Catch up from the north

I hadn't realised how far behind I was in keeping pictures of the north on the blog. This first one is probably a sunset. I'm not sure, since I forgot to update the time portion on my camera! I believe it is the 9th. Probably. 

 On the 13th (Steve's Bday), I went to the beach with my friend, Christy. The oddest thing we saw was a waterbird paddling along straight on the edge of the shoreline.

 I love Cook Inlet sunsets!

 The gulls were strutting on the beach late, too. We were there well after 1030 pm.

 On the 16th, one of our friends came to help load up yard debris. It was wonderful to get rid of stuff lying around outside!

 I've not seen much larger than a duck. The moose that was in the yard with a friend was photographed, but it was too dark for good pictures. The golden eye are my favorite ducks, but the teen mallards are hilarious. They are definitely not very coordinated yet! This was on July 18, I think. When two bumped into each other while rootling around in the muck, I had to laugh!

 Eventually their mom took them off into the lily pads where they were camouflaged from most predators.

 Lots of flowers are racing to bloom. Mom's got a thorny rosebush in front that is thick with blossoms. And some odd cute little red flowered grass.

 The fireweed isn't very tall this summer. These blooms are also racing to the top. In less than a week the spent blossoms are more than halfway up the stalk!

The 20th, the three golden eye young were on this side of the lake hanging out on the pallets and tires I'd put down there for a 'docking area'. They are getting so big! That evening, my sister's family came to visit to relocate grandma's piano. Janice came out earlier to get stuff for a Hospice sale.

Kari visits Mondays to help take away boxes of things and Grant came down to look at what he'll need to collect the juke boxes. The house  is slowly starting to empty! 

 The golden eye don't seem to hang out together often.  I'm not sure how many there are now. These photos were on July 22 and only two were in proximity of the camera.

The last few days the neighbors have had kids and dogs on the lake no matter what the weather or temps. It is nice to see young people out playing in the water. Although, I've not seen many ducks, but they must be around. They are too little to fly yet! I did spy a couple of  babies the 24th.

Saturday, the 25th, we got a torrential Minnesota like downpour here. The dimples on the lake were huge and I fully expected hail. Mrs. C, from across the way, was hoping for thunder. Neither one happened.

 The sun eventually returned and the mama golden eye took two young into the pads. I'm not sure where she was keeping them. She was somewhere else! I do hope there are still three, I really hope at least one grows up to fly away. Not that I've ever seen it happen here on this lake, but it could.

I will try to be more consistent in posts from the north! 

first weekend in July

Many of these are from July 2. I didn't share them on Tony's birthday, because I had the other one to post. :o)

The three baby golden eye. I absolutely love these little guys. I do hope they live to grow up, but odds aren't good. I've never seen a golden eye duckling survive to fly off in the fall. Which makes me wonder why they aren't endangered if a family of 10 or so can't survive on a small lake full of many other ducklings. This year there aren't very many on the lake. A handful of mallards and these three. 

 Sunset on Tony's birthday. Well, technically, it was 1246 am, so it was the third already!

 This was a fun find. I was inside on the third and heard the oddest noise. I can't even describe it! When I looked around, I spied a bird. I took several photos cuz I wasn't sure when it would take off.

 The camouflage is impressive on these spruce hen! But, she was perched on a dead tree bit keeping an eye out for little ones. I startled one of them and it flew up into a tree. It was much harder to photograph!!

 This lovely one was easy to take pictures of. She was munching away in the sunshine of the fourth!

 Everyone was out and about this stunning warm day. I think they were taking advantage of the nice, because by dinner time, the sky was overcast and it was starting to get chilly again.

 This is the squirrel who climbs into the feeder. I have seen it jump from the feeder, but not get into it. It is a tiny thing and is seen here 'at rest'. Any time I go to the window, it is nervous, so I was lucky to get this picture!

The last few days have been overcast and windy, although, it is calmer now as I type at 1030 pm. I'ev not been down to the inlet yet. I was told there is smoke often obscuring the mountains. Smoke from forest fires in Russia! I know it made the Buck Moon bright orange when it was on the horizon on the fourth. At the moment, there is a smidge of blue sky among the clouds. It might be a beautiful sunset, I'll just have to keep an eye on the sky!

Steve and Jon went up to the ranch on the fourth and cut wood. They also listened to a LOT of fireworks in town and watched a bunch from grandma's. There was a great deal of noise here, probably mortars. The moon, as I said, was bright, but very low and I didn't want to go out at 230 to see if I could shoot it. I was sleepy and the skeeters are fierce this year!

A Day Outside

  Today, it is July 2, 2020. Tony’s birthday. Earlier, I took the opportunity to sit outside and wrote down a few of my observations. I’m going to celebrate my eldest by sharing those here.

  Distantly, I hear sounds of man. The thrum of machines, maybe a chainsaw or an ATV, airplanes droning overheard, and wind chimes sounding out in varied silver tones. Man, however, is overpowered here by the delightful orchestra of nature. Woodwinds, made up of birds, trill and chirp alarms and boundaries as they flit from tree to ground and back. I have always loved the repetitive call of the chickadee. ‘Chicka dee dee dee!’ Staccato bass notes from a woodpecker pounding on a tree catch my ear and I try to find out where it is. I’m pretty sure it is a hairy woodpecker, it is very loud! So is the high pitched piccolo yelling of the squirrel, I think those creatures are still mad they can’t get into the attic of the garage! If I could only understand what is inside the cadence of that voice (or probably not!). Insects buzz as they dive around me, I’m most annoyed by the upper registers of the mosquito whine (That is often accompanied by the human sound of my hand slapping where it was or is!) and the irritating ‘zzz’s’ of horse flies. I can hear quiet liquid notes of splashing from different waterfowl in the lake and the adorable ‘ploop’ as the golden eye babies practice diving. Over, or perhaps, under everything, you can hear the breeze as it rushes along through the different foliage, spreading gossip in a building crescendo before leaving for a few more measures.

  The sounds are stunning, yet the feast of visuals before my wondering eyes, is beyond priceless. So many colors of greens and greys and browns with touches of other spectrum from the rainbow. I’m fascinated by the evergreens this year. I can’t decide if they are a tiered chandelier with upside down candles or an odd dress with way too many decorations on the top. I don’t think I’ve seen the trees with this many pine cones on them before! I love birch trees, though. Their branches twist so alluringly as they reach for the sky, yet their smallest branches catch and hold leaves like fingers grasping summer. I adore how their bark comes off in onion paper thin strips in a million shades. Dandelions have always fascinated me, as well. They grow from bright buttons of gold to globes of fuzz waiting to clock out. Going, going, gone!

  I’m drawn to the birds again. They also have myriad of color hidden in their feathers. Most of ours in the north tend to the darker hues. I don’t often get to see junco of such deep grey. The bright yellow beaks stuffed full of seed make me laugh. I’ve always loved the brave and courageous nuthatch. They aren’t as cheeky as the chickadee or dressed as fancy in white and black or even having a distinctive call, it doesn’t matter. For being a tiny quiet bird, they do stand out. I like that.

I hope you enjoyed my brief sojourn in the yard out north. I wish Tony was here, he’d definitely enjoy the peace and beauty all around. Probably not the mosquitoes, though!

on an aside, Blogger has updated and it is much more difficult to use. I almost lost this blog that I've had for years, messed up passwords for other accounts, and all in all I'm not impressed.

Quail, rabbits, frogs, and Oliver (photos by Jonathan)

Jon almost always takes his camera to Grandma's house. If he doesn't, he'll see things to photograph! 

There are many wild rabbit around. Night shots are not as easy as they might be. 

 It is inevitable you will capture the elusive were rabbit with photography. Bunnicula's eyes do turn yellow, in Wallace and Gromit's: Curse of the Were Rabbit, the rabbit was a giant creature who really was Wallace. FUN movie!!

Jon also found a very tiny frog in the yard here in town.  I wonder if the little thing is normally this small? 

 And then a couple of photos of Oliver. I called him Dandy Lion til his teen owners came to rescue him and gave him proper identification. I do hope he keeps away from the young robins. However, he and the neighbor Siamese are incredibly fond of climbing trees. Which is how Oliver got on top of the Little House in the back yard!

In a Robin's Nest (photos by Jon)

The work of a robin isn't done til the fledglings take off on their own. By then, parents often have another set of young ones to take care of. And I thought raising two boys was crazy! 

These first two photos were taken May 28. The babies were barely hatched. You can kind of see little open beaks in the second picture. And mom is much less harassed looking! 

 This one was taken during a very hot evening, June 1, -about the time we had some thunderstorms. Mom's panting on the nest, protecting the little ones. Her nest is high in a lilac, but fairly exposed to the elements.

 Waiting to be fed. Jon shot all of these pictures this last weekend (June 7). The babies are larger now and about ready to fledge. They can jump from the nest about 13 days after hatching. The next week is the toughest. They can't fly well, need fed by the parents, and are at their most vulnerable. I'm afraid the neighbor cats are going to enjoy fledglings in a short while. We try to chase the cats away, but 24 hours a day in 10 or 15 (til they youngsters are strong flyers) is a lot of unseen hours for neighbor cats to wander by.

 It is almost like she's teaching them how to fly, but Jon really probably just caught the mom as she was getting ready to forage some more. Baby robins eat a lot and both parents feed them. A robin can make 100 trips to the nest to feed babies each day!!

 They are very well camouflaged in this lilac nest!

I got the information on robins NOT on my favorite All About Birds site, but on one about American Robins. If you follow the link, you can find even more fun facts. Also that if one does fall from the nest, before it is ready to jump, it can be put back carefully. I didn't realise "robins identify their babies the way we humans recognize ours-by sight and sound, not by smell. So if you can safely put the babies back in the nest, go ahead!"