Mike Hunter Sudbury

One of my guilty pleasures is feeding the birds in back yard so usually looks like Logan Airport at rush hour with everything from juncos and titmice to blue jays and yellow finches. We also get lots of morning doves and red tailed hawks have been known to visit. The first of the hummingbirds came on schedule around May 1 this year and we had to rush the feeder out of its winter hibernation and into action. This is always the time to get your hummingbird feeder and put it out. Hummingbirds are very territorial and will come back to the same area and feeder, so you want to put your feeder in the exact same spot for at least a couple of years, then you could move it within a reasonable distance if you need to in the future. The ratio of sugar to water for their food is 1:4, or ½ cup sugar to two cups water. Change the sugar water every few days in hot weather so it doesn’t ferment. Our hummers have been visiting a lot and it looks like the new family is about ready to head south for ...

Fall is one of the best times of year for gardeners to enjoy the splendid displays of nature’s beauty while thinking of how they can improve the colors of their own gardens. Autumn is my favorite time of year for planting trees and shrubs. If you can bear the mosquitoes you will find that most anything you stick in the ground will grow this time of year. Of course some of us can stick a fence post into the ground and it will sprout leaves.  But for those of you who have two black thumbs there is hope if you plant in the fall. Visitors from other parts of the country are drawn away from the yellows of their own forests to New England for the vivid reds, scarlets, oranges, yellow-oranges, and copper colors. While much of the display comes from the native trees a lot of the texture comes from shrubs and vines, many of them put in place by you and me. My list of the top flowering trees, shrubs and vines for the Sudbury gardener would fill a couple of legal pads, but here are so...

After looking for months you've found the house that you could love and decide to make an offer. You call your agent and he/she says they have multiple offers. Here's what you should ask: 1. Is selling agent a "Realtor"? That is ... a member of a national organization with a code of ethics. 2. Does selling agent have one or more of the offers? This puts you at a disadvantage if they cut their commission to secure both sides of the deal. 3. Does selling agent's office/brokerage have one or more of the offers? Some brokerages increase the agent's splits if they keep the deals "in house". 4. How many offers do you have? Knowing the number of offers is vital to your strategy. The seller is perfectly within their rights to restrict what or anything their agent is allowed to share. Don't fret if you're told they can't share, knowing that is also vital to your strategy. You do have a right to ask for a copy of this instruction in wr...

One thing that has done very well this year is the weeds. Crab grass, native skunk cabbage, and goldenrod are on my top enemies list. What is a weed? By definition, weeds are anything growing somewhere you don’t want them to grow. They can be prize roses or prize vegetables, but if you don’t want them there, they’re weeds. I used to choose my weeding tools based upon the task at hand. Now I find myself choosing tools by the “what part of my body will ache the least tomorrow morning” school of thought. One can also use a variety of tools to exercise many muscles and make sure that the entire body aches the next morning. My favorite weeding tool is called a Mattock. It’s a medium-sized digging tool with a flat blade set at right angles to the handle. One side of the blade is flat and sharpened like a hoe. The other side is a set of two or three prongs that can get below any clump of weeds. My current model is a very lightweight one I purchased at an army/navy store and has served ...

I once had some loam delivered and spread on a section of the lawn and it only grew more crabgrass than I had ever seen. There was plenty of sun, I watered it regularly, I used quality grass seed and seemed to do everything right so why the lack of success. It was the dirt. Soil is the "physical earth" or "dirt" in our yards and gardens. It is made up of particles of all shapes and sizes and can be heavy on one count and not another. It could be typically heavy in clay, or maybe very sandy. Loam is soil that has been measured and mixed so one knows the percentage of particles. Ideally the mixture is 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay by volume. This mixture is a good growing medium for most plants as the roots are able to penetrate the loam and establish themselves in the growing medium and allowing for better drainage. Using my home-made soil sample test to find out what was wrong with the loam told me there was too much clay, couldn't tell by looking at i...

Last winter was pretty hard on the deer herd in town. With the cold and snow and spring’s reluctant appearance the critters were just starving when the new sprouts and buds of the season broke forth. It’s no surprise that I’ve heard from lots of folks wondering what they can do about deer eating their plantings. First of all, let me tell you that I feel your pain. There’s nothing like feeding wild animals with your expensive and lovingly cared for specimen plants. There are lots of experts who will tell you predator urine, dial soap, blood meal, and other potions will work. Sorry, but not true. If a deer is hungry enough, there is not much that can stop them. Think from the deer’s point of view; as long as you keep alert and post a lookout from your herd to watch out for predators, what’s the big deal. And the soap thing not only looks ridiculous, but have you ever noticed that when you open a new bar of soap the smell is overpowering and after a couple of showers it’s barely...

Growing up we used to have a dessert which combined dried fruits and sweetened wine that was called “compote”. Being that I had 3 brothers and a sister with me at the dining table, you can imagine that we quickly renamed it “compost” and I can’t ever think of one without thinking of the other. Actually a couple of my brothers would probably swear that real “compost” tastes better. Once August is upon us, everything that’s getting planted at my house is in the ground and it’s time to spend a little time working on the compost pile to get it back in working order after a winter of neglect. Lots of folks try to have one and most folks say they have one, but dumping your grass clippings behind the stone wall does not a compost pile make. For starters, I never put grass clippings in the compost pile as they may have pesticides and animal pathogens and with my mulching-mower I don’t have any to use. Let's start with the obvious, the goal of a compost pile is to recycle your every...

Gardening to attract wildlife is easy and rewarding. You can create an abundant food supply and simultaneously build a beautiful habitat for bees, butterflies, songbirds and hummingbirds. Always try to choose as many native plants as possible and the goal is plant diversity, the more diverse the plant mass the more wildlife you will attract and support. Here is a partial list of proven bee, humming bird, butterfly and bird garden plants : Annuals: Asters, Heliotrope, Cosmos, Fuschia, Dahlias, Marigolds, Poppies, Sunflowers,       and Zinnias. Perrenials: Clematis, Crocuses, Echinacea, Black-eyed Susan, Foxglove, Honeysuckle,       Geraniums, Globe Thistle, Hollyhocks, Hyacinth, Rock Cress, Roses,Sedum, Snowdrops. Fruiting Garden Plants:       Blackberries-Cucumbers-Peppers-Pumpkins-Raspberries-Strawberries. Herbs: Bee Balm,Catnip, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Mints,       Rosemary,Sage,Thyme. ...

GO SOX!!!

My first Listing, Sold Over Asking Showing your house for sale the right way, like everything, requires a plan for success. For maximum impact with buyer's showings and open houses look at your home through a buyer's filter.  I have developed this "pretty much covers everything list" for my sellers based on hundreds of buyer showings and open houses. Enjoy. Kitchen Clear off countertops, leaving only necessary appliances Clean and polish worn cabinets Arrange cupboards and pantry so items are neat and orderly Open blinds and turn on lights so kitchen is bright and cheery Leave a delicious smell in the kitchen Garage, Basement, Attic Clean out the clutter Keep stairways and entryways well lit Keep basement bright with new paint or lighting Ventilate to remove "stale" odors Repair cracked floors and walls Stack stored items against the walls Bathrooms Repair any dripping fa...