11/23/13

While it may seem like a kind gesture to put out apples or hay to feed deer during the cold winter months, it’s best not to. Deer instinctively shift their diet through the seasons, and they adjust to the winter months by slowing down their food consumption. Yes, they lose weight, but they are programmed to survive this way. If deer were to suddenly find plentiful food, the one-time meal does not help for long-term survival since supplemental feeding can put their entire seasonal feeding schedule off its normal course.

11/22/13

While winter is around the corner, warmer spring weather is just a few months away. If you’ve been thinking of starting a backyard garden, now is the time to get the soil prepared. Rake mounds of dead leaves over the area of lawn you plan to garden. Thick layers of fall leaves left in place over the cold winter months will kill the grass that’s under the leaves and degrade into beneficial mulch. In the spring, flip the soil with the decomposed leaves, and it’ll add organic matter and nutrients to the soil.

11/21/13

Generally, it’s not a good idea to feed waterfowl human food. Common scraps, like old bread and crackers, are bad for the birds because they have little nutritional value and can get moldy and pollute the waterways. But if your community does allow you to feed animals like ducks, think natural seeds, grains and plants. Throwing small amounts of cracked corn, uncooked oats, birdseed, sliced grapes, frozen peas or corn and chopped lettuce can be nutritional options for them. Be spare and feed them only on rare occasions so they don’t become reliant on humans for food.