Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Fall/Winter Pursuits

All of the tender plants have now been safely tucked into the house, garage or my friend's greenhouse for the winter and 99% of the containers have been emptied out and stored away for the season. (I noticed a couple of annual pots outside  that I missed, Jeesh...) We've raked up and shredded leaves, still lots of that left to do as the oaks take their time shedding.  I don't mind them falling and making more work as the oak leaves are one of the main ingredients of the compost I use for top dressing and amending the soil in the borders every year.  So, now is the time to take out my bird blind and set it up in the middle of my back yard.  Yes, I did say "bird blind".  I spend a good deal of my time in the winter outside in the garden in my 'tent' as my family and friends call it. They all think I'm a bit daft (you can imagine what the neighbors think) but I love my garden birds and I love taking pictures of them.   We got the blind set up last weekend and I spend a wonderful day on Monday enjoying the last of the fall color and my garden birds.

The Japanese Maples are my last blaze of color in the gardens now


White-throated Sparrow, one of the many Sparrows that visit regularly in the winter

There are only a very few leaves left on the Hydrangea petiolaris


American Goldfinch in the Hydrangea petiolaris

American Goldfinch

House Finch - love to see those nice buds for next year's flowers on the Hydrangea

Red-bellied Woodpecker on the oak

Mr. Pesty Gray Squirrel


Black-capped Chickadee tucking seed in the base of the Hydrangea petiolaris



White-breasted Nuthatch



The Japanese Maples are gorgeous right now - these leaves will be gone after tonight's first snowfall of the season

Drasty Chipmunk - I do wish they'd move to someone else's garden



Black-capped Chickadee

American Goldfinch

Dark-eyed Junco - love these sweet "Snow Birds"

Mourning Dove

22 comments:

  1. AWESOME!!! Thank you for the beautiful escape this morning!!!

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  2. Great shots! So, what kind of camera are you using and also....let's see your bird blind tent. I love the birds as well and they have been quite busy this week.

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    1. Many thanks Layanne, I use a Canon 7D with a Canon 500 f/4 lens. I'll grab a pic of the blind when I go out later.

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  3. Wish I could say that winter preparations were finished at the farm, but I need at least one more day of mildish weather for that. Maybe on Friday...
    I'm so glad you are back in your "tent"!!!

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    1. Thanks Marie, I'm thinking I need another week but I'm getting to the point where I'm thinking spring will be a good time to deal with it. LOL

      I'm so glad I'm back in my "tent" too! It felt like a homecoming on Monday.

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  4. I love that you have a bird blind in your garden!!! Great shots too...

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    1. Thanks! All my friends and family know garden season is finished when the blind goes up in the fall

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  5. Wow Deanne! Your bird pictures are incredible and viewing them made my heart sing. Garden birdwatching is such a joy!

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    1. So happy you enjoy my birdie pictures! Garden birdwatching is indeed one of the joys in life.

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  6. Fantastic shots, so clear and detailed!

    Gaz

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  7. Wonderful pictures, Deanne! I will use your blog instead of my bird identification books - your pictures are so much better! My very favorite bird has always been the Nuthatch. I just love the way they come down the tree head first - so darn cute! The only time we get Juncos is during the winter, can't wait for them to appear, still a little ways off, I think.

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    1. Thanks Leslie! I'm as obsessed with my bird photography as I am with my gardening and it's really hard to find time to do both. I love Nuthatches too! The're calls make me think they are chuckling. We've had Juncos here for several weeks already. Mabe they knew it was going to snow early this year.

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  8. The snowy backdrop should allow for some great shots today! ha ha ha ha

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    1. You are such a joker Sue, the snow will be gone as soon as the sun comes out. Hahahahaha

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  9. I think you must be very patient to get such nice bird photos. Amazing really. Thank you for sharing your talents with us. I know it's just a tiny bird, but I love House Finches. They are such darlings. ~~Dee

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    1. Thanks Dee, I love House Finches too. Even the little brown Sparrows are lovely if you take the time to look at their beautiful, subtle plumage.

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    2. Beautiful wildlife photos Deanne!

      I'm with you on the chipmunks! They are so cute, but so incredibly noisy, and so destructive. I saw one in our garden for the first time this year, but haven't seen it since early summer. I hope one of our resident owls or hawks saw it too!

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  10. I can easily imagine you tucked in your blind, maybe with a thermos full of something hot, bird ID book, binocs, camp stool -- sounds like a blast to me!

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    1. Thanks Denise, yes it is a blast. If you can remember making and playing in a tent made from an old blanket and a card table when you were a child this is even MORE FUN! hahahahaha. I so love to watch all the birds that show up and we get some lovely rare visitors from time to time. Our lot is only a third of an acre but we have a species list of 67 for this small space. Very cool.

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  11. Your photos are incredible! You should make a book of them!

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