The Grackles Stop

On Thursday, Miles stepped out onto the back deck and discovered hundreds of Grackles in our yard. They filled the chokecherry tree and the drive and the campground and the shop yard. We haven't seen any since then so they must have been on their way somewhere.

Embracing Change

Heliopsis 'Loraine Sunshine', monkshood and Linda's red daylily are just a few of the new plants in my garden this season. I also reduced the size of the sun gardens by more than half and surprisingly, I am really enjoying that because it has meant that it is almost always completely weed free! Taking the rock edge away where that garden meets the lawn has also made it easier to keep a clean edge. Overall, I am happy with all of the changes in the garden this year and am planning even more. Today I have been clearing out at the front of the house for my new rose garden. The excitement of the day, despite the blooming flowers, was the little female finch I had to save from Penny and Hannah on the front deck. She hit the window and by the time I got there, Penny had her in her mouth with just a wing sticking out and a high pitched tweet coming from inside. Fortunately, Penny dropped her as soon as I told her to but by then, Hannah was running towards us. It was a bit of a panic but I managed to get the bird into a tree and after awhile, she flew off. We spent the afternoon cutting up the latest tree brought down by the prairie winds. That makes 3 this year. Another change I made today was the blog background. I did that in honour of the awesome skies we have been enjoying here. We are in the land of the living sky here but the last few days it has been more incredible than usual. A very pure, bright, clear blue that I have been unable to capture in photograph and do it any justice at all. We see a lot of sky here. It goes out for miles and miles. So it takes something special to get me snapping the camera upward. The colour has been so crystal clear, I find it impossible to even describe.

Bluejay Stops

The Bluejay arrived the day before yesterday. He usually only stays 3 or 4 days before he is on his way. Miles was able to catch him through the window this morning.

Woodpeckers Return

Not sure where they go for the Summer but they are back in droves for the winter. So many of them, the birds are sharing the suet and one little guy had to wait in the hanging bird bath for a turn to eat!

The Birds

No rain today but it rained all night and it was cold and wet all day. No sun. No digging. Our yard was like The Birds today except a lot less dramatic. It was actually very cool because every time I went outside, all I could hear was wings. At first it was kind of creepy and then I realized what they were doing. Remember the fly swarm of the other day? Well, every bird in the area moved into our trees and started feeding on them. We had at least 50 gulls over the firepit for two hours, two days in a row now. There were at least twice as many smaller birds in a couple of varieties that moved into the tallest tree off the back deck for the whole evening. Even the short pine off the front deck was full of bug eating birds. Not only was it a bunch of fun to watch, the little flies are hardly noticeable out there now. Maybe the sun will show up tomorrow.