When I was 12 years old and a full-fledged paperboy, one of the highlights of my morning route was to try to sneak up on the chipmunks at Nancy Young’s house. The Young’s had a rock wall as a landscape border and it was full of “munks”, the skitziest critters I have ever seen. They’d spot me coming and zip beneath the rocks in a flash. I have always found chipmunks to be interesting creatures … [Read more...]

My resident pair of blue birds laid claim to the birdhouse on my back fence back in December. Each day, they have come by to check on their property. There were a few scuffles with squirrels and chickadees along the way, but the nest is now built and I believe all the eggs are in place. Now it’s time for Mrs. Blue to do her thing, to keep the eggs warm for a couple weeks until the 4 or 5 chicks … [Read more...]

From Jill Smith, Fluvanna County   Says Jill: I always enjoy reading C’ville Buzz.  Thank you for taking the time to write all those articles weekly. I’m sure some of that is quite a chore! You do a great job covering many areas of interest to many people. I read your article about finding a thistle feeder and, having tried those, I wanted to show you one that I think is the best … [Read more...]

I am truly a doofus, as my wife constantly reminds me. But she’s right. Sometimes I think my brain is in the charging mode and not really plugged in. For example. A thistle sock I used last summer to feed finches was completely worn out, so it was off to Lowe’s for a replacement. Instead of buying another sock filled with thistle or nyjer seed, I bought a bag of finch food and a new, plastic … [Read more...]

Remember that old song, “I Love Onions”, by Susan Christie recoded in 1966? The lyrics went something like this: I don't like snails, or toads, or frogs. Or strange things living under logs, But, mmm, I love onions. I, too, love onions, especially spring onions and I planted three rows in my garden last Sunday. Can you believe this weather – planting stuff in your garden on a balmy day in … [Read more...]

This past fall and winter, we have been blessed with 7 bluebirds – one pair and one small flock of five. Each day, they visit my feeder with the sunflower hearts, and from the looks of things, we will again have a nesting pair of bluebirds in the birdhouse on the fence, overlooking my small garden. Last week, I saw a squirrel scampering along on the top of the fence when, suddenly, he was … [Read more...]

As readers of CvilleBuzz well know, I love to fiddle in the backyard with my small vegetable garden. I find it to be almost a spiritual endeavor. To sew a tiny seed, seemingly dead, into the moist earth and watch it come to life, pushing its way through the heavy dirt in search of sunlight is simply amazing to me. Any actual plants or fruits of my gardening labor are incidental. I just love to … [Read more...]

Funny, but I usually don’t see my small flock of snowbirds until it actually snows. Then they show up, about 8 or 9 birds. Cold weather seems to draw them to our feeders, though I have never seen a snowbird (a dark eyed junco) actually at the feeder, but always on the ground. Sparrows are the same way, preferring to scratch and forage with both feet, like a chicken. Because of that behavior, I … [Read more...]