Recreating a native habitat has been a dream of mine since I was about 18. It only took me 20 years, but I finally have two acres of land in the country with which to work (and play). My goal is to document the improvements I make to the property: restoring habitat & attracting birds and butterflies in addition to other wildlife.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Winter is for the Birds!
I'm not a huge fan of winter; for years now I've said I'd be happy if it were only two weeks long. Luckily, after buying our property, I seem to appreciate (and tolerate) it a lot better. Attracting birds to the yard sure helps. I love the activity and seeing the birds close up.
Out of Necessity
Although as a teenager and into my early twenties, I drew a lot and, eventually, painted, I've had not inspiration to paint or draw for years. I do enjoy photography now more than ever--as my posts here can attest. I did, however, end up drawing the other day...and, looking back, it came very easily--I guess it is like riding a bike.
After finding a dead female cardinal that had hit the door of the greenhouse, I came inside, found a photo of a hawk, drew it, colored it in, and taped it to the glass of the greenhouse door. This was the second casualty within about an month--the first was a chickadee (I'd hoped it was a freak accident, but with a second death I had to do something).
Here is what I came up with:
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After finding a dead female cardinal that had hit the door of the greenhouse, I came inside, found a photo of a hawk, drew it, colored it in, and taped it to the glass of the greenhouse door. This was the second casualty within about an month--the first was a chickadee (I'd hoped it was a freak accident, but with a second death I had to do something).
Here is what I came up with:
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January Highlights
There was snow on the ground the first week of January; some left over from the end of December and some newly fallen stuff in January--at least that is how I remember it I spent that week at the hospital with Jeff after his major surgery (triple bypass). Thankfully, they caught the blockages before he'd had a heart attack and now, a month later, he is recovering well.
January Thaw
At some point, mid-month, there was a thaw. The snow melted and the temperatures got into the 50's. I was surprised to see not only some flying insect, but also two woolly bear caterpillars (no big surprise), and a tiny grasshopper!
I also heard a frog jump into the pond water as I approached--I didn't actually see it, but what else would be jumping into the pond like that in mid-January?
The Deep Freeze
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The warm-up ended, snow returned, but then the temperatures dropped. We had a week of frigid weather with temps down to 4 degrees over night. I made sure to feed the birds a lot extra that week.
There was a two-day warm up, but the temps are dropping back into the 20's this weekend.
January Thaw
At some point, mid-month, there was a thaw. The snow melted and the temperatures got into the 50's. I was surprised to see not only some flying insect, but also two woolly bear caterpillars (no big surprise), and a tiny grasshopper!
I also heard a frog jump into the pond water as I approached--I didn't actually see it, but what else would be jumping into the pond like that in mid-January?
The Deep Freeze
.JPG)
The warm-up ended, snow returned, but then the temperatures dropped. We had a week of frigid weather with temps down to 4 degrees over night. I made sure to feed the birds a lot extra that week.
There was a two-day warm up, but the temps are dropping back into the 20's this weekend.
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