REPOST: Deciding to Grow Heirlooms

It's high time to get this garden party going again, and so, I revisit my first post, published in 2012.

Heirloom = a valuable possession passed on from generation to generation.

My father was a backyard gardener. My grandparents and great grandparents on both sides of my family were farmers. I have it in my blood. Although my newly arrived heirloom seeds are not from family, they come from a small farm in Michigan--a farm much like my past generations may have owned.

I've grown herbs and flowers and various types of vegetables through the years, but it's time to make it more meaningful. Some day I'll buy some land. Today, I have just a few hundred square feet in my urban yard. I'm determined to make it work. I will feed my family heirloom edibles this summer, and I will preserve and share the seeds after this season...

...and in the process, I hope to find a pathway to my inner garden of tranquility amidst the sounds of car alarms, disgruntled neighbors, and freeway traffic.

For the Birds

It’s the middle of winter here in Michigan, and it’s appropriately cold and snowy outside. Thankfully, the sun is shining brilliantly today. I am at the window, soaking up the warmth and watching my backyard bird friends doing the same out in the frigid air. I’m always amazed to see birds flitting about in the dead of winter. Why don’t they leave for a warmer climate? How can they not be freezing their tail feathers off? How do their fragile feet not just crackle into icy bits?

 

I get that birds have a higher body temperature than humans, they have a much faster metabolism, they grow winter feathers for extra insulation, and they can actually control the blood flow to and from their feet to conserve heat in their bodies. I know that birds wintering in Michigan are actually well prepared to do so, but I just can’t help but want to keep them warm.

I imagine wrapping all of my backyard trees in fleece and crocheting little birdie coats. I put out pieces of warm nut bread and consider buying a heater for our bird bath. I hatch a plan to build a bunch of weatherproof bird houses over the summer so I needn’t worry next winter. And I collect materials to help insulate their nests, creating what I’m calling a Bird Nesting Helper Ball.

 

I’m not the only crazy bird lady out there--I found examples galore of these types of DIY nesting balls online. For mine, I used an inexpensive grapevine ball from Michael’s and stuffed it with all the natural fiber thingies that I could find around the house: yarn, shredded paper, strips of fabric, natural cotton, small bits of dryer lint. I read that cashmere and wool are better insulators as they keep in warmth while staying relatively dry, and that using too much dryer lint is bad as it tends to gum up when wet and can actually pool water inside the ball.

I hang out the Nesting Helper Ball in my yard and wait and watch … knowing full well that there is little to no nesting going on until the spring. I stay at the window, my face in the sun, and imagine myself wintering in a warmer climate, no parka needed, no snow boots, or wind burn on my face … knowing full well that there is little to no chance that I would actually take flight and migrate out of Michigan.