Fun facts about our friends, the chickadees.
Random Youtubery
Category Archives: Backyard Nature
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Random Youtubery
Some of the best times I had with my dad were going birding. Cardinals were common in Perrysburg and frequent visitors at our backyard feeders, and even today my parents get them at their feeders in the place where they live now. Even though they’re called Northern Cardinals, we have them here in South Florida. Enjoy.
Friday, March 20, 2020
Backyard Therapy
The orchid fully bloomed.
The duck practices social distancing.
Sunday, March 8, 2020
In The Garden
My dendrobium, which I got six years ago as a prize in a car show and seemed to be at death’s door last fall, has come back in a blaze of subtle orchid blooming.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
A Moment Of Peace
The dendrobium seems to like being in its new orchid nest.
Friday, November 29, 2019
Wild Orchids
I have learned that the way to make orchids grow in South Florida is leave them alone.
I’m going to need a bigger nest.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Happy Friday
This is Renny, our office duck at AIE. Every office should have a duck.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Masked Marauder
Either they’re filming “Guardians of the Galaxy Part 3” on my patio, or I’ve discovered what’s been making that strange noise in the attic.
Monday, August 26, 2019
Yard Art
Some people have plastic pink flamingos in their yard. I have real white ibises dining al fresco.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Happy Friday
I set Mom up with a new bird feeder on her balcony so she can see them from the bedroom and the living room. Birdfeeding is a long tradition in our family, going back to winters in Minneapolis when my grandfather fed the pheasants that would come into the back yard. This set-up is from Wild Birds Unlimited, and the seed packet is a no-mess variety, with each piece 100% edible. Enjoy, Mom.
Friday, July 26, 2019
Happy Friday
The hibiscus always seems to be blooming.
Friday, July 19, 2019
Happy Friday
Sentry duty? Actually, I think this guy is looking for lunch. The picture was taken through my kitchen window and the patio screens, which explains the blobs and blurs.
Friday, May 17, 2019
Friday Orchid
This is the first time I’ve seen this one bloom in a long time.
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Neighborhood Watch
Look who greeted me when I came home last night.
Actually, “greeted” would be more like “glared at.”
Gertrude Stein wrote, “Pigeons on the grass, alas.” How about “Peacock on the roof, aloof”?
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Toad Haul
And I thought peacocks were a nuisance.
A Florida suburb is being plagued by thousands of poisonous toads.
Experts say the amphibians are bufo toads, also known as cane toads. Residents in the infested Palm Beach Gardens neighborhood worry toxins secreted by the toads will harm their pets and children.
News stations broadcast images of the small toads clogging pool filters, hopping en masse across driveways and sidewalks, and lurking in landscaped lawns.
Resident Jennifer Quasha told WPBF her family first noticed the toads Friday. She said hundreds of them were in her swimming pool.
Mark Holladay of the pest removal service Toad Busters told WPTV that recent rains coupled with warm temperatures sent the amphibians into a breeding cycle.
Holladay said even more toads are likely to spread throughout South Florida in the coming weeks.
PS: If you don’t get the punning reference in the title, go read The Wind in the Willows.
Friday, February 1, 2019
Polar Vortex Antidote
I took this from the driveway yesterday.
Friday, December 28, 2018
Friday Catblogging
Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve done this now that Snowball has retired, but when I got a housemate last January he brought along Sombra, which means “Shadow” in Spanish. She spends most of her time watching the outdoors from her perch in the front window and, like she did yesterday, looking out over the patio at the backyard nature, including the ibises that come by to feed on the morsels in the yard.
Monday, December 24, 2018
Christmas Eve Moon
The December full moon is called the Cold Moon, and when I took this picture, it was a little chilly here in suburban Miami.
Friday, November 23, 2018
Black Friday
I’m all in favor of capitalism and patronizing local businesses, so if spending money for Christmas is what you want to do, go forth, drive carefully, bundle up (if it’s cold), and remember where you parked.
Me, I’m staying home, doing some writing and reflection, and enjoying a four-day weekend.
Last year at this time the vanda orchid was in full bloom. I haven’t checked recently, but it looked like it was getting ready to do it again.
“Chili pepper” vanda (from the last time it bloomed)
You kids have fun out there.
Monday, November 19, 2018
Moment Of Peace
This is the beginning of a short week for most people here in the U.S.; Thanksgiving is Thursday, followed by the rush to the holidays in the next six weeks. So here’s something to calm you and remind you that even with snow pummeling the Northeast and traffic at the shops and stores is bordering on mob-like, there are quiet places and sunshine.
Enjoy this view of the hibiscus — one of many — blooming in my front yard.
