Our new house, question about live oak (Laurel, Golf: power lines, yard)

[SeaLark7]

Thanks for the info, Daniel. Sounds like we won't have to worry about their size getting unmanageable, since I am in my late 50s and my husband in his late 60s ! The trees will outlive us, unless a strong wind comes along. Both trees are well away from pavement, so the pollen shouldn't be a big problem. I wonder when they begin to produce acorns.

[JERSEY MAN]

Very nice house Sealark. Good luck with your new house.

[pslhomie]

You might have to worry about squirrels though LOL

[SeaLark7]

I am one of the few people who likes squirrels ! We have very few of them out here in the Ohio countryside (too many predators, is my guess) so I am hoping to see them in the Florida suburbs. I suppose I will find out for sure when I get around to putting up a bird feeder ! How about chipmunks ? Are they very common in suburbia in Florida ?

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by SeaLark7

I am one of the few people who likes squirrels ! We have very few of them out here in the Ohio countryside (too many predators, is my guess) so I am hoping to see them in the Florida suburbs. I suppose I will find out for sure when I get around to putting up a bird feeder ! How about chipmunks ? Are they very common in suburbia in Florida ?

I've never seen a chipmunk down here. I've read that there are some in northwestern Fl.

[DanielAvery]

I went on vacation to Vermont, and while staying at a B&B I saw some chipmunks raiding the bird feeder outside. I had lived in south Georgia my whole life and wasn't sure what I was seeing. I nervously asked the owner if those were some breed of squirrel I was not acquainted with. I had honestly never seen chipmunks anywhere but in cartoons!

Of course she probably would have had the same reaction if an armadillo waddled across her lawn...

[pslhomie]

If you put out a bird feeder then expect all kinds of animals to raid it. We have a neighbor that has Sand Hill cranes pecking holes in theirs. One also broke a sliding glass door. You may attract ratcoons, possums and all kinds of varments that you might not want. You have to be crafty when dealing with these suckers. Hang it high enough to keep out the cranes and ratcoons and mount it in a way that the squrrels don't raid it. What I was talking about was the fact that they will nest in the trees and if there is a small opening in your roof they may decide that your attic is a better home. Just ask Sid about that.

They are delicious though with gravy and biscuits.

[SeaLark7]

Somebody told me that birds in Florida really do not need to be fed from feeders as they have plenty of food year-round due to the temperate climate. So really the only reason to feed them is to observe them up close (or at least, closer). However, with the other critters attracted by the feeder, for the first time in my life I may not be putting out a bird feeder ! I will have a hummingbird feeder, though.

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by SeaLark7

Somebody told me that birds in Florida really do not need to be fed from feeders as they have plenty of food year-round due to the temperate climate. So really the only reason to feed them is to observe them up close (or at least, closer). However, with the other critters attracted by the feeder, for the first time in my life I may not be putting out a bird feeder ! I will have a hummingbird feeder, though.

I think that's true of all the animals down here. There's an abundance of food sources year round. You can plant things that will draw them closer if you like. I have a giant white bird of paradise that draws all types of birds.

[124c41]

We had one in our front yard in Texas that was probably 80 years old, and approx. 40 ft tall, or so, and it took everything the Gulf threw at it, and stayed vertical. But like DanielAvery said, they can meet their match with a good Gulf wind. I have seen 100 year old oaks laying on their sides after a storm. We lived about 50 miles in from the coast, so by the time the storms got to us, they were buffered a bit, but that little oak still took a whippin' when the storms came through. This is a bit off the subject, but, if you like to BBQ, I will let you in on a secret about the live oak you have. Get your coals hot, then cut of maybe one, or, two, tender, new growth limbs, about pencil thick. Strip the leaves off, and break them up in pieces, and put them on the coals. Your BBQ will have a good Texas BBQ flavor. I used to have to trim ours since it hung over our mail box, and I kept the limbs I trimmed off for BBQ later. You can use the limbs, green, or dried.