Life and Wildlife

Back in the days when I used to have a full-time job, a big part of my world was outside the window from my home office. Lately, I’m in class often and it’s newsletter time for both the Great Spirit church and the Cherokees, so it’s like the old days again. I spend more than half my awake time in front of the screen, and thus, in front of the window looking out. Once I moved into this house and determined where the office window would be, I planted things I want to look at, and placed bird feeders on purpose, to keep myself entertained. You can tell which photos are three weeks old and which are newer, by the development of the plants. It’s definitely spring here.

There is someone new in the photo above. I took a closer look.

In the photo above, note the hummingbird feeder, half-filled with sugar water just visible outside to the left of the screen. Its hanger had broken, so I set it on top of the rock wall until I decided how to best continue using it. It sat there undisturbed for at least a month, and by pure coincidence, I was watching when Mr. Squirrel decided to go check it out. You can guess the next step.

I never get tired of looking. I’ve read your blogs and I know many of you are the same. It may be the same juncos that I see every day, but they still grab my heart. It may be the same ungrateful squirrels that constantly climb inside the bird feeder and spill everything out so the seeds get wet and the deer can eat them, but I can’t help myself and I still love the squirrels.

I planted that poor rhododendron the first spring I lived here, in 2016, but the soil at the base of the cedar tree has nothing in it for sustenance. The Japanese maple was planted only a year after the rhodie, and it’s small too. Some years they were barely alive, since the cedar sucks every drop of moisture in the summer. I need to give them more vitamins. I resolve this year to do better for them.

I am fueled by coffee as much as my restless drive to always be involved in something. This means I get up from my desk and walk to the kitchen often, to refill my cup. This is when I glance out the windows on the other side of the house, and see all my visitors in that direction.

I just realized that I still have not posted the story of the construction of a new little cage for my Small Hens. The one they moved to when they moved out of my house. I have the cage right off the deck so I can easily check on the babies when I go for coffee. I recently caught this funny photo of the babies watching a deer. Since January, deer activity at my place has dropped dramatically. There are days that go by when I don’t see a deer at all, and that is highly unusual. So when this deer came up close to the house to eat the apple tree, the Small Hens held still and silent and watched her.

Pedro and I built their pen out of PVC pipe, poultry netting, and zip ties. It was quick and fun to build. That’s a damaged inflatable mattress on top, that I’m using as a roof to make them feel more safe, to keep the rain off, and to provide some weight to keep the structure more stable. I’ll post the “Making Of” story soon. I think it’s pretty cool.

This morning I spotted my first spotted deer of the season. What a darling! They always are. In my delight to share the new fawn, I decided to sit down and share all my photos of the rest too. Thanks for coming by my place and sharing my morning coffee with me.