Saddling Up Again

Last year, I came across a Dryad's Saddle on a stump and thought it looked like a perfect spot for a woodland sprite of some sort (Fanciful Fungus).

 
This year, I came across a maple tree that has several of them growing on it and they are much larger than last year's specimen. These could easily accommodate multi-level slumber parties for tree spirits and fairy folk.

I still haven't tasted any of these mushrooms, although they are edible.  From what I have read, they are supposed to taste a little like cucumber or watermelon rind.  Cucumbers are good but I have my doubts about watermelon rind (and shouldn't mushrooms taste like mushrooms?). 

Besides, I didn't want to disturb the dryad's furnishings - they are far too picturesque.

Spring Visitor Revisited

I injured my toe, and haven't been out walking for a few days (nothing serious). So, I thought I would share some photos from a while back.

I don't see fox sparrows that often and I was delighted to get a couple pictures of one as it traveled through the area on its way to nesting grounds farther north.

 
They usually winter south of us, so we only have a chance to see them when they pass through in the spring or fall.

They are so striking. They have that beautiful rusty red coloring and they are much larger than most sparrows. 

I had to sneak these pictures through the window, since fox sparrows are shy and like to stay near cover where they can duck out of sight quickly.

Bear Battered Bird Board

In the unbearable bear post earlier in the week, I mentioned the bird-feeding board just outside the barn - the one that the bear had torn down, even though there wasn't a speck of food left on it for him to eat. I guess it still smelled like birds, seeds and maybe even squirrels and chipmunks. 

Here are a couple of the visitors to the board. In this instance, we have a downy woodpecker and a chickadee.

Well, really, a couple of chickadees. They swoop in, grab a seed or peanut and fly off to hide it or eat it before coming back for another, so it's more like a flying parade than a single chickadee visitor. We have a piebald chickadee that's very distinctive and is almost always the first to come claim a snack (before coming back several times for more).

The birds make short work of cleaning up the board every time we put something on it and they're so enthusiastic about their handouts during the winter months that we have to make sure to close the door on our way into the barn so they don't follow us and get trapped as we gather treats for them. They don't seem to understand how to follow us out back out nearly as well. 

Some of the birds who visit the banquet board have posed as carving subjects for me. You may have even received one on your Stampeaz invoice. :)
 

Unbearable!

We officially have too many scary bears roaming around on our family property.  We have evidence of a sow with triplets, a yearling and now this 600 pound bruiser of a boar. (The weight estimate was given to us by an expert bear guy.) That's six that we can definitely document, based on trail camera pictures. This photo is from the camera at the barn. 

My brother discovered four of our bluebird houses were torn apart last week and the sunflower seed board that we have up in one of the trees behind this bear was torn down, even though the birds have it totally emptied by nightfall and there was nothing on it to eat.  My brother quickly repaired all the houses, so the birds could try again and he screwed the feeding board into place with long screws.

It makes a person just a little nervous about random wanderings in the woods!

Elmer Fudd voice over: I'm scawed of beaws! 

(Replace the "w" with "r", if you don't know Elmer Fudd or can't imagine the voice.)

 

The Beauty of the Evening

Evening grosbeaks haven't been as common at the family homestead in recent years as they were when I was growing up, so it was nice (and unusual) to have a little flock of the beaks hanging around all winter and well into the spring.

 
Their rose-breasted cousins are the ones frequenting the feeding stations now that the evening grosbeak contingent have moved farther north for their nesting season, but I still wanted to share a few of the pictures I was able to snap of them before they flew on their way.

 
The males and females are both beautiful. Madam is just a little more muted in her coloring. Their feathers look so smooth and sleek that they almost seem airbrushed.  

 
They're very fond of cracked corn and sunflower seeds and are primarily ground feeders, so we are liberal with the sprinkling of favored foods.

They fly in with all their friends to enjoy the banquet and, if they get startled, they all disappear in a flurry of feathers until the perceived danger has passed.

The boys look pretty serious, don't they? They have that bright yellow brow that almost looks furrowed in thought or worry.

Time Flies

Or maybe, time to fly?

 

I had a plan to document the happenings in this Cooper's hawk nest, back when my camera still worked. It would have been pretty cool, but I did my best. Shortly after this picture, my camera died. (Sigh...)

My brother and I have been keeping an eye on progress and he loaned me his camera, so I could get a little bit of the excitement to share and, though it doesn't have the zoom capability my old one did, it is nice to have something to play with and I appreciate the loan! If you look closely (you can blow up the pictures by clicking on them), someone is sitting on the nest in this picture. There's a little round head peeping above the nest.

Here she is a little later in the season, standing up and keeping an eye on me. It got harder and harder to find a good angle to take a picture from, as the leaves came out and obscured the view.

My brother sent me this picture a couple days ago, with the two fuzzy heads peering out at the great wide world. They'll be leaving the nest before we know it - it's almost time to fly!

I'm still hunting for a camera. I haven't been able to find a comparable one that has a solid zoom capability and isn't too complicated, heavy or cumbersome for hauling around in the woods. It seems that none of the ones I think I might like are currently available. If anybody has a favorite flavor they'd like to nominate, I'm open to suggestions. I didn't think it would be this difficult!

Provocative, Pleasing, Prepossessing

 Peonies. 

Almost every morning, Baloo and I used to walk through the gardens of a restaurant located close to our house. I would enjoy looking at all the herbs, flowers, fruits and vegetables growing on the grounds and he would enjoy trying to find bits of carelessly abandoned food on the outdoor dining patio. 

This time of year peonies are in full bloom, pleasing both the eye and the nose with their beauty and heady fragrance. So, I took a turn through the gardens on the way home from my morning walk to see how they were doing.

Quite beautifully, as it turns out.

Being the curious sort, I looked up information about peonies and learned that there are thousands of varieties and they can live up to 100 years! They've been used in medicine and have all kinds of different symbolic meanings, depending on the culture. Their buds can be refrigerated for weeks to prolong the season for using them in cut flower arrangements, making them popular posies for florists.

I remember being told that ants were required to help the flowers open, but learned that this is a myth. The ants are attracted to a nectar secreted at the base of the buds and their benefit to the flower is that they will valiantly defend their food source against other insects, thereby keeping away pests that might be harmful to the plant. 

It was well worth the visit. 

Tigers! Oh, My!

The Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly, that is.

 

This fellow is taking a much needed rest after migration and feeding on dandelion blossoms. He clearly had a rough trip.

The swallowtail on his right wing has been lost somehow in transit. It didn't detract from his grace and beauty, though. He still sailed without noticeable effort on the breezes and landed with perfect precision. We're always delighted to see these lovely butterflies return to the area.

 

Happy/Sad Anniversary Sale

Today would have marked ten years with Baloo. His memory walks with me every day and often causes me to laugh and cry - sometimes at the same time. I still frequently call his name (with a smile) when I accidentally drop something on the kitchen floor that I know he would have loved and we all laugh about the dead-things we notice along the roadside that he would have been thrilled to sniff. My brother thinks of him every time he empties a yogurt container (Baloo often walked around with a white stripe around his muzzle from trying to get every last bit he could). He was well loved and is still deeply missed.

 

Today is the tenth anniversary of the day he came to live with me and tomorrow is the first anniversary of his crossing the Rainbow Bridge (and yes, there are tears in my eyes as I type). So, since I can't commemorate the day by giving him a special treat, I'll share one with you in his honor. Today and tomorrow, all Tan-Z Kut (including the already discounted Grade B) is on sale for 10% off.

Hug the ones you love - furry ones included! I'd give a lot to hug that sweet boy again. :)

Snow White on the Green

Flowers are blooming everywhere, in spite of dry conditions - there are quite a few bright, white blooms gracing the woodlands these days. We've been under red flag fire warnings for weeks now, but nature keeps on doing her thing.

 
It's quite encouraging, really. The exuberant foamflower likes shady areas, so it isn't quite so stressed by dry conditions.

 
Wild strawberries seem to thrive even in hot, dry sand. I'm not entirely sure how they make those juicy berries without water, but they must drink morning dew or something.

Trilliums are shade lovers, too. I often see them blooming when hunting for morels in the spring. They were a little late this year, since cold weather kept them dormant longer than usual, but they're just on the edge of finishing their blooming cycle now.

And no, my brother and I didn't find many morels this year - we tried, though. It was just too dry for the little beauties. We'll hope for a better harvest next year (we always do).