CLOSE
Nature

0 2060

WHEN I WAS LITTLE OUR NEIGHBOR KATHERINE HAD A VEGETABLE GARDEN instead of a front lawn. the corn stalks were taller than she was. She pumped her own water and hitchhiked to the Eastern Market on weekends. When we picked her up, she’d bless our car. She’d fit right in here in Ferndale.

Ferndale front yards are varied and unique: Christmas lights, wind chimes, sculpture, political signs, all kinds of furniture. And flags – seasonal, rainbow, American. I love “lawn gardens” – officially called “natural landscaping.” A year and a half ago, work started to pass an ordinance to protect them. At the April 13, 2015 City Council meeting, the council approved “natural landscape ordinance changes.” Crystal A. Proxmire of Oakland County 115: “An ordinance passed changing regulations of lawns and encouraging ‘Planned Natural Landscaping’ – a planned, intentional and maintained landscaping of native plants, ornamental grasses and ground covers, rain gardens, shrubs and trees.”

Fellow Ferndalians spoke up. Resident Erin Molnar: “The regulations are necessary to ensure that “planned” remains the operative word, to protect those who are doing these types of yards from code enforcement and still enforce those who are just letting their lawns get out of control.”

OutFront2

It is definitely not a mandate to get rid of lawns. Laura Mikulski: “They are leaving it to the homeowner to decide.” Lucy (my dog) and I love watching neighbors Jessica and Jess develop their natural landscape lawn. It’s a lot of work! Digging up the lawn is, in itself, quite a chore. And there is the initial investment in whatever it is you want to grow.

I asked my husband, Tony (the family gardener) about possibilities. He mentioned “herb gardens, raised bed gardening, companion gardening, butterfly gardens” Don’t forget “Victory Gardens” which the government encouraged during World War II, so that citizens could have fresh fruits and vegetables during a time when it was very hard to get them from farms to neighborhoods. Over 20 million participated, and victorious vegetables grew in yards, vacant lots and even on rooftops.

Companion gardening: Certain plants help each other grow when they are partnered, and lessen or eliminate the need for chemical pesticides. There’s a website called “My Square Foot Garden” that shares a companion planting color chart to help you get your plants to co-exist. And there are flowers that repel, or lure insects away from vegetables – marigolds, geraniums and petunias. Raised bed gardens allow you to control soil texture and ingredients, they warm quickly and drain well. Vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruits (particularly berries) do well in raised beds.

Butterfly gardens – important! No insecticide!! Butterflies are members of the insect species. Insecticides will kill them. Break out the nectar and host plants – and maybe even a butterfly house – to bring them back to us.

The consensus – “live and let live.” Those who enjoy their lawns want to keep them, but are fine with well-tended front gardens. The gardeners enjoy their unconventional yards. Colleen Parsons Novak said, “I am for anything that helps save water or creates or flowers.” “There are drought-resistant choices,” said Christine Szarek Knight. She waters on most occasions using her rain barrel.

Take a walk, enjoy the lawns and gardens, the birds and butterflies. From my perspective, the front yards of Ferndale are a wonderful place.

If slightly happened with our soundness, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a medicament. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states united to erectile disfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What folk talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile malfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as core trouble. Causes of sexual disfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a state called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual malfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this treatment passes into breast milk.

0 1895

By Becky Hammond

OH, RATS DEPT: Owner LuAnn Linker of Wild Birds Unlimited on Woodward in Royal Oak is an encyclopedia of information on how to feed birds in a city concerned about rats. She’s aware of the devotion people have for birds, and has a list of ways to make it a rat-proof pastime. “Birdseed does not attract rats to a city,” she told me. “Rats come for other reasons. They’re opportunists and will eat birdseed, but our whole lifestyle brings rats in.” Rats like spots that are undisturbed, Linker told me. “They thrive in urban areas because humans produce, surround themselves with and transport waste throughout the environment. We offer easy access to garbage, sewage, pet food, outdoor grills, backyard ponds, yard debris and poorly maintained buildings.”

“To control the problem, we must address all of the contributing factors. We have to be stewards of our environment and not be careless.” Her tips:

• Put bird food in an elevated feeder with a bottom tray to eliminate spillage to the ground.

• Do not feed “human food.”

• Avoid cheap seed blends. Cheap “Wild Bird Mix” contains cereal grain fillers birds toss to the ground.

• Feed birds with hulled sunflower chips or “no-mess blends.”

• Feed compressed seed cylinders or suet instead of loose seed.

• Use “baffles” to eliminate easy access. Pole baffles keep rodents from climbing onto feeders.

• Store seed in tightly sealed metal containers.

• Inspect backyard ponds regularly for burrows and damage to plants.

“Attracting and feeding the birds is the second most popular hobby in America. It’s a relaxing, entertaining and educational hobby for all ages and it’s a great way for the residents of Ferndale to participate in the green movement and give back to nature.”

Some of us connect bird feeding to a family member, loving it partly because of that person. My dad, George Hammond, was a man who had a hard life and spent his middle and later years helping out wherever he could. He grew up in poverty in South Carolina, spent his teen years in an orphanage in Ohio, his adulthood feeding poor kids in our rural Ohio village. He put out bird seed and suet almost every day. Not long ago a friend told me n she fed birds because her grandfather did.

Environmental gadfly dept: Recently a resident new to Michigan posted a request for vacation suggestions on the terrific Ferndale Forum Facebook page. She must have been startled with the number of places listed. My advice? Pick a place and start. You’ll never use up Michigan. The longer you live here, the

m longer your go-to list gets, especially if you’re a guidebook junkie.

50 Hikes in Michigan still leads us around the lower peninsula. We approached a finish to all 60 (not a typo; there are “bonus hikes”) with a visit to the northeastern lower peninsula, hitting Cheboygan State Park and their trail system with Lake Huron beaches, varied forest, and lighthouse ruins. Next day we moved onto previously-unknown Thompson’s Harbor State Park further east.

A large chunk of undeveloped land like Negwegon further down the Lake Huron coast, Thompson’s Harbor is a secluded bit of magic. Despite lots of flat, straight, rocky trails, we were enchanted with the silence and the wildlife, seeing a grouse, and a beaver and a bat out at midday, undisturbed by us (maybe happy to be out of the ice, and out of hibernation). We enjoyed finding an expanse of hundreds of pitcher plants, right where our old guidebook said they’d be. Other hikes that make the area worth a trip: Ocqueoc Falls and Presque Isle Light. Both have trail systems.

The Pleasant Ridge Environmental Council recently hosted a presentation on native gardening featuring speaker Diane Gregory that inspired me to go home and get busy. Like many gardeners, I’ve planted a combination of native plants and non-natives. Since my many daylilies and old-fashioned irises are more interesting than grass for a fraction of T the time and water, I’ve considered them a good substitute. Bees and butterflies even like them. When native plants were first encouraged six or seven years ago, a single reason was most often stated: they have deep roots that hold water and prevent a run-off, protecting our storm system and our Great Lakes. True enough. But we environmentalists can be guilty of isolating one property, one factor, losing sight that a garden is a circle of life, every aspect affecting every other. Native plants don’t just hold excess rainwater, they foster the insects our birds need. They produce seeds our birds eat. They can a handle our climate and soil conditions.

Gregory told us that one reason some plants are d invasive is that nothing eats their seeds. Those seeds grow. She said something we repeat here in FF: Leave Your Leaves. I’ve pushed leaving leaves mainly because the amount of machinery we now use, and the amount of fuel it needs. I did not realize, however, that leaf mulch harbors the very microorganisms a healthy Michigan ecosystem needs.

Wood chips do not. Diane pointed out that each tree is capable of dealing with its own leaves. A cycle was set up long before we came along, and it works. A nice bonus that evening? Eight milkweed plants I took for the Ferndale Monarch Project were snapped up by attendees.

P.S. DEPT: A heron flew over Ferndale today, a largish owl a few nights ago, and a crow, a hawk, and buzzard did an air-show at Woodward and 9 on Sunday. Don’t forget to look up!

—-

Becky Hammond wails her oboe, taps computer a keys, and gets dirty fingernails outside every day. She has gloves but never wears them.

If something happened with our soundness, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a preparation. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states coupled to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What people talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as core trouble. Causes of sexual disfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a state called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual disfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this medication passes into breast milk.

0 2408

Story by David Wesley Photos by Jeff Lilly

San Francisco may implement one of the strictest bottled water bans in the country if the Board of Supervisors approves a proposal to ban its sale on public property. The proposed legislation from Supervisor David Chiu would gradually phase in a ban on the sale of bottled water of 21 fluid ounces or less on all city properties with leases signed after 2014 and at concerts, large events, parks and food trucks. “Given our access to incredibly healthy clean and tasty Hetch Hetchy water, which is some of the highest quality municipal tap water in the country, it just doesn’t make sense for us to have this addiction to plastic water bottles,” Chiu told the San Francisco Examiner. [Pub. note: The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir provides San Francisco with its drinking water.]

The city’s Board of Supervisors approved the measure unanimously in May; it will head to the mayor’s desk after one more board approval. Violators of the ban found selling plastic water bottles 21 oz. or below on city grounds after October 2015 will be subject to a fine up to $1000, according to the San Francisco Examiner. The ordinance exempts sporting events and gives food trucks and large nonprofits until 2018 to comply with the new ordinance. “We all know with climate change, and the importance of combatting climate change, San Francisco has been leading the way to fight for our environment,” Chiu said, according to SFGate. “That’s why I ask you to support this ordinance to reduce and discourage single-use, single-serving plastic water bottles in San Francisco.”

San Francisco isn’t the first city to consider such a policy. For years there has been concern in Ferndale on how to affordably keep the city clean. As a city big on recycling and re-purposing, it’s no surprise both the citizens and politicians of Ferndale have discussed more beneficial means of recycling. Former Ferndale Mayor Craig Covey weighed in with Ferndale Friends about similar pieces of legislation he proposed for the city. “When I was on Council and Mayor, I got a resolution passed that the City itself would not buy water in plastic bottles, though I doubt if anyone follows that anymore. We also wanted to ban plastic bags at stores, grocery stores, but our city attorney claimed that we would not have the right to do so, that state law may trump our ability to do that.”

BanTheBottle2Not everyone approves of banning plastic, however. Former School Board President Keith Warnick has worked in the plastics industry for 40+ years, and he describes the proposed ordinance as “Just another in a long line of ‘feel good’ legislation suggestions that we have been hearing for years.

The number of plastic bottles (PET) being recycled has doubled in the last ten years to nearly 30 per cent. With continued education of our citizens and young children we can expect thosenumbers to continue to rise. Those bottles save about 4 barrels of oil for every ton recycled and there are millions of tons recycled. They become items such as clothing, carpets, filling for pillows; insulation, baby seats, benches and non-food containers and more. Some of the top beverage manufacturers are advancing technology and addressing consumer’s concerns. Nestle, maker of Resource® & Arrowhead® bottled water, has reduced their plastic content by nearly 40 per cent while using 50 per cent r- PET (recycled PET) in many of their bottles. They also contribute to the Michigan economy with a bottled water plant in Stanwood, Michigan. Recycling uses less energy than producing new bottles.”

In San Francisco, the sales ban at events of 100 attendees or more on public property would be fully implemented in 2016, and the City would need to ensure there is access to an alternative potable water supply. To make the initiative feasible, the city will study how to better supply water at events and prioritize installation of water fountains and reusable bottle filling stations.

Similar steps could be taken in Ferndale to help reduce the city’s annual city spending. Prohibiting the use of City money to purchase bottled water could send an extraordinary ripple throughout Ferndale’s economy, just like in San Francisco, where the initiative shaved $500,000 off of annual city spending on a product environmentalists warn creates waste and uses excessive natural resources.

Business Insider estimates that bottled water production uses 17 million barrels of oil per year and requires triple the amount of water to make a bottle as it does to fill it. “We thought it’s important for the city to set our own example first to show that this can be done easily, well and in an environmentally conscious way,” Chiu said.

San Francisco’s ban follows similar laws elsewhere. Concord, Massachusetts outlawed all sales of single-serving bottled water in the city in January. Currently, for Ferndale, such serious steps have not yet been taken, but many people would like to see a greener Ferndale, helped along by introducing and imposing sensible legislation that concerns itself not only with the status quo, but with the economic and ecological concerns of our time. Americans use 50 billion plastic water bottles a year, according to an anti-plastic bottle campaign called Ban the Bottle, and just 23 per cent of those are recycled. If the political leaders in Ferndale would seriously consider adopting a similar initiative, the impact both economically and environmentally could help boost the city further at home and nationally. Steps are being taken in both East and West Coast cities. Maybe it’s time for the best that Middle America has to offer, to reach for a working model for healthier and wealthier cities.

If some happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a preparation. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states united to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What humanity talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual dysfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual malfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this treatment passes into breast milk.

0 3530

Story By Jill Lorie Hurst | Photos by Heidi Bowen

Hummingbirds. Colorful, diverse, independent…they are the perfect summer addition to our community. And it’s not all that difficult to get them to be a part of Ferndale’s summer celebration year after year.

As you read this, it’s a lovely time to be here. The front yard gar- dens are shaping up, the wind chimes are chiming and the memo- ries of slipping on the winter ice are fading. The big Michigan sky stays light late into the evening, the sunsets and thunderstorms are amazing. And there’s a possibility you will have the chance to get acquainted with those small, pretty visitors feasting on nectar out of various specially designed feeders or diving into delicious plants and bushes planted especially for their enjoyment. Yes, the hum- mingbirds are hovering in Ferndale. We, as good hosts, should en- courage them to stay.

Most hummingbirds arrive in our area in May and leave in Septem- ber, which right there makes them wise creatures. They fly upside down, know a good “sweet” when they taste one and never forget a reliable food source. My new heroes.

Some facts about those hovering hummingbirds:

– According to Native American tradition, they are the symbol of spreading life on the earth.

– Early Spanish explorers called them “flying jewels.”
– Five types of hummingbirds make their way to Michigan; the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, the Broad-billed Hummingbird, the Green Violetear, the White-eared Hummingbird, and the Rufous.

– They can fly sideways and upside-down, at up to 35 mph.

– Most hummingbird species flap their wings from 50 to 80 times per second, and have heart rates as high as 1260 beats per minute!

– They do “hover” and perch because, although they have feet, they can’t really walk.

– Most are brilliantly colorful, but there are some albino humming- birds spotted every year.

– Their brain is 4.2 percent of their body weight.

– They remember every flower they encounter, can see and hear better than humans, but have no sense of smell.

– They use their W-shaped forked tongues to lap up nectar.

– They eat seven times an hour for 30 to 60 seconds.

– Their favorite color is red.

– They do indeed hum, due to the rapid beating of their wings.

– Hummingbirds are known as the “promiscuous species.” They do not form pair bonds at all. The male doesn’t help raise the babies. The female builds the nest all by herself, then generally lays two eggs.

– Every year, ruby-throated hummingbirds make a 500-mile, non-stop migration flight over the Gulf of Mexico.

– One species, the bee hummingbird, is the smallest bird in the world. Adults weigh less than a penny.

– They feast on the sweet nectar from gardens and the feeders especially set up for them, and on insects for protein, but because they are so tiny, their natural enemy is an insect: the Praying Mantis.

– They have a cake named after them. “Hummingbird Cake” is a spice cake with pineapple, nuts and cream cheese frosting. Southern Living Magazine said it’s their most requested recipe.

There’s a lot of information available on the web and at the library if you are interested in growing a hummingbird garden or putting out a feeder. A few basic tips:

– Plants and Flowers Hummingbirds Love: Milkweed, morning glories, lilacs, sage, snap dragons, bleeding heart, day lilies, delphinium, foxglove, fuschia, hollyhock, hosta and honeysuckle.

– Hummingbird feeders: Two cautions when you make or buy hummingbird nectar. Even though red is their favorite color, the red dye that is usually part of their nectar can make them sick. Also, do not use honey, syrups or artificial sweeteners. The best nectar is made of one part plain white table sugar (Do not use brown sugar, “sugar in the raw,” or turbinado sugar; the iron content can harm them) to four parts water. Bring mixture to a boil and stir for two minutes while it boils. Then remove from heat and once it has cooled it can be added to your feeder.

– Clean your hummingbird feeder every three to four days with either warm soapy water or white vinegar.

When I started researching this article, I typed in “Hummingbirds in Ferndale MI” and found that a band named The Hummingbirds will be performing here this summer. I look forward to hearing them and seeing what they have in common with their feathered, brightly colored counterparts!

Something else I read on a website called “World Of Hummingbirds” made me understand why hummingbirds are a great addition to Ferndale.

“Hummingbirds don’t read books on what they are supposed to do and tend to do what they want”.

Come hover with us in Ferndale, hummingbirds! You’ll feel right at home.

If some happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a preparation. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotency and other states coupled to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What folk talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile malfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual disfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual disfunction. Even though this physic is not for use in women, it is not known whether this therapy passes into breast milk.

0 2099

Column & Photo By Becky Hammond

FERNDALE’S GREENEST SPOT: There is a list of reasons that Ferndale’s Library is our top local green spot, besides that conspicuous roof. The Oakland Press ran a story last month about the library’s United States Green Building Council award recognizing the building’s silver- level ranking, listing LED lights, awnings, reflective roof materials, geothermal heating and cooling, watering the grounds with collected rain water, energy-efficient glass, and CO2 sensors that automatically open vents as green features.

But libraries in general have always been green. When we share materials we reduce amount of resources used, and libraries provide a great deal of information for green and local living, as well. A walk through the Ferndale library last Saturday revealed an impressive variety. Michigan guidebooks are shelved in the 917s (local travel is green travel) and include guides to hiking, canoeing, scenic drives, and breweries. Look under 632 for gardening books, including natural pest control. Natural health is shelved under 615-616. Between 796 and 799 I saw books on urban biking, and hiking and fishing how- tos. Books like the Eco-Living Handbook and Cradle to Cradle are under 333. There are even books on outdoor and handcrafted weddings (395).

The DVD collection has crafts like knitting, and acclaimed series like Planet Earth and Blue Planet. The magazine section has Mother Earth News, and some indirectly- green offerings, like bicycling (as long as you don’t fly to bike), Vegetarian Times, local travel resources like Midwest Living and Lake Superior, and Utne, which always has something related to the environment.

Bikes and Helmets Department: According to NPR, California is considering a bill making bike helmets mandatory for adults. 21 states and DC have helmet laws, usually for

riders under 16. There are 49 local ordinances nationwide, including two in Michigan, in our Metroparks and in the town of Starkville. NPR mentioned that 91% of cyclists killed in accidents were not wearing helmets. No doubt helmet laws save lives. Yet Michigan repealed our motorcycle helmet law in 2012. Only a fourth of Michigan motorcyclists ride helmet- less, but they accounted for nearly half the deaths in 2013.

Ferndale is a bike-friendly city, with lanes, an abundance of downtown racks, and our Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop. Would we ever join Starkville in making helmets mandatory for adults? When we do all get our bikes out, we’ll be dodging plenty of potholes. Our bad roads and the weird inability of Lansing to just deal with funding road repair remains a puzzle.

Backyard Habitat News: Gardening is the only American hobby more popular than feeding birds, and we Americans spend, according to Wikipedia, over

$3 billion a year on feeders and seed. With the ongoing concern over rats, maybe relocating feeders could help. High places like balconies could be used as feeding stations to keep the inevitable spilling of seeds off the ground. I’m putting seeds in shallow dishes for ground feeders like cardinals and juncos and bringing them in at night. Apparently trays are available that hang beneath feeders to catch falling seed (and the seed that some birds seem to enjoy flinging). I notice a steady decline in number of birds at my feeders the last few years and it worries me. Hawks will clear the yard instantly, but hawks are not around every day; they patrol different spots in the hood. Anyone else notice less birds? By the way, if we poison the rats, we poison their predators.

Seed Department: Western Market has organic seeds for sale, both vegetables and herbs. They have heirloom and open-pollinated varieties, and some favorite hybrids like Roma tomatoes.

Warming: NASA says 2014 was the warmest year on record. Climate Central in New Jersey states that 13 of the 15 warmest months occurred since 2000, and the odds of that happening without man-made greenhouse gasses are less than 1 in 27 million.

Although Michigan had what I personally considered to be a wonderful winter, NOAA has declared the winter of 2014-15 as the warmest on record. And Don Wuebbles, a professor at the University of Illinois, points out that 2014 being the warmest on record is surprising given that it was not an El Nino year. Sobering news about a change happening faster than expected.

—-

Becky Hammond still thinks Michigan is a great work of art. She hopes that this remains kind of a secret, though.

If something happened with our heartiness, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a medicament. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states coupled to erectile disfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What humanity talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you have to look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile malfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as core trouble. Causes of sexual malfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual dysfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this treatment passes into breast milk.

Prev1...456Page 6 of 6
© 2024 - Ferndale Friends | webmaster Loudbaby