The Big Picture and Little Pleasures

Every once and awhile I do a post about the 'big picture' to show you what the scenery looks like around here.  This week seemed like a good time to do that again, since we've had some really beautiful weather.  But then a few 'little' things popped up this week, too.  So I decided to show you both.

I'll start with the 'big picture'.

I don't think I've ever shown this particular view before.  That's Elk Mountain in the distance.  This field, the farthest one from our house, is a good place to watch for white-tailed deer in the evening.  

Another favorite viewpoint of mine is from an opening between two fields.

The hills are just starting to get some color.

If you are in the woods though, it still looks pretty green.

Of course, I'm always enjoying views of the swamp, especially when there is a pretty reflection in the water.

One tree on the hillside is ahead of the rest in turning red.

The old dock is too rickety-looking for me to venture out on it anymore.  I wouldn't mind much if I wound up in the water but I don't want to dump my camera.

Now, for the 'little pleasures' of this past week.   First, I've had several sightings of our young Cardinal.  He's hanging around with his father.

While he has been in the crab apple tree near the bird feeder, I still haven't seen him on the feeder, but I'm very happy he's doing okay.  In fact, he's starting to look pretty sharp... though he needs to grow a few more feathers in his crest.

Another little pleasure from the week was that we still had some Monarchs around.  The next one looked very beautiful on the Goldenrod flowers.

I was happy to see a little group of Lincoln's sparrows passing thru on their migration.

But I was happiest of all to see the next little cutie!

This red-breasted nuthatch appeared at our feeders on September 24th and kept coming all afternoon.

I had fun taking its photograph and watching it enjoy the sunflower seeds.

We don't see them very often here.  In fact, the last one that we had at our feeders was in January 2009.  

During the fall and winter, they like to eat the seeds of conifers and are one of the irruptive bird species when those seeds are in short supply.  (Click here to read an interesting article about that by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology).

One winter we had a red-breasted nuthatch coming to our feeders that would eat out of our hands.  How I would love to have one stay around this year, but this one must have just been passing thru, as I haven't seen it again.  Of course, another one may come around (there's always hope!) and I'm thankful that this one visited, if only for an afternoon!

Meanwhile, we have lots of other birds at the feeders.  I enjoyed the simple pleasure of photographing this female red-bellied woodpecker showing her red belly... and seeing that she was smart enough to figure out how to get a seed from the 'small-bird only' feeder.

Now, time to feed the other hungry critters at my house.... 

Don't these faces give the message that it's time for me to stop writing this blog post and get them each a doggie biscuit?

Good-bye Summer '16

According to the calendar, yesterday was the last day of summer.  Nature's calendar is not always so precise.  But,  while I was looking thru my photos from this past week, I was feeling somewhat nostalgic about saying good-bye to summer.  

Would this be my last photo of a Painted Turtle this year?

Nice little flower, too!

The swamp was looking a bit like fall, even though we haven't had enough cool weather to make the trees and plants really start turning colors yet.

I doubt it will be the last time I'll see a great-blue heron this year, but you never know.  Oh, you didn't see the heron in the photo above?  He's in there!

Our 3 'yard hummingbirds' left, and for several days the garden was very quiet!  Monarchs were flitting around the flowers but they don't make any noise.

Even when they are in competition with bees.

Then on September 17th, I heard a familiar noise and saw a hummingbird.

I figured that one would be my last hummer for the summer.  (You knew I'd get one more photo of a hummingbird on the blog this year, right?!)

This little red squirrel appeared on September 21st to cheer me up from my 'summer's-almost-over blues'.  What a cutie pie!

This red squirrel still has its summer stripe!

And smart, too!  It was a warm day so he ate his end-of-summer picnic in the shade of the bird feeder.

"Thanks for the yummy lunch and cool shade, too!" 

My late-summer walk down by the swamp revealed more changing colors.

These Winterberries will be appreciated by the birds after the weather turns colder.  

Now, there's something to look forward to-- maybe I'll cut some to put by the bird feeder and see a Pileated Woodpecker eat them like last year. (See my post about it here.)

The Winterberry bushes are loaded with berries now.  These shrubs (which are actually deciduous hollies) love wet spots like along the edge of the beaver swamp. 

I'm not sure I like the name Winterberry for them, as they obviously have berries now, and it's just the beginning of Fall.  We'll enjoy Autumn before we think about Winter!  The bright red berries do stand out more in Winter when there is snow on the ground, of course.

Well, that's it for my 'good-bye' to Summer.  However, I do have one more photo to show you.  It's my 'Fall hummingbird'!  After an absence of hummingbirds since the 17th, we had a ruby-throated hummingbird at our feeder on both the last day of Summer AND the first day of Fall.  Now, that's something to enjoy in both seasons!

And Baby Makes Three? Or Four?

Hurrah!  Just a little while ago, Rhett and Scarlett brought a baby to the bird feeding area outside our kitchen window!  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here to read the story first).

Last evening, I was out for awhile and when I got home, my husband said the Cardinals had been at the feeder and had a baby with them.  So, today, I watched for them whenever I was near the window.  Off and on, I saw the adult Cardinals, but no baby.  However, I know that Cardinals often feed quite late in the day.  I kept watching even as it was getting dark.  My patience was rewarded!

7:10 pm

Above is Scarlett at the sunflower seed feeder.  Then came Rhett.

Those two photos show you how it really was getting dark.  The next group of photo have been lightened quite a bit.

The first one shows the mother with her reddish-orange bill.  The baby is below and behind her.

You can tell an immature Cardinal from a female by its dark gray bill.

These are the best pictures I got of the baby:

In this shot, you can see its gray bill pretty well.

And, finally, the only shot I got of the three of them together:

My husband thinks there could be another immature Cardinal, because the one he saw last night didn't seem to have much of a tail, while the one I saw does.  

I'll be keeping my eye out for all of them!

A Choose Your Own Ending Story

Every story needs a beginning, a middle, and an ending.  I've been wanting to write this story for awhile, but I've been hoping I could wrap it up with a great ending.  That hasn't happened, but I decided to go ahead with the story anyway and let you choose an ending.

The story begins with two Northern Cardinals.  Both very beautiful and talented, they fell in love... got married, and wanted to have children.  Unfortunately, as so often happens, that was a struggle.  I'm not sure of the details of their story before I meet them, but they were still trying to have babies in August, which is rather late in the nesting season.  But Cardinals have been known to have up to six nests in a single season, most of which are replacements after failed tries. 

Our leading male, whom we'll call Rhett (and the female will be Scarlett) helped by bringing some nesting materials, but Scarlett did the actual building of the nest by herself.  The location, which they chose together, was in a lilac bush. 

It was a lovely location if you like flowers, but perhaps not the greatest choice otherwise.  You see, there were people who lived quite close by.  Even a lady who occasionally looked out a window only a few feet from the nest.  Still, they were mostly hidden from prying eyes in the top, thickest clump of leaves.

Scarlet settled in on August 14th.  Rhett sometimes sang to keep her company and check to see if she was hungry.  She sat.... and sat...

...sometimes took a short break, then went back to sit some more.

She knew Rhett was always nearby.  Sometimes she even sang back to him.  Finally, on August 24th, she had babies to feed instead of eggs to sit on.

Scarlet and Rhett both searched the garden for good bugs to feed their children, and were feeling lucky that the lady who lived in the house decided to put some sunflower seed out for themselves to eat.  That made life a bit easier.

Although August 25th was rainy and cold, so the babies (there were two) were hungrier than ever and had to be kept dry, too.

Scarlett in the rain

Rhett and Scarlett both flitted in and out of the lilac bush bringing food as best they could.

Not sure what kind of caterpillar or insect Scarlett was bringing this time (this was not the easiest story to photograph!).

The babies grew very quickly.  Though they are mostly hidden from view, on August 26th, they looked like this:

Two days later we still can't see much.

Nor can we on August 29th.

By this time, Scarlet and Rhett were looking a little worn out! 

It's hard to take care of newborns and keep up your appearance, although they were probably molting, too.

But they were committed to each other and to their family.  They kept the food coming and watched over their nest. 

Finally on August 30th, only 9 or 10 after hatching, the first baby left the nest.  Baby number two waited a little bit longer, and it happened that the lady from the house was watching.

This lady had been very careful not to disturb the Cardinal family, but she was happy to be able to see the little one for a few moments as it hopped around in the bush.

What she didn't expect was for the young Cardinal to make its first flight right over to the railing and to land a couple of feet from her.

Well, hello!!!

"Chirp, chirp!"

Rhett and Scarlett must have been attending baby #1 or off having something to eat, because they weren't scolding either this baby or the lady for being so close to each other.

"I don't have much tail yet, but I'll grow one soon".

The lady was wondering what she should do.  She hadn't moved a muscle since the baby landed there except to press the shutter button on her camera.

Then the baby flew the few feet back to the lilac bush, so everything was okay.

That was the last time the lady saw the babies.  Rhett and Scarlett have been stopping by at her bird feeder in the early morning and late evening for a quick bite to eat.  

What is the ending to the story?

Cardinal parents usually feed the babies for about 10 days or so after they fledge -- longer the later it is in the season.  It's been longer than 10 days for these birds, but it's also quite late in the season, so maybe they will still come to the bird feeders, too?  Or maybe they have been victims of the Sharp-shinned Hawk who has been hanging around the yard?  Something else could have happened to them... there are many dangers out there for young birds. 

Seeing a young Cardinal at my bird feeder would be a happy ending.  For now, though, the whereabouts of the babies remains a mystery.  

Rhett's not talking.