Woodpile Sunflower Garden

 

Amongst humans “square foot gardening” is a big hit. It involves packing a lot of veggie plants into a small space. It is great for folks who don’t have a big yard or community garden plot. We chipmunks aren’t really big fans of all that “rabbit food” you humans grow – lettuce, kale, brussel sprouts. We prefer something a bit heartier like sunflower seeds. I know many of my fellow critters live in urban neighborhoods without much space to grow a sunflower garden. I wanted to introduce you to square foot gardening chipmunk style. All you need is a bundle of firewood and a pack of seeds.

Clear a patch of ground by removing the weeds. Spread out a thin layer of compost if you’ve got it.

Arrange your logs in a square. I got some assistance from Bushy with moving the logs.

Load up your cheek pouches with seeds and wiggle your way between the logs.

Then plant your seeds between the logs.

Why use the logs? It prevents the birds from eating your seeds.

They can’t reach down between the logs.

Look my first sprout!

You will need to tend your garden. The plants will need regular watering and the occasional weeding.

I like to mulch my plants with sunflower seed shells to reduce the amount of weeding needed.

Success!

I planted my square foot sunflower woodpile garden back in June. From those tiny sprouts, the sunflowers are now eight feet tall with huge flowers!

My amazing success unfortunately attracted the attention of the notorious Goldfinch gang who started eating the sunflowers before they even finished ripening. I grab my cell phone and started playing the call of the Sharp Shinned Hawk, which likes to prey on small birds. The Goldfinch gang scattered to the four winds in seconds and never came back.

Tomato Bob

I want to introduce you to my friend and fellow gardener Tomato Bob. We have been calling him Tomato Bob for so long, even he can’t remember his real name. We are both founding members of the Woodpile Garden Club. As my loyal readers know, my personal passion is growing sunflowers including exotic species like Guinness flavored.

Tomato Bob has grown dozens of different of varieties of tomatoes over the years. He has narrowed it down to his top seven based upon favor. They range in size from 1/8 ounce up to one pound in size. There are traditional reds and then he has yellow, black, and even green tomatoes. Yes, the green tomato is actually ripe! They are called green zebras. The zebra part is from the fact they have dark green stripes. The large red heirloom tomatoes he grows which weigh in at a pound a piece they are like buying a $1000 bottle of wine.

 Tomato Bob’s wife reminds him to wash his paws first.

Yummy!

Last one, I better pick some more.

After eating twenty tomatoes, Bob is feeling a bit stuffed.

 

A short video of Tomato Bob eating his prize crop.

"Tomato line up" – Golden Girl, Green Zebra, Black Cherry, Cherry, Gold Nugget, Matt’s Wild Cherry. The super tiny tomato on the far right, is a new species Bob has been creating. He thinks he has finally perfected it.

How to do tell when a Green Zebra is ripe? They start to turn a yellowish green.

Which is the better Tomato? Answer, they are both equally as good! The tiny 1/8 ounce tomato packs as much flavor as the one pound German heirloom tomato!

Before all the Moms write pointing out critters should eat a balanced diet with a variety of veggies, the club grows a wide range of veggies.

 

Taste Testing

The Blackbird Tavern serves a diverse population of critters – birds, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, and the occasional raccoon. The bartender puts out a variety of treats for customers – sunflower seeds, peanuts, cracked corn, popcorn and even jelly. Everything but the jelly is salted to make the customers thirsty. The topic of conversation amongst the regulars was about different critter’s treat preferences. We all chimed in with our opinions on the topic. My cousin Vinnie, always the scientist, quietly listened to the conversation then pointed out our opinions were based upon anecdotal observation of drunk critters. We needed to conduct a proper experiment using the scientific method. A bit confused, we asked Vinnie for clarification. He told us we needed to conduct a “taste test.” Why didn’t he just say that in the first place. It sounded like a fun idea.

Vinnie was up all night designing a proper experiment complete with a hypothesis and written procedures. The next morning he asked us to gather some materials for the taste testing. (This was the only part of the experiment any of us understood!) He insisted we find some plates to serve the goodies on. They needed to be all the same size and color, preferably laboratory white. He didn’t want the test subjects to be attracted to one treat over another due to the color of the plate. He also wanted napkins and utensils to show everyone that critters have refined tastes and good manners. He gave us some cash to buy materials with. We couldn’t believe our good fortune when we found an abandoned picnic basket. We liberated some fancy all white plates, napkins spoons and forks from it. In the process we discovered the basket had all of the tasting testing items we were looking for. We found everything we needed and it didn’t costs us a cent. I used the money to order a box of Godvia sunflower seeds for everyone

 

With the first version of the taste testing, testers were given four choices. Predictably all the chipmunks testers went straight for the sunflower seeds. Vinnie realized he had to revise the experiment. Testers would be required to try all of different treats. Vinnie even had the dip bowl relocated to the taste testing laboratory so testers could cleanse their palate between sampling the different treats.

Tester #1 was a chipmunk. He started with the crack corn. We heard an ear piercing “YUCK!” followed by a loud thud as he passed out. He is now recovering at Woodpile Memorial Hospital. So, it was on to the next tester.

 

Tester #2 was a bird. She loved the cracked corn. When a fat juicy moth flew by, she thought it was part of the taste testing and flew after it. The moth led her on a mile long chase and then evaded capture by hiding under a leaf. So, it was on to the next tester.

 

Tester #3 wisely pretended to taste the corn before moving on to the peanuts. “Wow! These are really good.”

She then proceeded to stuff her cheeks full of peanuts before high tailing back to her burrow to share with her kids. So, it was on to the next tester.

While Vinnie was busy writing down notes, Tester #4 took advantage, stuffed his cheeks full of seeds and then ate the rest of the sunflower seeds!

Then he moved on to desert, the jelly dish. Cheek pouches and jelly? This isn’t going to end well.

 

(By this point in the experiment, we had run out of sunflower seeds.) Tester #5 was required to start with the popcorn. “Are you sure this is safe to eat?”

“Look Mikey likes it!”

Just as we were getting the hang of this scientific experiment business, the owner of the picnic basket showed up. She was furious!

The headline in the next day’s newspaper was this photo accompanied by the following “What a mess: Wild party animals steal Queen of England’s picnic basket during surprise royal visit.”

Frog Safari

I was going crazy stuck working from the burrow all week. It is like I have two jobs at the same time. I have to get my assignments done for the office as well as handle a six page list of domestic duties my wife hands every morning at 7am sharp. I jumped at the first opportunity to escape. My boss at the newspaper was looking for a volunteer to do a story in the field. I said yes before she even completed her sentence as to what the assignment was. What did I just volunteer for? Hold on let me check. Apparently, I am going on a “frog safari” whatever that is.

The next morning I arrived for the tour. Our guide was dressed like Crocodile Dundee. I asked him where was the Land Rover.?(This is a safari, we need a rugged tour vehicle like you see in those African safari documentaries on TV.) Nope, apparently we have to hike through a mile of swamp to get the vernal pool where the frogs hang out.

It was real jungle out there. You could barely see three feet ahead of you. I was expecting a tiger to jump out at any moment and devour me!

We finally arrived at our destination. Our guide explained that frogs are sensitive to the presence of other critters. We had to keep our voices down and peek through the stalks to see them. The stalks created a natural wildlife blind.

I tried getting some photos through the vegetation but as you can see they are terrible. I decided to sneak off for a better vantage point.

I slowly crawled out on a lily pad which gave me unobstructed views of the vernal pool. I started clicking away with my camera and getting some great shots. I am going to make the front page with this story!  Then I turned around and noticed I was drifting away from shore. This can’t be good. I yelled out to the rest of the tour group but they had apparently left for the next location. (Thank goodness I brought snacks!)

Frog: “Hey buddy, you look a bit lost.”

Chippy: “Technically, I know where I am, west side vernal pool #3.”

Frog: “I meant, you look like you’re out of your natural environment. I remember chaperoning the chipmunk safari last fall with my son. I think the place was called the Woodpile”

Chippy: “A chipmunk safari?”

Frog: “Of course, my son’s class was there to study the primitive instinctive hoarding behaviors of your species.”

Chippy: “Funny thing, I was here on a frog safari to learn about the simplistic lives of wild frogs.”

They both had a good laugh.

[Later that day at the bar] “You wouldn’t believe what happened to me at the pool today. I was taking my siesta and comfortably floating in the pool when along comes this chipmunk floating by on a lily pad.” His drinking buddies turned to him saying, “You have obvious had too many fly beers, time to call you a cab home.”

 

The Ghost ‘Munk of Bedrock Gardens

As part of my summer reading, I borrowed “New England Ghost Critter Stories” from the library. The stories are scary but clearly written for their entertainment value. Lots of fuzzy photos of critter ghosts and accompanied by wild tales. One story stood out from the rest. It actually seemed believable. There have been numerous sightings over the past twenty years or so, of a Ghost ‘Munk at the Bedrock Gardens in Lee, NH. I Googled this Bedrock Gardens and found out it is open to the public during the summer.

This is the most famous photo of the Ghost’Munk. It was taken about ten years ago in broad daylight. I checked and the photo has not been altered in anyway.

I arrived at 10 am when they first open to avoid the heat of the day. I scampered over to the admission booth to pay the entrance fee. No one noticed I was there. The place is setup for humans. I finally got their attention and a nice lady peered over the edge of the booth counter. She was rather surprised, but cheerily welcomed me. I inquired after the Ghost ‘Munk and was directed to the Woodpile.

This is no ordinary Woodpile. It was designed by a famous chipmunk architect. What was it doing in the middle of the woods in New Hampshire?

I made further inquiries and a nice human volunteer steered me to the Stone Wall. By this point I was thinking I was being sent on a wild ghost chase. Out of the wall popped an old chipmunk who was clearly a gardener. Well, finally a critter that will give me a straight answer. I inquired after the Ghost ‘Munk, the old fella started chuckling and finally broke out into uncontrollable laughter. After a few minutes, he looked me in the eye and said, “You just met him.” Well, it turns out this old fella has been the head gardener for over twenty years. Of course none of the human visitors would ever believe such a thing was possible. So, the staff made up this story of the Ghost ‘Munk when visitors asked about the chipmunk tending the gardens. He gave me a private tour of the place. I snapped a few photos to share with my readers.

There was this huge pile of antique parts near the barn. All of this obsolete technology is recycled into beautiful sculptures by artist and co-founder of the Bedrock Gardens, Jill Nooney.

 

This is one of a series of character creations.

Don’t forget the insect repellent, the bugs around here are huge!

This section is called the “Garnish Garden” an eclectic mix of different flowers and plants.

My personal favorite was this Zen like serpentine water feature.

It had these wonderful water lilies.

This part of the garden is managed by an aquaculturist.

She takes a well deserved break from her duties.

They have a nectar bar which is popular with butterflies like this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

I was amazed to find a flock of flamingos!

There is something magical about this place. This bench levitates in mid air. The legs are not touching the ground!