With all the busyness that surrounds the holidays, I seem to have lost my blogging momentum. But I thought I could at least share a few pictures from our backyard.
Starlings enjoying a feast of crab apples
Digging a hiding place in the snow for a future snack
Patting the snow down to cover the hiding place
And searching for more treasures to bury
When we bought this house, almost 24 years ago, there was only one oak and one maple in the backyard. Wanting more privacy, we lined the perimeter of the backyard with trees and shrubs. It has given us so much enjoyment to watch all the birds, rabbits, and squirrels that have found shelter and food in our "privacy fence."
i bet! nice nature area. :)
ReplyDeleteLove your snow... Great pictures, Linda... We haven't had much snow--but it has been cold...
ReplyDeleteI had a Pileated Woodpecker at my feeder this morning. Gorgeous bird.
Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
Betsy
It's so interesting how these animals all fit into nature perfectly. If only humans could say the same thing. Lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to plant all those trees and shrubs! I enjoyed watching the little squirrel carefully choosing his hiding place. We are seeing more starlings now; they had left us for a while. I hit a blogging snag around the holidays as well. Just too much family drama and stuff going on to focus. I hope you get your mojo back soon. Well, I think you're off to a good start here. Love seeing all your wildlife.
ReplyDeleteYou have your own park to enjoy. I had fun watching a squirrel digging at the frozen ground the other day. He ran when he realized i was going to take a picture.
ReplyDeleteTheresa - Now, if we just had a pond like yours... :)
ReplyDeleteBetsy - The pictures aren't the best because I opted to stay inside and shoot through the window. It was cold outside! I'll be looking forward to seeing your photos of the Pileated Woodpecker.
Thank you, Stephen.
Gail - We were going to put in a wooden privacy fence, but there were restrictions on that because we have a corner lot. No restrictions on shrubs, though. We've been so glad it worked out that way.
Steve - Yes, we do. And we love it. I wondered if that squirrel realized that his little "hidden" snack would be sitting right out in the open when the snow melted. But that hasn't happened yet and may not for awhile. Maybe he'll come back and eat it before the melt comes.
It must have been fun to watch the squirrel, Linda. :)
ReplyDeleteOnce I read in a magazine that if we want to help birds survive winter we should plant bushes offering berries during winter rather than feed the birds with seeds. Well, different birds have different needs but the advice made me realise that the berries are not only beautiful but also useful.
Petra - Yes, squirrels are very entertaining. We have loved having that crab apple tree because the birds and squirrels enjoy it all winter. And the evergreen trees provide good shelter for the birds. It's almost like an apartment house complex out there. :)
DeleteYou got some neat pictures of the squirrel in the snow. Your living privacy fence was a wonderful idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks, George. We've often thought how glad we were that we didn't go with the plain wooden fence.
DeleteThat's exactly the kind of fencing we're looking for in a home. Only we're too old to plan it now.. it has to pre-exist. :) Lovely shots, Linda. Are those spindle berries in the last image?
ReplyDeleteHilary - It really didn't seem to take our "living fence" that long to become effective. Of course, maturity takes a lot longer, but we were getting critters the next year after we planted it. The evergreens were about 6 feet tall when planted. They must be 30 feet or more now. Sunlight makes all the difference. As for those berries...darned if I know. They don't seem to be as pretty as the spindle berries you have posted pictures of. Here's a link to a post with a more close-up look: http://tobeholdthebeauty-al.blogspot.com/2011/01/back-yardagain.html.
Delete