Just a quick update this morning...Chris had to unclog the pond pump again this morning and this time it was a dead bird that had been sucked in! Yikes!!! He said it was bald and I asked if he thought it was a baby bird or just had been stripped of feathers either by the pump or by decomposition (no telling how long it was in the pond before it got swept into the pump housing). He said it looked like a fully developed bird, but he could not tell what kind. Sad. :(
We have set a trap for our resident groundhog even though we have not seen him since before we left for our beach vacation back in mid-July. A kind gentleman here at work retrieved his trap from his farm for us, so we figured we'd give it a try. If we are successful in trapping the varmint, we are going to relocate him to some state game lands about 5 miles away. I don't want to risk him/her finding his/her way back! We're leaving it out during the day while we're at work up through dusk. Chris springs the trap each night when he takes Oscar out so we can avoid trapping a skunk. We saw one in the neighborhood about a week ago. That's the LAST thing we want to trap!!!
I blanched three gallon size bags worth of squash and zucchini Monday evening. I have more to steam blanch and now that my new 12-cup Kitchen Aid food processor is here, I will be able to make short work of the zucchini. Mike (a co-worker) gave me a recipe for zucchini chocolate chip cookies (and a delicious sample of his work!) so I will definitely have to try them! With the new food processor, I can also chop tomatoes for salsa in no time and also cucumbers for pickle relish. Do not be surprise if you live nearby, work with me, or are within a short driving distance, if I show up at your house with jars of pickle relish in the coming weeks!!!
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders...
Showing posts with label pond. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pond. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Ducks in a Row
The following event did not occur in my backyard, but it is worth mentioning...
So usually, "get your ducks in a row" means get your act together. Last evening, I got my ducks in a row...on a busy four-lane road between Home Depot and Lowe's! As I was driving home from school last night, I approached a red light at a very busy intersection near Home Depot and Lowe's. I happened to look over at the driver next to me, who I was sure would "floor it" as soon as the light turned green because the lanes merge past the traffic light. Her face was one of wonder and awe...I looked up just as the light turned green and I looked ahead to see what I was she was ogling.
It was a mother duck and approximately eight little ducklings crossing the aforementioned busy four-lane road from the storm water retention pond at Home Depot over to the one at Lowe's. I have never seen so many little webbed feet move so quickly! I could not help but laugh out loud in amazement and wonder. THANKFULLY, Momma Duck and all of her babies made it safely across all four travel lanes (traffic was light) and were headed toward the pond at Lowe's in my last glance in the rear view mirror. What a sight to behold!
Finally, before I go, I am going to test inserting two pictures of Fredrick and see how that turns out. If it works, I will try to incorporate photos into my posts when possible.
So usually, "get your ducks in a row" means get your act together. Last evening, I got my ducks in a row...on a busy four-lane road between Home Depot and Lowe's! As I was driving home from school last night, I approached a red light at a very busy intersection near Home Depot and Lowe's. I happened to look over at the driver next to me, who I was sure would "floor it" as soon as the light turned green because the lanes merge past the traffic light. Her face was one of wonder and awe...I looked up just as the light turned green and I looked ahead to see what I was she was ogling.
It was a mother duck and approximately eight little ducklings crossing the aforementioned busy four-lane road from the storm water retention pond at Home Depot over to the one at Lowe's. I have never seen so many little webbed feet move so quickly! I could not help but laugh out loud in amazement and wonder. THANKFULLY, Momma Duck and all of her babies made it safely across all four travel lanes (traffic was light) and were headed toward the pond at Lowe's in my last glance in the rear view mirror. What a sight to behold!
Finally, before I go, I am going to test inserting two pictures of Fredrick and see how that turns out. If it works, I will try to incorporate photos into my posts when possible.
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Yikes! It's Been Two Weeks Since an Update!
How did this happen?!? There has been so much activity in the backyard over the past two weeks and on many different occasions, I thought to myself, "I need to blog this!" And yet, here it is...two weeks since my last post. Dear readers, know that I am ashamed and I will make every effort not to allow such a long lapse in writing again!
Now...on with the show!
I guess I will work backwards somewhat and start with the updates for today. Chris and I went to Tractor Supply Company today (I really love their bird feed and feeder selection) where I bought an eight pound bag of Nyjer seed and a nice metal finch feeder. Previously, I had a sock feeder; however, it was both unattractive and quickly becoming less and less full which meant fewer and fewer American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) could feed at the same time. I replaced the sock feeder with this new metal feeder and within minutes of hanging the new feeder, both a male and female Goldfinch arrived to feed. Excellent!
Chris sat outside for a while this evening while I fixed dinner and managed to capture some excellent shots of both the female and male hummingbirds as they visited the feeder in the hummingbird/butterfly garden. I was telling Chris that I read that the male will defend the feeder even against females until they have mated. I assume since she is "allowed" to feed now...and the fact that I have witnessed the male perform his courting flight for her on at least a half dozen different occasions now...that they are a mating pair, which is incredibly exciting! The male courtship flight is a very cool sight to see...she sits in a tree and he flies back and forth for her in a pendulum motion chittering and chirping the entire time.
Yesterday I was weeding in the hummingbird/butterfly garden very close to the feeder and on three different occasions, a hummingbird buzzed my head! The first time it happened, I really thought the bird brushed my head/hair, but I realize it was more likely the downdraft created by its wings. Before I got into that garden to weed, there was some grass growing under the feeder. When a hummingbird would arrive to feed, you could see the grass blowing back and forth because of the downdraft from the bird's wings. Amazing!
I am also happy to report that the nest of eight baby Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapilla) have fledged from the box at the far left edge of the mowable yard (it butts up to the "wild" portion of our second lot). That was a fascinating experience to watch the activity in that box progress from nest building to egg laying to Momma Bird tending the eggs to hatchlings to feathered fledglings. I really love Black-capped Chickadees ("chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee") and am very happy to know that the BCC population around our house has increased by eight. I read that the fledglings will stick around Mom and Dad for about three weeks, so I suspect they are all hanging out in the trees of the wooded area on our lots.
Fredrick Von Hoppenstance has been out and about quite a bit lately. Fredrick is, in fact, Fredrick and not Freda. I was able to confirm this by taking a few photographs and reading about Green Frogs in our National Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians. Fredrick's yellow throat indicates he is a male. I was able to capture several pictures of him yesterday as he sat at the edge of one of the rocks in our pond and later when he was swimming in the pond. One shot very clearly shows his webbed back feet as his leg was stretched out as he "hung out" in the water.
Something...I am not sure what...has been "going to town" on the dried ears of corn that I have been placing on the "squirrel feeder" on one of the trees in the wooded area of our lots toward the front of the house. Just this afternoon I placed a new ear of corn on the feeder at approximately 3 PM and by 7:30 PM this evening, it was completely stripped of all kernels. I need a trail camera to see what is eating that corn so quickly! I have, on occasion, seen both Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) and Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) at the squirrel feeder, but I have never observed either bird at the feeder continuously. This is going to warrant further dedicated observation.
By the way, in case you were wondering why I include the Latin name for the animals I observe and about which I write, it is because I am making a conscious effort to learn them myself and thought I would help to educate my readers as well. Also, I wanted to point you toward one of my favorite Internet sites for bird information and it is none other than the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. One of these days, I wouldn't mind working at Cornell in some capacity just to be so close to and have access to the vast knowledge of the folks in that Lab. I would even love to volunteer there someday! The site is http://www.birds.cornell.edu.
I know there is more that I am forgetting, but that will just mean that I will need to post again tomorrow and in the coming days as I remember stuff and as new observations occur.
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
Now...on with the show!
I guess I will work backwards somewhat and start with the updates for today. Chris and I went to Tractor Supply Company today (I really love their bird feed and feeder selection) where I bought an eight pound bag of Nyjer seed and a nice metal finch feeder. Previously, I had a sock feeder; however, it was both unattractive and quickly becoming less and less full which meant fewer and fewer American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) could feed at the same time. I replaced the sock feeder with this new metal feeder and within minutes of hanging the new feeder, both a male and female Goldfinch arrived to feed. Excellent!
Chris sat outside for a while this evening while I fixed dinner and managed to capture some excellent shots of both the female and male hummingbirds as they visited the feeder in the hummingbird/butterfly garden. I was telling Chris that I read that the male will defend the feeder even against females until they have mated. I assume since she is "allowed" to feed now...and the fact that I have witnessed the male perform his courting flight for her on at least a half dozen different occasions now...that they are a mating pair, which is incredibly exciting! The male courtship flight is a very cool sight to see...she sits in a tree and he flies back and forth for her in a pendulum motion chittering and chirping the entire time.
Yesterday I was weeding in the hummingbird/butterfly garden very close to the feeder and on three different occasions, a hummingbird buzzed my head! The first time it happened, I really thought the bird brushed my head/hair, but I realize it was more likely the downdraft created by its wings. Before I got into that garden to weed, there was some grass growing under the feeder. When a hummingbird would arrive to feed, you could see the grass blowing back and forth because of the downdraft from the bird's wings. Amazing!
I am also happy to report that the nest of eight baby Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapilla) have fledged from the box at the far left edge of the mowable yard (it butts up to the "wild" portion of our second lot). That was a fascinating experience to watch the activity in that box progress from nest building to egg laying to Momma Bird tending the eggs to hatchlings to feathered fledglings. I really love Black-capped Chickadees ("chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee") and am very happy to know that the BCC population around our house has increased by eight. I read that the fledglings will stick around Mom and Dad for about three weeks, so I suspect they are all hanging out in the trees of the wooded area on our lots.
Fredrick Von Hoppenstance has been out and about quite a bit lately. Fredrick is, in fact, Fredrick and not Freda. I was able to confirm this by taking a few photographs and reading about Green Frogs in our National Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians. Fredrick's yellow throat indicates he is a male. I was able to capture several pictures of him yesterday as he sat at the edge of one of the rocks in our pond and later when he was swimming in the pond. One shot very clearly shows his webbed back feet as his leg was stretched out as he "hung out" in the water.
Something...I am not sure what...has been "going to town" on the dried ears of corn that I have been placing on the "squirrel feeder" on one of the trees in the wooded area of our lots toward the front of the house. Just this afternoon I placed a new ear of corn on the feeder at approximately 3 PM and by 7:30 PM this evening, it was completely stripped of all kernels. I need a trail camera to see what is eating that corn so quickly! I have, on occasion, seen both Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) and Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) at the squirrel feeder, but I have never observed either bird at the feeder continuously. This is going to warrant further dedicated observation.
By the way, in case you were wondering why I include the Latin name for the animals I observe and about which I write, it is because I am making a conscious effort to learn them myself and thought I would help to educate my readers as well. Also, I wanted to point you toward one of my favorite Internet sites for bird information and it is none other than the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. One of these days, I wouldn't mind working at Cornell in some capacity just to be so close to and have access to the vast knowledge of the folks in that Lab. I would even love to volunteer there someday! The site is http://www.birds.cornell.edu.
I know there is more that I am forgetting, but that will just mean that I will need to post again tomorrow and in the coming days as I remember stuff and as new observations occur.
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Fredrick Takes a Dip!
This evening I stepped out onto the deck to take care of the evening's watering chores - this included refilling the pond some, watering all of the plants on the deck, those in the butterfly and hummingbird garden, those out in the blackeyed Susan garden, and turning on the sprinkler for the vegetable garden.
I started the hose flowing into the pond and stepped back into the house get the food to feed the fish. It was - as usual - a feeding frenzy as soon as the food hit the surface of the water. However, I noticed a large splash as I turned away from the pond to put the food container on the grilling station. I turned around and saw an odd swirling of the water. I just thought that was due to the crazy fish, but then I noticed him!
Our resident green frog (Rana clamitans), Fredrick von Hoppenstance. There he was swimming across the pond without a care in the world. He stopped in the middle of the pond for a minute and I was able to get a good look at him. He is quite handsome...as far as frogs go. He swam to the far side of the pond and under a rock. I am not sure if he was eating the fish food as well, or just happened (hoppened?) to take a swim at the same time. Whatever the case, it was nice to see Fred this evening.
I should note before I go that we had a great day of rain on Wednesday and everything...EVERYTHING...has really perked up with the natural watering. The vegetable garden looks great. We have corn popping up in rows...so exciting! The plants on the deck, especially the two peppers and the Mr. Stripey tomato, look really healthy and vibrant as well. I swear the one pepper plant has grown four inches in the last two days!
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
I started the hose flowing into the pond and stepped back into the house get the food to feed the fish. It was - as usual - a feeding frenzy as soon as the food hit the surface of the water. However, I noticed a large splash as I turned away from the pond to put the food container on the grilling station. I turned around and saw an odd swirling of the water. I just thought that was due to the crazy fish, but then I noticed him!
Our resident green frog (Rana clamitans), Fredrick von Hoppenstance. There he was swimming across the pond without a care in the world. He stopped in the middle of the pond for a minute and I was able to get a good look at him. He is quite handsome...as far as frogs go. He swam to the far side of the pond and under a rock. I am not sure if he was eating the fish food as well, or just happened (hoppened?) to take a swim at the same time. Whatever the case, it was nice to see Fred this evening.
I should note before I go that we had a great day of rain on Wednesday and everything...EVERYTHING...has really perked up with the natural watering. The vegetable garden looks great. We have corn popping up in rows...so exciting! The plants on the deck, especially the two peppers and the Mr. Stripey tomato, look really healthy and vibrant as well. I swear the one pepper plant has grown four inches in the last two days!
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Welcome to My Blog!
Greetings and thank you for stopping by my new blog which will contain my observations of flora and fauna around my house. The house is situated on 2.19 acres in a rural township in central Pennsylvania. There is a state game land nearby and approximately 0.75 of our 2.19 acres are forested.
This spring, I put in a butterfly and hummingbird garden off of our deck which is also located right outside of the windows in my home office/craft room. In this garden are flowers like dahlias, salvia, coneflowers, butterfly bush, balloon flowers, an obedient plant, Russian sage, bee balm, and candy tuft. I also have a small shepherd's hook and a red hummingbird nectar feeder.
About 20 feet further into the yard are the two lids to the septic tank, which the previous owners of the house cleverly disguised (as best they could) with flowers and mulch. In this "septic garden" I have a large double shepherd's hook with a bird feeder filled with wild bird seed and a seed sock filled with Nyjer seed. I also have a small shepherd's hook with a suet feeder.
On the outskirts of the backyard, we have placed two bluebird boxes approximately 100 feet apart. At the very edge of our backyard, we have put in a 29' x 33' vegetable garden that contains corn, tomatoes, peppers, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussell sprouts, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, peas, and lima beans.
The previous owners appear to have attempted a butterfly garden midway out in the yard. I recently ripped everything out of this garden, turned the soil, transplanted some blackeyed Susans to this new location, planted some sunflowers, and planted some of the leftover vegetable plants that didn't make it into the big garden (cabbage and broccoli).
Just off our deck, we have a small pond that is home to about a dozen goldfish and one green frog (Rana clamitans) whom we have named Fredrick von Hoppenstance, or Fred for short. On the deck, we are growing a Mr. Stripey tomato plant, two super chili peppers, lettuce, spinach, and a pot of herbs (basil, cilantro, Italian flat leaf parsley, and mint). I also have several pots with annuals around the deck for color.
This gives you an idea of what we have where and what might become topics of later blogs. I can say that very soon I will be writing about the myriad birds that have been visiting the backyard feeders. This has been a great source of entertainment and enjoyment so far this spring and I cannot wait to share it with you!
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
This spring, I put in a butterfly and hummingbird garden off of our deck which is also located right outside of the windows in my home office/craft room. In this garden are flowers like dahlias, salvia, coneflowers, butterfly bush, balloon flowers, an obedient plant, Russian sage, bee balm, and candy tuft. I also have a small shepherd's hook and a red hummingbird nectar feeder.
About 20 feet further into the yard are the two lids to the septic tank, which the previous owners of the house cleverly disguised (as best they could) with flowers and mulch. In this "septic garden" I have a large double shepherd's hook with a bird feeder filled with wild bird seed and a seed sock filled with Nyjer seed. I also have a small shepherd's hook with a suet feeder.
On the outskirts of the backyard, we have placed two bluebird boxes approximately 100 feet apart. At the very edge of our backyard, we have put in a 29' x 33' vegetable garden that contains corn, tomatoes, peppers, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussell sprouts, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, peas, and lima beans.
The previous owners appear to have attempted a butterfly garden midway out in the yard. I recently ripped everything out of this garden, turned the soil, transplanted some blackeyed Susans to this new location, planted some sunflowers, and planted some of the leftover vegetable plants that didn't make it into the big garden (cabbage and broccoli).
Just off our deck, we have a small pond that is home to about a dozen goldfish and one green frog (Rana clamitans) whom we have named Fredrick von Hoppenstance, or Fred for short. On the deck, we are growing a Mr. Stripey tomato plant, two super chili peppers, lettuce, spinach, and a pot of herbs (basil, cilantro, Italian flat leaf parsley, and mint). I also have several pots with annuals around the deck for color.
This gives you an idea of what we have where and what might become topics of later blogs. I can say that very soon I will be writing about the myriad birds that have been visiting the backyard feeders. This has been a great source of entertainment and enjoyment so far this spring and I cannot wait to share it with you!
Until next time, keep your eyes open for wild wonders!
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