Bits and Pieces

It Has been a slow couple of weeks with temperatures in the 30C range. Too hot to do much outside other than watering the garden and taking drives. This is our new flower garden/ pumpkin patch  somewhere in there ,there are pumpkins growing.

We also had a good crop of sunflowers. If you look close, you will see a bee sleeping through the +6C night. The sun warmed him up and he continued on with his pollinating.

There was a cocky Magpie in our neighbour's Mountain Ash tree watching me very closely.

Elaine finally finished her most elaborate crochet project to date...a baby blanket.

I may have posted this Kingfisher with crayfish before, but I like the shot.

More and more mule deer are coming out to feed, and likely to get away from the mosquitos.

The old crow found something tasty, at least for him

The doe Mule Deer look healthy

This family of ducks is also looking good

The Great Blue Heron thought I couldn't see him!  just couldn't get closer.

Out and About, Again

This little guy was a late hatch. Hopefully, he will be big enough to go south this fall.

This Mule Deer is going to be a monster this fall. You don't get this big by being dumb. I would put his weight about 200+ pounds.

I haven't posted a picture of Daphne for a while. I kind of like this one.

This Red Winged Black Bird was very accommodating and posed for quite a while.

Success!

Well, in spite of lots of attempts by the Magpies to get into the nest box, the Tree Swallows, with a little help by me, managed to drive them off. The results so far are two fledglings sitting on the fence. In the past, they flew the coop without us getting a look at them. This time I got a whole lot of pictures before they left. Its amazing how they instinctively know how to fly! Note the fly by above the Magpie!

They were very unafraid, but I still kept my distance.

 

There was a whole bunch of wing stretching that they probably couldn't do in the nest.

Lots and lots of stretching!

This is the other little fluff ball. I suspect he is a male due to his bluer head.

The female is the cuter one, if I have to judge.

But then again, he is pretty good looking.

The best part is, the parents are still bring bugs into the nest. That means there are likely one or two more to come. Their dedication, and protective efforts are amazing. Hopefully they will be back again next year. They are very nice to watch while sitting on the deck having a coffee.

A Golden Morning!

I had the opportunity this morning while walking Daphne to observe the morning routine of a family of Goldeneye. For a change they were close to shore while I was there. A good stretch started off the bathing routine.

Next came the lathering up.

Then we started to get serious about this grooming bit.

A quick rinse and the wash was complete.

\A final check under the arm pit.

Almost forgot to check the tail!

A quick scratch and it is done.

Doesn't she look swell?

Time to check on the kids.

Off to the shore.

I hope they observed how it was done! Those little gaffers have really grown over the last two weeks! It's almost time to fly away!

 

We Have Been Adopted!

Going into July, we haven't seen much of our House Wrens. For a while it looked like they weren't coming this year. However, they did finally show up and started to check out the birdhouses. The Tree Swallows kicked them out. The White Bird House was not to their liking, but they finally chose the yellow one.

She is a very intense bird! Watching her try to get a stick in was kind of fun.

Of course the stick had to go in sideways. Eventually she figured it out

She's a pretty sloppy house keeper though. Low marks for neatness.

She does look very proud of herself!

Early Morning Walk

I took Daphne out this morning and visited one of my usual spots. There were lots of critters around. See I told you it was early. The Blue winged Teal was still napping.

The Red winged Blackbird was awake and noisy

!

Another sleepy Blue-winged Teal

Mrs. Green-winged Teal was busy with the kids

Something must be itching

It's Been Awhile!

I seem to have migrated away from blogging. Why, I'm not sure. With the pandemic, I have been watching the news, but have backed away from that also. I was getting depressed. Why does nobody push good news? When I was in the paper making business, the joke was "Good news doesn't sell. I guess that today it is even more true. What have I been doing to keep myself going in this age of depression?

In September of 2019, I started serious walking with my dog, Daphne. To date we have walked a total of 1,257 miles, burnt up 152,338 kcal, and taken 2,549,600 steps. Daphne has done a lot more miles as a straight line is unknown to her. We have enjoyed a lot of wildlife and forest trails together.

My goal has been 5.1 miles per day.

My camera goes with us and here are a few of my pictures that I am happy with.

Wolf Spider

Daphne at Rest

Killdeer

Bald Eagle

Canada Geese

Great Blue Heron

Female Tree Swallow

Male Tree Swallow

Savannah Sparrow

Mallard Hen plus Ducklings

Solitary Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Great Blue Herons

This has been a good year for watching Herons. They are coming out of the swamps and feeding on the gravel bars. I won't repost the previous shots, but will post the new ones.

They are one of my favourite birds. Regal, majestic and quiet.  My goal this year is to get more in flight shots. They are hard to come by as they tend to fly away, not towards me.

One of my favourites!

This is the best I could do so far. The day was a little cloudy and early in the morning so the shutter speed was not what I wanted