Stubby

I was looking through photos on my computer, looking to organise June last year and came across these photos. They certainly made me smile. Last year in our garden, for several months, we had a regular squirrel visitor to the garden. We knew it was exactly the same squirrel as it was missing a tail with only a stubby point remaining. Stubby was a much loved visitor to the garden, but we haven't seen him since winter so I'm assuming he didn't make it through the harsh winter. When he first came to the garden he was quite shy and ran when we came out, yet towards the autumn he was hanging out - literally - on the feeding pole even when we were outside. I swear he was laughing at us. There were times when he had what seemed like a cheeky little grin on his face.

We've only had feeders in the garden a year or so and it still amazes me that all the visitors seem to have distinct personalities. I'm sure that anyone who watches the creatures that visit their garden thinks the same.

Been Away...

There have been no tales from the garden because we've been away. We spent a week camping up in the U.P of Michigan. We did leave some suet cages out while we were away and our middle son, who was watching the house, put out bird seed when he came to feed/stay with the cat. One day one of the deer came up and ate the food before the birds could get to it! Yesterday when we came back I put out some food and the birds went nuts. They had certainly missed their food!

Random photos today before I get back into the swing of things.

Another Day, Another Deer

I live in the city, though we are near some green space and I think that's why there are sometimes deer wandering into the garden. Some of them are pretty weary of humans - understandable as they are hunted at certain times of the year - but some are pretty curious. There are three that have been coming to the garden. I know they are the same ones because the one below has rather unique antlers growing. Perhaps once he gets bigger I won't be able to tell the difference, but for now it's nice to be able to. 

See how he has two on one side and one on the other? I wonder if they will even out when they grow. 

He usually comes with another smaller male and a female. He strides right up to the table without fear. If he's in the garden when I come with a cup of bird food he hangs around waiting nearby until I put some on the table. The birds aren't too happy when he eats their food! The other two are a little slower coming to the table. There is plenty of other greenery for them to eat in the garden at this time of year. I must admit they are a little pest-y (is that a word lol). I tried planting a garden a few times before the bird feeding adventure and they ate everything. This was before I knew they were around - or perhaps I just wasn't paying attention. 

On this day when I saw them they went down to the neighbour's garden, but soon jumped back over the fence when they heard the dogs another garden down. 

Warmer Weather...

It's warming up here in Michigan. The heater has been off for a few weeks now and the windows are open. They are still being closed at night as there is still a bit of a chill in the air. Soon it will be time to put in the window air conditioners. Out in the garden the grass is definitely green and growing faster than we can mow! There are several places in the garden where we let the grass grow wild. I looked out last night just after the sun had set and there was a lovely fat raccoon sitting on top of my green man planter trying to dig for remnants of peanuts that I stick in there for the chipmunks. I watched from the window for a while. No photo. I know from experience that as soon as I open the door it will scamper off to parts unknown. I was content to just watch.

Some of the regular daytime visitors to our garden don't seem to care when I watch, but others a little more apprehensive. The earliest and latest of the daytime visitors are the cardinals that come to the feeder. They seem a bit weary of other birds - especially the wild Starlings babies that have been around lately. Mr and Mrs Cardinal are the first ones at the feeder in the morning - sometimes sitting on the wire frame waiting for food to be put out - and the last ones feeding at night. Perhaps they wait until others aren't around.

They are fun to watch. The males can be quite feisty and seem to fly around chasing one another off. They can also be very sweet to the females. I have watched from afar as the males have fed the female. These are some of the birds that stick around all year. They certainly bring some much needed colour to the garden in winter. In my mind these should be the birds of Michigan rather than the Robin. I see far more of these lovely beauties all year round.

Resident Chipmunk

We have several chipmunks in the garden. I love watching their antics. Some of them aren't afraid to crawl up things, jump and basically do what needs to be done to be able to get their food. The chipmunk who seems to rule the garden is getting very particular. It watches from up high to keep an eye out for any intruding chipmunks. It's been chirping incessantly for ages at a time. Last night it was warm enough to have the windows open and the sound was driving us absolutely crazy! I decided I had to look it up to see why s/he was doing this. Apparently - as we thought - it is warning others to stay out of its territory. We had been calling this chipmunk a he, but from what I read it is probably a female as they are more territorial and it is definitely that!

For some reason Chirpy's favourite place seems to be on this make-shift window air conditioner thingy (I have no clue what it is actually called). S/he won't be happy soon when it is taken away so the air conditioner will be put in the window! I did tell you that the garden wasn't perfect.

Chirpy was up there chirping when I took this photo. I didn't see any other chipmunks around but there were lots of birds so maybe it doesn't like them being in the garden either!

Chirpy came down long enough today to have a look around. There were a couple of other chipmunks over by the fence at this point so maybe s/he was making sure they didn't come any closer.

I did end up leaving a couple of peanuts close to its hole when I put out some more bird seen. Chirpy enjoyed those!

Yes, that's another random piece of wood. I daren't move it at this point as it is right outside Chirpy's hole. I would hate to reveal it!

A couple of interesting chipmunk facts:-

* Chipmunks are diurnal - that means they only come out in the daytime.

* They live between 2-3 years

* They have pouches in their cheeks to store and carry food. These pouches can stretch to three times     larger than their heads!

Introduction

I've lived in this house for quite a while but until recently I haven't spent much time watching what goes on in the garden. I started paying more attention when I took a hiatus from work and had more time to learn about photography. I decided that I enjoyed taking photos of animals while I was out walking and I wondered how I could see some of those animals in my garden. Husband helped me set up some bird feeders. I've spent more time watching and enjoying the birds and little critters that visit. They are amazing to watch and seem to have such personalities. I've taken a lot of photos as I watch and I thought I'd share them and a few of the little tales that go with them. I live in Michigan and there are definite seasons here and with the changing of the seasons there comes changes in the garden. I can't wait to share them with you!