A Turkey!!

Look who came to visit our Birdfeeding station yesterday!! Yea, we haven't seen any of the turkeys for several months.

Barred Owl

Woke up this morning to this view (well, without the yellow circle). There I saw a Barred Owl just hanging out, I assume, looking for a quick bite. I hurriedly went to grab my camera and s/he was obliging and stayed where s/he was. The pair that I have been seeing was very vocal last night, and I certainly hope that they decide to nest around here again. We have had them nest in the nest box that we provided, in the past, and they were successful for a couple of years. That box needs to be replaced and I hate that it is still hanging on the tree in the despicable state that it is in. The roof has rotted and I am afraid that it will fall any day -- if that were to happen with someone nesting in there, I would be devistated. Taking care of this is on my list of things to do this week. Need to get a tree trimmer in to remove a dangerous limb and while he is here, I will have to ask him to remove the old box and replace it with a new and improved one.

I love this site for information, including a web cam, on Barred Owls. It's a bit "old school" but has wonderful pix inside the nest box and great sound .wav files. Enjoy!

New Bluebirds

I was able to snap a few shots of our Blue Bird family workin' hard this morning. They are so mezmorizing- I find myself watching them and suddenly an hour has gone by!

Our seed block has been attracting various types of Woodpeckers, in addittion to our usual Blue Jay, Tit Mouse, Chickadee & Cardnial visitors. We've seen an increased number of visits and types of Woodpeckers compared to last year. We are excited to learn more about these beautiful birds, and purchase woodpecker feeders designed specifically for their use.

Special Wake Up Call

We had the most wonderful alarm this morning! With an ever bobbing tail, the Eastern Phoebe was there on the edge of our house, right outside the window calling repeatedly. We are supposed to have these guys year 'round - but for some reason they have not read the book - we only seem to have them on our property during breeding season. I tried valiantly to get a good picture, but every time that I raised the camera, s/he took flight.

Spring Time is Here!

Taking a quick run around the property, we found that many flowers have come up to welcome Spring.



A couple nice stands of Yellow Harlequin (Corydalis flavula) were a pleasant surprise; as was the finding that our patch of Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) has survived the hounds, and actually spread substantially - Yea! For some reason, our Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) is never as pink as it is "supposed" to be.



This early we always have very numerous Toadshade (Trillium sessile) one of the lesser appreciated Trillium, but since we have so many, we really like 'em. Our Cut-leaved Toothwort (Dentaria laciniata), seems to be more blue or pink than the true white that you find in the guides. By and large, though, our favorite of our true wildflowers is the Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). The large expanse carpeted by these delicate little flowers, is a joy to behold.

Lots Going On

This is the time of year when there is just lots going on. I have many things that I could post about; but, I also know that there will come a time when much will be the same as the day before. This causes me to consider "saving up" fodder for blogging, but then we will lose the timeliness of the posts. I will have to try to balance this out... [blog and learn]...


Yesterday the finches did not care that the weather was pretty foul ~~ LOL! They were out there letting us know that it was going to rain all day. (When birds eat consistantly through the rain, that lets us know the rain will last on and on. If it is raining, and there are no birds eating, they are predicting that the rain will let up later on, with enough day light hours to fill their bellies for night.) I was happy and surprised by how quickly some of the Goldfinch were molting into their breeding plumage. Here in middle Tennessee, we have the American Goldfinch all year long - just wearing different plumage in different seasons.

Today we will be continuing on to the Nashville store for the Bluebird Seminar. Hopefully, this one will go as well as yesterday's two.

Bluebird Seminars

Kent and I are trying to get ready for our very first Free Seminars that will be hosted by the Wild Birds Unlimited stores. He and I will be running from store to store in order to make the circuit Saturday and Sunday. I did not think to have people RSVP, so we have no idea how many people are likely to show up - that should be interesting. I do wish that the weather were going to cooperate with us, but... am not holding my breath. The Goodlettsville store already has a completed nest, with the Bluebirds feasting on the mealworms and No Mess Blend. I will hold out hope that the Bluebirds will make an appearance tomorrow.

Just getting Started

Yes, it is the dawining of a new day for us... Just jumping into this abyss of the internet blogosphere. Hopefully, we will be able to enjoy some time with others that share our love of the natural world around us. I do not have the intention of becoming philosophical, but rather just getting to it. We shall see where this blog will lead. With your help, we will have some fun here.