I’ve mentioned in earlier posts that we have occasionally spotted a mouse in our house. It’s not a lot of mice; we’ve caught four or five since we moved into the house two-and-a-half years ago. And it’s just one mouse in here at a time. After we catch it, it’s months before we see signsContinue reading “Pepino’s Penthouse”
Category Archives: Wildlife in Our Yard
Photo Friday: Dove With an Attitude
I was sitting on the patio yesterday, writing and enjoying the beautiful weather and the many creatures that live on my property. We only recently started putting birdseed in the feeder again, and the mourning doves are no longer holding a grudge. This one sat on the roof of the feeder for some time, happyContinue reading “Photo Friday: Dove With an Attitude”
After the Hurricane
After yesterday’s storm, today dawned bright and cloudless and beautiful. The sky is blue, the temperature is in the 70s, and sunlit branches dance in the breeze. I’m writing in my backyard, amidst hummingbirds and woodpeckers. Catbirds call, and mourning doves quarrel over birdseed. I just glimpsed a fox through the oaks and the hollies.Continue reading “After the Hurricane”
Hummingbird Haven
The hummingbirds in our garden have been particularly active lately. We already knew we had two of them. One was larger, with a greenish back and more neutral colors overall. The other was smaller and bright green, with a dark face. We wondered if the two were a mated pair, but neither had the rubyContinue reading “Hummingbird Haven”
Photo Friday: Hummingbird
Our little hummingbird friend is back! Or maybe it’s a different hummingbird. In fact, I think I saw two different hummingbirds today, though I can’t be sure. We’ve had at least one hummingbird in our yard for the past two summers. We’ve been wondering if we’d see any at all this summer, but going backContinue reading “Photo Friday: Hummingbird”
Fox Trot
During the day, our backyard is filled with birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and, occasionally, the little dog who lives next door and seems to have found a hole under the fence. At night, the foxes and raccoons take over. I recently caught this video footage of a couple of foxes playing tag in my backyard.
Friday Five: A Year Later
1) What are you doing this spring that you weren’t doing 1 year ago?Making travel plans! A year ago, the pandemic lockdown was relatively new, it was hard even to get a covid test, let alone a vaccination, and it seemed that we would be stuck at home forever. Now, with the U.S. vaccination rateContinue reading “Friday Five: A Year Later”
Brood X: the 17th Year
The cicadas are here! This is Brood X, the group that emerges from the ground in parts of the Eastern U.S. on a 17-year-cycle. So we last saw them in 2004. I lived in my old house then, with only a few trees in the yard. These cicadas lay their eggs in trees, so 17Continue reading “Brood X: the 17th Year”
Eyes on the Sparrows
Yesterday Bob pulled out some ugly, scraggly shrubs near our front door, so we could replace them with azaleas. He commented to me that a sparrow in the dogwood tree was scolding him the whole time. Then we saw the nest. One of the ugly shrubs had been home to a nest full of babyContinue reading “Eyes on the Sparrows”
Photo Friday: Cardinal in the Snow
We had a mostly mild winter, and were hit with only a few days of snow, sleet, and freezing rain. There wasn’t even a lot of it — this is Virginia, after all — but the roads were sloppy, briefly, and I didn’t really want to go out. So I mostly stayed in on thoseContinue reading “Photo Friday: Cardinal in the Snow”
