Wild Wild Woods

Near sunset. We admired the bird tracks in the snow zig-zagging beneath the feeder. I wonder what maneuver made the wings on this...

Cold clear blue January sky glowing behind crisp branches making a frame for winter moon.

A pair of pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) live in our wild woods. They are very secretive so we have not located thei...

We put up a new "tray" feeder on a pole near the "barn" seed dispenser and suet cages. The chickadees seem to l...

We've seen a single Northern Flicker several times recently at the suet block and scavenging along tree bark in our wild woods.

As the temperatures drop, the birds fluff up their feathers to increase insulating qualities.

This year, the guild of birds wintering together in the wild woods includes this chickadee and the two northern cardinals behind it, all ...

Heavy frost on the grass this morning . . . this gray squirrel sat on a snag tree in the sun with toes around the branch, eyes not fully...

One of the brightest autumn jewels on the edge of the wild woods -- "burning bush" Euonymus alatus .

A group of Eastern Bluebirds Sialia Sialis , darted in and out of the Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa bushes. Surmising these bluebirds...

The birds are gathering into their winter "guild". Several of the woodpeckers are back again -- the Downy Woodpecker Picoides pu...

The group of blue jays we've seen this summer have joined the guild as winter approaches. The chickadees are so vocal while they enjoy ...

The woods and gardens are gorgeous! After several very cold nights, the leaves are changing to their autumn splendor. The black chokeberry b...

Peanuts (unsalted, in the shell) are a nice treat for many of the birds that gather into the winter guild here in the wild woods. The chick...

October, and we've had 3 snowfalls already. It melted quickly since the ground and foliage are still warm, but a rude awakening for th...

My gardens are surrounded by neighbors' flowery landscaped yards, one of which probably threw seeds to the wind for this result. Many ...

The birds love the "bubbler" that continuously moves water in the crockery bowl that serves as one of our bird watering sites. Thi...

The kitchen garden at the edge of the wild woods produces a precarious harvest of veggies when the grazing deer stay outside the rabbit fenc...

With four nectar feeders at different places around the yard, we often see the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) as they ma...

We've seen toads of all sizes this year. But this one, shown in my hand at the base of my fingers, is the smallest so far.

The young bluebirds fledged out of their nest today. We watched for hours as the adults fed them sparingly in the morning, then teased them ...

The new row of raspberry brambles we put in last year are bearing fruit -- delicious red, black, and golden raspberries. The three are a won...

The shady front corner is finally established with astilbes and hostas. In past years I tried a few other plants here but they did not li...

The bluebird hatchlings are nearly as big as their parents, and showing off their feathers. The adults are now bringing larger and more int...