After weathering Monday’s storm and being spared the widespread power outages that persisted through Tuesday, we actually lost power Wednesday afternoon, after most people’s electricity had been restored. It was off for a few hours, and the house was beginning to get pretty darn cold. But it came back on that evening, and we wereContinue reading “Preparing for Snomicron, Round 2”
Category Archives: Wildlife in Our Yard
Friday Five: Christmas Eve
1) If you had to build a Christmas tree with just items around your house, what would definitely be part of it? Books, of course. I’ve built one of these before, and posted about it earlier this month. But here’s another photo. 2) What’s your favorite holiday to decorate for? Halloween. The decorations are fun,Continue reading “Friday Five: Christmas Eve”
Bird Brains
Twice this week, I’ve seen people respond to online posts with suggestions of killing suburban backyard animals. What’s wrong with people? Yesterday, someone posted to ask for advice on removing squirrels from her attic. Some of us who have faced that challenge suggested that she spend the money to get professional help. You may beContinue reading “Bird Brains”
Speaking for the Trees
I am totally not a gardener. But I did some gardening today, mostly under the direction of my gardening husband. (We call him “Farmer Bob”). Alexandria’s goal is to achieve a 40% tree canopy cover by 2035. To that end, the city holds a Fall Native Plant Sale each year, with reasonable prices on variousContinue reading “Speaking for the Trees”
Pepino’s Penthouse
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”
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.
The Petrini Page 