Make A Wish

What happens when you kiss a deer and make a wish? You live happily ever after.

“Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.”
― Crazy Horse

Eastern Bluebird

In the past, declined seriously in many areas with loss of habitat and loss of nesting sites. During recent decades has been increasing again, undoubtedly helped by birdhouses in many areas.

 

“The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.”
― Charles Darwin
Birds are the most accomplished aeronauts the world has ever seen. They fly high and low, at great speed, and very slowly. And always with extraordinary precision and control.

Baltimore Oriole

Still widespread and common, but surveys show declines in recent decades. In the mid 20th century, Dutch elm disease killed many of the American elms that had been favorite nesting trees for this species in the past.

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.  Georgia O’Keeffe

Browning Trail Camera

Night time activity is in full swing in the back yard. The animals seem to gravitate around my back shed. Lots of worms and grubs available. Browning Trail Camera catches the view in North Dighton, MA

Another use for trail cameras is security. It is an inexpensive way to keep an eye on your property.  Most trail cameras provide a time stamp on the photo and video so you know exactly when the image was taken.  A friend of mine, Michael Panarelli, of Dighton, Ma, builds, or should I say, ‘creates” beautiful bird houses. One of which I hide a trail camera inside after a mailbox thief in Dighton was caught taking my mail items. My cameras were in plain sight, but not anymore. The bird house was perfect. I have other bird houses from Mike, doing their intended duties for our backyard birds.

Watch the fun here

Mike Panarelli (pictured below)  for more on Mike, visit HERE

Humming Birds back in North Dighton

The male ruby-throated hummingbird is unmistakable, with glossy green feathers above and a stunning gorget that glitters like its namesake. Even the females are easily identified, for this species is the only hummingbird that commonly appears in Massachusetts although other humming birds such as the  green-and-orange female Rufous Hummingbird will visit your garden or feeders as well. Did you know, hummingbirds can enter a special state called torpor, similar to what we term hibernation in mammals, in which their metabolism slows down tremendously. A hummingbird in torpor is almost impossible to awaken! This can be beneficial during times food is scarce.  Ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird that nests in the eastern United States.

Below, using GoPro Hero to film at 240 fps

Watch Here

below: A bit of fun with Topaz filters

Gray Tree Frog

Watch Here

Remodeling has to wait as a gray tree frog makes a temporary home on the work site. I spend days in the forest looking for them, without success. So they come to me this week. Apparently it enjoys the comfort of a roof slate and funnel. This is nothing unique for my deck, they visit often as seen here,  Flower Container

When I see this frog on my deck or flower pot or garden, I cant help but wonder about chapter 1 of The Sixth Extinction. ( Elizabeth Kolbert) Wildlife preservation and the vanishing natural world surly grabs our attention.

Amphibians survived the dinosaur extinction just fine.  Are they in peril now?

“Life is not a substance, like water or rock; it’s a process, like fire or a wave crashing on the shore. It’s a process that begins, lasts for a while, and ultimately ends. Long or short, our moments are brief against the expanse of eternity.”
― Sean Carroll, The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
Margaret Atwood