I have spent hours, days, weeks sitting quietly on the back deck. I read, watch baby birds, and I meditate on reducing my stress level. I have become more observant of the obvious. I notice new and exciting things about our neighborhood birds, I know where the nests are, and see the baby's feathers change slowly to adult colors. I can tell when a hawk is near by, the birds react and freeze in their spots. They stay frozen for up to 15 minutes until they hear the the coast is clear sound coming from the other birds.
This is the back yard that I dreamed of as a young child. Three seed feeders, two hummingbird feeders, two birth baths and in the winter suet. Of course I never thought about the racoons harvesting the humming bird's nectar, or the deer eating out hostas. The ants and spiders who always journey through our house.Then there is the occasional mouse nest in the cars. This year I had a hornet nest in my right side mirror and a nice big nest in my trunk. The stings hurt my pride and my trust in nature. But we go on.
The skunks usually keep a low profile. Turkey's love to dig in my herb garden in the spring when the perennials are very tender. One woodchuck appear this spring and then we never saw him again. Good news. They can clear out a garden overnight.
We no longer see any honey bees in our yard. Miss these creatures. Years ago, we were one of the many beekeepers in the area.
The dragonflies have been few this year. Also, the butterflies have be very limited. Could be the extreme heat? No shure. We do have an underground nest of miniature bumble bees.
In this back yard, it is so easy to follow the seasons, come and go. Birds migrate, baby turkeys appear, hummingbirds all disappear overnight to migrate south.
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