Birdfeeding: Friends of a Feather Flock Together

Today is raw outside.  It is cloudy, cold, windy, and wet.  It's been raining off and on last night and today.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, several mourning doves, a male cardinal, and a male downy woodpecker.  When I went outside I flushed a fox squirrel from somewhere near the forest garden, who ran up the maple tree.

While walking around the house yard a bit to check on what's growing, I found a fallen branch broken into multiple pieces, all completely covered with lichens.  :D  They are the perfect size to go in a terrarium, and I love lichens.  So I set them by the log garden where they'll be safe until I start building a terrarium.  Or several.  It's been years, so I might do a bit of experimenting before I build the big one, which is itself intended as a test run before I go shopping for a big beehive one like we had when I was little.  Hmm, and if I see those tiny red cup things (possibly scarlet elf cup) this spring, I'm totally going to grab them and try growing them under glass because they are gorgeous.  As you can see, my yard is highly responsive to my thoughts.  I wasn't even actively searching for materials, just scouting, and my yard was all, "Oh, we're terrarium building again?  Would you like some spectacular lichens?"  Yes, yes I would, thank you very much. <3

EDIT 3/5/25 -- I ran out of pumpkin spice blend at lunch, so I put the fresh bottle in its place.  Then I washed the old bottle and made a tiny terrarium in it.  Because why not.

EDIT 3/5/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

It's gone from spitting rain to spitting little balls of snow.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

These pictures are mostly from the savanna and house yard, plus a few indoors.  See the house yard and south lot.

( Walk with me ... )

This video shows the birds that come to a wildlife pond, along with various other animals. 

This haiku collection is spillover from the January 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. (I oopsed a book again.) It was inspired by a prompt from scrubjayspeaks. It also fills the "WILD CARD: The Peacock Fan" square in my 1-1-25 card for the Public Domain Bingo fest. This collection has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette.

( Read more... )

Here is my order for Select Seeds. This is the third of three paper catalogs.

( Read more... )

Today the sun came out. The snow is no longer fresh, but now it sparkles, and shadows cast the texture into clear relief. It's a good day for photographing signs of wildlife activity. :D These are from the house yard and along the south side of the house. (See also Midwinter Grove, Savanna, and Back Toward the House.)

( Walk with me ... )

This set of photos begins documenting an experiment to see which type of pen will prove most durable for outdoor plant labels.  I also took a few pictures around the yard, as long as I was out there with the camera.

( Walk with me ... )

My Breck's order has been placed for the spring preview sale.

( Read more... )