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Here For The BirdBath Or Berries
A bird with lovely, lengthy songs. A mimic like Catbirds and Mockingbirds. A Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), a bird that comes ’round for the birdbath and the berries. I miss the Mockingbirds up here. I’ve never seen a single one at this elevation. They seem to prefer the lowlands. And I do miss the Catbirds…
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Brown Thrasher In The Birdbath
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum). An elusive bird that most often is found in dense bushes, brushing its long beak back and forth in leaf litter searching for a meal of insects. Most frequently I see Brown Thrashers while blueberries are just ripening. And timing was just perfect today. Many bushes with berries turning from soft…
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Soon
From blossoms in April, To green berries in May, To oodles in June, That become all sorts of play. Gets the attention of Towhees, And attracts Cedar Waxwings. They’ll fill up the freezer, And keep us fed all winter. While making our yard busy with nature. What could be better. _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like…
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Watching The Blueberry Crop
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) Eastern Towhees are here in the mountains of central Virginia year round. Their diet is primarily insects, seeds and berries and during the summer they tend, of course, to eat more insects. True bugs, beetles, ants, caterpillars, moths, millipedes, spiders and snails are all on the menu. But there’s something special…
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Brown Thrasher
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum). Quite the handsome bird. It makes me think of a Roadrunner with its very long tail and long curved bill. They’re here during their breeding season but are year round in the deeper Southeast. The feeders here at my cabin don’t tempt them, not even the suet, but they love my…
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It’s Blueberry Season
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Silver-spotted Skipper
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Blueberry Pie
Special occasions call for special things to happen in the kitchen. That’s why there’s blueberry pie just out of the oven. For dessert after dinner tonight. I make my crust from scratch. I think I could make the crust in my sleep. It’s very simple, very easy. For me anyway. Here’s the recipe. Pie Crust…
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Blueberries
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Cedar Waxwings, Part 2
At my cabin there are so many blueberry bushes. So many, if I had to guess, that guess would be maybe twelve mature bushes. Maybe. By the Fourth of July every year my freezer is filled with quart sized bags of berries to provide muffins, pies, pancakes, toppings for ice cream, scones and more pies.…