November is Thanksgiving month so I’m trying to count my blessings. One of them is that this club, which began in 1937, is still such an active organization—even in the midst of this pandemic. I really feel we will emerge from this as strong as we were before, and maybe even more energized and ready to dig into more gardening.

But right now there are a couple things we all can do to join in our venture. First, this newsletter: I’m happy to report that last month we emailed it to 69 people. 45 of those opened it, and 21 of those clicked on one or more links in it. Helen Koetz is the winner for opening it 16 times, followed closely by Delores Mink and Jan Melin. Yea, members! It’s wonderful to know you’re reading it!

Sadly, 24 people didn’t even open it. However, 6 of those are unable to access their email right now so it is mailed to them. 4 more have left the club. But that means 14 people missed last month’s meeting—they didn’t open their newsletter at all. (It’s not too late; it is always on our website).

All in all, those are very good numbers. But we do need participation just as though this is a meeting. So, when you see something interesting, click through the links to get more information. I’m sure you’ve seen the articles we’ve presented, hoping they are timely and of interest to a number of us. But we would really like to have any of you send in an article. It could be one you’ve written or just one you’ve seen that you would like to share. Let us know and we’ll try to incorporate it in the newsletter. Or at the very least let us what kinds of things you’d like to see here. Just click this link to email us: info@duneslandgardenclub.com

There is another way you might enjoy helping our gardening environment. It’s all about the monarch butterfly. You will find an article in this newsletter about it and links to guide you in the process.

So enjoy the rest of fall; join in our “meetings” and activities through our newsletters, our website and Facebook. Count your blessings. Happy and safe Thanksgiving to all.

I wish all of you veterans in the club a big “Thank You for your Service”, and to all a great Thanksgiving Day this month.

If you haven’t taken down your hummingbird feeders yet, it is way past time to change them out for suet feeders for your wild bird friends.  Before you put away those hummer feeders, be sure to clean them.  If you put them away already, you might want to get them out and clean them before you store them.  There are several ways to clean the feeders.  Scrub the feeder with a toothbrush and hot water.  You can add bleach OR vinegar to the water.  Let it soak, rinse well and then air dry.  You can use Q-tips to scrub the holes and small nooks.  Or put 1/4 cup of rice and 1/2 cup of hot water in the feeder and shake it.  The rice is abrasive and cleans the inside of the feeder.

For a recipe for homemade suet cakes, see Beth’s Corner in this month’s newsletter.

Look for short video clinics for homemade Christmas ornaments coming in the next 2 months.