You know how you can go along for years – totally oblivious to something? Well, I had a moment of realization this past week. I was working outside in the front of our house, glanced up at the big hickory tree you can see on the bird bath livestream, saw a small, agile black and […]
In 1996, many of the plants I had always known as wildflowers suddenly morphed into native plants. So what had changed? Not the plants themselves, of course, so it had to be me—the way I thought of them. What or who had prompted that change, and exactly what was my new perspective? “Our job is […]
Our good friend Janelle, who lives here in central Illinois, has been updating all of us with videos of her Red-shouldered Hawk nest in which there are 2 youngsters – who look like they are getting bigger and bigger. We have been to her house to watch through our scope, and we must remain at […]
American Cranberrybush is native in many of our northern states. Light: Sun to part sun. Soil and water: Good garden soil that is moist, but well-drained. I recommend mulching the area around the bush. Mulching helps keeps the soil at an even temperature and moistness. Hardiness Zone: Zones 2-7. Size: 8-12 ft. tall and wide. I […]
When I was a beginning birder – and actually way past those first years – I tended to ignore Vireos. These are not obvious birds at all. They are all small, most often not brightly colored, and their songs can be easily overlooked. And in those first years of birding, I was overwhelmed by warblers […]
Spring! Every day it is something new! New plants breaking ground, spring ephemerals coming – and sadly going till next year, glorious spring flowers such as lilacs and irises. Birds leaving and arriving. Our juncos left last week. We have not seen the White-throated Sparrows for two days so maybe they have also left? One […]
If you have been following the livestream on our bird feeders for a few years, you know we have 2 feeders for Nyjer seed. They are the same style, but one is large and the other small. We have American Goldfinches in our yard and at our feeders all year round. We put the large […]
The elderberry is native to most of North America. Our only states where they are not found in the wild are Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, and New Mexico. This bush has been hybridized and often when you buy one, it will be a hybrid which is OK, just be sure it is a hybrid […]
Baltimore Orioles! Here are photos Cleon took of the male who has just arrived. The male orioles will be setting up nesting territories in ours and our neighbor’s trees and so for the next few weeks will only be at the birdbath and feeder off and on. The females will arrive in 1-2 weeks. Once […]
My large screen computer, which is the center for both live-stream cameras, is right across the room from my desk. I have the livestream on all day – I switch from camera to camera because I am always interested in who is using what, how everyone is behaving and interacting, and if anything has gone […]