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Snowy Sunday bird watching

11/28/2021

A few days off during the Thanksgiving holiday afforded a couple of hours of bird watching in the side yard.

The dark-eyed juncos have been back for a couple of weeks.

The goldfinches have lost their summer yellow coloring. They flocked to the thistle feeder to fill up from the winter cold.

The hemlock tree was visited by many birds and others.

There were at least two red squirrels harvesting cones from the tree. Earlier in the week, I also saw evidence in the snow on the porch that one of the squirrels had inspected a package left on the porch by FedEx.

A male cardinal also perched in the hemlock tree. He cast a disapproving look when the photo session lasted longer than he thought it should.

A female cardinal also used the hemlock tree as a perch.

A downy woodpecker has been working over the suet.

Even before the snow fell, white breasted nuthatches were visiting the feeders.

While the feeders were busy, birds were still busy feeding on berries and other food in the woods.

Last week, a few cedar waxwings posed for photos.It was nice to see their yellow tails and the red of their waxwings.

Earlier in November, I had the chance to catch a raven playing catch in the air with some object. I was astonished at its aerial maneuvers.

Meanwhile, a clipper system delivered some snow and created some beautiful scenery.

Kyle was a bit disgruntled at the change of scenery. I had to explain to him that he does live in western Pennsylvania and snow is a possibility.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

Below is a slide show that exhibits some of the delightful snowy landscapes despite what Kyle thinks.

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Grrr-atitude

11/21/2021

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With Thanksgiving upon us, I pondered what my fur family was grateful for. I also added what they weren't so grateful for.

Sherman is grateful for:
Any attention he can get, especially from my dad who he often ambushes in the yard.
Snow in the winter and central air in the summer
The time to take breaks
Treats, of course
The poop and dead things he finds in the woods.

He is not so grateful for the nail clippers.

Sadie is grateful for:
The neighbor's pond
The opportunity to hunt chipmunks and frogs despite not being successful at either
Treats, of course.

She is not so grateful for ear medicine.

Clem is thankful for:
Sticks
All the smells in the world
The companionship of other canines
Treats, of course

Clem is not so grateful for car rides. He gets a little motion sick.

Kyle is grateful for:
Goat feed
Numerous ornamental shrubs that are supposed to be off limits in the yard
All kinds of plant life in the woods.

Kyle is not so grateful for rainy weather and sometimes his half-brother Kennedy. He is also not thankful for the noise the leaf blower and the neighbor's impact wrench make. He assumes a defensive posture whenever he hears them.

Kennedy is also grateful for:
Goat feed
Numerous ornamental shrubs that are supposed to be off limits in the yard
All kinds of plant life in the woods

Kennedy is also not so grateful for rainy weather and sometimes his half-brother Kyle. Additionally, he is not thankful for his hunter safety bandana.

Lil' Bit is grateful for:
Cat treats
Canned cat food
Pureed cat food in a pouch
In fact, there is quite a little bit more of Lil' Bit than when he first showed up with his ribs showing.

Lil' Bit is not so grateful for car rides. He also gets car sick.

Buttons is grateful for:
Anyone who sits on the couch
Canned cat food and treats

Buttons is not so grateful for the camera flash and sometimes her sister Beans.

Beans is grateful for:
Treats and canned cat food as evidenced by her swinging belly
My husband's companionship.

Beans is not so grateful for just about everything-else.

Wiggles is grateful for:
A doggie door that lets her go outside
Catnip
Treats, of course

Wiggles is not so grateful for the vacuum.

Ernie is grateful for:
Boxes
Treats
Being petted

Ernie is not so grateful for being hugged up close.

Timus is grateful for:
Catnip
Being able to escape the dog kennel to freedom outside
Treats, of course

He is not so grateful for being caught outside and returned inside.

Whether or not my fur family is grateful for anything remains to be seen. I just assume they are thankful by their wagging tails or purrs.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

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Sherman is such a poser

11/14/2021

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"You ought to be in pictures" seems to be Sherman's motto in life.

He seems to know when the camera is on him. It doesn't matter if it is my camera or the trail camera.

He even tries to sneak into pictures where he isn't the main subject.

The trail cameras are filled with weekly Sherman selfie pictures.

However, Kyle seems to be horning in on Sherman's selfie record on the trail cameras.

Kennedy also tries to put his best face forward. He is notorious for adjusting the trail camera angles. Perhaps he is trying to get the best framing. However, I am always undoing his work and he disapproves.

The deer also attempt to use the trail cameras for selfies. They are just not as adept as Sherman and the goats.

Not to be outdone, a gray squirrel at the neighbor's pond has quite a few selfies on the trail camera placed there. I have dubbed him or her selfie squirrel.

But it is Sherman that seems to have posing for photos down pat.

Even if there is chaos in the background, Sherman is unfazed and keeps his steady gaze.

On rare occasions, Clem can been seen exhibiting some serious poses.

Sadie, however, is a different story.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

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Fall: A time to start over?

11/4/2021

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“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald.

At first, this quote by Fitzgerald didn't seem to make sense to me. Fall usually brings the first hard freeze, the end of the growing season.

Last week, a little bird (The National Weather Service) told me that lows during the night could drop below the freezing mark. I grabbed all the container plants that were still blooming outside and placed them in the basement with a grow light.

Some make it all winter. Some don't. Some are just not designed to bloom year round and rely on seeds to keep their legacy alive.
I was enjoying the late season flowers and tend to mourn their demise as the growing season comes to a close.

The confused lilacs were still out and the roses were still budding.

With great regret, I cut off the buds and readied the rose bush for its long winter's nap.

The garden was continuing to produce.

I had purchased some pumpkin seeds on sale in mid summer and hoped for a little longer growing season this year.

The plants came up and produced pumpkins.

The pumpkins weren't ripe and he abandoned those in the yard for the mower to run over.

He did find a sweet pepper to his liking and he ate it.

Nonetheless, the garden and the flowers are gone, but not forgotten.

However, it was a race against the colder weather and I think the pumpkins lost.
However, Sherman had taken it upon himself to harvest some of the young pumpkins and some of the leftover sweet peppers.

A Nov. 3 post from a user on the National Weather Service of Pittsburgh's Facebook page stated, "First frost and it's laid on thick. RIP over-extended growing season."

It is true that this year's growing season was a little on the long side.

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the median date of the first hard freeze for the region is October 14.

While it appears everything that was growing may be dead, there are still seeds. The seeds are dormant, not dead.

So it is true that life starts all over again in the fall.
The signs of new beginnings might not be outwardly visible. Truthfully, new beginnings may be months in the making.

The trees and their leaves show that the saying out with the old and in with the new applies to fall too.

As the flowers faded, so did the number of pollinators visiting them.
The bumblebees held on into late fall with their numbers dropping daily.
Sadly, most of the bumblebees I photographed have probably passed. The workers and males die and the queens are the only ones who hibernate. However, underground lies the beginning of a new colony just waiting for spring.

As the monarchs have left for warmer climates, I found another butterfly that was still sticking around in late October.

The mourning cloak butterfly was displaying its colors as it enjoyed of the last warmer days. Mourning cloaks are one of the butterflies that overwinter in the region as adults. They are usually some of the very first butterflies to be spotted in the spring.

New beginnings were also starting in the whitetail community. Fall marks the start of next year's deer herd.

The deer were moving around as the rut progressed. The trail cameras picked up the different bucks traveling through looking for love.

My mom noted that the does seemed to be appearing earlier in the evening in her backyard. As I looked through last week's trail camera photos, that was the case.

There was also a trend. When the does went through at night, they were then followed by some horny bucks. In my opinion, I felt that the does were out earlier so that they could eat in peace and were therefore not interested in dinner dating yet.

The girls' troubles didn't end there. The gang and I seemed to push them out of their beds in the morning. To add insult to injury, I also took photos of them when they had just gotten up.

Nonetheless, a trail camera outdid me again with a photo of a doe taking a drink at the neighbor's pond.
I will say the trail cameras are a little more dedicated than I am. I don't feel like being strapped to a tree 24/7 in all kinds of weather waiting for the perfect moment.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.

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Author

"The Nature of Things" features the writings and photographs of Anna Applegate, who is a lifelong resident of Pinegrove Township, Venango County. She is a graduate of Cranberry High School and Clarion University. After a 15-year career in the local news industry, she made a change and now works at a steel finishing plant in Sandycreek Township. She is a avid lover of animals and nature, and a gifted photographer.

Very happy to be able to share Anna's great "The Nature of Things" blog.

Check out Anna's other artwork here!

Snowy Sunday bird watching

Grrr-atitude

Sherman is such a poser

Fall: A time to start over?

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