.

The health of the Indian River Lagoon is in bad shape, and improper fertilization and cultural practices can lead to nutrients leaching or being carried to the lagoon or the St. Johns Riverin stormwater runoff.

If you are new to Florida, having problems in your yard, or you would like to learn how to maintain your yard properly, a My Brevard Yard site visit could be just what you are looking for.

A trained UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County Master Gardener (or two) will come to your yard and help you with your lawn, ornamentalsand/or edibles, all for just $50.Prior to the site visit, a survey will need to be filled out to give us an idea of past fertilization and irrigation practices.

In addition to help with fertilization and irrigation, many homeowners are interested in receiving information on how to grow edible plants, set their irrigation timer, plant identification andsuggestions for problem areas.MBY site visit recipients can also choose which printed UF/IFAS material on the topics of:Helpful, Harmful, Harmless (insect bug guide); Disorders and Diseases of Palms; Landscaping for Floridas Wildlife or Propagating Fruit Plants in Florida.

All site visits include a soil test, which we collect and mail to the IFAS Soil Testing Laboratory in Gainesville.

For homeowners who have a lawn care company fertilizing their lawn, the soil test results will help the company apply the correct nutrients and avoidany that are already at a high level.

For homeowners who fertilizer their own lawns, we can teach you how to add the biology (in the form of the soil food web) back to the soil so it can supply your lawn, landscape and edible plants with the nutrients they require.If nutrients are needed at the beginning, until the soil food web is established, an organic fertilizer choice is provided.

Testing the soil is extremely important before fertilizing, for many reasons.Applying phosphorus to a soil that already has enough phosphorus can lead to the excess phosphorus leaching through the soilinto our groundwater.When phosphorus (and nitrogen) reach the groundwater, they become pollutants.

Soil tests that come back showing a low phosphorus level are perfect for inoculating the lawn with beneficial mycorrhizae.Mycorrhizae establish a symbiotic relationship with many plants, including grasses, and high levels of phosphorus inhibit this relationship from forming.

Research at the University of Florida has found that the mycorrhizae Glomus intraradices forms a symbiotic relationship with St. Augustinegrass.After the soil test results are received, a fertilizer recommendation is created for the resident.

In addition to soil testing, we also test irrigation water that comes from a well, pondor surface water.We test for conductivity to determine the salt content.The results of the water test are emailed as quickly as possible, as the test is done here in our office.

An irrigation zone is also calibrated to see if enough water is being applied. The catch-can method is used to check the irrigation output to see if the run time needs to be adjusted.

After the soil and water are collected for testing and an irrigation zone is calibrated, it is the homeowners turn to get answers to all their questions. The questions can range from plant identification, solutions for problem areas, what is wrong with this plant, etc.

Questions about trees and palms are also common during a site visit.

Now is a great time for a site visit, because there is plenty of time to get the soil test results back and provide a fertilizer recommendation in time for fertilizing in April or May, before the fertilizer ban goes into effect.

When the correct fertilizer is appliedat the right time, in the proper amountand watered in correctly, the soil and plants benefit, without harming the environment.If a plant is receiving the correct light conditions and water supply, and it is suffering from insects or disease, then nutritional deficiencies will be the most likely root cause of the pest problem. This is true for non-native and native plants.

There are two important components of a healthy soil that are lacking in most landscapes: organic matter and the presence of beneficial soil microbes that make up the soil food web.

If all the soils within the watershed of the IRL contained at least 5 percent organic matter and were supporting a thriving soil food web, the IRL would be much better off.

Organic matter increases both the nutrient and water-holding capacity of the soil.This would result in the nitrogen and phosphorus staying in the soil and not leaching into the groundwater.

Plus, with increased nutrient-holding capacity, less fertilizer is needed.

One of the many benefits of a healthy soil food web isnutrient cycling. This is how forests and natural areas grow without any help from humans. Organic matter also absorbs rainfall like a sponge, keeping it out of the groundwater and available for the plants to use later.

As it is now, the IRL must contend with both stormwater runoff from all the impervious surfaces throughout the county and the large amounts of rainfall that flows straight through our sandy soils.

If you are interested in a My Brevard Yard site visit, email me at sasc@ufl.edu.

Gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby, especially when the plants are growing well. Let us help you learn the gardening practices that can achieve the results you want.It is possible to grow healthy plants without harming the environment.

Sally Scalera is an urban horticulture agent and master gardener coordinator for the University of Floridas Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences. Email sasc@ufl.edu.

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Having problems with you lawn and garden? My Brevard Yard can help - Florida Today

Carol Cloud Bailey, Special to TCPalm Published 10:03 a.m. ET March 3, 2020 | Updated 1:57 p.m. ET March 9, 2020

Q: How can I get rid of the pink clover growing in my yard? The flowers are pretty enough when they are open, but they close in the afternoon and evening. The patch of clover seems to be getting bigger every year and taking over my lawn.

George

A:When the pink clover shows up in the lawn and landscape, the end of winter is here and spring not far behind. The plant most often seen growing in the lawn with three-part leaves and pink/purple flowers isnt a true clover but an Oxalis.

Pink wood sorrel is often found growing and blooming in Treasure Coast landscapes and lawns in the late winter and early spring. Is it a weed or a desirable flower? That determination is best made by the gardener.(Photo: CONTRIBUTED BY CAROL CLOUD BAILEY)

Oxalis plants are popular as novelties, they are often sold as shamrocks this time of year, and bedding plants for the landscape. There are approximately 30 of the 600 species of Oxalis used as ornamental plants in containers, gardens and landscapes. The leaf color varies from green to blue to silver or burgundy-purple and gold. The leaves and flowers of Oxalis fold up at night and reopen in the daylight. Flowers are small and may be white, pink, red, rose, purple, orange or yellow.

Oxalis debilis also known as pink wood sorrel is the most common plant which grows as a weedy cloverin lawns. It is not native to the U.S., but is indigenous to tropical America. It is well established here in Florida and the rest of the southeastern U.S. but is not considered an invasive plant by most authorities.

More:What can I plant for quick color and a sweet smell?

More: What's going on when mango tree doesn't yield any fruit?

In addition to being pretty, Oxalis can be a weed in turf grass and landscape beds. The plants spread by underground stems known as rhizomes and the seeds are often produced in large quantities. The seed pods help spread the plant around by splitting explosively and shooting the seeds all over the surrounding area.

Oxalis are more abundant in lawns during the cooler weather. It also tends to invade where there is space to grow such as in thinning turf.So, the best control in lawns is prevention by eliminating or reducing thinning turf.

Best lawn management practices for a thicker lawn include growing turf only in sunny areas, a minimum of 6-8 hours of sun, mow high, usually at 3.5 to 4 inches tall, use sharp mower blades, irrigate deeply and less often only when the turf needs it, keep up with fertility and use high quality fertilizer in combination with a soil test.

When turf begins rapidly growing with the return of warmer weather, it will sometimes crowd out Oxalis weeds, so control may not be necessary.However, it may be necessary to try other methods including hand-pulling or the spot application of herbicides to reduce the populations.

Once the weed numbers are reduced and maintenance practices corrected, if the turf is still thin and weeds tend to grow in that area, it is a good idea to plant something other than lawn grass. Granny Cloud was fond of planting only plants which thrive in a specific location, that way you dont have to work so hard, she said.

Carol Cloud Bailey is a landscape counselor and horticulturist. Send questions to carol@yard-doc.com or visit http://www.yard-doc.com for more information.

Read or Share this story: https://www.tcpalm.com/story/life/columnists/carol-cloud-bailey/2020/03/03/gardening-treasure-coast-getting-rid-pink-clover-growing-my-yard-vero-beach-stuart-port-st-lucie/4937658002/

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Gardening in Florida: How can I get rid of the pink clover growing in my yard? - TCPalm

Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwams College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Jordan Morgan, a junior at the US Performance Academy and a member of Irvine Novaquatics, has made her verbal commitment to swim for the University of Texas in the fall of 2021. Primarily a breaststroker, Morgan is .23 seconds away from an Olympic Trials cut in the 100 LCM breaststroke and 2.45 seconds away from the cut time in the 200 LCM breaststroke.

Im so excited to announce my verbal commitment to swim and study at the University of Texas! Im grateful to my family and coaches for supporting me through the years, and Im so happy to have the opportunity to swim for such an amazing program. Hook em

At the Speedo Champions Series in Carlsbad, Morgan took home a 7th place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.60). She also took 19th place in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Speedo Winter Junior Championship West meet (1:02.44). Her career-best time in the 100-yard breaststroke came from the USA Swimming Winter National Championships in 2017, where she took 14th.

Top Times in Yards:

With her career-best times, Morgan would have the second-fastest 100-yard breaststroke time, behind senior Kennedy Lohman, and the fastest 200 yard breaststroke time on the current Longhorns team. She is the sole breaststroker amongst the 2025 recruiting class for the Longhorns, made up of #15Olivia McMurray,Morgan Brophy,Ellie Andrew, andAva Collinge.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [emailprotected].

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Texas Lands Verbal From Breaststroker Jordan Morgan For The Fall of 2021 - SwimSwam

Some of the photos in this story depict graphic scenes of hunting carnage. Reader discretion is advised.

__

(CN) The herd of bison fed quietly along the dirt roadside Saturday, just inside the northern border of Yellowstone National Park.

About 100 yards away, a group of about 50 Native Americans watched the bison intently. With rifles of all calibers slung over their shoulders, they waited for the big animals to cross the dirt road onto National Forest Land, where the bison could be shot.

Pickup trucks with license plates from around the country lined both sides of the narrow dirt road. Some of the men sat in pickup trucks, idling their engines to keep warm, while young boys sat on tailgates, sharpening knives. They knew the killing would start soon.

The bison, meanwhile, would step across the road, only to be herded back to the park by an unknowing passing motorist. The entire mood of the group of men shifted as the bison crossed back and forth.

After about six hours, the herd of 18 bison had crossed in singles and in pairs and was now making its way up a long, flat ridge where bison carcasses lay strewn about from previous days killings.

The men grouped together to listen to a tribal game officer from the Nez Perce tribe tell them how the hunt was going to take place. As there were only 18 bison, but about 50 men, the tribal members who had come from across the country decided how the bison would be distributed. One elderly man was given the chance to lead the pack of men up the ridge. He would shoot first.

The men moved in a group slowly up the ridge while the bison grazed nonchalantly just 40 yards away, oblivious to the dead carcasses dotted around the sagebrush and open grass. The tailgate-party atmosphere of a few minutes ago had now turned serious, sullen and quiet.

As soon as the bison had moved past fluorescent signs dictating where the shooting could take place, the elderly man raised his rifle and fired, dropping his buffalo. The other bison stood nearby, nonplussed.

The other shooters fired quickly and the bison dropped where they had stood. In less than 30 seconds it was over; the herd of bison lay dead in the snow, some still writhing from injuries while battle cries and shouts echoed across the still winter landscape.

The men took to their task immediately, skinning and butchering the enormous animals, while a few women shot photos with cellphones. The snow turned red, and a small creek running with snowmelt carried the bison blood down the hill.

One man who came from a tribe in Idaho cut out the eyeball of the bison bull he was butchering, out of respect, so the animal could not watch, the man said.

Saturdays bison killing by Native American tribal members was part of a management effort to reduce the animals numbers in Yellowstone National Park.

The culling of bison that wander outside of Yellowstone National Park started in the late 1990s, after the state of Montana sued the National Park Service over allowing bison to roam outside the park and possibly infect nearby domestic cattle with brucellosis.

The spread of disease has never happened, according to the park, but the shooting of bison outside the park has carried on ever since, mostly in late winter when the bison move out of the park to find better feed.

The park service has a goal of about 3,000 bison for Yellowstone Park. In 2019, the agency counted about 4,900 bison.

The park service uses three strategies to keep the population figures within the 3,000-animal range: tribal and public hunts outside the park; sending bison to slaughter, with the meat and hides going to tribes and putting bison in quarantine to test them for disease, then shipping the bison to tribal lands. Ninety-three bison were sent to the Fort Peck Reservation of Montana in 2019.

A small neighborhood of about a dozen homes sits just 300 yards away from where the killing takes place each year near Beattie Gulch, just north of Gardiner, Montana. The killing field has led to one neighbor filing a lawsuit in October 2019 against the National Park Service over the handling of the hunt.

The lawsuits plaintiff, Neighbors Against Bison Slaughter, is seeking injunctive relief and a restraining order to stop the killings. In its answer to the complaint Feb. 20, the Department of Interior said the plaintiff had failed to exhaust administrative remedies over the hunts and that plaintiffs lack standing.

According to the lawsuit, federal agencies in 2013 began allowing four Native American tribes to shoot bison in Beattie Gulch near Yellowstone National Park. By 2019, the number of tribes had expanded to six.

Tribal members from the Nez Perce tribe, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation are allowed to shoot the bison. Tribal members represented last Saturday came from as far away as Wisconsin and Oregon.

Lee Whiteplume of Idaho harvested a big bison bull Saturday. He meticulously cared for his bison, wrapping the quarters in cotton game bags. He brought two other men with him to help with the arduous task of skinning and quartering the bison. Children walked among their elders, inspecting the bison animals that for centuries have fed and clothed Native Americans. Tribes that were once sworn enemies worked together from the shooting to the harvest.

This is good medicine, Whiteplume said while hunched over his big bison, helping skin the big animal. I think its only right that of all people on planet Earth we get to exercise our aboriginal rights by being able to harvest one of these animals.

Some of the neighbors, though, dont see it that way.

According to the lawsuit, The dramatically expanded and escalating tribal hunt has forced neighbors some only a few hundred yards away to bear the economic costs and physical risks of the slaughter; the hunt causes extreme noise; and, perhaps worst of all, the hunt leaves thousands of pounds of rotting, potentially disease-laden bison carcasses littered across this small geographic area.

The Neighbors lawsuit claims that the number of bison killed by native Americans and non-natives at Beattie Gulch has increased from 59 in 2007 to 389 in 2016-2017. Last year about 300 bison were killed there, according to Gregg Todd, a game warden with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, who was on the scene Saturday.

Todd said this years mild winter has led to far fewer bison coming out of Yellowstone National Park.

Kerry Gunther, who lives about 400 yards away, walked among the carcasses Sunday.

Gunther, who has applied for one of the non-tribal permits to shoot bison, said hes not against the culling of the herd, but he thinks the government agencies and tribes could do more to reduce the eyesore of the hundreds of bison carcasses left to rot in the sun long after the shooters are gone.

Im not against hunting and Im not against culling bison, Gunther said, but the shooting line forms right here and the bison die right here.

Gunther said the eagles and birds that feed on the carrion often land in the big cottonwood trees at his home and drop pieces of meat into his yard.

Its amazing how big a chunk of meat an eagle can carry, he said. Its not fun having bison udders in your yard.

The gut piles from the shootings are concentrated in a 20- to 30-acre area on a bench overlooking the Yellowstone River and in plain view of a county road, where tourists drive by, hoping to catch a glimpse of wildlife. Gunther recommends the shooting be moved at least a few hundred yards farther up the hill and away from public view.

Gunther works as a bear biologist for Yellowstone National Park, and said the park takes extreme care to remove roadkill so that grizzly bears are not attracted to it. This area of bison remains often attracts grizzlies, which will soon be coming out of hibernation, he said.

For years, the federal agencies have ignored the local residents plight and the extreme dangers of the hunt because they seem to think they have no alternatives to this gruesome, unsanitary, and dangerous hunt, the lawsuit claims.

While one neighbor has taken the lawsuit approach to stopping the hunt, Gunther, meanwhile, said he has approached the agencies that oversee the killing including Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service to try to find a solution to the carrion problem.

When it deals with treaty rights, they claim there is no jurisdiction, Gunther said.

According to the National Park Service, Yellowstones bison population has grown steadily over the last 50 years, from 500 animals in 1970 to about 4,900 today. The bison population increases 10% to 17% per year and predation by bears and wolves has had little effect in reducing the bison numbers, according to the park service.

In winter 2018-19, 460 bison were killed in the hunt or captured and taken to slaughter. This winter, wildlife officials decided to remove 600 to 900 animals through shooting outside the park, capture and shipment to slaughter at the parks Stephens Creek facility, and placement in quarantine for transport to native American tribal lands.

Last Saturday, bright sunny weather changed to a wintertime blizzard by evening, as trucks and trailers hauled off the bison meat and hides. Lee Whiteplumes truck and small trailer rattled down the dirt road, loaded with several hundred pounds of clean bison meat.

Once back home, the bounty of the harvest will be shared with his family. The entire family will get involved with the tanning of the enormous bison hide, using the brains as an emulsifier on the hide. This will take weeks of strenuous work, he said, weeks and weeks, and hours upon hours of work.

A member of another tribe approached Whiteplume to borrow his portable electric saw, while Whiteplume took a brief rest on his tailgate. Whiteplume looked down at the massive bison bull sprawled below him.

He was not festive or jovial, and no sense of bloodlust was displayed. He appeared at the same time somber but grateful. Snow began to spit out of the ashen gray sky and Whiteplume resumed his work on the bison.

This represents our life and our livelihood, Whiteplume said. This is our connection to this landscape.

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'This Is Good Medicine': Tribes Work Together in Annual Bison Hunt - Courthouse News Service

An unfamiliar smudge suddenly appears against the forest fragment I'm birding. Voice shrill, hands waving high, I charge across the field toward it. The inky smudge vanishes into the woods. It's a cat. It has been over a year since the last cats were lurking around my yard, so the appearance of this new cat has me on edge. The previous stable tenants, next door, left a litter of kittens behind when their lease was over. I went to great lengths to trap the litter, prevent them from being eaten by the local fox, and then to rehome the three that survived. Sure, we could have left them to starve, to be attacked by wild animals, and let nature sort it all out, but cats are not a part of nature, they are a domesticated species, and when they impose upon the natural landscape they are pests; therefore, it was my responsibility to act in their best interest and in the interest of the environment.

Each year over 100 different species of bird pass through my yard, which is along a main artery of the Potomac River, and sandwiched between a mountain and extensive farmland. Many species stay to breed, nest, and raise young, so when I saw that inky smudge stalking the property, I did what any true bird-lover would do: I took down my feeders and stopped attracting birds to my yard. It was an aggravating time because I wanted to be visited by my resident winged beauties, but I also felt a sense of duty to protect them from the cat, so in addition to taking my feeders down, I began cat-watching. Aside from the injury to wildlife and birds, which inevitably took place over the course of the year that little smudge stalked my yard, my main worry was that a feral cat colony might form nearby.

The number of birds that outdoor cats kill per year has been estimated to be between 1.3 and 4 billion. That's a wide range, but even on the lower end, 1.3 billion is a problem. These numbers only represent birds (not reptiles or small mammals), which make up 20 percent of feral cats' prey.

People are the solution to the feral cat problem in our nation, but people are also part of the problem. A feral cat simply does not apparate in the wilderness, it is put there, sometimes intentionally. For example, an indoor cat is a protected companion animal that is, for the most part, supervised and supported. A free-ranging, or outdoor, cat is exposed, unsupervised, and unprotected. The free-ranging cats that escape domestication are not wild like bobcats or ocelots, they are feral and invasive. Invasive species are described as a non-native organism that causes ecological harm to an ecosystem, including extinction of species, competition with species, and altering habitats. Feral cats are the poster-species of this description. For additional reference, another species that fits this definition is the Burmese Python populations which plague the Florida Everglades. Neither have a place on our natural landscape.

During the times that my unwanted visitor was absent from my yard, I worried about it. I wondered how it was keeping warm on cold nights, if it got eaten by an eagle, a coyote, or a fox. Sometimes I just wanted to know that it was OK. I worried about the inky smudge because I believe in protecting all animals, including cats, and promoting their welfare. I like them. Norwegian Forest cats and Maine Coons are my favorite. Their voluptuous shape, sophisticated coats, and affectionate demeanor are irresistible. Even though I am severely allergic, I can't resist tickling a furry ear, or lending my legs to a head butt. Experiencing the joy and tenderness of an indoor cat is worth the doses of Benadryl, Zyrtec, and puffs of Albuterol that I need to breathe around them. So, yeah. I like cats. Yet, I am able to recognize the serious problems that feral cat colonies pose.

Supporting feral cat colonies prolongs their inevitable suffering. Trap, Neuter, and Release programs, in which the cats are trapped, neutered/spayed, then returned to the environment, do not address the issues of population control, human health hazards (rabies and toxoplasmosis), ecological hazards, nor do they address the animal's safety. Feral cat colonies are not contained spaces, therefore, it isn't possible to trap spay/neuter every single cat or provide health care for all of them. Feral cats are nearly impossible to rehome, are unprotected, neglected, and sickly. Subsidizing colonies only drags out feral cats' suffering.

Meanwhile, 33 bird species have been confirmed extinct due to feral cats. These species were confined to islands, but consider my yard, the acres of rural homesteads that are spread thin across America, and the suburban neighborhoods which those cats fallen from domestication prowl: They are islands unto themselves and free-ranging cats reduce bird populations at a minimum rate of 1.3 billion per annum. Why isn't this invasive species controlled like other pests? We control wolves and coyotes to protect livestock and wildlife, why not control feral cats to protect wildlife and human health? In Australia, nearly 80 percent of the naturescape is overrun by feral cats. The government has acknowledged the problem and has committed to culling 2 million feral cats by 2020 in order to protect the native wildlife and ecosystems. Why not humanely manage feral cat populations in the United States?

On a gloomy February afternoon, my friend Tom and I are scouting for a suitable place to build a Barn Owl nesting box at the stables. We meet the current stable tenant who becomes interested in our plans. Amid the horses, miniature ponies, and the domestic ducks quacking about, we tell her about our plans for the owls. The conversation steers toward our love of birds, animals, horses, and then the jingling of a bell interrupts us. The ducks scatter. From behind the barn, I see it. The smudge. The tenant reads the look of surprise on my face and says, "That's Panther." She explains Panther's circumstances to us and shares with us his random arrival to the stables.

"He just showed up one day, about a year ago."

That's about how long he has been stalking my yard.

She informs us about how sickly he was when they met and how she and her daughter nursed him back to health. She confesses that he has been killing the shorebirds that hatch in the back paddock. Underneath her words, I sense embarrassment over his actions. I don't blame her. She inherited an unwanted cat and acted in his best interest.

Panther, who is sporting a purple collar with his name engraved across a purple metal tag, slinks toward us. He is plump, fluffy, and missing half of his tail hardly the look of the killer that has been leaving mutilated cardinals, wrens, garter snakes, and voles around my home. Without hesitation, even though I've been chasing him from my yard regularly, he gets close to my legs and helps himself to multiple head butts. My instinct is to reach down and stroke his back, but there's nowhere to wash my hands, so I simply say, "hi, cutie." I'm both annoyed and relieved by this encounter with Panther. I'm annoyed because there's no way an owl box can be built with a known killer on the prowl and because I'm not sure how to manage the spring broods of shorebird. However, I'm relieved. It's just one cat and not a colony. Panther is fortunate. He found safety with people who care about his welfare. Feral cats, even with the help of cat activists, aren't so lucky. Panther's guardians eventually moved on to different pastures and they took him with them. When the new tenants moved in, I put in a request to the stable manager: no cats. So far, my yard has been cat-free and my bird feeders are up again.

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