Snow!

We got our first snow this week. Tim and I went for a walk and checked out all the animal tracks in the new fallen snow. It looks like there is a lot of activity out in our field.

 

Eastern Bluebird

I have been seeing a lot of bluebirds around lately.

Getting cold

Today we took a walk to collect some greens for a wreath. It's starting to get cold and we found ice starting to form around the edges of the stream.

We have a barbed wire fence between our yard and the golf course. We often see deer jumping over. Here's a bit of deer fur stuck on the barb. We have some other old fencing around parts of the property - I'd love to get it removed so the deer have more places to pass through. 

Raptor?

On November 20th just before dusk, this bird was flying around the house. I snapped this picture in the backyard.

The next morning around dawn I saw what I think was the same bird in another area of our backyard. He was eating something sitting in a big pile of something white. He would perch in the nearby tree, then go down to the ground and pecked around in this spot and back up inthe tree.

A while later I went out to see what the 'white pile' was and it was the remains of a bird. Not really anything left but feathers.

I'm not sure what kind of bird this is. I thought maybe a harrier or a falcon.

November Sunrise

Beautiful sunrise this morning!

Kettle Run!

We finally got our brush cleared out enough to make it down to the stream at the edge of our property. It's really quite beautiful. Buddy enjoyed the walk.

Unidentified Bird

We have seen this beautiful bird soaring around the property. I can't get a good picture of it. It has multiple colors. I think it may be an American Kestrel, but I'm not sure.

Blue Heron

We often see this heron perched in the treetops near our stream.

Turkeys!

The turkeys showed up this week. Thanks to Tim for catching this picture. I haven't seen them yet.

Pine Warbler

I came home from a business trip to find yellow birds flitting around our front yard. I got out my Birds of Virginia book and identified them as Pine Warblers. We're seeing lots of different birds migrating south now, but it's really hard to get close enough to identify or photo.

Groundhog

Since we moved in we've had many groundhosg living at the edges of our yard. Hard to get a picture of though. I finally snapped a few that were'nt a complete blur.

American Robbin

A little rain this morning brought out flocks of robbin red breasts (that's what they were aways called when I was growing up).

I love the song of the robin.

Cricket

So much noise out of such a small bug.....a black field cricket?

New Friends

We made some new friends in Virginia and were invited to their house for dinner. They have a wonderful piece of property a little north of here. We got to meet all their animals and sit for a while by their pond with the ducks. Great friends, great wine and a great time!

 

 

 

Bufo americanus - American Toad

I found this toad crawling up the side of my house under a light. I guess that's a good place to find dinner, like the little insect at the top of this shot.

Buckeye Butterfly

I heard a quote earlier this year that has really stayed with me.

If there were no change, the caterpillar could not turn into the butterfly.

When we saw caterpillars starting to make cocoons around our garage door, I didn't know if I'd happen to be home when the butterflies emerged, but today I was lucky enough to catch it - well, mostly due to my husband who came in the house while I was washing the dishes and said, "Come outside and bring your camera"

The butterfly had just emerged and was starting to stretch a bit and slowly open it's wings. It was amazing to see how small the cocoon was and how bug the butterfly was by the time she had fully extended her wings. She hopped around, took a few short flights, got batted around a bit by Snoopy until I told him to stop, and finally flew away. I got this pretty good picture.

I tried to look up what kind of butterfly this is by comparing it to other pictures. I think it is a buckeye butterfly.

Sometimes change can be good!

What kind of spider is this?

This spider has a huge web on the back of my mailbox. I snapped this picture today while he was catching a moth. Anyone know what kind of spider it is? It is an inch and a half or so.

Praying Mantis

Found this praying mantis on my deck tonight. I saw him fly away, which was quite interesting.

Geese

A flock of geese have been showing up grazing on our front lawn for about a week now.

Sandpipers in the meadow?

Today there is a small flock of sandpipers hanging out in our front yard. We are hours from the beach so I'm guessing they must be migrating. I will have to look up their migratory patterns. As we drive down the driveway, they run very fast in front of us then fly a short distance away.

Empty Nest

The birds have already left the nest, just a couple days ago they were stretching their wings and hopping from branch to branch. We walked around and found similar nests in a couple of fir trees behind our house. The nests were all empty, but we found this one tiny bird just about ready to move on.

Deer

Almost every evening I can look out my window and see deer off to the northwest of our house. I just love that! I'm sure someday I will plant something that I really like and the deer will eat it and I will be frustrated, but for now, I love watching them.

Three Little Birds

The birds are growing fast. I was able to get this great shot of all three tweeting like crazy, their oversized yellow beaks open wide for mommy to bring them some food. As soon as they wake, they tweet incessantly from dusk to dawn - they are so cute!

Hiding under the bushes

As I bent down to turn off the spigot for our hose, I saw something staring at me from under the bush. It was a little toad all nestled into the mulch. Later this evening when I let my dogs out for their evening perambulation, they found him hopping across the sidewalk they were curious and batted him around a little, but then let him hop on his merry way to another part of the garden.

Babies

At least two of the eggs have hatched there are little fuzzy grey balls in the nest, I can see them moving a bit, but not really birdlike yet. I think there are two, not sure about the third one. We are pretty sure at this point that they are mockingbirds.

More Eggs

Today there are 3 eggs in the nest and I saw the mommy, I still don't know what kind of bird it is, but it's a simple, greyish brown bird with a dove-like head. I've looked through an old bird book that I have, but everytime I see a picture of a bird that looks like mine, it lives somewhere far from where I am. I need a better book. Recommendations?

Nesting!

We found a nest in a holly tree just outside our front door. The nest has two eggs in it today. I'm not sure who the mommy is, because I haven't seen any birds going near it. I don't even know what kind of bird's nest it is, but suddenly I have a keen curiousity to find out.

Grandpa's Geraniums

My Grandfather, among many other talents, was a voracious gardener. Every spring he would make trip after trip to the garden store and fill every corner of the yard with beautiful; flowers. He loved geraniums and at the end of each season would take cuttings and root them indoors. All winter long he would tend to the messy box in the front window to keep them going, then in the summer he'd plant them outdoors. I remember these huge red blooms that he would fuss at all summer. My mother has managed to keep his line of geraniums going for the last 11 years since he died. I was so happy when my parents came to visit on 4th of July and she bought me a pot with one of Grandpa's Geraniums to grace my front steps. I hope I can make them flourish here. I would love to fill my new property with plants and flowers. We have a huge space, and not a huge budget. If anyone would like to send me seeds from your garden, I'd love that!

Butterfly Mornings and Wild Flower Afternoons

Butterfly mornings
Butterfly mornings
Catch me there
Gonna get me there
If I have to climb all the mountains on the moon


I'll be in butterfly mornings
Butterfly mornings
And wild flower afternoons

I found you in the corner
Down there sitting on the sea
Gonna trace your footsteps
Underneath the waves
On the petals of a wild flower
With the sun high at noon


I want walks in butterfly mornings
And wild flower afternoons


Butterfly mornings
Wild flower afternoons
 
I heard this song in a movie called The Ballad of Cable Hogue and I think of it often when I'm in my yard. We have a lot of wild flowers and a lot of butterflies. I snapped this picture among many that didn't come out. If anyone can identify the flower or the butterfly, let me know. I'd love to know the names of all the things I find in my yard.
 
Also, I'd love to take up butterfly collecting so if you have any recommendations, or resources to point me to, I'd be most grateful.

New Vistas

My husband and I and our two dogs have just moved from a house on a crowded street in San Jose to a new home in the Virginia countryside. I just look around and am awed by the space we have around us and the beautiful views that mother nature provides. This picture is looking west across the meadow next to our home.