Blue Birds

Bluebirds have appeared at our bird feeder a number of times, but each time that they come it is a big treat for us. I was able to get some nice clear pictures of them this time!

Ant Lions

These holes started to show up around our patio. This a.m. I was surprised to see how many there were. I was curious to know what was causing them. My daughter, Tami, thought they were traps created by spiders. So we did some research. What we found out are the holes are made by an insect larva which turns into a bug that looks like a dragonfly. Our grandson, Nathan, found this one in one of the holes. They are not beautiful, but they do trap and kill spiders and other insects when they fall into these holes.

Easter Lilies

These sure look like Easter Lilies! I took these pictures at 10:00 a.m. I am not sure why it turned so dark around them, but I think the effect is really nice.

A Different Visitor Today

Our neighbor Vern yelled over to me this noon and said bring the camera. When I got down part way to the road this animal was in the middle of our yard. I tried to get pictures then but it did not want to stand still. It ran across the road to the neighbor there but could not get a picture and my camera battery went dead. It did come back across to our place and started up towards the house but did not make it then. Not long after it was up by the tree in the front of our house eating sunflower seeds I had put out for the birds and squirrels. I tried to get good pictures then and Nila gave me a slice of bread to give to him so I threw it out towards to him and then backed off and he came closer and ate it. I had some bird feed containing corn, peanuts, and sunflower seeds so put some out by the tree and he loved that. I thought he would like a drink of water so got Brandy’s food dish and filled it letting him see and hear it running in to it. He did not come for it so I put it close to the tree and put the corn etc around it and he was scared of it. He got about a foot from it and jumped back. Finally I put the seed right close to it and he finally got the nerve to see what it was and ended drinking a couple inches of it. He completely cleaned up all the seeds and I went in the house and I looked out a while later he was gone. Vern said it went across the road again. Sorry for the long story, but that was our excitement for the day. Being from the farm brought memories of feeding the pigs. LOL

Lilies

I took a few more pictures of the lilies this afternoon around 4:00 p.m. These smaller pictures don't really do justice to the beauty of these lilies. Everyone on is such a different, but beautiful color.

Wild Bird Information

Here are some links that have good information on wild birds:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Baltimore_Oriole.html

http://www.wildbirds.com/photo_FAQ.htm

http://www.wildbirds.com/identify_color.htm

http://www.wildbirds.com/Default.htm

http://www.wildbirds.com/feeding_hummers.htm

Baltimore Oriole Feeder

Baltimore Orioles love to eat jelly. I made this little feeder to hold the jelly. It is not fancy, but it is very functional. I can put out two containers at a time and it is very easy to change and clean the containers. The birds learned to use it almost immediately.

Pear Tree

Our son, Todd, started this pear tree in his yard, from seed that came from his pear tree which is a good producer. He planted it in the back yard here for Father's Day. I had to put a cage around it to keep the deer from eating it! I thought he would like to see how his pear tree is growing. I am going to have to raise the roof pretty soon.

Wild Deer in our Yard

Our yard seems to be part of a natural trail where many deer pass each day. They usually come through at night, but these two young bucks chose to spend part of the day lounging in our back yard.
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Deer in our backyard

These two young bucks showed up in our backyard this afternoon. It was touching to watch the affection they showed toward one another. They seemed very calm and relaxed.

Wild Turkeys

These fine wild turkeys came to visit today! They seemed to be very calm and unafraid of their surroundings. I had to use a zoom to get the picture, because they were on the far side of the backyard. There is quite a flock of wild turkeys that we see from time to time in the corn field across the street.

Red Berry Bush

This tree is in our back yard. It is over 10 feet tall. It has purple leaves after it is green for spring. My mother had a hedge on the farm that produced these same red berries. We were told not to eat them as they were poisonous. But the birds sure like the berries!

Yucca in bloom

These yucca which are in full bloom right now grow at the end of our driveway. As you can see from this picture with Al, they are very tall! Many people save the branches from these yucca once they have finished blooming. When they are completely dry, they become very hard and durable. They are said to make excellent walking sticks, canes or other useful items.

Our yard

We have sure had a nice green summer so far. This picture is of our front yard. You can see why the wildlife enjoy coming to our place as a stop off place! Many people have told us that our yard looks like a park. Our yard is home to many beautiful old oak trees. All the shade really helps to keep our house cool in the summer!

Welcome to our yard!

This picture gives you a view of part of the back yard and our screened in porch in back of the house. We enjoy the porch and have put in a fish pond. There is a large variety of flowers that come back each year. The yard always seems to have something new flowering.

Another Yard picture

This picture was taken of our front yard looking off toward our neighbor's house to the north. We are very blessed to have excellent neighbor's on both sides of us!

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Orioles are attracted to oranges. This female is enjoying a fresh slice of orange which is fastened to the tree.

A single flower

Isn't spring an incredible time of the year? We are still awed at the variety of plants and flowers that are showing up in our yard! Flickingers, who owned this house before us certainly spent a lot of time with the yard and flower beds. We greatly appreciate all the beauty and variety they left us with when they moved. This beautiful flower is the bloom of a hosta that comes up every year by our driveway.

Hummingbirds at our feeder

Our hummingbird feeder usually has a pretty constant stream of visitors through the day. Some prefer to hover and others sit down and eat a leisurely meal. If you have a hummingbird feeder be sure to change the nectar in it often. If not changed often, bacteria can form which may be fatal to hummers.