Our Little "Slice O' Heaven"...

Yesterday In The Garden

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

A Good Part Of The Fun Is In...

~Sharing The Magic Of A Garden~

Click on the above letter to enlarge for reading...

Thank you Fran!

Finding your letter in our mailbox this morning put a smile on my face and reminded me, once again, how important it is to be part of your community by sharing what you love with friends and neighbors. Our garden exists today because of friends inspiring us with their love of native plants and we simply passed that love along to you.

It is a joy and a pleasure to know you have found inspiration in our humble efforts.

We were not part of the 2008 Xeriscape Garden Tour because we have several unfinished projects that need our attention this year but we hope to be back on the tour for 2009.

Much Love, Jim & Peg

Today's

flower of the day

Malacothamnus fremontii

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

Fremont's Bush Mallow blooms today at Earth Home Garden.

Bathing In The Garden...

MOURNING DOVE BATHING

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2007 jim otterstrom

I put a sprinkler out for a little while today and this Mourning Dove wasted no time in making use of it, splashing and preening in the rain-like shower for nearly 20 minutes. The bird seemed especially interested in washing the underside of its wings.

Solar Waterfall

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A few blogfriends have asked about our little solar powered waterfall so here's a photo of it and below is a picture of the photovoltaic panel that powers it.

I disable it in below freezing weather but other than that the panel and pump have worked flawlessly for over a year.

The trickling water is a great bird attractor.

I posted info on this before but it was quite awhile back.

Water Attraction!

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A week ago yesterday I cleaned the ice out of the waterfall pond, re-installed the pump, attached the solar panel, and watched this Robin land a few minutes later to take advantage of the refreshing trickle.

I intended to post the photo that day but never got around to it, so here 'tis.

American Robin

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An American Robin (Turdus migratorius) drinks from the boulder birdbath on Thursday, February 16th.

"Red-Shafted" Flicker

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This very handsome woodpecker, the "Red-Shafted" Flicker (Colaptes auratus cafer), is a constant presence here in Big Bear and I very much enjoy their "wikka wikka" talk, their high-pitched "klee-yer", and their daily hammering upon steel chimney spark-arresters and power line transformers around the neighborhood.

Flickers are rare among woodpeckers in their love of ants and you will often see them hopping about on the ground in search of this delicacy.

I caught this male (the females look the same but without the red 'malars' on the sides of their faces) at one of our birdbaths this afternoon and photographed it through the double-pane glass of our front picture window.

30,000 Pound Birdbath!

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We rescued this 30,000 lb boulder (our birdbath) from a housing development about 10 years ago.
It's roughly the size of an old VW bug with the wheels removed.
A friend of ours works for the company that was doing the excavating and asked if we'd like a nice boulder.
The bucket on the skiploader used to bring the boulder here was rated at 30,000 lbs capacity, and the boulder bent the bucket, so we're assuming the rock weighs at least that much.

Birdbath Detail

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Shallow depressions in the top of our 30,000 pound boulder make for natural looking birdbaths.

Stellar Jay

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A Stellar Jay visits the solar waterfall on Monday.
The waterfall is built up against the South face of the boulder birdbath.
There is a young Jeffrey Pine at either side of the waterfall which provide cover for the birds.
The following is a list of birds we have seen drinking from or bathing in the waterfall since we installed it last week (and many others regularly visit the birdbath).

American Robin
Stellar Jay
Anna's Hummingbird
Mountain Chickadee
White-Headed Woodpecker
Cassin's Finch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Wilson's Warbler

Solar Waterfall

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I spent the day stacking rocks for this temporary pond/waterfall.
It's already attracted increasing numbers of birds to the native plant habitat.

Solar Pond Pump Test

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Today we tested our new solar powered pond/waterfall pump and it pumps plenty of water for our purposes.
The solar panel is a 12V 20W unit made by Kyocera, and the pump is from Solar Master. We bought them on the internet as a matched pair from Wholesale Pumps and you can click on the purple text to check for current pricing or other models. The unit came with a 50' cord and is recommended for waterfalls with a 4' lift or less and it can pump up to 240 gallons per hour.
Now to get the waterfall and pond built!