JUNE IN DAKEKAY'S NECK OF THE WOODS

Hello!!

Well, it seems things are starting to pick up in the old backyard! Funny thing is that they all showed up after a big rain! I think everyone was basically looking for a dry place to eat, but word of mouth (or beak!), works every time, and before you knew it, the place was jumpin'!

The first visitor was our old pal, Mr. Bunny, who went right for the corn. We hadn't had enough time to get out the carrots! LOL

The next to join us was Chuck, our resident groundhog, who doesn't usually come up on the patio. I guess he figured it was O.K. to come up, being as how Mr. Bunny led the way !

Next was a new visitor to the BY, one we had never seen before. Rather exotic-looking and very brief in his visiting time, he had us running for the bird atlas!

Turns out he was a Yellow-plumed Night Heron, and is not usually seen in this area. His usual hangouts are in marshlands, so we figured he got a little off course. It was neat to see some strangers in the yard for a change!

Then, of course, we had Mrs. Duck and her new family pay us a visit, too! This is the third brood that we have seen so far this year, and we really haven't gotten that far into the season yet!

It was a real joy to see so many critter-friends, old and new, back in the yard. All we need now are some hummers to make it a real nice summer!

Hope you enjoy the shots!

Images and captions courtesy of DaveKay

So take a peek out your window and see WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKYARD ??

Hello ! When I'm not watching the Drives or cleaning up my photo database, I'm outside these days.

The ducks are back in force this year

A splash of red !

It seems the only birds making a real statement right now are the goldfinches!

They're filling out their suits of gold very quickly, as you can see

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We already have a resident bunny - probably a helper for the Big Guy at Easter, and happens to live nearby! No other residents have shown up, but it won't be long now. Anyway, Spring is REALLY officially here - I put my awning down two days ago! LOL


Enjoy the pics for now - I'll have more later! ~ DaveKay

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I'm not sure if Winters are really getting colder, snowier and longer of if it's just me that's feeling them more but but I, for one, sure am glad that Spring has finally begun to peek it's head out around these parts. Now if only I had time to get to that yard work, LOL.

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So take a peek out your window and see WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKYARD ??

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PS Congrats Dave on your recent purchase, lol

FEATHERS, SKIES & FUR

The backyard activity is starting to pick up now. No real pictures yet, but any day now it will start. I have 5 shots for you. Three of them qualify as my BY pics, but 2 of them are from someone else's yard. The first three are in my yard.



The first is a cute shot of a chickadee who fell into the Motherlode of peanuts. As you can see, he could only manage one nut per trip - and he did make many trips!

The other two are shots of the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter that occurred last night, the 1st. Jupiter is the lower, larger planet, and Venus is up and to the right. Of course, the crescent moon added that much more drama.
This conjunction, or close pass , between these two won't happen again until Nov. of 2017



Now we come to the other two photos. Of course, my three deer friends left long ago, but a friend I used to work with has better luck! As you can see, he lives very close to a wooded area - as a result, he's paid daily visits by two young deer. In the one picture, Tim's son, Ty, is petting the little guy, while the deer eyeballs the white cat in the foreground!

The other pic is of the other deer: both have large orange dog collars on, mainly to give them a fair chance in case of any close encounters with gun-totin' guys!

~ DaveKay

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Images courtesy of DaveKay

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Thanks for sharing these wonderful shots. I heard about the Jupiter/Venus conjunction but it was cloudy here (normally is when something in the skies is happening) so I didn't get the chance to see it. And how lucky is your friend and his family to be able to get so close to local wildlife. I hope it fosters a life long love of animals for them all. It's to bad that these lovely creatures have to wear dog collars as a form of protection but if it keeps them from harm I say put collars on all of them !

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So take a peek out your window and see WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKYARD ??

ROCKY'S BACCCCCK

A couple of good news tidbits. One, Rocky is back and still panhandling! He must've been doin' alright for himself - he's looking very healthy! He's sporting a plush, dark brown coat, and he's just as peppy as ever! I included some shots of his "begging" routine, which he has down pat! He seems to be very particular, though. My wife offered him a peanut, and he refused it. Just walked away! I'll have to talk to him about that

Just to be fair and balanced, I have included two shots of the last of the Rose of Sharon blooms for the season. They had a good summer, but didn't attract any hummers for us. Maybe next year.

Secondly, it looks as though some of the ducks are back! For a while there, we had about 3 or 4 females show up sporadically, and then they disappeared for some time. Then, about a week ago, during late evening, a group of about 45 ducks showed up, and hungrily devoured all the cracked corn we had laid out for anyone who would need it. The group looked like it was evenly split on male/female population. Now, they show up at least twice a day, with large appetites! I'll have to invest in more cracked corn than I have been getting - it's worth it, though, just to have them back!

The goldfinches are coming back. They have their winter plumage, so I guess they're getting ready to batten down for the coming winter. They are also hearty little eaters! They go through thistle seed like crazy! All the other critters (squirrels, groundhogs, rabbits, possums, and yes, skunks!), are doing just fine, although I haven't seen the skunks around for a while. Maybe they relocated! LOL

That's about it for the backyard report. Will keep you posted on any breaking news in this area!

Images courtesy of DaveKay

Well looks like you have 1 very happy friend there DaveKay. Good luck with the hummers next year, I know your planning on trying to feed them by hand also. Can't wait to see if that works. And it was GREAT to hear of your feathered visitors.

So take a peek out your window and see WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKYARD ??

TREAT FROM DAVEKAY

Not fawns this year but robins !

The nest was situated right next to the front door, so it was difficult to open the door in order to get a good shot. Mama would always fly away, and the chicks would get all excited and start jumping around in the nest.. The shots I got were lucky ones!




I started the series with a picture of the empty nest, showing the location - right in the juncture of the downspout!

Then there's Mama in the nest...

then a series of the "family" growing.

I ended up with the last one sounding off before leaving!

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I hope all of them made it, although that's a real longshot, and, unfortunately, not Nature's way.

However, I got the whole story. It doesn't have the same zing as the deer series, or the saga of the ducklings, but it was fun, nevertheless. And, due to the travesty in the park, thanks to our "well-meaning" City Council, there just isn't the activity that existed before. Even the squirrels are noticeably fewer in number. Even Rocky hasn't been around for his "handouts".
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Images courtesy of DaveKay

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First off, while there may be no zing or saga, it is great to see that all these little ones will have a chance. Thanks for so patiently getting all these shots to share with us. Hope cool it must of been to see this everyday. Watching, waiting, getting pictures and I'm sure there was a bit of worrying now and then too. And I am sorry to hear about the decline in wildlife, even in that wonderful diner you put out. It hasn't been that long since the (what I think of as a raid) event so maybe once things get settled down all the regulars will be back. How could they stay away too long for the "Diner" !

So take a peek out your window and see WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKYARD ??

HAPPENINGS FROM DAVEKAYS BACKYARD

Good Evening!

As promised, here is my backyard report! A couple things to watch - an unusual visitor, and a brooding robin whose nest is built on our downspout on the front porch! Here are the highlights, with captioning:

An acrobatic friend of Rocky's going after the last of the bird block.

Feed me, Mama!

Are you my daddy

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You're new here, aren't you?

Are those PEANUTS up there?

The "unusual" visitor to the backyard.

I'll be watching Mrs. Robin here real close!



Rocky hamming it up for a peanut.

And getting his reward!

Images courtesy of DaveKay

So take a peek out your window and see WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKYARD ??

FROM MAY18TH 2008

Good Morning!

Just a word or two on how things in the back yard are progressing. The weather today was gorgeous, which brought out Mama Duck and her little ones, who are not so little any more! I counted 8 in her brood today, which is good, considering the surroundings! Also, our friend, Thumper, was out and about today. I'm assuming that it is Thumper, or one of the Thumper "family"... My wife tells me that Thumper was running around the yard earlier today with a "friend". Hmmm...
Do I see little bunnies in the near future? Stay tuned! ~ DaveKay

Images courtesy of DaveKay

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So take a peek out your window and see WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKYARD ??