The Hawk

I've seen this bird in the backyard many times and I finally got a good photo of it yesterday.  I think it's a juvenile red-tailed hawk, judging from the picture in The Sibley Guide to Birds.  I noticed a bunch of small gray feathers right near this fence post, perhaps evidence of its latest meal.  This hawk is probably looking for mice and voles, too, along with the great-horned owls which I heard hooting to each other last night.

The backyard in winter

We just survived the blizzard of 2013 here and all is well.  The birds must have had good hiding places to ride out the storm because I've had a steady stream of customers at my feeders ever since.

young robin

adult robin

male cardinal

black-capped chickadee

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 We had a white Christmas here in New England today, the light snow flurries this morning being our first snowfall of the season. Best wishes to all for a prosperous and happy new year!

Happy Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
  Yesterday my daughter and I made roasted pumpkin seeds, from The Victory Garden Cookbook, an old favorite. Today was a beautiful mild day.  We had a traditional dinner with a stuffed turkey breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked yam, creamed pearl onions, home-made cranberry sauce, our own canned green beans, fresh Brussels Sprouts from the garden, and of course pumpkin pie!

The birds of my backyard

Wild Turkey

Gray Catbird

The last few weeks have been relatively quiet as far as bird activity, but lately I've noticed increased traffic around the deck as if they are looking for the feeder.  This morning I saw Chickadees, Carolina Wren, and Yellow-rumped Warblers (commonly known as butter butt!).  So I put up the nyjer seed feeder, and sure enough by afternoon the Chickadees had found it!
I'll put up the black oil sunflower seed feeder when the weather gets a little colder.
Here is my list of the birds I have seen in my yard over the last few years.

1. American Robin
2. Northern Cardinal
3. Black-capped Chickadee
4. Tufted Titmouse
5. White-breasted Nuthatch
6. American Goldfinch
7. House Finch
8. Carolina Wren
9. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
10. Bluebird
11. Blue Jay
12. Junco
13. Sparrow
14. Yellow-rumped Warbler
15. Gray Catbird
16. Brown-headed Cowbird
17. Mourning Dove
18. Northern Flicker
19. Red-bellied Woodpecker
20. Pileated Woodpecker
21. Red-winged Blackbird
22. Common Grackle
23. Crow
24. Hawk
25. Wild Turkey
26. Great Horned Owl -- never seen but often heard hooting late night and early morning, especially in the last few weeks

Late summer garden notes

cherry tomatoes

Brussels sprouts

arugula

Well, summer is winding down and so is the garden.  I still have some tomatoes, green peppers, beets, and Brussels sprouts, but the beans, squash and cukes are done for the year. I planted some arugula seeds in a rectangular planter a few weeks ago and this is what they look like today. The cherry tomatoes are still going strong, too.  Believe it or not, my dog Rusty likes cherry tomatoes. And twice I've seen a chipmunk scurrying across the deck with a cherry tomato in its mouth -- cutest thing you ever did see!

Backyard Invaders!

No, they're not aliens from outer space, I'm talking about invasive plant species. The worst offender is poison ivy, pictured below.  This vine is growing its way up a dead tree in the back corner of my lot.  If you look closely, you can see other dead roots, some as wide as three or four inches, yes, that is one ancient poison ivy root!  I thought I had eradicated this unwelcome guest from my yard a few years ago, but it's back with a vengeance.  Notice the slightly shiny leaves in groups of three and the reddish tint to the new growth at the top. (Double click to enlarge photos.)

poison ivy roots alongside tree

Queen Anne's lace

purple loosestrife

The purple loosestrife and Queen Anne's lace are technically weeds, but they're not particularly invasive and they have a beauty all their own.  Mint (not pictured) is very invasive, however, and I've got that down to just a few plants hiding along one side of the yard.