Oh Is it July?

June - Rain ..... July - Rain .... plants, trees, ground, birds all covered with raindrops.
Hummingbirds are here in full force - babies are beginning to leave their nests and come with their parents to the feeders and flowers. They haven't yet reached last summer's level of drinking four quarts of syrup a day but they are emptying two quarts a day already. As soon as I carry a feeder out the door the birds are humming over my head and drinking from the feeding cones before I can even get it properly hung on its hook.
Flowers are opening only to be drenched by the rain before evening falls. Many of the plants are actually standing in water. Yet they continue to share their beauty --- blooms such as this Beard-tongue Penstemon attract the humming birds and take my breath away.
Each morning and evening we have been visited by one of five bears, a lone yearling, a large male or a momma with her twin cubs. We hang our feeders on the side of the house to avoid encouraging their visits but we are on the trail that takes them from the river to the mountain top --- through the blueberries :)

Unknown Moth

Just came in from a trip to the nursery --- more plants for the deck and the garden :)
Discovered this lovely moth on our front door. Does anyone know its name? By the way- the front door is in the Upper Delaware River Valley of New York - if that helps with identification

The Winter of the Siskins

Winter days are days for bird watching from the comfort of a warm recliner. We have well over a dozen feeders up each year; thistle, black oil sunflower seeds, mixed grain and suet cakes attract a regular contingent of at least eighteen species each winter day.
I think this winter will be remembered as the time of the Pine Siskins (Carduelis pinus ).Many winters it is Goldfinches that mob the thistle feeders and we have just a few Pine Siskins although now and then a larger flock may come for a few days. But this winter our thistle feeders are usually filled with siskins - joined by only the occasional determined American Goldfinch.
A large flock of the siskins- several hundred birds - arrived in late fall and have remained in varying numbers all winter long. I’ve read that the Pine Siskin's winter visits to the United States occur mainly in years when the seed crop has failed in the boreal forests. They are acrobats, often hanging upside down, like titmice and chickadees, plucking seeds from hanging seedpods and cones.
The birds are so hungry and eat so rapidly there is a constant shower of thistle hulls falling to the ground. I expect we are going to find the soil under the feeders makes some unusually nice compost for our garden in a year or so. We have begun to wonder whether or not we will need to cut back on our groceries so that we can continue to supply our voracious visitors with Nyjer Thistle. Our siskins are eating their way through about twenty-five pounds of seed a week! Just like oil sunflower, the high oil content of Nyjer makes it an energy packed food that is highly desirable for any bird adapted to eating small seeds. Since it is shipped across the ocean from Ethiopia and India and has to be heat sterilized to kill out any weed seeds, it is rather expensive bird food but there is nothing else available that is as attractive to Pine Siskins and Goldfinches.
I understand that Nyjer is a native of Ethiopia and apparently it is not a thistle at all but is in fact a relative of the beautiful cosmos that we enjoy as a garden flower here in the United States. Our other winter residents have had to push their way through the crowds of siskins to receive their usual rations. We have moved a number of black oil sunflower seed feeders away from the thistle feeders so the other birds can have a chance at the food.

Siskin calls are amazing when one hears a large flock just outside the window. They have a short sweet call followed by a loud sharp buzzing zrreeeeet.

I had expected the siskins to head north as soon as the ground thawed and we had a few sunny days — although a few have gone - today our oak and maple trees are covered with pine siskins sitting among the deep red maple blossoms. Cornell Lab indicates that following a large irruptive winter fligh some individuals may stay near a dependable food source and breed far south of the normal breeding range. So, if the seed holds out, our siskins may be here for a while.

Today is the Day

This is it!!!
This is the day that Spring arrived in our corner of the world.

How can I tell it was today, not yesterday or the day before?

How do I know it isn’t arriving tomorrow?

There are certain signs of spring that are unmistakable.From my loft window I can see the deep winey orange-red of the first blossoms on the maple trees. A brilliant contrast against the deep blue of the sky and the dark colors of the evergreen trees.

Flats of seeds are sprouting under the grow lights in the basement. Lettuce, basil, parsley, sage, thyme, marjoram, tomatoes, peppers, delphinium, foxgloves, marigolds, coreopsis. Chipmunks have come out of their warm dry nests and are filling their cheek pouches to the bursting point, racing back and forth up and down the hill - considering the way they rush one would think they were having to prepare dinner for unexpected horde of guests.

When I saw that the maple buds had opened, I knew it was time to wander to the back side of the hill and search the club mosses for the buds or blooms of the Trailing arbutus. At first glance all I could see were shiny dark green leaves. But this search demands close inspection - nearly impossible as one ages to get down on hands and knees to search - luckily that wasn’t necessary today. A bright ray of sunlight picked out the blush of pink under the dark leaves. Ah, it must be spring.
Robins are scratching through the tiny new shoots of grass, searching for the worms that are waking and stretching in the first warm days.
Crocus decorate the walkway with a purple edging along the stairs into the lower woods.
One of the things I like best about crocus is that most of the critters leave them alone so they are beginning to naturalize in the garden.
Sixty degrees, bright blue sky and puffy clouds sailing past on gentle breezes add to the sense that spring has arrived. But the ultimate sign of spring is that Phoebes are calling from a dead branch of a large White Pine and perching on the power line just outside my kitchen window.

Just checking to see if Spring has arrived yet

Aging

"One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young." -- Unknown

Kody

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." - Ben Williams

Fourteen months ago - our lives were quiet and somewhat sedate. We had settled into a daily routine. I spent many days alone while my better half was working in the city. Wild birds were my favorite entertainment and we spent hours watching and photographing them. Now you must understand that bird watching is primarily entertainment - the photography is frequently an exercise in futility as the contrary creatures are often far beyond the reach of the lens of my camera or they choose to pose behind the biggest twigs or sticks to be found in the woods.

All of that changed the day Kody entered our lives. No more lingering under the down comforter; now Kody wants to join me. No longer do I bundle up and sit alone on the deck watching the turkeys scratch under the bird feeders or deer come browse on our favorite and most expensive viburnum. When Kody comes out on the deck the barking begins; these are invaders in his kingdom! He must proclaim for all to hear that he is in charge and they may only come into the yard with his permission which is only given from inside the house where he is no longer aware that they are nibbling away at seed and treasured plants.

This tiny three pound Pomeranian pup has grown to a seventeen pound armful much more like the breed’s ancestor the Spitz than the tiny Pomeranian I had expected. NO! I don’t want to send him back — well, at least not most of the time— not now that he is housebroken and has become part of the family.

This little Kody dog loves to chew. He mostly eats rawhide. Thanks to the inspiration of Hannah Hinchman (in her book “Little Things in a Big Country”), I learned to rub the rawhide with “Tillamook extra-sharp cheddar.” Usually he is delighted with his rawhide and settles down by my feet to munch contentedly ... of course here in the east it is very difficult to get Tillamook cheese so sometimes we must settle for a Vermont substitute :) Then there are the times when he reverts to his full stage of puppyhood and chews up his bed, pulling out great wads of stuffing before I even notice that he has changed from gnawing rawhide to ripping up fabric. My needle has been kept busy sewing up stuffed puppy toys, my goose down lap-robe, two of his beds - both were marketed as being good for dogs who have a strong chewing instinct. Now I am wondering if the marketers meant that the beds were easy to chew.

Everything chewable - which we have come to realize means everything - is now located at least three feet above the floor and more than a dog’s reach beyond all chairs and other furniture. All trash cans are now covered or enclosed; we watch with admiration as he figures out how to open them. Kody is strictly a gourmet eater; his favorite foods are Kleenex - either new or used, chicken, salmon, and dirty socks. When offered something like kibble he gives it a ceremonial sniff and looks at us with a look that seems to say “what do you expect me to do with that?” If pressed further he will simply turn his head to the side staring at nothing as if to say “kibble? We will not even discuss the subject.” Our trainer keeps reminding us that is important to keep track of who is training whom.
“I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren't certain we knew better.“ ~ George Bird Evans