The Zen Birdfeeder

A Little Spring in my Yard

I don't do a whole lot to fancy up my yard, it's really a mish-mash of stuff I did years ago plus volunteers that have stepped in during my 9-year absence.  (Everything in my life is categorized pre-store or post-store; my yard, gardens and greenhouse are a pre-store casualty).  But I still enjoy a little walk around the yard now and then, especially on a beautiful spring day.

Candytuft in myrtle with a little wild strawberry and hardy geranium on the side.

 

Blue Flax - one of my favorites. Flowers bloom each day and are gone by the end of the day.

 

Winged visitor on the candytuft

 

Early in a Blue Lupine's bloom

 

My "lawn" is about 60% Creeping Thyme. My goal is eventually 100%. Great to walk on and smell the thyme!

 

I love the look and feel of the new growth on conifers like this Blue Spruce

 

New growth shoots on White Pines are called "candles"

 

This pine's new growth wears a cap until it grows to big to wear it

 

Fritillary on last season's leaf

 

I always see smiley faces in my Johnny Jump-ups!

 

Wildlife Wednesday - Chatterbox Squirrel

 

TAKE A BREATH, WILL YA??

Turn your speakers up for maximum chatter enjoyment!

Wildlife Wednesday - Red Admirals and Friends

Red Admiral butterflies were plentiful in my yard today, enjoying the bright sunshine and spring blooms.  They visited the plum tree and rhododendren bush that are just beginning to pop, but those flowers were far less popular than the nanking cherry (which is in full bloom but losing petals fast). 

They put on quite a show, but what I enjoyed most was seeing Red Admirals sharing the flowers with the bees.

Squirrel Babies Like Soft Nests Too!

I've moved what was left of last year's nesting material over to a tree and now momma Red Squirrel has discovered some soft alpaca for the nest she's building.

Multiple times during the day, she has worked to extract the remaining alpaca fiber from the grapevine ball, organized her treasure in a neat little wad, and headed off to her nest in the woods.

Don't worry, soon I'll be hanging a brand new alpaca nest ball in a squirrel-proof location for this year's bird nests in my yard.  I've seen Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and even Purple Finches gather nesting material to line their nest.  I love nesting season!!

Cruise Notes - Key West's Butterfly Conservatory

 

 

Our cruise departed on a beautiful winter night in Miami.  We had a cabin with a balcony and I enjoyed watching the full moon through the clouds above the lights of the city.  We sailed along the coast of southern Florida toward a 9am arrival in Key West, 156 miles away.

 

Off the dock in Key West, we chose to take the trolley tour, which showed us some of the main attractions such as Hemingway's home and the southernmost point in the US (only a 90 mile swim to Cuba.)  But it also allowed us to jump on and off at any stop around the island.  Our first (and primary) stop was at the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory.

Within the conservatory at any one time throughout the year, there are 50-60 species of butterflies from around the world.  It is almost surreal walking amongst the butterflies as they flutter all around you, crossing your path.  And If you're lucky, they may even land on you.  This Blue Morpho, which is the signature butterfly of the conservatory, landed on this guy multiple times, including one tickly stop on his bald head.

 

Blue morphos were plentiful throughout the enclosure, but always in motion, and when they land, it is most often with their wings closed.  So my best images of them are in that closed-wing position, which shows off their interesting strong eye-spot pattern.

 

Here are just a sampling of the butterflies there, along with my best try at identification.  If you can supply any IDs or correct any I'm wrong on, I'd appreciate it.  There seemed to be many butterflies from the longwing, or Heliconius genus, but I had a hard time naming the specific species.

 

 

 

 

Doris Longwing

 

Tree Nymph

 

Tropical Blue Wave

 

 

 

Common Longwing

 

 

I also had a hard time identifying the exotic birds that shared the habitat with the butterflies, but here's a sampling of them, again with my best guesses on the species (assistance welcome!)

Diamond Dove (?)

Red-headed Parrot Finch (?)

It was a hot and humid visit inside the conservatory, but quite enjoyable.  We then hopped back on the trolley to continue our tour of Key West before returning to the ship.  

One of the benefits of a cruise with multiple ports-of-call is being able to make one-day stops that help you determine which sights you might want to return to.  Key West is one of those places.  Sure, it's touristy, but you can't beat the climate (they boast being the only frost-free city in the continental US.)  The atmosphere is fun, there's plenty to do on the Keys and of course there would be the obligatory trip to the Dry Tortugas which is just 70 miles west of Key West.  

We'll avoid the crazy weekends like the yearly Conch Republic Independence Celebration or the LaTeDa Redux Queen Mother Pageant, but I'm gonna say a return trip to the Florida Keys will be in my future!

The Four B's in My Yard

Bees and Bats,
Birds and Brats!

Bee on Solidago

Big Brown Bats in our bat box

 
Dark-eyed Junco

Eastern Chipmunk

Wordless Wednesday - Bird & Bee

Black-capped Chickadee sharing the feeder

Heavyweight Butterfly

I thought it was fun watching this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly land on some of the smallest and lightest flowers in my yard, delicately balancing himself on the flower head or bending the threadlike stems with his 0.3 gram bulk.

You'll enjoy the images more if you click on them to enlarge.

Dianthus


Dianthus


Hardy Geranium


Blue Flax

Wings on Wednesday - Bumble Bee Edition

Wildlife Wednesday

My first-ever Wildlife Wednesday,
featuring my first-ever Raccoon on my deck!

ps:  Cat DID NOT like this visitor!