Lately, they fly away as soon as I get near the camera. This time, it hung around to watch me take its picture. :-)
The Re-Farmer
birds
Some little things
Not a particularly productive day, but a good day for little things.
And pretty things.
I’ve noticed quite a difference in behavior in the birds as they visit the feeder now, compared to when we were still just putting seed on the frozen ground. They seem a lot more chill and relaxed! The bird in the photo on the left was just hanging around in the feeder, pecking at a seed every now and then, shifting position now and then, but otherwise just sitting there. Even on the planter feeder, the birds more frequently take just sit around and take their time as they feed. Rather nice. :-)
Earlier today, my younger daughter and I made an unplanned trip to the city. When we got home and were walking to the door, we saw Butterscotch coming over, and could see her babies over by the old dog house. So I grabbed our things and went inside while she topped up the cat kibble, and took some over for the kittens, too.
When I came out again shortly after, I found her over by the storage house with Beep Beep. We now know where she moved her kittens to! They are under the storage house. My daughter brought some kibble for them, too, and they were quite happy to scarf it down. They are much more nervous than Butterscotch’s kittens, though, and quickly hid themselves as I walked by, even though I didn’t go towards them. No chance for photos!
I’m happy to know where Beep Beep’s babies are, and that they are eating solid food now, too.
It’s good to enjoy the little things in life. Especially if those little things also happen to be furry and adorable! :-D
The Re-Farmer
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Feeding time!
I saw a couple of birds on the platform feeder that were behaving a bit differently, so I decided to start getting some pictures.
They were hopping back and forth quite a bit, but I managed to get a good shot of this little one.
Then I realized what was going on.
It was a baby, being shown how to eat at the feeder…
While also being fed.
So adorable!
The Re-Farmer
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A bit blustery out there!
First up, here are a couple of bird photos for you to enjoy. :-)
My husband got this purple finch at the feeder not long ago.
And I finally got a blue jay picture!
The blue jays have a habit of taking off before I can get to the camera, so these days, it’s a challenge to get any pictures of them at all.
This was another indoor day, for the most part. There were plenty of storm warnings for the southern province which, for us, translated to rain early in the morning, and now high winds. I had to go into town to pick up some prescription refills, and made a point of checking the yard out before I left. There were a few downs branches that were of little concern. In the areas of the maple grove I haven’t cleaned yet, I found myself looking at some branches and wondering, is that new? Or what that already there?
About the only good thing right now is the wind direction. If one of the trees by the house does come down, it’ll be fall away from the roof, instead of on it. Though, looking out my window at the trees behind the storage house, it’s the opposite. At least that building is empty and has no power.
Speaking of which…
The second tree care company came by on Monday, and I got the estimate emailed to me last night. It’s basically the same as the first company; $1500. Looking over our budget (barring any unexpected expenses), we should be able to get it done in November. Choosing the company is going to be a bit more difficult; they’re pretty equal in every tangible sense. One also does yard work and landscaping, which I would want to keep in mind for the future. The other does trees and nothing else.
So we have some talking to do and a decision to make. I’m just glad it’s something we can get done before winter, instead of waiting until spring. Though if we get some sort of cash infusion (like the shares the housing co-op we moved away from still owes us!), it would be good to get it done earlier.
The Re-Farmer
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Trees: first quote
Goldfinch on our platform feeder.
I called two companies to get quotes about clearing our power lines, and removing the two trees that are a risk of falling on our roof. One called this morning and will be coming out on Monday. The other came today, so I have one quote now.
There are a LOT of trees that will need to be cut back. There are the first group of trees in the south yard, the ones in the maple grove to the north of the house, the ones by the second power pole in the main garden, and finally the ones at the fence line as the lines exit the property. One of the dead spruce trees will be taken down completely, as it is a risk for falling onto the lines, plus the two maples at leaning over the roof will be taken down completely. They will be bringing a chipper for clean up, and after talking to him about that, I’ve said that we will keep the chippings. He said the size of the chips are appropriate for composting, so that’s perfect for what I’ve got in mind for various areas.
Altogether, the quote is $1500 (plus, I assume, taxes, to about $1700 total). For the number of trees they’ll be working on, I find this very reasonable, and we would be able to come up with the funds to get it done in the fall, rather than have to wait until spring. Though when he saw the maple with the rot in it, he was visibly surprised that tree is still up, and was saying it might be better to not wait until fall! I told him it’s been like that for years, and yeah, I’m in agreement with him on that. But we will do it when we have the money.
So that’s one down!
Nuthatch on platform feeder.
After we get another quote on Monday, we will make a decision on which company to use and start setting aside funds.
I will be much relieved when this is finally done!
The Re-Farmer
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Critters, and technical difficulties
First up, I want to share a couple of photos from our living room camera.
This one was taken a few days ago. With the birdseed running out, there have been much fewer visitors of late. Which means that, of the ones that do show up, they are less active and easier to get photos of. :-)
While doing our Costco shopping, I made sure to pick up a bag of mixed bird seed. I even figured out how to pop the roof off of the bird feeder, so I could fill it. I also added some seed to the platform part of the stand.
The birds haven’t really rediscovered it yet, but this squirrel did!
I know squirrels aren’t supposed to be good for feeders, as they eat so much of the seeds, but I really like these guys. They take cat or dog kibble, too. Back when this place still had a wood burning furnace, when it was time to gather wood from the big pile outside to throw into the basement, we would sometimes uncover a cache of kibble that the squirrels had hidden in the logs. :-D
My dad really liked the squirrels, too. Sometimes, he would sit on the concrete steps out the main entry and lie back in the sun and fall asleep. At least once, he woke up to find a squirrel on his chest, checking him out!
With another scorcher predicted for today, I headed out early to try and mow the lawn. I don’t like working with loud equipment in the morning, but I wanted to get it done before things got too hot. I got most of the lawn done, and was just doing the last couple of bits around the main garden, when I ran out of gas. After refilling it, the mower wouldn’t start.
While I was trying to get it started, I jostled the fuel line filter, and it popped off! I got it back on again, then got a screwdriver to loosen the clamp, push the filter nozzle as far in as I could, then tightened it again. Then I went back to trying to start the mower.
No go. Literally.
I ended up pushing the mower all the way back to the garage. My daughters and I headed into town in the afternoon, then back again soon after we returned (but for good reasons… ;-) ), so I wasn’t able to try again until almost evening.
It started beautifully.
I guess it just needed a rest!
I finished the last bit of lawn. Though it took me maybe 15 minutes to do it, it was about 30C out there, and wow am I glad I started early in the morning, when it was still relatively cool!
But at least that’s done, now.
And that’s the extent of outside work for today!! Looking at the forecast, it looks like early mornings, or late evenings, are going to be the only times we’ll be getting outside work done for at least the next two weeks.
The Re-Farmer
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More Gold
Today was another good day to get pictures of the goldfinches outside our living room window.
They are so fun to watch!
And from the looks of it, they find us fun to watch, too!
The Re-Farmer
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Father’s Day is for the birds!
A Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful dads out there! Especially to my wonderful husband. Thank you for all you do for us. <3
My husband has front row views of the bird feeders out our living room window, and has been getting some photos, as well. He got a bunch from yesterday.
The feeders had masses of goldfinches on them for the past while, with the occasional nuthatch popping by. Yesterday, they were outnumbered by another bird. I’d thought they were some of the ones we’ve been seeing for a while, until I could see the yellow in their wings.
From what I’ve been able to find, they are pine siskins – and they sure love the platform feeder!
This morning, the crowd of them was back. Just as I was getting up to take some photos, they got chased away by this guy…
Finally, I was able to get a good photo of a blue jay! For the past while, I’ve found myself wondering if they can somehow feel the camera’s sensor, because as soon as I try to focus on them, they fly off. :-D
I am thinking of looking over the area in front of the living room window to see if there is level ground closer to the house I can move the feeder to, so we can see them better without having to zoom in so much with the camera. :-)
The Re-Farmer
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Royal Colours
More goldfinches came, en masse – with a purple finch joining them for a bit!
My older daughter took the photos with the purple finch. :-)
The Re-Farmer 