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Lovely Scene To Wake Up To
February 6, 2025 It was forecasted and it sure did happen. A totally gorgeous sight to wake up to. That is, wake up to after the transformer just a couple hundred feet away blew up. Thank goodness for the generator which came on right after the power went out. Oh but what a delightful sight.…
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Sharp-shinned Hawk
February 5, 2025 What a surprise this afternoon after I refilled the birdbath. I was back inside when I noticed a Bluejay sized bird fly into the garden, then up into the Flowering Dogwood. Certainly not a Bluejay, just that size. A Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus). These hawks prey upon small birds for the most…
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Box Elder Samaras
February 4, 2025 Box Elder (Acer negundo), a species of Maple that is native to much of eastern North America and in many scattered areas throughout the rest of the continent, all the way south to Guatemala. There is even a Box Elder County in Utah. These are seeds of Box Elder, called helicopters or…
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An Emerging Redbud
February 3, 2025 One determined tiny Redbud (Cercis canadensis) trying its best to survive. Emerging from the leaf litter. Hanging out above the leaf of a Chestnut Oak (Quercus montana). In looking for an answer as to why the leaf of this small seedling would be red and not green, I find an answer in…
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Two Cardinals
February 2, 2025 Two Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) in a Flowering Dogwood tree (Cornus florida) about two weeks ago, puffed up against the very cold temperatures. That day, and today, quite similar. High temperature for both days only creeping to the mid-thirties. Cardinals are monogamous, staying together from the mating season through the winter. Some Cardinals…
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Happenstance
February 1, 2025 Happenstance with commentary. _______________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
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A Sign
January 31, 2025 Just outside Tucson, Arizona. Caution. No kidding. Mountain Lion (Felis concolor). _______________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
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Berries That Are Loved By Birds
January 30, 2025 When I was little our backyard backed up to oodles of woods. I played in those woods many hours during the week. And of course there was lots of Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) too, though I managed to escape getting the horrible rash until I was an adult. I knew the plant…
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Northern Flicker Showing Off Its Yellow
January 29, 2025 A Northern Flicker (yellow shafted phase)(Colaptes auratus) proudly showing off his yellow. Sometimes I’m fortunate and get to see it, other times it is hard to tell why they are called yellow shafted. This a male. You can tell by the presence of that black mustache. He’s sitting at a cluster of…
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Often At The Birdbath
January 28, 2025 A winter resident here. One that thoroughly enjoys the birdbaths. A Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus). Winter or summer they often find their meals as they forage on the ground. Insects during the summer and berries during the winter. No interest in the seeds I put out. But wonderful to see them so…