We have lots of nuthatches, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, gray jays, stellar’s jays, and other songbirds around here in winter. It’s rare to see the pileated woodpecker, though — especially one so close to the house. For scale, the bird feeder is 22″ long. Impressive and beautiful birds.
bats, mice, and critters
A lovely little brown bat has taken up residence under the metal sheeting covering the roof. I’m pretty sure it’s a momma with one or two babies. At first I thought birds were nesting somewhere up there because I could hear high-pitched chirps, but didn’t see any place good for a bird’s nest near where the sound was coming from. A couple of days ago I fired up the grill and smoke wafted up toward the roof. Chirping got more frantic, and momma bat poked out her head from the tiniest space, then took flight toward the trees. (Photo above not mine but looks like my bat — courtesy of
garden progress
Cherry tomatoes are the first to start ripening, while the Cherokee Purples and Amish Paste remain as green as they’ve been for the last couple of weeks. I read that when temperatures start climbing above 85F, tomatoes slow production of lycopene — the phytochemical responsible for the red and orange color in tomatoes, carrots, and the fruit of watermelons. We had a couple of weeks of triple-digit temps earlier in July, which might account for the other tomatoes’ slowness to ripen. The few cherry tomatoes that have ripened already are deliciously sweet and tangy. I’m looking forward to the next batch. Deer feasted on a couple of my jalapeno plants.
giant silkworm moth
He’s been hanging out on the deck for the last couple days – a real beauty.
turkey day
As much as I love the wild turkeys wandering the property… this time of year I can’t help but think of…
is this what a fox says?
Last night there was quite a racket outside. Click on the left end of the bar below to play. Do you know what kind of animal this is? I’m thinking it might be fox kits. We have seen a beautiful cross fox on the property. I haven’t captured a picture yet, however the picture below sort of looks like our fox. Except ours has a bit more black than this one I grabbed from Google images (image credit goes to Jack Moskovita according to the file name). UPDATE: Consensus among a few folks is the sound is a group of coyotes chatting amongst themselves. I’ve only heard coyotes bark and howl. This sound is
turkey tail feather art
Mama turkey left a tail feather on the deck. Like a piece of art when you look at the details.
young buck
He’s a handsome one…
deer raspberry
Look closely. I swear this deer is blowing a raspberry at me…
wild turkey crossing
Looks like mama turkeys have been busy this summer. I counted 14 poults — there could have been more. Cool thing about wild turkeys is they roost high in the trees at night. They look way too big and ungainly to fly up there and perch successfully while they’re on the ground. When they take off, though, they’re majestic.