They finally left this past week: Our resident hummingbirds, which have graced our sugar-water feeders for the past several months. We worried that they may have stayed too long in Virginia and perhaps our feeders were tempting the tiny creatures to overstay their visit. Not to worry. Just before the first frost, our hummers headed south. I wish them Godspeed. Here are some hummingbird … [Read more...]

As I mowed the grass last week, I noticed tons of crickets scampering to get out of the way. “Run away! Run away!” I imagined them yelling to one another, Several times, I stopped the mower so the little insects could leap to cover. In the house, if I see a cricket, I catch it and release it outside. It’s bad luck to kill a cricket, you know. I’ve always had a fondness in my heart for these … [Read more...]

I don’t know about you, but I usually think about the bald places in my lawn in the spring, when the lawn starts to green up. So I plant grass in the spring, which is often a waste. The time to plant grass is right now, when it’s cool weather, but still some sun. Boy did I luck out a few weeks ago. Last spring, I had planted some grass seed near my backyard fire pit (where I had incinerated any … [Read more...]

When it comes to backyard gardens, timing isn’t the only thing – it’s everything. Looking back, my timing was way off for my 2015 garden. I always try to get both an early crop and a later crop since my garden is relatively small – about 14 by 50 feet. Still, if the weather cooperates and I can plant when I need to, I can get very nice production from my small plot. In 2014, I planted my … [Read more...]

Boy, did I ever get a cussing out last week. I was sitting on the patio in my back yard when a tiny chickadee put together a long string of four letter chirps, telling me in no uncertain terms that I was sitting too close to his favorite feeder and would I please move away a little. I did and the scolding ceased as Mr. Chickadee picked out a coice sunflower seed, flew to a nearby limb and deftly … [Read more...]

Sometimes we become so accustomed to a thing of beauty that we overlook it. Then one day it snows, and against a backdrop of pure white there appears a cardinal adorned in red splendor. Then we remember again just how lovely these special birds are. We have been blessed with at least 5 pairs of cardinals that frequent our yard, birdbaths and feeders. I believe they are drawn to our area because … [Read more...]

I noticed him a couple weeks ago when I was bringing my morning paper in the house. He (maybe she) had spun a web extending from the eave over our small deck down to a gatepost below. Inside the web there appeared to be what was the remains of a moth. Yet, in two hours the web and its contents were completely gone. Vamoose! It turns out that Hairy, our resident spider, is a Spotted Orbweaver, … [Read more...]

I was sitting in the back yard last night puffing on a cigar and reading a two-week old Sports Illustrated when two bullets flew across my head. Feathered bullets. Tiny feathered bullets. Hummingbirds. We have a hummingbird feeder near my chair and one little hummer was an uninvited guest. The other one – the Alpha hummer – had staked his claim on the feeder and that was that. They may be small, … [Read more...]

As a backyard birder, I stick to my claim that the best way to attract birds to your yard is with fresh water. This is true summer and winter. Obviously, birds are attracted to heated water sources in the winter when the temperature drops below freezing and water is not available, but our fine-feathered friends are also drawn to baths in the summer. Birds, unlike five-year old boys, like to … [Read more...]

When I was in college I drank Old Crow bourbon. It was all I could afford, but it was (and still is) actually a good value and a decent bourbon. I currently have three old crows in my backyard. Not liquid crows, but feathered ones. They stop by daily to dine on scattered birdseed and I welcome them to my yard. While crows can be pests, especially in a farmer’s cornfield, they are handy to … [Read more...]