by Susan | Sep 26, 2020 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
A gray autumn day brightened for a few house hours allowing me to work on the porch (under a blanket) for a bit. Somehow laboring away on my computer while outdoors makes it feel less like work. Camera at the ready I enjoyed the Chickadees zooming in and out. Happy...
by Susan | Sep 21, 2020 | On the Farm
This last weekend of summer, I spent two glorious afternoons on the porch. The days are starting frosty, warming up to tolerable by mid-day. Sadly, I took down and packed away the porch screens until next Spring. As much as I loved being able to live on the porch this...
by Susan | Sep 14, 2020 | On the Farm
Since returning in mid-August from the college drop-off in Ohio, it seems like Autumn has made an early appearance. Today, when it felt warmer outdoors than in, I moved my “office” back to the porch. Gidget was first to alert me that we had an unexpected...
by Susan | Sep 7, 2020 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
I haven’t taken many bird photos this summer; the porch screens interfere with the opportunities. Yet today’s show outside had me washing the sole kitchen window in which I’d left the screen out. A couple of late summer ruby-throated hummingbirds...
by Susan | Jul 24, 2020 | On the Farm
Sitting here last night snoozing through yet another tv show, I woke to a clanking sound outside. My bird feeder pole is about 10-12 feet from the window, tucked between the house and the woods for optimal photograph opportunities. Lately, a giant raccoon has been...
by Susan | Jul 14, 2020 | On the Farm
This weekend I was following the dragonflies around the yard and landed at the duck pond. A passel of Common Whitetail Dragonflies provided lots of entertainment. And then I noticed all the floaters in the pond and looked a little closer. Tadpoles. What have to be...
by Susan | Jun 22, 2020 | Garden, On the Farm
My favorite thing about my disorganized, overgrown, under-tended flower garden is the Korean lilac mom gave me years ago. Planted from cuttings, they’ve grown into lush 4′ bushes circling my birdfeeder. It blooms for all but a week in June. For one...
by Susan | May 9, 2020 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
May 9 and the weather forecast called for snow. A polar vortex they say. I can’t imagine what my first hummingbird of the season thought of this turn of events. In this one it looks like he’s thinking WTF! My sentiments exactly.
by Susan | May 7, 2020 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
It was so beautiful yesterday that I spent my morning working on the porch. I made it through a Zoom meeting and another couple of hours of work before the sun slipped behind the clouds, chilling things down. It was absolutely lovely. No bugs. The wind chimes were...
by Susan | Apr 18, 2020 | On the Farm
Saturday morning visitors enjoying a peaceful nibble by the pond – until Gidget saw them and scared them off. I wonder if they could be the same mama and teen pair from last fall?
by Susan | Apr 8, 2020 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
This morning, I spent a good fifteen minutes sitting on the floor by the French door watching a flock of Robins in the yard. I don’t recall ever seeing more than one or two visiting. This one was quite concerned about threats in the sky. They sure work hard for...
by Susan | Feb 24, 2020 | On the Farm
Pull up a chair and enjoy this morning’s entertainment. Paul gave me a bird feeder for Valentine’s Day. While the birds have been slow to enjoy it, not so for the squirrels! There were quite a few visitors today. This big grey. And his girl. This...
by Susan | Nov 10, 2019 | On the Farm
While making breakfast this morning, I spotted this deer grazing in the yard between the house and the pond. I quietly, stealthily, went for my camera and was able to snap a few pictures through the French doors before Gidget discovered we had company. I love the...
by Susan | Aug 25, 2019 | On the Farm
T-1 day. Our last day of the summer before taking Hannah back to college. We spent a few hours in our happy place on this most glorious of summer days. After walking the beach, we parked ourselves of the sand and could have stayed all day if we’d but had the...
by Susan | Aug 24, 2019 | On the Farm
Last month, Hannah and I began collecting Monarch caterpillars. We set them up in a screened in box on the porch and cared for them with Milkweed scavenged from throughout town. The caterpillars still in our garden ate every leaf of all of my Milkweed – all...
by Susan | Jul 23, 2019 | On the Farm
Monarchs Butterflies are so fanciful dancing about the Milkweed as if they haven’t a care in the world. They seem to flit about with no rhyme or reason and are difficult to photograph (in focus) during flight. For the past two summers, Hannah and I adopted a few...
by Susan | Jul 7, 2019 | Ducks, On the Farm
Doodle, our littlest Blue Swedish duck has been broody for about three weeks now. We’ve watched her move her nest from one corner of the coop to another corner with the help of our “ducky cam.” We started noticing eggs that may have been pushed out...
by Susan | Jun 23, 2019 | On the Farm
Our new bunny visitor is this young cottontail rabbit (I think). She’s much smaller than the rabbit we typically see hanging around. This little visitor and took up residence on the porch for the afternoon.
by Susan | Jun 18, 2019 | Ducks, On the Farm
For the second year in a row, we have a broody chicken. And no rooster. Hannah took pity on chicky mama and tucked a few duck eggs under her with hopes that she can finally hatch a baby. What we’ll do if this works, I don’t know. Do the ducks stay with the chickens?...
by Susan | Jun 3, 2019 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
This evening’s visitor. He’s not one of our regulars. Which makes the sighting a treat.