Chex airdate: March, 6th, 2015 Click link to watch this episode online. Often
?people ask where particular birds have gone. ?Years ago they would have seen them more often, but it’s only on rare occasions that they enjoy a sighting. Local biologist and instructor at Trent University, Walter Wehtje helps to explain where the birds have gone and what birds we are apt to see this year. Special thanks to Fred Jennings from Longlac, Ontario for sharing his beautiful bird photos.
Galleries
Garden Gate: Episode 57 – OWLS!
CHEX TV airdate: Friday Feb. 20, 2015, 5pm Click link to view this episode. For the last couple of years a high number of owls have been spotted in our region. Especially snowy owls. They are so beautiful and exciting to see! I haven’t seen a snowy owl myself but was fortunate enough to have a visit from a very large Barred owl! Right in my backyard.
On this episode I speak with Walter Wehtje, a biologist and instructor at Trent University about owl sightings and migrations habitats. ?Walter highlights one of his favourite websites to track the owls.??www.projectsnowstorm.org The project “Snow storm” began with the historic snowy owl irruption of 2013-14, and is a continuing effort to learn about these majestic raptors. On March 6th, join Walter and I as we discuss migration habits of other birds!
Garden Gate: Episode 56 – The BAD seed
? CHEX TV airdate: Friday, Feb. 6th, 2015 Click link to watch this episode. I knew our bird food was good stuff. ?But it wasn’t until I picked some other “bird food” up at a box store that I realized HOW good! On this episode of the Garden Gate I will show you how to tell the difference between good and bad bird food. ?And the birds will also tell you! ?If you don’t have any birds at your feeders, there is very likely something wrong with the food. Many box store brands are filled with seeds that the birds don’t like. ?If the ingredients list includes “grains”, mostly like that is wheat. ?Pheasants and chickens may eat wheat, but backyard birds don’t. ?Also ingredient lists sometimes note that “oil may be used to suppress dust.” ?Birds don’t like oil and dust anymore than you do! ?The box store bag I picked up felt so dusty I was shocked! Even black oil sunflower varies from store to store. ?It is sorted be weight. ?Lightweight seeds are separated by being blown off a conveyor belt. The light weight seeds go in the cheaper bags and you get more shell than you do seed! ?Birds will toss most of these seeds on the ground because it’s not worth their time and energy to open the shells for little reward. Our bird food is filled with only the good stuff. ?No filler. No dust. No oil. NO wheat! ?You’ll find you have much more activity at your feeders and a much wider variety of birds. The sunflower seeds are plump and fresh! Ask for our most popular blend “Seasons Woodland.” And, finally if you’re thinking quality bird food is more expensive, then think again. ?Depending on the bird food you choose, 10lbs is less than $15.00 and there is NO waste. ?Give ours a try! I’m sure you’ll be surprised with the results.
Garden Gate: Episode 55 – New Feeders
Click link to watch this episode. So you have a new feeder! ?Yay! ?You filled it up with bird food. Hung it in a tree. ?It looks good. ?You can see it from the kitchen window and are ready to enjoy those little chirpers. Then you waited. No birds. Days go by. Still no birds. ?What’s going on you say? ?It’s frustrating, but there are often good reasons why you don’t see any birds. On this episode of The Garden Gate on CHEX TV I give some quick tips about why you may not be seeing birds and things you can do to hopefully get them to enjoy your new bird feeder. ?I hope you’ll join me!
Garden Gate: Episode 54 – Northern Smittens
CHEX TV airdate: Friday January 9th between 5 and 6pm Click link to watch video here. On her way back from the One of a Kind Show, Josee Huard, maker of wonderful Northern Smittens dropped in to talk with me about her work. Northern Smittens are one of a kind felted wool mittens handcrafted from recycled wool sweaters found in thrift stores. These sweaters are often stained, shrunk or damaged making them unwearable. ?They often find their way into landfills or are sent by large shipping boats to third-world countries. By working around these problems, the artist is able to take these previously loved sweaters, cut them up and give them new life as beautiful pieces of art for your hands. 
All sweaters are at least 80% wool. ?The sweaters are processed in hot water so their fibers felt together making them thick and soft. ?This felting process creates a mitten that is incredibly warm and naturally water and wind resistant. ?The mitten lining is made from new polar fleece to ensure warmth and comfort. So warm and comfy!
Garden Gate: Episode 53 – Once around the shop for Christmas gift ideas
Chex air date: Dec. 19th, 2014 Click link to watch this episode. We have so many beautiful things in the shop, sometimes it’s hard to choose! ?But we are here to help! Guys love our beer glasses, thermometers and rain gauges. Tilley hats and tools too! ?That’s just a start – watch the video for 2.5 minutes
of tips!
Garden Gate: Episode 52-Discouraging large birds
CHEX TV airdate: Friday Dec. 12th, 2014 Click link to watch it here! 
Feeding and watching the birds is a wonderful past time. ?You can spend hours watching the chickadees coming in to grab a seed one after another. ?Polite little birds! Then there are the goldfinches. They have such a pretty song, I could listen to them all day. They will come in large flocks and sit all day taking turns eating your Nyger seed. Bright red Cardinals appear and we almost jump for joy! ?When they are courting or have little ones to feed you might enjoy dad helping to pass on a seed or two. ?FUN! Aww, b
ut then the fun ends. Sir Squirrel or Gastly Grackle moves in….birds fly away and these two devour everything in site! On this episode of The Garden Gate, I’ll give you some tips on types of feeders that discourage squirrels and grackles as well as bird food that they don’t like. Feel free to drop in to see these feeders or to get more information. We’re here to help and to make your back yard bird feeding more enjoyable! Note: we do not recommend bird food with cayenne. ?If a squirrel gets the cayenne pepper in their eyes they can do serious damage to their eyes. ?Also, it has been shown that it affects birds stomachs. They can’t necessarily taste it, but their little tummies don’t like it. ?
Garden Gate: Episode 51 – Recycled socks. puppets and mittens!
CHEX TV air date: Friday Nov. 28th, 2014 Click link to watch video here. On this episode of the Garden Gate I’m talking about recycled content in some of our products. ?Instead of using new materials, these businesses all use recycled materials to make their products. ?This means less pollution in the environment and also that items are being reused before they are recycled! 
Our fun Happy socks for instance are made from recycled cotton T-Shirts! Leftovers are recycled into rags mats and other products. ?If a sock isn’t made quite right then it is made into a hat! You should see these fun and colourful hats! Scarves, mittens, baby and kid socks are also available. We also carry some really cute puppets that are made out of recycled wool sweaters. ?The puppets are made by sewers in Toronto. ?One of the owners (Josh Title) has even appeared on Martha Stewart Living! ?Josh showed Martha how to cut the fabric and put the puppets together. ?Puppies, elephants, cats, birds and even moose can be found in the shop!
? And most recently we added a line of mittens made in North Bay. ?The owner Josee, has in her first year of business, recycled over 1000lbs of wool sweaters into beautiful mittens! ?She is an excellent sewer matching up patterns from really weird sweaters and turning them into warm and fun mittens that she calls SMITTENS! And closest to home are some crazy metal animals and Christmas trees made out of recycled propane and oil tanks. ?Every one is unique. ?These come from Dog Bite Steel in Uxbridge, Ontario,
Garden Gate: Episode 50! – Maxwell pottery & Madoc Rocks
CHEX TV air date: ?Friday Nov. 14th, 2014
Click link to watch this episode.
On this episode of the Garden Gate I showcase a couple of items which are great for people who love to entertain, live on a lake or spend time at a cottage!
Dip sets shaped like canoes and stone coasters from Madoc!
In 1991 Daniel Maxwell and his wife Jodi returned home to Northern Ontario to establish their Pottery Studio. Using a strong stoneware clay, all work is made on the pottery wheel or is hand built. With his own recipe of glaze colours, Daniel hand paints each piece in one of his many unique designs.
Daniel attributes his pride of craftsmanship and tasteful use of colour to having studied and worked at Sheridan College School of Craft and Design in Oakville, Ontario for nine years.
Daniel says to his customers “I make funtional pots. I want people to enjoy them for their utilitarian qualities as well as their decorative appeal.”
Daniel’s lead free pottery is dishwasher, microwave and over safe and brings many years of pleasure.
Nick Butts creates wonderful stone coasters out of rock he mines near Madoc and Nephton. The rocks are cut down to coaster size in sets of four. At this point some stones have designs such as loons or moose added. Then they are coated to protect and bring out the textures and colours.
Again these are terrific items for a cottage, but also a great gift for a man. He can use these in his “man cave!”
Garden Gate: Episode 49 – Outdoor window boxes
CHEX TV airdate: Friday Oct. 31st, 2014 Watch this episode here. ![DSC_0586[1]](https://www.avantgardenshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DSC_05861.jpg)
It might seem like a strange time of year to talk about window boxes. Afterall, it’s time to put our gardens to bed! Probably by now most of your annuals have been hit by the frost. ?So then why am I talking about window boxes? ?Because I want you to use them 12 months of the year! ?Of course you can fill them with beautiful flowers, but I like to use them in other seasons too. Ours at the shop have looked gorgeous for the last few years. ?I start early in the spring with some beautiful pansies as they are very cold tolerant. Then at the end of May I fill them with a variety of annuals. ?By the end of October they are usually done so I’ll fill them with lovely pine, cedar, juniper and whatever other greens I can get my hands on. 
Our window boxes are very deep which means they hold a lot of soil. ?This is probably one of the most important characteristics of a quality window box. A deep container that holds lots of soil will help keep your plant roots cooler, hold more moisture and allow for deeper root growth. ?Small containers heat up, dry out and?plants will be less likely to do well or even survive. Note: Coco liners have been difficult to find over the last couple of years so instead we use a double layer of burlap. Our window boxes are made in Ontario by a metal worker with high quality steel, durable welds and fantastic designs. ?Walsh Mountain Ironworks at one time was located in Port Hope. ?The retail shop is now closed and the jigs and patterns sold. ?The new owner is doing a wonderful job and we are very pleased with the quality and designs. A variety of styles can be seen on our website. ?