Indulge me here as we veer into some summer landscaping updates! My neighbor gave me some overflow from his yard, including mint that has started to take hold. Then, thanks to some help from my parents, I was finally able to accomplish a few things in the yard that have helped me be able to start the native conversion step-by-step. First, though, I continue with some pretty ornamental annuals. We planted a Chinese hibiscus to add some curb appeal (looks like the orange? double-flowered kind) which will die back with the frost, but it is a stunner for now!

I also started a railing box with an assortment of “Superbena” colors and Salvia. They will probably all die back in the winter, but as you can see I had some fun with my first trip to a garden center; my thought was to have a red railing box to bring in the hummingbirds.

Then, my bosses gave me some of their backyard overflow! I put a deck planter down to hold black-and-blue and tropical Salvia (more hummingbird magnets, hopefully). They can be prolific perennials, so I’m hoping they’ll continue to flesh out the box. I have temporarily moved the anise hyssop into the swan planter you can see below!

They also gave me mountain mint and Spigelia marilandica (which I’m actually hoping to take home to plant along my parents’ stream bed). On the porch planter side of things, though, I found a handy tip and some perfect fit rods and wood pieces to shore up the railing planters.

My first real natives that were planted in ground went where the elephant grass was torn out. I now have a pair of summer sweet bushes in their place.

I also got a showy varietal of black-eyed Susan, both a native and a nod to my MD roots, for the porch.

Between all of these, I have been thrilled to watch the skippers (and other pollinators) parade in. It is pretty rewarding to watch them find the native flowers, and there will be much more to come…likely shovel by shovel!

Well, good thing I went out to take pics of the grass panicles in my yard because the guy came to cut it today. Ultimately want to be lawn free, and the good news is, I didn’t find any Bermuda grass! I used iNaturalist and some lawn grass ID web pages to zero in on that it appears I have Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue and sweet vernal grass (broadly considered cool weather lawn grasses). However and unfortunately, the only place I’ve found Bermuda grass is in my potted plants. This is likely due to that I supplemented my potting mix with the fill dirt that contractors brought in after my water line installation. Still positive news is that it is very clay-heavy and outside, not much is growing in that stretch (including Bermuda grass). I bet there’s a seed bank in there sadly. Yet, it hasn’t made much of a move this year, and let’s hope it stays that way.

It appears that the last MD pelagic to have a great skua this month was Mar 1 1992 and there were 2 birds seen then! Notes variably place the records at Elephant’s Trunk and near Baltimore canyon, but all records appear to be during a 12 hr trip. Similarly, there were several birds per trip in the 70s. On Mar 15 1996, there’s a record from a Montauk pelagic, and the Mar 4 1995 notes are one of my favorites:

Life bird. Adult; 63 miles out, at north end of Block Canyon. Most-wanted species by most on this trip. We approached a trawler and started chumming. The bird appeared out of nowhere, circled the chum slick, dove on a few gulls, then began picking up its own fish in the slick. From JA’s notes: The Great Skua was found amongst hundreds of GBBGs, lesser numbers of HERGs, and about 15 NOFUs that were loitering around a commercial trawler. After “stealing” the birds from the trawler, we watched the beast for about one half hour and then finally left it.” Much jubilation ensued.

Patricia Lindsay

I thought it was only fitting to adorn the title of today’s post with the icon of the month! My heart was warmed by scores of alcids today! I stuck with pretty much the layer formula that works for me:

• Eddie Bauer duffel coat (below the knee 650 down parka)
• Faux fur hat with ear flaps and chin strap
• Cape May whale watch & research center buff (represent!)
• Down knee-length vest
• Heaviest smart wool base layer
• Outdoor fleece-lined leggings (Avalanche)
• Arctic muck boots
• Weather-proof gloves
• Hand warmers
• Costa sunglasses

This time I tried my heated socks, but the battery on one of them is faulty, and the other didn’t last the whole day. So, I’m going back to my Comrad wool compression socks; they did the job last time so I shouldn’t have veered. Also, I’m going to look for cold weather convertible mitten gloves next time.

As I psych myself up for yet another pelagic season in the north Atlantic, I review this month’s “nearby” skua sightings. On Valentine’s Day 1991, be still my heart: it appears a record from shore at Manasquan inlet NJ (among others that year) was accepted to genus level. Other encouraging records:

• Feb 6 2016: pelagic out of Cape May
• Feb 19 1995: This was a day trip that left from Cape May and encountered a great skua at 19 fathom seamount off DE I’m curious about what appears to be a very early departure time. I wonder if we could swing or would consider that for our current trips, and of course what difference it makes?
• Feb 26 1995: This was another day trip that appears to have gone out of MD, but for what it’s worth (if anything) we sometimes eek into MD waters
• various records before my time at the MD pelagic general hot spot: the most enticing details here are the number of birds recorded on trips in the 70’s!
  • Valentine’s Day 1982
  • Feb 1 1976
  • Feb 9 1975
  • Feb 7 1975
  • Feb 2 1975
  • Feb 1 1975: a total of *9* birds are reported 67-111 km E of Ocean City
  • Feb 3 1974

So yet again, I budget for a ticket and get my seasickness medication in order to plan for more days at sea…