Eagle

As we were walking the dogs on the far side of the river this morning, Carole spotted a young bald eagle sitting in a birch snag on our property, back across the river. After a few moments, he flew off casually to the southeast, low along the river. Huge. I’ve seen eagles flying higher up, [...]

Fall Birds

I started filling the bird feeders a couple of weeks ago — I’m not going to provide free board for the greedy little bastards during the summer when they can make their own living — & I’ve seen house finches, grosbeaks, hairy & downy woodpeckers, greater & lesser nuthatches, billions of chickadees, blue jays, juncos. [...]

First Hard Frost

I covered the last of the basil & peppers with a tarp last night, then brought them in this morning. The weather was clear this morning, with a mist over the river that burned off early & we had a couple of hours of sunshine before the clouds moved in. Raining now, temperature in the [...]

A Hundred Bluejays

Carole & I were standing out on the deck a couple of evenings ago. The deck faces the river, though the water is mostly screened by trees. We’re deep in the woods here, so we have lots of birds & the jays have been active lately, calling & rattling around in the trees, but [...]

Loon & Chikadees

I noticed yesterday that the chickadees have come down from the higher mountains. Saw them nosing around the empty feeders. And this morning early we heard a loon fly over, laughing. A cool wind out of the north. Fall.

Summer Blogging Hours: Flickers & Robins

We have a pair of flickers & a pair of robins nesting in our woods. I’ve been spending a lot of time watching them fly around. And pulling weeds. (I’ve been pulling weeds, not the birds.) And conducting my online course, Understanding Vietnam, which takes time & concentration I usually spend pecking out my observations [...]

Today I have Been Wishing I Was Other People

like Steve, who writes Riley Dog, probably the best blog ever because it really isn’t a blog. Or David Wojahn, who has written a smart essay on Bob Dylan & the prospects for American political Poetry in The Writer’s Chronicle. (Not available online, but worth the price of a subscription.) I wouldn’t have minded being [...]

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak & Pileated Woodpecker

Saw a rose-breasted grosbeak on the feeder the other evening & this morning on the dog walk we caught a glimpse of a pileated woodpecker flashing overhead, then a moment later heard its wiry call. Cool spring day. This afternoon I weeded the area at the top of the driveway & tghen raked in one [...]

Kingfisher & Hummingbird

Standing on the deck yesterday afternoon Carole & I saw a belted kingfisher streak along the river bank, land briefly on a low limb, then streak away again. Checking Peterson’s guide, I see that he probably just arrived from wintering in Panama. Smart boy. Also saw the first hummingbird yesterday, just out of the corner [...]

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker & a Lone Wild Turkey

Pretty sure I saw a yellow-bellied sapsucker this afternoon back in the woods by the river. It might have been a young flicker, though. I’ve never seen a sapsucker around here & flickers are common. Our solitary wild turkey was back again, cleaning up under the feeder. I wonder if it’s a female with a [...]

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