Here's what I saw this week
during a Second Look.
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| Even in the winter, dandelions are providing color in the yard. |
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| Blue Jay and Downy Woodpecker. The blue jay has just taken off to land on the feeder below. |
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| Front door hole and back door hole for the local groundhog. (The front door hasn't been used much.) I don't know if he even bothered to come out Monday for Groundhog's Day. If he did, he wouldn't have seen his shadow because it was raining that morning. |
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| The birds have been using this nesting box to keep warm. There was a little material left from the last nest in the bottom, but I found new feathers on top of that from whatever has been using it. |
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| And speaking of nesting boxes, you can see that something has enlarged the hole on one of them. It could have been a woodpecker or an squirrel. I vote for squirrel. |
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| This is the first time I've noticed a white-throated sparrow this winter. They travel in flocks, so I don't know where the rest of them were. |
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| With the snow, we can more clearly see the evidence of where the deer have been in our yard. Everywhere! |
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| Sunrise |
My hubby has had a few unhappy groundhog experiences here (eating up food in our garden) ... they are kinda cute, though, in an ugly way.
ReplyDeleteYour sunrise is pretty!
Groundhogs are definitely not a friend of gardeners. Ours seem to hang out at the back of a yard and the fields behind us. The deer and the rabbits are the ones that like to eat everything near house.
DeleteLovely pictures, as usual. Groundhogs are not our bane, chipmunks are. They climb our tomato plants and eat just about everyone before they are mature, plus they tunnel everywhere leaving holes all over the yard. I silently cheer when the hawks living near us are successful.
ReplyDeleteOur chipmunk populations waxes and wanes. Presently, we don't have too many. However, they are particularly fond of our cherry tomatoes. I am always amazed when I watch them eat the insides of the tomato, but leave the skin untouched.
DeleteI vote for the squirrel too. :-) Today we noticed deer prints in my garden, I didn't know I had deer at my new home. I also spotted a bird in the lower portion of an overgrown shrub I planned to remove as it blocks my front porch. Now I'm having second thoughts at least while the bird is taking up residence there.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what else, but cardinals like to nest in shrubs. We have some in azalea bushes beside our garage where they are. Maybe you could just trim your bush or set up a good nesting place elsewhere in your yard.
DeleteAlso, good luck with the deer in your garden. In my experience, there are small victories of keeping them from eating your plants, but they always win out in the end.