It's Snowing Again

These goldfinches are as happy about it as I am.

Snowy Day

Winter has arrived in our back yard:

Grouse Display

There were grouse everywhere in northern MN where I was camping at Bear Head Lake State Park. I was watching a female ruffed grouse when a male pranced in on display. She was apparently less impressed than me as she hopped up into a tree. He pranced around shaking his feathery mane, lifting one leg and then the other. About 15 minutes later another male came in also displaying. They danced around the tree where she was perched, completely oblivious as I watched and walked around them taking pictures.

Backyard Visitor

Last week I spent a few days in northern MN camping, hiking, and enjoying the wildlife. This morning the wildlife visited our house. I watched this eagle sail over the house dogged by crows before landing in a neighbor's tree.

On the Nest

My Mallard is on the now on the nest pretty much 24/7. I saw her last evening under one of the bird feeders for a few minutes eating then she was back on the nest. She is well protected by the wood pile and the straw that she has piled up around her. I can't get a picture of her except like this one, using a mirror to view out the window - which is above my head - of the back garage door.

Spring Clean Up

Spring has come early to Minnesota; warm weather in March has us running about two weeks ahead of schedule. I have been slowly making my way around our gardens cleaning up last year's perennials, removing straw from around the more than 50 shrub roses we have planted and trimming back the dead branches.

There is one area just off the brick patio out back that I haven't touched yet.

What you are looking at here is my winter wood pile that I keep on the patio for outdoor fires. Immediately to the right of it is a small bed that has our only two hybrid roses as well as an herb garden of perennial lavender, thyme, and lemon balm. In Minnesota hybrid tea roses need to be buried completely underground using the Minnesota Tip Method. I usually bury these two but we were back and forth to PA in the late fall as Mary Ann's father declined and I didn't get it done. I piled some straw around them and then we were blessed with heavy snow. I piled it high on the roses and was pleasantly surprised to find them alive this spring.

In any case I usually clean up this area first since it is right off the deck and patio, but not this year. Here is why:



One of our resident Mallards has chosen this spot to lay her eggs. It's kind of amazing to me that she doesn't seem to spend time on them during the day but she comes in every evening and spends the night. Every year Mallards lay eggs somewhere on our property or on a neighbors. They never make it; crows or foxes or skunks get the eggs. We will see if these fare any better this year.

When the Economy is Bad...

HT: Christianity Today Blog

Snow Days

Heavy snow in the east makes the evening news, but here in the north snow is a minor nuisance for driving when it is falling and otherwise a part of everyday life. I love the snow. I can't imagine living in warm climates where there is none. This is my idea of a white sandy beach:















I was out snow-shoeing at Ritter Farm yesterday. The temperature was 15 degrees. The sun was out. There is nothing quite like the feel of cold weather. You know you are alive when you feel the cold air on your face and in your lungs as you inhale. And you also know that without proper clothing and protection you could pretty quickly not be alive. My hands were numbed in just the few minutes it took me to get my snow shoes on. It didn't take long walking to warm them up and by the end of my walk I was wet with sweat and carrying my gloves.

Our snow of a couple days ago had freshened everything up. I should have had my camera along the day before when there were no other tracks and when the groomed trail had just been refreshed.















I spooked a deer out of its bed but couldn't get the camera on it before it was out of sight. I apparently missed an angel touch down as well.

In the Garden Today

Butterflies and Hawks in the backyard.

In the Garden Today

Another Nepeta in the foreground with 'Moonshine' Yarrow blooming in the background.












I seem unable to enlarge this photo, but there is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the feeder.

In the Garden Today

This is one of about a half-dozen members of the Nepeta (catmint) family that we have in our garden. They are just coming into bloom now. Every year I have to divide this particular plant in half because it spreads so fast that it would take over the entire bed it is in within just a couple of years. It stays put, though, because when it starts to bloom the hummingbirds begin showing up in force.


Hostas are really beautiful right now. This one is "On Stage" and it is aptly named at 3 feet high and 3-4 feet across.










This is "June" with "Guacamole" on the left and an unknown - to me -member of the Hosta family on the right.






We have a crop of baby squirrels in the garden feeding at the base of the bird feeders but also working diligently to try and defeat the squirrel-proof design of the feeders. They have fresh bushy tails and are as yet unafraid of picture-taking humans like me.



Finally, when is a wild flower a weed? When it shows up unbidden in your garden. But since Mary Ann hasn't planted her annuals in the front of this bed yet, I allowed this Bladder Campion to grow. Today is its last day, though, since it is past its flowering prime and is starting to drop its seed-laden bladders to the ground.

At the Feeder

I went out to fill this feeders this evening and this little redpoll didn't want to leave. It hopped to the ground and stayed at my feet while I filled the feeder and then flew back up when I finished.

Let it Snow

It's pelting it down this afternoon. The goldfinches, redpolls, and the female cardinal are barely visible a few feet away.

Shrike Attack

I looked out the window into my backyard yesterday and saw something I had never seen there before. A Shrike was feeding on what appeared to be a female Cardinal. I have seen Shrikes in the wild before. I have never seen them in my yard and never seen them carrying out their distinctive kind of predatory behavior. Shrikes are predatory songbirds that often impale their victims on thorns. They will leave them there to return later to feed.

There are two varieties: Northern and Loggerhead. Northern Shrikes winter in Minnesota so this is likely what I was watching in my yard. We have had extensive rabbit damage of our shrubs this winter - I wish we had more large predators in the neighborhood - and the Shrike had used the chewed-off stem of a Chokeberry as its thorn.

I watched it through my binoculars for a few minutes then attempted to take a picture out the back door of the garage. It eyed me for long enough to capture two shots with my very inadequate (for nature photography) camera and then it pulled the Cardinal off the stem and flew off.

Bunnies

On a typical winter day the bunnies assemble under the birdfeeders (or in this case under the sparrow trap under the feeder) in the afternoon for feeding. Today is a snow day and I caught this one outside the window; he didn't look like he was enjoying the snow.

Nesting Season

Robin in my backyard and eagle at a lake nearby.