After several day's absence, the Eastern bluebirds reappeared at the Backyard Buffet this morning. Unfortunately, our recent weather has not been kind to the little birds. Instead of sunshine and blue skies, they have been welcomed by rain, wind, and cold temperatures. This morning the weather was especially unpleasant and has gone from unpleasant to …
Especially for bird lovers…
My "Pics" for the Week...January 1-7, 2017 All the "Pics" for this week are birds (except for two squirrels that sneaked in when I wasn't looking) 😃. All pics were taken in my "Backyard Bird Buffet." The first week in January has been very cold (currently 12 degrees) and more cloudy and wet than sunny, …
Bright spots on a wintry day
Overnight the temperature dropped to single digits and several inches of snow fell. The Backyard Buffet looks much more appealing when the ground is covered with a blanket of white, and because that same blanket had covered over much of their natural food, the birds were looking for food at ALL the feeders. That includes …
It can be a challenge…
... to keep up with the visitors to my back yard buffet. Looking back through recent posts, I realized I'm not doing a very good job of keeping up with the ordinary little birds who visit the "buffet." The fallen tree episode, starling invasion, Christmas cookie baking, and rapscallion deer visitors have dominated my posts for the …
A rare event
Many years ago, when Bob and I relocated from central Pennsylvania to the south shore of Lake Erie, I was a stay-at-home-mom with three little girls. We moved into our new home in January, and we hadn't been living here for long when I realized that something was missing, something I was accustomed to in my former …
Rapscallions!
Walking into my kitchen, I glanced out the window and there, staring straight at me, were two deer...in broad daylight...the penalty we pay for living next door to Chagrin River Park. Why, you might ask, would I call these beautiful animals rapscallions (an old-fashioned word for rascal; rogue; or scamp)? It's because they consider my Back Yard …
Hawk incursion!
A few minutes ago, while I was in the Back Yard Buffet, refilling the water bowl and keeping an eye on Gulliver as he wandered around the yard, a small hawk zoomed into the Buffet. It paused very briefly right in front of me as I stood near the brush pile, but thankfully didn't linger. …
First snowfall
Put together the first snowfall of the season with blustery wind and very cold temperatures. Then throw in a brand new brush pile that the birds are absolutely loving, and suddenly you have open house at the Bird Buffet. The juncos, mourning doves, blue jays, sparrows, titmice, chickadees, and more all spent an exciting day …
Something worth celebrating
Bob and I exchanged our marriage vows 57 years ago at my family's church in Cardiff, Maryland, a half mile down the road from the home where I grew up in the very small town of Delta, Pennsylvania. So today, November 27, 2016, we were discussing how we wanted to celebrate the occasion.. Bob-Where would you like …
Gingkos, baldcypress, and other trees
With all the wind, rain, and near freezing temperatures we've "enjoyed" in the past five days, I wondered what I would find when the sun came out yesterday and I went to Holden Arboretum to walk some of my favorite trails. My first stop was the gingko tree. I had waited for weeks, since Autumn began, …
SEEN ALONG THE TRAIL 