Fortnightly Club Dept. of Garden meeting minutes

The Fortnightly Club Department of Garden met at the home of Jane Kruse in Washington, Tuesday evening, Oct. 16. Five members and one guest answered by naming their favorite bird. Birds named were wrens, cardinals, goldfinches, robins and hummingbirds, particularly the ruby-throated hummingbird. Minutes of the previous meeting were read, with no additions or corrections made. An application of membership was filled out and will be presented at the November Executive Board meeting. Tickets for the November luncheon were given out, with two members going and one possible.

Jane's program was from Garden Gate magazine, titled 'How Well Do You Know the Birds in Your Backyard?” Do you know the specific habitats to attract your favorite bird? Some questions and answers were: How does a robin locate worms? (Sight and smell.) What bird walks down tree trunks upside down? (Purple martin.) What aggressive/noisy bird was introduced to the USA in New York during the 19th century? (European starling.) What ratio of water-to-sugar is used for hummingbirds? (Four parts water to 1 part sugar –don't add dye to the water; use red containers instead because the dye/food color is not good for them.) What number of caterpillars does a pair of chickadees need to raise a family in 18 days? (6,000.) It was also noted that most birds prefer black oil sunflower seeds; and finally, Baltimore orioles are attracted to the color orange, hence one can put oranges out. She also shared an article naming five perennial weeds – creeping Charlie, sting nettle, curly dock, dandelion and yellow wood sorrel. These pests can be smothered with mulch.

Shirley Pfeifer had already planted tulips, but forgot she had ordered a mixture of bulbs from Breck's catalog, so she brought them to share, and each member was happy to take home seven bulbs each.

The meeting was adjourned, and the group shared salads and cake with fruit, and more discussion on birds.