June 2007
21 posts
WatchA recently fledged robin explores our yard and learns to catch insects under the tutelage of an adult. Immature robins have a speckled breast and adults have a solid red breast.
WatchA variety of flowers from around the yard with a close look at a garden clustered on a slowly decomposing stump. Flowers: The flowers around our yard are constantly changing as one type of perennial comes into bloom followed by another. The peony plants are in full bloom all at once and are being frequented by paper wasps. My red roses will be opening tomorrow in time for me to enjoy them before...
WatchA few photos of our friendly neighborhood snapping turtle. Snapping Turtle: At 3:50 pm yesterday, our next door neighbor, Dennis, came to our front door carrying a large shovel, and on the shovel was a female snapping turtle that he had found wandering in his yard. Knowing that Drew and I are kinda sorta into nature, he thought the turtle would be more at home on our property. And, indeed she...
WatchLaurie tries the didgeridoo.
DIDGERIDOO: The didgeridoo arrived and we have been absorbed in watching the DVD we purchased along with it. Wow…this is going to be quite the long learning curve. (Hmmm…why mention this in a nature diary? Well… didgeridoos are Australian aboriginal instruments made from the trunks of eucalyptus trees that have been hollowed out by termites…that’s the...
SNAPPING TURTLE: Drew saw a female snapping turtle being transported to the pond side of the road by a passerby this morning. The turtle disappeared from view and we did not see her anymore today. We do not know if she successfully laid her eggs. Last year, a female laid eggs on our driveway on the morning of June 21st. We hope she does so again. ‘Tis the season…
ROBINS: We have been enjoying watching a mama robin with her young one in our yard. The youngster doesn’t quite have the hang of catching worms yet and follows his mother all over the yard as she looks for worms. He has a speckled breast in contrast to the adult with her solid red breast. We think these robins were the ones nesting in one of our next door neighbors’ trees.
WatchFlowers: I spent several hours photographing some of my garden flowers and am delighted to share these few photos with you. The rose is not from my garden (my teammate, Hank, graciously gave it to me on the last day of school, so I dedicate that photo to him), although my rugosa rose has two flowers that are in the process of opening up today. Enjoy!
TREES It is raining flowers! The black locust trees are in full bloom and the flowers are blowing in the wind along with their sweet scent. The airways are very fragrant at the moment. IRISES AND LILIES: My irises are in full bloom (yellow, blue flag, white with yellow throat) and most of the daylilies have flower stalks. I can barely contain my excitement for the colors that will grace our yard...
BIRDS: Yesterday, from 4:15 am to 5:00 am the loon was very vocal, so this morning at 4 am, Drew took the Sony 717 camera (it has the best microphone for recording sounds of any device we own) over to the pond to try and catch the loon calling. Unfortunately, there was silence on the pond. But, behind our house a pair of barred owls were hooting back and forth at each other, and I wished I’d...
WatchSome of our favorite insect photos from the last couple of years.
BIRDS: Early this morning we were awakened by some barred owls hooting nearby. Then, at 5am, a tom turkey was gobbling in the woods across the street near the pond. I recorded its call along with bobwhites, crows, finches, and other birds all contributing to the typical morning chittering. I never realize how many birds congregate around our house until I listen to recordings. It is no wonder that...
FROG EGGS: I went to a pet store and bought a 10 gallon aquarium, aquarium stones, and a filter for the purpose of viewing the life cycle of frogs from eggs to frogs (or maybe just tadpoles…we’ll see how patient I am). I filled the aquarium with well water and some pond water. The eggs are attached to the stem of a water grass which I secured under the gravel, leaving the eggs to float...
Late this afternoon: POND: I collected some frog eggs from the pond as soon as I got home from school today (great excuse to jump into the kayak). The eggs were found in water several feet deep, and I am assuming that frogs do this so that the eggs don’t land in water that will subside as the water levels recede during dry weather. I am hoping the eggs will stay viable until tomorrow...
POND: Yesterday I went for a paddle on the pond from 7 am until 11 am. The dragonfly nymphs were seen everywhere I turned as they clung to grass stems. There were many dragonflies just emerging from the nymphs; most of them were of one species probably skimmers, although I cannot be sure as they were just pumping up their wings and had several hours to go before their markings would show up...
VEGETABLE GARDEN: I planted the bush beans and 4 squash plants today. The tomato plants are growing by leaps and bounds. They are going to be awesome this year. FLOWER GARDENS: I trimmed off all the old flower buds off the daffodils. There are blue flag irises and yellow irises in bloom on two plants, with all the other irises getting ready to bloom. I am looking forward to photographing them as...
FLOWER GARDENS: I planted some annuals (dahlias, lobelia, meadow sage, gaillardia) to fill in bare spots between perennials. The blue flag iris is in bloom in the north shrub garden. There are developing flower stalks on the lupine next to the north stump in the front yard and next to the backyard stump. The phlox are blooming behind the shed near the rock wall. I have begun a flower garden there...
ABOUT US: We are “from away” as they say in Maine, and moved from Colorado in February, 2000, in search of a cooler climate and a state with a lower human population. We desired to live near water and found a lovely little pond to suit our simple needs. You see…we are paddlers and hikers. We like to do things under our own power when at all possible. This allows us to be more...