ALL THINGS WISE AND WONDERFUL          ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL          ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL         THE LORD GOD MADE THEM ALL.  J HERRIOT

All wildlife requires four basic elements to survive...Food, Water, Cover and a place to raise their young.

Food can be provided in many ways...One of the most common is to put birdfeeders around the yard.

Different feeders and different foods attract different kinds of birds.  General seed attracts a bluejay, while niger seed attracts eastern goldfinches.(above)... a special feeder with a mixture of sugar and water attracts hummingbirds and a platform feeder attracts doves and cowbirds...(below).

Another way to provide food is to plant flowers and shrubs that produce fruit, seeds and even leaves for various forms of wildlife.  For birds, I plant cosmos, sunflowers, and coneflowers.  For butterflies,  hyssop, milkweed and pawpaw trees.  I even have a strawberry patch set aside for the box turtles, And of course the birds are welcome to share in the black and raspberries, cherries and gooseberries.  Here are some photos of the critters that share the fruits of my labor...

These are the caterpillar of the black swallow    tail           butterfly

A box turtle shares my strawberries.

Water can be provided by adding a birdbath, or a small vessel to attract butterflies and other insects.

Shelter can be trees, or a thicket of shrubs.  Brush and rock piles also provide shelter.

A place to raise young goes hand in hand with shelter.  Some forms of wildlife require special housing.  Bluebirds for example need a special box to nest in.

Some more animals that share my yard...

DRAGONFLY LARVAE, THIS LITTLE BEAST CAN BRING DOWN A GOOD SIZE FISH. (LEFT)         THE DRAGONFLY THAT CAME FORM THAT LARVAE. (RIGHT)   AND TO THE LEFT HERE IS A GARDEN SPIDER.   TO THE RIGHT IS A MONARCH BUTTERFLY CATERPILLAR

BELOW LEFT IS THE MONARCH CHRYSALIS, AND TO THE RIGHT IS THE BUTTERFLY ITSELF, GATHERING FOOD FROM A PURPLE CONEFLOWER.

For more info. on the N.W.F. backyard habitat program visit http://www.nwf.org/nwf/prog/habitats  or call 1-800-432-6564                        That's all for this page...now on to Beekeeping