Mini Blossom Aurora Table Top Set

Tired of clunky-looking birdhouses? Feeders that look like they're imprisoned behind a wire grid? Birdbaths that look like cheap plasticware or boring concrete?

Here are a few ideas for the more eye-pleasing ways to attract wildlife:

Read more

Black-eyed Susan Vine

Looking for a plant that attracts butterflies or birds?

Here at the Wildlife Porch, I've written about quite a few wildlife-attracting plants that can work well in small outdoor areas:

Read more

Oregano

Want to try something a little different to attract butterflies this year?

Instead of the usual flowers, try herbs.

The following three herbs do well in containers, and all are easy to grow from seed. You can also find these herbs at your local nursery.

Read more

Heather Katsoulis

The temperatures are still cold here in North America, but spring will soon be here.

Are you ready?

Check out this list of actions to take now:

Read more

The site is undergoing maintenance today.

Please bear with me if you encounter formatting issues or other problems, and check back soon.

Are House Sparrows eating most of your birdseed?

Do they drive off other birds and mob your feeders?

Read on for methods to deter the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), a.k.a. the English Sparrow.

Read more

Slate-Colored Dark-Eyed Junco

Juncos are among the easiest birds to attract to a feeder and are seen across the United States. Yet, juncos have variations in color, size, and habit.

What are your juncos like?

Read more

Armand Clematis, GFDL

Spring is on its way. Have some fun planning, preparing, and shopping for the wildlife you want visiting this spring.

Read more

I've been busy with the colds running rampant through my family, so I missed getting my article out this past Friday.

However, I did get the pics taken of the new digs here, so I'll be working on getting out a double-whammy this week of last week's planned article as well as this week's.

Off to find more kleenex!

Before I dive in to news, profiles, and my new before-and-after series, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at 2008.

So, between stats from Google Analytics and my sole discretion, I've identified the best articles from 2008.

Enjoy the "award show"!

Read more

Happy New Year!

Hopefully you and yours had a great holiday season. After a long hiatus, I'm recharged and ready to run. I'm excited about some new ideas for the Wildlife Porch.

Look for more profiles of plants, birds, and other critters this year, as well as the continuation of my problem-solving series from last year.

Also on the agenda is a practical, before-and-after series on small outdoor spaces using the new digs here at the Wildlife Porch.

I will be once again increasing the number of links to articles, sites, merchants, and products in a number of categories.

Also, I will be fixing several issues "under the hood", including those around contacting me.

"See" you next week!

Image: Heather Katsoulis

Here's wishing you, your loved ones, and your wild ones a warmth-filled Christmas.

See you in the new year!

Thanks for bearing with me as I struggle to continue this blog.

Balancing my roles as new mother, new wife, blogger, housekeeper, family CFO, frugal meal planner, and more has been waaay more tricky than my previous life as a single software professional and recreational wildlife watcher.

Look for some changes in the months ahead. I hope to increase my blogging frequency, fix some issues with the current blog design (sorry for the email troubles, carol!), and improve the non-article content for ya'll.

As always, let me know what you think via comments or email.

Cindy Rae

My infant son was sick for the first time last week, so I totally missed my self-imposed deadline of Friday for a new post.

My son's better, and to make up for the lack of a Friday post, I've written a new post today.

Enjoy!

Image: Public Domain

As fall approaches, consider ways to encourage wildlife through late summer and fall.

Read more

Well, the husband, 7-week old, dog, and myself have settled in to our new digs.

It's been stressful to say the least -- I was in Internet withdrawal for a couple of weeks.

What's more, I ran out of scheduled posts for ya'll. I'll be working on some new articles shortly.

Here are some future topics:

• A series on discouraging unwanted pigeons, yellowjackets, racoons, snakes, and more
• Hummingbirds vs. Bees at Your Feeders
• A Quick Start to Container Wildlife Gardening
• 5 Dwarf Bushes for Wildlife
• Stings, Bites, and Misconceptions: Dragonflies, Bees, and Other Insects
• Thistle Seed, aka Nyjer Seed, aka Nyger Seed
• Chipmunk Basics
• How to Attract Toads
• Nut Feeders
• The Basics of Balcony Wildlife

On a personal note, I gave birth to a 7 1/2 pound baby boy last week. He is our first child, and we are very excited, albeit sleep-deprived!

Thanks for hanging in there and reading this blog.

On a personal note --

I started this blog after some radical life changes last summer (I married, quit my job, moved two states away, sold the old house, and became pregnant).

My hopes were to stick with several articles a week for the blog, but I may have to downgrade my posting frequency yet again for this summer.

The baby is due anytime in the next few weeks, and we move into our own home at the end of June

I'm going to try to stack up several feature articles to take care of you, my reader, while I'm fighting sleep deprivation and changing diapers.

Hang in there! I'll be back full-force as soon as life allows.

Well, I'm recovering and ready to start writing again. I'll try to have my Friday feature ready to go at the usual time, and it will definitely be done by Friday COB regardless.

Thanks for hanging in there!

A little under the weather folks -- see you tomorrow!

Because of some upcoming personal life changes, I'm reducing my posting schedule by dropping Thursday's posts. In a few weeks, if necessary, I'll drop Tuesday's posts.

I expect to reinstate the four-posts-a-week schedule sometime this fall.

However, Monday is still reserved for administrative notices like this one, while Tuesday remains the day for reviews, briefs, or series. Friday will still bring my feature articles to light.

As always, please contact me (see the link at the top of the page) if you have any questions.

For those of you out there who want to know - I'm changing the posting schedule here at the Wildlife Porch. Here's the idea:

Read more

Technorati Profile

Just some administrative news!

If you notice anything looking a little strange this weekend here at The Wildlife Porch, just give it a few minutes and try visiting here again.

I'll be doing some maintenance work this weekend, including an upgrade of the blog hosting tool from b2evolution and an updated site design. I plan to have the site fully upgraded by Monday.

Enjoy the wildlife this weekend,

- Cindy Rae

I've been laid low by a particular nasty bug (or two) for a couple of weeks, so when you see Thursday's post actually published tomorrow - Friday - you know why!

Off the vanquish some bugs (and we're not talking software here),

- Cindy Rae

Purpose

The Wildlife Porch provides articles, reviews, and links to products, merchants, and websites to help you attract wild birds, butterflies, bees, squirrels and more to your small outdoor area or backyard.

Read more

My name is Cindy Rae. I'm an avid wildlife watcher, a professional engineer, and, now, a blogger about wildlife and other topics. Although my history with computers and software goes back a long ways, my fascination with wild birds, bees, and butterflies goes back even farther.

Read more