Welcome Visitors

All these guys and gals stopped by to visit on the same morning.

I always experience joy when I see him

I always experience joy when I see him

Maybe it’s in his name, American Gold [Finch].  Yah, that works for me.

A cheery cherry guy

A cheery cherry guy

I didn’t get a picture of the red-tailed hawk.  That’s one that is not a poser.

Breakfast bugs are freshly dug

Breakfast bugs are freshly dug

She takes care of a lot of bugs.  She also digs up the lawn, but I don’t care.  Just so she doesn’t try to nest under my garage again.

That’s the least amount of white I’ve seen on a skunk.  Would she be welcome at your house?

Turkey in the Grass

As I sat at desk, I glimpsed movement from the corner of my eye.  Birds.  Large birds walking on the edge of the lawn.  Are they turkeys?

It’s not unusual to spot turkeys in this neighborhood.  But five of them?  That’s a first.

With camera in hand, I found a better location to observe the avian action.  The young birds explored the border between lawn and willow thicket.

They turned back toward the road.  Just before reaching the ditch, they entered the tall grass as they sought cover among the willows.

Playing "Follow the Leader"

Playing “Follow the Leader”

I love this neighborhood, flower, fauna and folk.

Observations

Recently, I sat here at this computer as I surfed the Internet.  The bright sunlight coming through the window seemed to be blinking . . .  What?

In one glance, I could see that swallows were feasting on insects flying near the house.  Could I capture an image?

I stood and then I saw the spectator bleaches at the air show were full.  I slowly lifted the blinds, but the audience remained calm.

Perhaps they like the warm pavement

Perhaps they like the warm pavement

I particularly enjoy watching these fellows in flight.  They are so graceful–maneuverable too.  They are frequently there to keep me company as I mow.

Rabbits

A few weeks ago I looked out a window at the garden.  I detected movement.  Oh no!  Two rabbits were checking our romaine.  I stepped outside and started to talk to them as I waked toward the rabbits.  They watched, not twitching a muscle.

Then I clapped my hands . . . loudly.  The rabbits panicked.  And started to run to the opposite side.  The first one leaped and made it through a hole in the fence.  As that one ran away, the second one followed.  Leap and stuck at the hips, he was left hanging in the fence.  Feet flailing air.  He managed to back out.

A second try met with the same result.  I continued to approach talking and clapping.  The poor bunny was terrified.  He ran to another end where the path is blocked with chicken wire fence.  No wriggling through that.

He turned hard left running beside the fence and into more fence.  Spin around and run as fast as you can, he seemed to be thinking.  Then as he sped toward the end, he gave on tremendous leap and cleared the 24″ fence.

I laughed as I watched him run out of sight.  Do you suppose that rabbits tell their grandchildren about their great adventures?  Hhmmm . . .

Tale of Two Birds

When I went out to mow yesterday, I knew I’d be seeing two birds.  They are both nesting and they will react differently as one approaches their nests.

The first is the killdeer.

Killdeer defends nest

Killdeer defends nest

She builds her nest on the ground.

If you don't know where to look you won't find it.

If you don’t know where to look you won’t find it.

Whenever I come near, she runs away making noise.  She wants to distract and lure me away from the nest.  Yesterday, she even a did a bit of the broken-wing ruse.

By contrast, the dove sits patiently and very still on her nest.

Keep low and stay quiet

Keep low and stay quiet

I passed by within inches of the dove’s nest.  She did not even twitch as I went by.

Both birds guard their eggs, each by a different strategy.  Both will be effective.

Portland Update

Monday morning, work was completed on the steeple of First Congregational Church.  Less than two hours later, the tornado took it down.

Yesterday, they retrieved the bell and demolished the building.  How sad for those Congregationalists.  They will incorporate the bell as a symbol of their heritage as they rebuild.

I’ve not found details on the three other churches that were damaged.  It would be interesting to watch that steeple tower on First Baptist come down.  Interesting, but very, very sad.

Wildlife

This week started off well.  Monday, Sylvia had the cast removed from her left arm.  It was two months to the day since she broke her wrist.  X-rays show that the fracture is healing.  Thursday will be the first therapy session for her.

The last few days have been very busy days for us.  There has been much to do.  I’ve not had time to attend to this blog.  Fortunately, I have put the camera to work and here are a couple of items from its memory card.

The grass is not only greener, it tastes better

The grass is not only greener, it tastes better

I saw the doe cross the driveway and walked over to the neighbor’s fence.  I raised the blinds and reached for the camera.  The deer had crossed the fence.  She ate some grass and then came back and disappeared into the willow brush and tall grass down by the road.

On Sunday afternoon, I saw an unusual sight.  It was out on the lawn.

A duck surveys the possibilities

A duck surveys the possibilities

We’ve had a lot of rain lately, but a duck?  They usually consider this “flyover” country.  Maybe she was tired and that’s why she stayed for a while.

Enough is enough

Enough is enough

As I watched her fly away, I thought of how Sylvia was going to feel when the cast came off.  She is enjoying the freedom.

Discovered

Yesterday (Tues 4/27), I took the snow blade and front end loader off the tractor.  I then hooked up the tiller and tilled the garden.  Now, the tiller is off and the freshly lubed mower deck is in place and ready to go when I am ready to go.

On the way to the barn, something caught my eye.  It was a bird’s nest in my short tower at the back corner of the garage.

Can you see the nest on the cables?

Can you see the nest on the cables?

Mama and Papa were not around so I went in for a closer look.  This is what I saw:

Three eggs.  Will they hatch?

Three eggs. Will they hatch?

My first thought on seeing the eggs was, “Robin.”  They are not.  These are too large for robin eggs.  The nest construction is familiar.  It looks like a mourning dove’s nest.  What about the blue eggs?  Dove’s eggs are usually off-white to light tan, aren’t they?  A quick search revealed that doves occasionally lay blue eggs.  I don’t know why.

Sylvia Update

This morning, four weeks after the accident, Sylvia had X-rays taken of her broken wrist.  The technician was concerned that she could see no sign of the fracture.  The technician sent the image to a senior colleague in the city.  He too could see no sign of the fracture.  He also said that it was a good image and no need to try again.

That’s good news, isn’t it?  Two more weeks and then the splint comes off.  Sylvia can hardly wait.

The Bird

It was after lunch today.  I was brewing a second mug of coffee.  (I don’t often do that.)  Through the kitchen window I saw the bird.  It was sitting atop a birch tree whose top had broken off in last winter’s storm.  That broken trunk is larger than my upper arm.  (Yes, it is a large bird.)

Red-tail on birch tree

Red-tail on birch tree

I couldn’t get a better shot than this one.  The hawk was searching the field on the other side of the tree.  That must have been fruitless.  It took to wing and flew away from me.

I was disappointed and wanted a better look.  That’s when it did a wing over, dived and reversed course. It flew at me.  Better view.  Turned.  Excellent view.  I watched in awe as the red-tail hawk flew away.  That’s when I remembered the camera.  Too late.

What Was That?

I sat here this morning trying to remember yesterday’s great idea for a blog post.  :think: The only thought that came to mind was my sister, Maggie’s, FB post: “The biggest lie I tell myself is, ‘I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it.’ ”

As I contemplated the truth of that, I heard a raucous chattering.  It could only be one thing.  Sand hill cranes!  And indeed a flight of them organized over our house.  I though I might be able to capture a “grab shot.”  I opened the blinds and picked up the camera . . .  Not a crane in sight.

Then, I saw that they had landed in the field behind us.  I set up the tripod and camera at the office window.  I zoomed in to the max to see if could rescue the moment.  The results were not dramatic.

150316a

Other attempts did not bring better results.

150316b

Canada geese have been around for a while now.  Spring will arrive very soon.

Are you ready?

Don’t Mow Here

Yesterday was hot.  Temps reached the mid 80s.  Moisture from Tuesday’s rain had gone by the afternoon.  It was time to mow the lawn for the first time this year.  So I did.

I was about halfway through the job when I saw a killdeer doing the “broken wing” dance.  Where is the nest she’s trying to hide?

I continued mowing while keeping an eye out for the well hidden nest.  Once clear of that immediate area, I kept looking back to see where the bird would return.

Each time I came around, the killdeer was a bit bolder.

Killdeer defends nest

Killdeer defends nest

And then I saw the well camouflaged nest.  It held four eggs.

140508e

I mowed a large circle around the nest and the left the inside undisturbed.  Not the question for which we await an answer is: How long before the eggs hatch?  Stay tuned.

On the Lawn

Last week, as I was mowing the lawn, I noticed a killdeer.  She would seem to pop-up in front of me and run away.  Not too fast, but fast enough to stay in front of the tractor.

I began to scan the area for her nest.  It has to be close and she was trying to lure me away from it.  Eventually I saw the little next with three eggs in it.

The killdeer sits on her nest

As you can see in the first picture, I didn’t mow anywhere near the nest.  You can see the bird can’t you?

A closer shot of the killdeer

This morning, I saw no sign of activity or even killdeer presence in the vicinity of the nest.  Curiosity controlled as I walked to the nesting site.  With camera in hand and eyes scanning my surrounds I cautiously approached.  And there in the middle of the un-mown circle I saw . . . nothing but grass.

Four days earlier, on Thursday, there had been a small simple nest with three eggs.  A tuft of dead, dry grass, which lay at one edge of the circle may have part of that nest.  So did the babies hatch?  And did the parents lead them away?  Or did a raccoon or skunk find and despoil the cache of eggs?  I don’t expect to ever know.

Other Matters

Sylvia should be returning home in a couple of hours.  She has been with her father for the last week.  Nellie and I will be glad to see her.

Last Wednesday’s Wordless post disappeared from my blog.  Evidently the hosting company had to restore data and that got lost in the process.  I may try to replace it, but may not.  It wasn’t a big deal.