Some of the Critters this Week

We had just gotten 6 inches of snow when I did my last post.  Yesterday, we got 6 more!  I've been looking out the door to see what kind of critters we have visiting, and taking some photos from inside the door.  My husband is the one who takes care of the feeders.  He has other feeders in different parts of the yard.  He also puts out suet for the woodpeckers, but other birds also eat it.

The photos with the snow coming down were taken yesterday.  I couldn't get a good photo of the bird on the left, but I'm pretty sure it's a woodpecker.  The others are some of the plentiful sparrows.

This photo is not as clear, but more of the beak shows.  After looking up woodpeckers in Nebraska, I'm thinking it's a red-bellied woodpecker.  Do you know if I am correct?

 The blue jays have been around a lot lately.  I also saw a cardinal or two the other day.

There have also been a number of dark-eyed juncos.

We have just gotten to today's photos.  There were quite a few birds and other critters hanging out today.

This morning, before I opened the main door, leaving the screen closed, I counted 4 blue jays.  They all flew off as soon as I opened the door, but this one came back, seeing that I did not open the screen door.  He or she kept a close eye on me, though.  Larry must have just had a bit of seed left, so he put it on this old apron.

The squirrels like to scold Heidi when she goes out, and she has been looking for them when she goes out.  She's not a fan of them.  I am not, either, but I don't dislike them as much as I used to.

I actually dislike rabbits more than I dislike squirrels.  Squirrels dig out plants, and if you find them in time, you can replant.  Rabbits eat things down to the ground.  Sometimes they regrow, and other times they don't.  I wish rabbits would just eat part of the plants, and not the whole things.  This one lives under our deck, and Larry said he saw two the other day.  We all know what that means!  Dang it!  Well, I do have their favorite plants caged so that they can't get to them.  Larry has been teasing me about wanting to get some alfalfa hay for the rabbits.   He said he saw one eating some bird seed the other day.

I counted 4 or 5 doves in the back yard a few days ago.  I really like them, and the sound they make as they fly off, which is made, I think, with their wings.

What kinds of wildlife are you seeing at your place? 

In a few days, our highs are supposed to start getting into the 40s for a couple weeks.  The snow will melt, and the ground should go into garden season in pretty good shape.  I am starting to see some of the posts from places where spring is waking up.  I always enjoy that.  We actually have some early things starting to green up as well, but it will be awhile before we see blooms. 

Still Winter

I was starting to think it's time to change the cover photo, since the snow had all melted.  Well, after temps above normal last week, in the 50s and 60s, winter came back, and it started snowing late morning yesterday, and continued through most of this morning.  I didn't hear the official total, but someone local said they got 6 inches.

Last night, I noticed stems of the cup plant were drooping over the sidewalk, so went out to tie them up so the people delivering the newspaper would have a path to the porch.  I planted it there so that it wouldn't have as many directions to spread, but am thinking that it would have been better farther from the sidewalk.  Still, I'm tickled to have it in the yard, and have seen birds eating the seeds.

This is one of the several bird feeders in the back yard.  We've had doves, juncos, gold finches, sparrows, blue jays, and the occasional cardinal in the back.  There are squirrels aplenty, and there is at least one rabbit that lives under the deck.  My husband, Larry takes care of the feeders, and puts out dried corn for the squirrels, but they still eat from the bird feeders as well.

It is fun for me to see the little piles of snow on things.

The stems of plants are drooping more in this snow, which must be wetter and heavier than some we've had.  I don't clean up the beds until spring, because I like to leave seeds for the birds to eat, and some insects overwinter in the stems.   Plus, I feel there is still beauty in the plants all seasons.

It looks like the sparrows ate the rest of the suet.  The plant on the right is Wild senna. It seems to be more upright than the other one and many of the other plants.

 I took this photo of the junco later in the day than the previous one.  All the other photos were taken in the front yard. 

Some of the seed heads, such as the Illinois bundleflower have little snow hats or crystals on them.

I hope birds eat more of the cup plant seeds before spring gets here.

Wild quinine:

The coneflowers always seem to wear their snow hats cheerfully.

Yes, it looks like it is still winter!

Heidi was disappointed I didn't take her out with me, but I didn't plan on spending much time outside, and did not want to have to dry her off.  Besides, she doesn't really like to be out when it is snowing.

I am glad that I went out and planted a little patch of lettuce, radishes, carrots, and maybe some spinach on one of the nice days.  I used to always plant what I called my gamble garden in February, but lately have started earlier and earlier.  It won't come up until the soil is warm enough.   Sometimes when it is warm enough it is too wet to work, so that 's why I like to get some in early.  Now, it has a nice snow blanket over it.  The summer before last, I planted some lettuce for fall that did not grow large enough to harvest.  It survived the winter, and grew in the spring, so we had a harvest from it after all.

I am so glad the days are getting longer, and spring is on the way!  I hope all is well with you and your gardens.

Wildflower Wednesday

I do not have blooms for Wildflower Wednesday, hosted by Gail, from Clay and Limestone.  I do have seedheads, though.  I leave the plants up all winter for the birds who eat the seeds, and for whatever critters live in them or use them in some way.  I kind of like the looks of them, too.

New England Aster:

 Wild Quinine:

Purple Prairie Clover:

Cup Plant:

Mountain Mint:

Wild Senna:

Rattlesnake Master:

Illinois Bundleflower:

I had to include an Amsonia hubrichtii and its lovely foliage:

I can't remember which Liatris this is, maybe aspera:

I hope to spend a bit more time blogging, and reading other blogs.  As I've said in the past, once the days start getting longer, my spirits are higher, and I am excited for spring to be on the way.  We've had warmer than normal temps this week.  Today, we broke the former record of 64 degrees by one degree.  Next week it is supposed to get back down to our normal 20s and 30s.  I'd rather have it now than in April or May.  I feel bad for those in the east who got all that snow.  I hope all is well with you, wherever you live. 

Brr! Snow and Cold!

It has been too cold for me to be out taking photos, but it snowed yesterday, so toward the end of the day, I decided to take some from the front door, wondering how my new camera would do in low light.

I must have taken this through the window.

I didn't hear how much snow we got, but it came down a bit today.  The highs have been in the single digits, but tomorrow, we could get into the 30s.  By Monday, we are to be back down into the single digits, maybe the coldest day of winter so far.

I experimented with using the zoom, and the flash.  I don't think the flash on my other camera worked outside.

I love the different heights and shapes of the plants.  I've mentioned keeping them over the winter to provide shelter to insects, and seeds for the birds.  Plus, while I get excited seeing bare dirt, the plants look much better to me.

Here are the lovely Illinois bundleflower seed heads looking nice in their snow hats.  The railing looks to have less than an inch of snow.

It sounds like the snow and cold is pretty widespread.  Wherever you are, I hope you are able to be safe and warm.  I'm noticing the days getting longer.  Spring, I hope you come early!

Most of the Snow has Melted

It's been quite cold lately, but the last couple of afternoons have been warm.  My husband Larry has been sick, and finally went to be seen yesterday.  When I got my coat on to go get his prescriptions and a few groceries, Heidi got up, hoping my plan was to go out with her.  I decided to take her out awhile, and take some photos with my new camera.  (The photos in the previous post were taken with it, too.)

It's back to looking like fall.  I continue to enjoy the plants throughout the seasons, and am hoping the critters are making good use of the food and shelter they provide in the winter.

This is the east side of the front yard.

There are still some seeds left for the birds t enjoy.

This is the east side of the house.

Amsonia hubrichtii is one of my favorites, and it has pretty blue blooms in the spring.

The Hellebores seem to be pretty much evergreen.  In the spring, when the bloom stems come up, I need to remember to take last year's leaves off.

See, there was still a little snow left.  I'm thinking after today's 60 degrees, it may all be melted.

The tall plant in the fenced area is asparagus.  I am looking forward to seeing how it does this spring.  It will be the fourth season for it, and I will be able to harvest it for a longer period of time.

We walked back to the front yard, and this is the east front yard bed.  The dark in the corner is from the lens hood Larry bought for me.  I will have to be careful not to have the camera set to the widest view, or else take it off to take the wide shots.  I spent quite a bit of time cropping photos last night.

I have been using the setting on the camera that senses what kind of shot you are taking, and adjusts.  It will figure out when the macro setting needs to be used.  I need to read the manual and do more experimenting.

Here is my favorite area of the yard, right in front of our house, where the tree used to be.

I'm glad I didn't dead head the Golden alexanders.

The sky sure was a pretty blue, and the Cup plant is another one I decided to be brave and not deadhead.

I love the look of the spent Cup plant blooms.

Hey birds, I hope you eat some more of these seeds!

I love the colors of the Switchgrasses and such.

Wild quinine is one of my favorite plants for all season interest.

This was my first year to grow Illinois bundleflower, and it stole my heart.  It's another favorite.

The Liatris is holding up well.

The Wild senna is also holding its own after the snow melt.

The Heuchera richardonii continues to look good near the porch.

 

 I love to show the view from the front porch.

Here's one more from the front porch.

This is a bit of a hodge podge post, but the main point of wanting to do one is to show that the snow has melted, and we are no longer looking white. 

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas season, and celebrate the New year coming in a safe, healthy way.  I am pleased that the days are now getting longer, and am hoping spring comes as quickly as winter did.

Hey, I just remembered I didn't do a Wildflower Wednesday post.  I think there may be enough wildflowers in this post to go ahead and use it.  Gail did a round up post.  Go check it out.