More Birdies!!!
I saw Orioles in my yard! Two of this this morning, and they were fighting over the really cool feeder I put out! It has a space for nectar, a space for grape jelly (that's their favorite in my backyard), and a place to skewer an orange half. They are so bright. They remind me of my car...
Also, the female cardinal has been hanging out in our yard.
We took a walk at the Ravine Park last night, and we saw a cardinal, a song sparrow, heard lots of chickadees, and birds I don't know, and saw many ravens. We also saw two skeletons. One, the front half of a deer including lower mandible, neck vertebrae and ribs. Second one, back vertibrae, pelvis and one leg. Maybe, but probably not two haves of the same animal. Leg still have fur on it, so did the lowerest part of the mandible (chin) on the other one. The rest was picked clean. The scientist in me enjoyed looking at them, I even poked at them with a stick!. I also saw lots of deer tracks, and two chipmunks fighting. It was a bit breezy, but a really nice walk otherwise. We'll have to make better use of that park in the future.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Thursday, May 08, 2008
The Poor Hairy!
Hairy Woodpecker, woe is you. You knew your feeder well. It sat upon my deck all winter, but this time it did move. I put it on the tree - just there! See, just down below. Yet you sit upon my deck and ponder, wherever did it go?
..............................................
I didn't mean to be so poetic, but there you have it. The hairy woodpecker was quite confused today, as I moved his feeder lower in the yard to make room for my herbs (in hanging baskets off the deck - easier to get too, and not as much a temptation for the rabbits). He hopped on the railing for a while (it's very funny to watch a woodpecker hop, they are very awkward), then tried to land on the pole holding the other feeders, but kept slipping. Finally, he gave up and flew away. I tried to point it out, but to no avail.
Birds I've seen this year so far: (in no particular order)
whitebreasted nuthatch
hairy woodpecker
downy woodpecker
red-bellied woodpecker
flicker
tree swallow (I think)
ruby crowned kinglet
yellow rumped warbler
bluebird
robin (X1000 at least, one is singing to me now)
house finch (again X1000)
purple finch
junco
goldfinch (also X1000)
chipping sparrow
song sparrow
house sparrow
morning dove
raven
crow
duck - mallard I believe
goose (buzzed the tower, decided that counted)
one I haven't identified yet (yesterday, at birdbath, have decided I need a better birdbook)
Birds I've seen at another home's feeder:
Blue Jay
Cardinal
red-breasted nuthatch
Birds I heard golfing:
Lots, I need to learn to identify bird calls
Birds I saw at Tartan Park, golfing or while playing softball:
Red winged blackbirds
barn swallows
turkey vultures
wild turkeys (taking off for flight, about the funniest thing I've seen in awhile)
Not a bad list. I'm going to keep adding to it.
Hairy Woodpecker, woe is you. You knew your feeder well. It sat upon my deck all winter, but this time it did move. I put it on the tree - just there! See, just down below. Yet you sit upon my deck and ponder, wherever did it go?
..............................................
I didn't mean to be so poetic, but there you have it. The hairy woodpecker was quite confused today, as I moved his feeder lower in the yard to make room for my herbs (in hanging baskets off the deck - easier to get too, and not as much a temptation for the rabbits). He hopped on the railing for a while (it's very funny to watch a woodpecker hop, they are very awkward), then tried to land on the pole holding the other feeders, but kept slipping. Finally, he gave up and flew away. I tried to point it out, but to no avail.
Birds I've seen this year so far: (in no particular order)
whitebreasted nuthatch
hairy woodpecker
downy woodpecker
red-bellied woodpecker
flicker
tree swallow (I think)
ruby crowned kinglet
yellow rumped warbler
bluebird
robin (X1000 at least, one is singing to me now)
house finch (again X1000)
purple finch
junco
goldfinch (also X1000)
chipping sparrow
song sparrow
house sparrow
morning dove
raven
crow
duck - mallard I believe
goose (buzzed the tower, decided that counted)
one I haven't identified yet (yesterday, at birdbath, have decided I need a better birdbook)
Birds I've seen at another home's feeder:
Blue Jay
Cardinal
red-breasted nuthatch
Birds I heard golfing:
Lots, I need to learn to identify bird calls
Birds I saw at Tartan Park, golfing or while playing softball:
Red winged blackbirds
barn swallows
turkey vultures
wild turkeys (taking off for flight, about the funniest thing I've seen in awhile)
Not a bad list. I'm going to keep adding to it.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Another Weekend, more work in the yard
It's the weekend. Lately that's meant yard work. Which is fine, really! I love being outside, especially right now, when there are no mosquitoes. There are ticks though, I had to brush two off me, and one off Trev. Still, even ticks can't dampen my appreciation for the weather we had today.
Yesterday was nice, too, but way windy. So I went to Chris's house and we knitted for a while. When I left there, Trev and I ran errands and we bought a bunch of things we needed, and a bunch of stuff we didn't (BAD me!). Today we woke to a gorgeous day. We had breakfast, filled two new birdie feeders - an oriole feeder and a hummingbird feeder, and hung them, then it was get to work time. We spent 6ish hours in the yard, listening to the twins game on the radio and having a fire to burn all the sticks we raked up. We cut branches and pulled weeds, and moved plants, and burned sticks.
For a break, we went to Menard's, where we bought a shiny new blue wheel barrow, 8 hanging plants, and a watering can, and three brand new (working!!!) lights for outside the garage. We stopped at Cub's garden store on the way home and bought herbs. I'll plant them tomorrow as I ran out of light tonight. Trev is, even now, outside in the dark with a headlamp making the garage lights go up. I'll go help in a bit, when it gets to the 'hold things while he wires' stage. Until then, I'll hide inside at the computer.
It's such a nice night, half of me wanted to build the fire back up and sit there for a few more hours. The other half of me is so dead tired from 7 hours of yard work that I know I'd fall asleep and perhaps fall into the fire! It's been a glorious day no matter what though, and I KNOW I'll sleep well tonight.
It's the weekend. Lately that's meant yard work. Which is fine, really! I love being outside, especially right now, when there are no mosquitoes. There are ticks though, I had to brush two off me, and one off Trev. Still, even ticks can't dampen my appreciation for the weather we had today.
Yesterday was nice, too, but way windy. So I went to Chris's house and we knitted for a while. When I left there, Trev and I ran errands and we bought a bunch of things we needed, and a bunch of stuff we didn't (BAD me!). Today we woke to a gorgeous day. We had breakfast, filled two new birdie feeders - an oriole feeder and a hummingbird feeder, and hung them, then it was get to work time. We spent 6ish hours in the yard, listening to the twins game on the radio and having a fire to burn all the sticks we raked up. We cut branches and pulled weeds, and moved plants, and burned sticks.
For a break, we went to Menard's, where we bought a shiny new blue wheel barrow, 8 hanging plants, and a watering can, and three brand new (working!!!) lights for outside the garage. We stopped at Cub's garden store on the way home and bought herbs. I'll plant them tomorrow as I ran out of light tonight. Trev is, even now, outside in the dark with a headlamp making the garage lights go up. I'll go help in a bit, when it gets to the 'hold things while he wires' stage. Until then, I'll hide inside at the computer.
It's such a nice night, half of me wanted to build the fire back up and sit there for a few more hours. The other half of me is so dead tired from 7 hours of yard work that I know I'd fall asleep and perhaps fall into the fire! It's been a glorious day no matter what though, and I KNOW I'll sleep well tonight.
