What did you observe?

[feranaja]

Oh - lovely. My hummers are here as well, forgot to mention. They are such a delight, and now almost all my cats are older, they're much more content to watch birds from inside the house. Still have to watch Franklin - but we do our best to keep him in. He's not the world's greatest hunter and more interested in mice, so I let him out mid day for a bit.Otherwise, I intend to feed a wholelotta birds while we're here.

[MonSno_LeeDra]

It's sort of interesting what passes for routine and what is perhaps interesting or exciting to others. As I walk about my yard I notice but it seems normal or just part of the daily routine for me.

1. The small birds nest in our one tree with it's 4 hatchlings. Each day I see them with their heads sticking up as they look out and about, slowly growing over time since I first saw them a few weeks ago. Yet knowing that soon they shall be gone. Their might actually be five in the nest but it's hard to tell for certain.

2. The wood pile we stacked up a few weeks ago has now become home to one of the skinks. Think he is a blue tail from the few glimpses I've had of him. Not really unusual as we see them around the property fairly often, just a new home.

3. The deer are out and about as normal with the herd I see the most often being around 6 - 10 in size. Most often in the early morning or late evening though there have been some mid morning. Of course no antlers right now so can't tell if they are males or female but likely females.

4. Our Bald Eagles have moved out of their winter nest now so don't see them now. Yet during the winter and early spring not unusual to see them. They nest on the side of the mountain up behind our house so we see them rather frequently. With a telescope or binoculars we can usually see the nest and the hatchlings. They will usually return to the nest around Oct / Nov time frame for breeding.

5. The turkey gaggle has also retreated and moved to their summer pasture. Yet again during the winter and spring months they will be on the mountain behind us. You can hear them all the time and they'll be in the field behind the house. Pretty interesting watching the males strut around and puff up and flare out.

6. There is a small fox population near us and you'll occasionally see them come into the field or edge of the field and forest. Yet they tend to stay higher in the fields and tree's so unless your up in the tree line don't really see them. Yet they feed on the rodent population of ground hogs, rabbits, mice & moles.

7. Right now our fruit tree's are starting to show their fruit, so looks like our tree's will do pretty well this year. The small peach tree (fruit size) has a pretty good yield but may have to cut off one major branch yet that was heavily damaged last year due to weight. The large peach tree (fruit size) is looking good as well though may have to spray to keep the Japanese beetles down. Our pear tree looks good fruit wise this year, last year a late frost killed most of the blossoms so it didn't have much fruit. Two of our three apple tree's may not do to well though as they didn't have many blossoms so that is still a wait and see. Grapes might actually produce something this year though, right now lots of small grape clusters on the vines.

8. Unfortunately still lots of trimming and pruning to do around the yard. Couple of garter snakes in the flower beds and hedges but don't worry about those. What I worry about are the rattlesnakes and copperheads that are found in our area. Have a large black snake that is a resident near our one shed but again that's sort of normal in this area.

9. Speaking of sheds, one of our sheds has a resident ground hog (Hedge Hog) that lives under it. Big old fellow who likes to get out in the yard and eat the clovers and such. He's a sight to watch as he moves through the yard and funny when he takes off running. Kids like to watch him from the house when he's out.

10. Haven't seen any yet but should be seeing the fire flies soon. Those ever popular lighting bugs who light up the night sky during the summer months. We usually have quite a few of them though some years are better than others.

11. Right now only have about 4 humming birds that we can identify at the house. Never really get more than 4 - 8 at any one time though. Yet like to sit on our porch and watch them.

Guess that's enough for now. Like I said to me it's just day to day stuff and I suppose I take a lot of it as a given and for granted. Walk about the yard and check the status of things and see how it's doing or the status on it.

[feranaja]

Originally Posted by MonSno_LeeDra

It's sort of interesting what passes for routine and what is perhaps interesting or exciting to others. As I walk about my yard I notice but it seems normal or just part of the daily routine for me

I love it all, and my happiest times are those days I can slow down and really soak it in....

1. The small birds nest in our one tree with it's 4 hatchlings. Each day I see them with their heads sticking up as they look out and about, slowly growing over time since I first saw them a few weeks ago. Yet knowing that soon they shall be gone. Their might actually be five in the nest but it's hard to tell for certain.

What a delight - what kind of birds are they?

2. The wood pile we stacked up a few weeks ago has now become home to one of the skinks. Think he is a blue tail from the few glimpses I've had of him. Not really unusual as we see them around the property fairly often, just a new home.

I'm not sure we even have skinks here - I just saw a picture of a blue tail the other day. Very cool little guys....

3. The deer are out and about as normal with the herd I see the most often being around 6 - 10 in size. Most often in the early morning or late evening though there have been some mid morning. Of course no antlers right now so can't tell if they are males or female but likely females.

Only fleeting glimpses of white tails here so far, and of course, the poop. I miss my little herd immensely.

4. Our Bald Eagles have moved out of their winter nest now so don't see them now. Yet during the winter and early spring not unusual to see them. They nest on the side of the mountain up behind our house so we see them rather frequently. With a telescope or binoculars we can usually see the nest and the hatchlings. They will usually return to the nest around Oct / Nov time frame for breeding.

We see the odd one here, more Goldens though. So cool you can see the nest!!

5. The turkey gaggle has also retreated and moved to their summer pasture. Yet again during the winter and spring months they will be on the mountain behind us. You can hear them all the time and they'll be in the field behind the house. Pretty interesting watching the males strut around and puff up and flare out.

It is..and the first time I heard their cry, I thought there was a yeti out there or something. Amazing creatures.

6. There is a small fox population near us and you'll occasionally see them come into the field or edge of the field and forest. Yet they tend to stay higher in the fields and tree's so unless your up in the tree line don't really see them. Yet they feed on the rodent population of ground hogs, rabbits, mice & moles.

There have to be foxes here - I see bobcat scat, but no fox signs as yet.

7. Right now our fruit tree's are starting to show their fruit, so looks like our tree's will do pretty well this year. The small peach tree (fruit size) has a pretty good yield but may have to cut off one major branch yet that was heavily damaged last year due to weight. The large peach tree (fruit size) is looking good as well though may have to spray to keep the Japanese beetles down. Our pear tree looks good fruit wise this year, last year a late frost killed most of the blossoms so it didn't have much fruit. Two of our three apple tree's may not do to well though as they didn't have many blossoms so that is still a wait and see. Grapes might actually produce something this year though, right now lots of small grape clusters on the vines.

BIG envy. I hope to have some peach trees as well as apple n the land in future. Peach leaf tincture is an amazing remedy, not as well known in herbal circles but powerful stuff. http://www.woodherbs.com/Peach.html

8. Unfortunately still lots of trimming and pruning to do around the yard. Couple of garter snakes in the flower beds and hedges but don't worry about those. What I worry about are the rattlesnakes and copperheads that are found in our area. Have a large black snake that is a resident near our one shed but again that's sort of normal in this area.

We are fortunate not to have any venomous snake sin this area; that said, I know of one persn who was bitten quite badly by a large rat snake and became very sick, like hospitalized-sick, with infection. we do have big rat snakes, but they're furtive..Lots and lots of garters and some milk snakes too.

9. Speaking of sheds, one of our sheds has a resident ground hog (Hedge Hog) that lives under it. Big old fellow who likes to get out in the yard and eat the clovers and such. He's a sight to watch as he moves through the yard and funny when he takes off running. Kids like to watch him from the house when he's out.

What about your dogs? Even at 12 and 13 my big boys would be all over a groundhog!!

10. Haven't seen any yet but should be seeing the fire flies soon. Those ever popular lighting bugs who light up the night sky during the summer months. We usually have quite a few of them though some years are better than others.

I was saddened to read about the decline in firefly population. They are always one of the magics of June, for me. http://www.firefly.org/why-are-firef...appearing.html

11. Right now only have about 4 humming birds that we can identify at the house. Never really get more than 4 - 8 at any one time though. Yet like to sit on our porch and watch them.

4 individuals or species? I know there are more types down south..we have Ruby-throats and I never tire of watching them, but they can be pretty aggressive.

Guess that's enough for now. Like I said to me it's just day to day stuff and I suppose I take a lot of it as a given and for granted. Walk about the yard and check the status of things and see how it's doing or the status on it.

Even on the busiest of days I manage to do that am and pm. We have species here I don't know well - Striped maple, Hop Hornbeam, and a lot of sumac, which I know *about* but have never used, made medicines with..plus a ton of mushrooms, especially reishi on the hemlocks, but many more I don't know. It keeps the kid in us alive to explore nature, and awakens the sacred too when we open to that. Loved reading about your land and creatures.

[MonSno_LeeDra]

Originally Posted by feranaja

I love it all, and my happiest times are those days I can slow down and really soak it in....

I know what you mean. Unfortunately today that "Soaking it in" also means soak it in as it is raining. Still, happened to notice our Elderberry plants are either starting to get their berries already or their bloom pods are starting to form.

What a delight - what kind of birds are they?

They look like sparrows of some sort. Ironically we though we had an empty nest on our porch over the light. The wife came in today and said we have at least one chick in that nest as well. Same type of bird but it always flies out when ever we go out the door or turn on the light as it's our main door. So figured it wouldn't amount to anything.

I'm not sure we even have skinks here - I just saw a picture of a blue tail the other day. Very cool little guys....

They are interesting lizards for sure. Normally only see one at anytime.

Only fleeting glimpses of white tails here so far, and of course, the poop. I miss my little herd immensely.

We know they come into our yard due to the scat they leave. Know for sure we have both males and females due to the scat. We have two yards that they use. One we keep mowed and one we allow to grow up and gets cut for hay. Then later in the year we tend to let our cut yard grow a bit higher as we know they bed down in it at night due to the "beds" we find.

We have a few honey suckle bushes on our property line so they do come down to eat that after it blooms and gets berries on it. Then we also have a small pond on the side property that we use for hay that can't be cut around and they lay in that area as well.

We see the odd one here, more Goldens though. So cool you can see the nest!!

Occasionally we'll see Fisher Eagles but that is it other than the Bald Eagles. It is interesting having a nesting pair up behind us. The wildlife services come around every so often to check on the nest and see how it is doing or if they have moved it. A few years ago had a bad storm come through and knock the old one down and they moved their nest for a few years. But now it's pretty much back to the general area the old one was at.

It is..and the first time I heard their cry, I thought there was a yeti out there or something. Amazing creatures.

They can make some racket that's for certain. It's interesting seeing them fly. They don't tend to fly to far when they do but they can fly. Will shock you when you see them all up in the tree's and they start squacking.

There have to be foxes here - I see bobcat scat, but no fox signs as yet.

I think we have bobcats here as you'll hear that "baby or child" scream at times in the woods. But it's not to often and I believe it's more a situation of we are on the edge of ones territory.

BIG envy. I hope to have some peach trees as well as apple n the land in future. Peach leaf tincture is an amazing remedy, not as well known in herbal circles but powerful stuff. http://www.woodherbs.com/Peach.html

You know I've never actually gotten into the tincture stuff. That's one aspect of things that has always eluded me, the herbal side of things. My wife has slowly picked up some aspects of it and tried various stuff.

We are fortunate not to have any venomous snake sin this area; that said, I know of one persn who was bitten quite badly by a large rat snake and became very sick, like hospitalized-sick, with infection. we do have big rat snakes, but they're furtive..Lots and lots of garters and some milk snakes too.

That's one disadvantage of living in the mountain's in general. Lots of wildlife but also the venomous snakes. The rattlers like rocky area's so you sort of know where they will be found. The friggin Copperheads though, they like fields and damp areas so meadows and such can be dangerous. Then factor in the rattler will warn and try to avoid you but the copperhead is a mean snake to begin with and doesn't warn and will strike and come at you.

What about your dogs? Even at 12 and 13 my big boys would be all over a groundhog!!

When we let them run loose they'd take off after the groundhogs. Heck they'd take off after the deer and be gone for hours at a time. So it got to the point we had to have them on a leash to walk our dogs or have them in the fenced in kennel.

Now Sassy, she's the oldest and mother of the 8 year old pups, be pretty much drop leash. She still has the heart to chase but not the energy and just ignore them. Same with the deer, and the cattle in the back field when they are there.

I was saddened to read about the decline in firefly population. They are always one of the magics of June, for me. http://www.firefly.org/why-are-firef...appearing.html

That was always a memory of my youth as well. It truly was Christmas in June & July with all their colors. I recall Green's and Yellow's that filled the sky and lit the tree's up.

Today its not as grand but where we're at we still get quite a few here. Some nights the tree's still look like Christmas tree's and the air sparkles with them. Especially when the backdrop of the forest seems extra dark which make them stand out even more.

4 individuals or species? I know there are more types down south..we have Ruby-throats and I never tire of watching them, but they can be pretty aggressive.

On average we tend to see the Ruby Throats and the Emerald Throats the most. Occasionally we'll see a Yellow throat'd variety or a plain grey throat'd variety.

I agree they can be aggressive. We put out 4 or more feeders that are spread some distance apart. It's funny watching as 1 will claim a feeder then not only protect that feeder but drive the others away from the other feeders. A few times we'll have 1 or 2 that will sit on the hanging bars the feeders are held up by and just watch the world go by. Pop up and flutter their wings then land right back down.

Even on the busiest of days I manage to do that am and pm. We have species here I don't know well - Striped maple, Hop Hornbeam, and a lot of sumac, which I know *about* but have never used, made medicines with..plus a ton of mushrooms, especially reishi on the hemlocks, but many more I don't know. It keeps the kid in us alive to explore nature, and awakens the sacred too when we open to that. Loved reading about your land and creatures.

There's still a ton of plants, grasses and things here I don't recognize. That or can't tell you based upon it's seasonal differences based upon bark alone for instance. Some I recognize in high summer but looks to similar to others in early spring.

Its like I find it frustrating when I see a tree for instance and can recognize it from a distance due to its leaves and canopy. Yet when I go into the forest to find it can't recognize it being directly under it. Or reversely, recognize it while under it but can't find it once I get out from under it and see only its canopy.

[Habilus]

LIFE.

[Windsmith bat Gaia]

Pollinators of all sorts love our monarda. We've had monarch and admiral butterflies, and lots of different kinds of bees. My darling spouse calls bees, especially bumblebees, the "outdoor kitties," and talks to them in the same voice they use for the cats. It's adorable. It's always such a gift to come home at the end of a long day at work and see so much activity in our yard.