Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay We have three hummingbird feeders and enjoy watching the little guys zip to and fro. They are also very much aware of our presence and every once in a while one will come close to the window and hover there a few moments to get a better look at one of us.
nature
That would explain the blood
When I refilled our bird feeder yesterday I saw it was splattered with blood. I wondered if a couple of the little birds got into a squabble at the feeder, though it hardly seemed possible that little birds could draw that much blood. A few minutes later, Chris looked out and saw a bigger bird … Continue reading That would explain the blood
Change is in the air
A few days ago the days started to grow longer. I can’t tell the difference yet–the sun still rises at 9:15 AM and sets at 5:00 PM. The daily change so far is small: today is 25 seconds longer than yesterday, tomorrow will be 30 seconds longer than today. But I know that soon it … Continue reading Change is in the air
Smoke gets in your eyes . . .
and your sinuses, and your throat. The forest fires in British Columbia are still burning. The smoke has wafted in other directions for the past several weeks, but yesterday and today it is back in our country. There is a blue haze in the air, accompanied by a faint aroma of burning evergreens. Elderly people … Continue reading Smoke gets in your eyes . . .
Compassion for a magpie?
A magpie is one of the most striking and beautiful birds that you will see in our parts. Its iridescent feathers may appear blue or almost black, depending on the way the light falls on them. Adults are 46 cm from beak to the tip of their long tail. The wingspread is 64cm and they … Continue reading Compassion for a magpie?
Nature: red of tooth and claw
Welcome guests: Unwelcome guests: The welcome mat is out in our yard for goldfinches, swallows and all of our beautiful native songbirds. We wish that there was some way to convince the murderous English sparrows that they are not welcome here. For several years we have had swallows nesting in … Continue reading Nature: red of tooth and claw
Robins and skunks on O’Malley Road
The songbirds are back: robins, meadowlarks and others – spring has come to Saskatchewan. Sometimes we can even tell it by the weather. Last Saturday was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 22° Celsius. That would be 72° in Americanese. This morning the ground was white again for several hours and the high for … Continue reading Robins and skunks on O’Malley Road
Looking for sense in the scent
My wife woke me at 7:00 AM Saturday, saying "We've got to get out of the house!" When the cobwebs had cleared from my brain, my nose told me the cause of her concern. The pungent odour of skunk was permeating the house. We live in a mobile home and were aware that a skunk … Continue reading Looking for sense in the scent
Cloven hooved rodents and Irish Spring soap
I was hauling a load of garbage to the dump this morning; a pickup truck was coming my way, returning from the same errand. Shortly before we met, a mule deer went bounding across the road between us. Yes, we live in the country where the deer and the antelope roam. Way too many of … Continue reading Cloven hooved rodents and Irish Spring soap
Summer in sunny Saskatchewan
I hope everybody had a chuckle over the mistake in my last post. Two millimetres a year would come to two hundred millimetres in a century, or twenty centimetres, not two metres. If you look at the post now, you will see that I have corrected the error. Warm weather was late in arriving this … Continue reading Summer in sunny Saskatchewan
Flatlander Faith 