Planting an Alder

I actually worked out in the yard for a bit today.

I ended up planting an alder that I kept in a large pot for too many years.  The deer have nibbled on it through the years, so it is still rather small.

To keep the deer from finding it, I decided to stick some dried asters in the ground to help disguise it.  I'm out of fencing.

Not too bad for the end of December.   :)

Too bad that the second half of summer and well into the fall, there was so much rain--nearly daily--that I got almost nothing done in the yard...until now.  :)

Another Moving Rocks Post

 With all of the rain we've had--I swear it has been four months with only an occasional day with part sun...and, more recently one full day of sun...and, twice, two days in a row without rain (or only in the morning or overnight).  So, with that, and working my regular job, an interpreting assignment twice a week, and Jeff and I teaching a class one day a week, there has not been much time for me to do much of anything outside.  :(

So, I was so happy that the weather cooperated, today, on my only day off during the week...and thrilled that I pushed myself to change into work clothes and go outside.

I finally got around to hauling some more of the rocks that I got over the summer.  My goal is to create some natural-looking rock outcroppings along the slope that leads to my pond & streambed project.  I'm hoping I can create a cliff-like look.

Nothing is set in stone yet. ;) ...but I got a chance to play around with some possible groupings.  It needs a lot, lot, lot more work to make it look right...but it felt great to get out and WORK! 

I plan to put down some rubber roofing under the rocks, create cliff-like outcroppings, and a sandy soil over the rubber roofing, and add scree around the rocks.  Here's hoping that I can make it look natural...and create a nice-looking spot for a streambed and waterfall(s).

I stayed out until dusk became rather dark.  I've missed being out there...and I'm hoping to get in better shape again.  Here's hoping I can do more before the ground freezes here.  Then, once winter hits, I hope I enjoy the reprieve.

Hauling Rocks

After leaving the rocks I brought home (back in August) where I dropped them, today I began hauling them to the backyard slope...where, eventually, I will piece them together (the best I can) to create the look of a rocky cliff outcropping.   My goal is to create a rocky cliff with a stream and waterfall ...as l running through it.

Here are pics of the cliff where I got them...

Here is a little inspiration from a local, natural stream:

 Here are about 1/3 of the total I collected.   I dropped them mostly haphazardly on the slope above the pond.

Too bad I didn't get at least twice as many rocks...but, hopefully, the final result will look natural.

A few rocks seem to naturally fit together, but time will tell if I have an eye for piecing this puzzle together.

Rocks!

Although I dug the main pond (Phase II), put down the liner, and filled it, I have yet to disguise the liner.   We have be inundated with rain for weeks at a time.  The day or two of sun that we have gotten have been wickedly humid.  I've done little those days...normally trying to catch up on cutting grass and keeping the paths mowed.  

I have been wanting to get more rocks for the area surrounding the pond.  For a while now, I have passed a place along a main road that is taking a backhoe to a rocky hillside.   I've been wanting to ask for rocks--finally getting a sunny day (and temps in the 70s with low humidity), I finally drove out and asked.  I was thrilled to be told, "Sure  take what you want."

I made three trips out, each time getting bigger and bigger rocks--a few that I really struggled loading into my car.  Yes, my car.  I treat it like a truck at times like these.

I am a nut.  I really struggled with these.  Luckily, I'm a clever nut--I made "stairs" from other rocks.

I am hoping to piece them together in a way that suggests a rocky cliff outcropping.  If I succeed, it will look as though it has as always been there.  Well, after the rocks have weathered more.

I even started playing with these after I got them out of the car.

(Despite taking pictures of birds, butterflies, various insects, and the game cam capturing a few larger creatures, it took getting rocks to get me to post again!)

Hummingbird at Trumpet Vine

With our two game cams out if commission for a long while, we ended up buying a new one.  Today, we got to try it out.  :)

(...and Jeff was able to fix the problem with one if the old cams...so, we are back to having two of them.)

It was wonderful to get a clear video of our hummingbird visitor.  :)

Little Lady

I don't know if I have just not been watching, or what, but I haven't seen hummingbirds here for quite a while.  So, imagine my surprise when I saw one right outside my window several weeks ago (when the Penstemon digitalis was finishing up).

I encountered this little lady again, yesterday, while walking past the trumpet vine (that I inherited from a previous owner--it has only begun to bloom over the
past two years.

 Coming around the corner, I must have startled her...she took off ahead of me--probably the only reason I noticed.  Luckily, I had my digital

camera with me, and I zoomed in to snap some pics when I saw her alight on a branch of an elm tree.

I am glad to be seeing this little lady visiting...
and I hope she brings her mate and their friends--or their rivals...
I know how territorial they can be.

Old Encounter: A Blast from the Past

While searching my archived photos, I stumbled upon a video that I didn't even recall taking.  This is from a cherished encounter that I posted back in 2014.  Having this footage, allows the magic of that encounter to be relived again and again.

Years ago, I was taking pictures of a frog that was under my deck.  After a while, I got this feeling that something was behind me or something was watching me.  To this day, I don't know if I actually heard something or just sensed it.

I wasn't expecting to see anything, so, when I turned and came--nearly--face to face with a fawn, I let out a gasp.  The gasp startled the curious, little fawn.  It jumped back a bit.  It had startled me...but had I not reacted like that, I can only imagine that we just would have looked at each other for a while.   I tried snapping some pictures with my (get this!) flip phone.  They came out rather blurry.

The mother, seeing her fawn so close to "that strange man" huffed, calling her fawn to her.

Here is the ending of that most amazing encounter:

What Took me SO LONG!?!?!

Work on Phase II of my pond and streambed project has been very sporadic since buying a liner several years ago and starting breaking ground on Christmas day of 2015 (I believe.  I can't find a post about  it).  I guess my focus had been on the meadow--I figured the meadow was a much larger expanse than my pond...and I wanted to transform the yard big time.  The meadow progress has had its own pitfalls...hopefully I will post about that at a later date.

This spring, as I was looking forward to (longing for) summer vacation to start, I decided that this had to be the "year of the pond".  I cannot wait any longer.  I'm not getting any younger.  I am--somehow!--turning fifty this year!

Anyway, I have started, again, digging Phase II of my pond which I left undone in 2016.  I can't believe that I did not post here a few days ago--last week some time, when I came in exhilarated from the progress I had made.  My soil is loose and digging has been easy.  It feels good.  Makes me feel young. :)  I am confident now that I will fill it with water long before summer is over.  How I will manage to hide the liner and make it look as natural as possible is yet to be seen...but, I hope to do that as well.

My husband, Jeff, surprised me by researching pumps and filters while I was out digging.  We ended up ordering the pump, two filters, and a corrugated hose. :)  They arrived the other day--and, yet, I still didn't post! :-O

Getting pictures uploaded from my phone to my blog has been a deterrent.  So, here I am finally back on my desk top...hoping to have access to the photos I want to add.

This long rambling post doesn't do justice to the feelings of joy I feel knowing what a huge asset this pond will be to wildlife--and to my own peace of mind.  I love water.  I always have, I think.  I am drawn to ponds, lakes, and streams.  Having one in our own back yard--and all that it attracts is something I have wanted for 'forever'.  I am shocked and dismayed that it took me so long!  It seems so easy (so far) and the benefits immense! :)

(Pictures to follow--still having trouble accessing them.)

Encounters

Surprisingly, spotting a luna moth on our property, this evening, was not enough to get me to post...it should have been (I'm thrilled), but it took another (near) encounter to get me to pull up my blog and share:

Starring (in Order of Appearance)

(this is a work in progress...and incomplete post)

A Native Backyard:  Spring

Cast of Characters

(starring in order of appearance)

pussy willow
wild leeks (ramps)--leaves

spring beauty

Phlox subulata

Dutchman's breeches
fawn lily (still only leaves as of spring 2018)
bloodroot
spicebush

Robin

Although robins are quite common, and I rarely get too excited about them except maybe in the spring (although they are very welcome), over the years, I've noticed in a couple of photographs I've taken of them, that they can seem quite stately. 

They are a welcome sight after our long winter.  I am happy that they are comfortable around human habitation, and, although still a little wary, they often give me a chance to take some nice photos of them.

More Frequent Visitors

I don't recall squirrels being frequent visitors to our property.  Sure, I would see them occasionally, but, this year, they seem to have taken up residence.  Fine by me. :)

I enjoyed their antics earlier this year as winter was coming to a close, but spring was taking way too much long to break free from winter's grasp.  They have offered me a few opportunities for photos, but often these occur through a pane of glass.  I was fortunate today, to get these shots after spotting this little guy from the path through my "would be woods".

These are probably the best shots I've ever gotten of squirrels.  I love the profile picture with him coming down the tree trunk (a black walnut tree just a bit over the property line in the field behind our place.

He let me take several shots of him in different poses, before looking right at me (in the last pic) as if to say, "what are you looking at?" then taking off, apparently tired of the game.

Chipmunk

After an exceptionally long winter--a delayed spring, it is so nice to see so many critters out and about.  I am seeing more squirrels this year than I think  I've seen in the past.  A chipmunk or two have always been around...and it was nice to spot one again.  I'm guessing, he spotted me taking pictures of him through the window.

Latest Visitor

A northern flicker has been showing up in our yard recently.  While sitting in my new favorite spot (along a path I cleared last weekend along the wooded slope), I spotted him again, this time flying into the neighbors tree to perch a while before going back to foraging on the ground.

I wish the shots were clearer, but I like the look of the lichen covered trees in the background, the foreground branches, and the fact that you can see both his red, patch, black patch, and yellow tail feathers.

House Hunting 2018

After showing up at the end of February, I spotted the male bluebird today perched upon their favorite nestbox.  He could have been in the yard countless times between then and now without me having noticed.  He was a welcome sight on this gloomy day. :)

Early Return!

Today, my second day participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count, I strolled from the bay window over looking the back yard, in the the kitchen to view the side yard.  In the distance, I could see movement as the sun reflected from some light colored feathers.  I grabbed my camera.

After zooming in, it didn't take long for my excitement to grow.  I quickly realized that I was seeing a bluebird--then I realized there was a pair of them checking out the nestbox closest to the house.  We are fortunate enough to have had a pair of bluebirds here every year since I put up the first nestbox our first spring here (10 years ago).  This is not the box they usually choose, and it is too early to know if this is the one that they will use.  I am just thrilled to see them.

The funny thing was, it took me a couple of minutes to realize that I had to check the time and document them for the Great Back Yard Bird Count--maybe because they don't come to the feeders, it just didn't occur to me that these too are birds! ;)

Each year, I wonder how devastated I would be if they did not return and raise their young here.  Although we are experiencing several unusually warm days (40s and 50s--near 60 yesterday), we had an extended period of frigid weather earlier this year; I was afraid they wouldn't make it through.  So, today was an extremely pleasant surprise.  It has really felt like spring to me lately, today, even more so.  That said, the snow that is predicted for tonight has started falling outside the window beside my computer screen.

Bluebirds bring happiness...