Check out this video about the Rain Garden and Adena Brook Clean-up!

Hi from Toni & Marc, National Wildlife Federation Habitat Ambassadors!

What do you see when you look at a flowerbed that has gone to seed?  I see beautiful songbirds, natural mulch that retains water, tiny leaf-litter animals improving soil, materials for next year’s native bird nests, and cover for bugs that are a critical part of our food chain.  Leaf litter is much different than most human litter. It is used and recycled by the soil food chain.

Being a neat freak in the yard not only destroys habitat value, but it’s important to us too. “Perhaps solid waste landfills … are the single largest man-made source of methane in the United States” says Janet Marinelli in an article from the National Wildlife Magazine at www.nwf.org/NationalWildlife/printerFriendly.cfm?issueID=124&articleID=1646

Watch for Chimney Swifts gathering for migration at very large, uncapped chimneys.  They look like smoke going into the chimney – what a show! 
Here are directions to one site in Columbus:  http://columbusoh.wbu.com/content/show/25766

Migration is here.  See approximate fall migration timetable from birdnature:   http://www.birdnature.com/falloh.html

Cricket weathermen!  Count the cricket chirps in 13 seconds and add 40 to get the approximate current temperature. Only males chirp for courting and this only works down to about 55 degrees.  Below that it’s too cold to court.  http://www.snopes.com/science/cricket.asp

Take time out each day to look in your yard and enjoy! 

– Toni, www.backyardhabitat.info

+ Nature ‘Stuff’
- Weds, 9/9, 8:45-3:15, Invasive Plants in Southeast
Ohio, 710 Collegiate Dr, Marietta, see: www.oipc.info for more information
- Sat, 9/12, 10AM, Growing Native Trees in Pots, Inniswood Metro Park,Westerville,  Scroll down at http://www.for-wild.org/chapters/columbus
- Sun, 9/13, 2-5pm, Green Family Fun event, in front of wind turbine and solar panels at Glacier Ridge Metro Park
- Sept 11, 12 or 13, A Swift’s Night Out, 30 minutes before dusk. 1919 West Bridge Street in Dublin. If you’d like to count them and report your tally see http://www.chimneyswifts.org/
- Sat,9/19, 9am-6pm, Scioto Gardens’ Fall Equinox Festival, page down to special events at Scioto Gardens here http://www.sciotogardens.com/events.html
- Sat, 10/3, Wildlfest, Ohio Wildlife Center, http://ohiowildlifecenter.org/ click on Events
- Tues, 10/6, MORPC Summit at COSI, 8am-6pm, www.greenregion.org/

Neighbors,
The” Fall Kick Off” Clean UP is Sat. Sept. 12th 9-11:00 a.m. Join us in picking up litter and cutting honeysuckle to maintain the beauty of our ravine community. Oct 10 will be the last clean up of the year.
Judy Robinson