Helping Mother Earth

Happy Earth Day everyone. This is Sky posting about how we try to help the earth at our house.


Mom says we all have to help or the poor old earth will get too tired to keep being a fun place for doggies to live. We thought digging a really big hole would be a good way to help, but Mom didn't think that was a good idea. Here is what she told us we can do to help.


At the last house she lived in and again here at our house, Mom made a plan and submitted it to the National Wildlife Federation. After a few suggestions, they certified our yard where we play as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat. That means we supply the four essentials for wildlife, food, water, cover and a place to raise their young.


This is the Yew hedge that runs across the front and side of the house. Lots of birds live in the hedge. They scurry around when we walk by and they come onto the porch with their baby chicks to eat from the feeders. This provides cover and a place to raise young.


This is the super gigantic Forsythia bush at the back corner of the house. This thing is huge. Mom won't let us investigate it because there are a couple of families of rabbits that live under there. Sometimes Mom sees the baby bunnies hopping around and they make her smile.

Mom and Dad love to plant trees. I think Mom likes it better than Dad, because he has to dig the holes.


This little tree is new this year.


These trees are a few years old. We like to lie in the shade they give. It's nice on a hot day after a tough game of chase to lie in the shade and nap.


Mom says when some of these trees get older, they'll shade a lot of our yard and make it more comfortable in the hot summer. They also help clean the air and give the birds a place to hide and build nests.


Mom and Dad don't use chemicals on the yard. They say those chemicals can get into the drinking water. Chemicals can get on our feet, too. Then if we lick them off, we can get very sick. Because we don't use them, we have these pretty yellow flowers growing in the yard. We used to eat these when we were puppies, now we roll on them.


These weird orange thingies grow on one of the trees in the side yard. Our neighbor thinks we should put something on them to get rid of them, but Mom says they're just Mother Nature's tree ornaments. They only last a few weeks then they go away till next year.


Mom and Dad feed the birds and the squirrels. This feeder holds suet. The Woodpeckers really love this stuff. Mom likes to sit at the window and watch them eat. Sometimes they drop a piece in the grass and we get to eat it. It tastes really good.


Here are a couple more feeders that hold different kinds of seeds. Some birds like big seeds and some like little seeds. Some birds don't like to eat from feeders, so we put seed on the deck rails and they can sit there and eat.


When it rains, like it did this morning, water comes off the roof in these things called downspouts. We'd like to drink from them, but Mom says no. Dad puts these long black pipes on the ends of the downspouts and directs the water to the trees and bushes. This one sends water to the Crepe Myrtle. Mom says we might get a rain barrel to collect rain water for the garden.


You all know how much we like to play in the water. Mom says that's OK, but when we're finished playing, we must put the muddy water on the plants in the yard so that we don't waste water and the plants can have a drink.



So that's how we help our earth. Do your humans let you help take care of the earth?