Black-capped Chickadee and Me

Sometimes when I am in nature, I like to listen to the birds, be quiet and just be present.

Blue Jay Feather

"Grateful"

Feathers are a reminder to count our blessings and be thankful for the goodness in our lives.

Window Frost

Got to love nature and her masterpieces

Barberries

Vibrant red barberries after the

snowfall looks pretty in winter!

Dandelion

Fly Agaric Mushroom

Fly Agric Mushroom (Amanita muscaria)

Found this pair of mushrooms growing together, literally! It will be interesting to see the shape they take when they flatten out!

My Little Sidekick

Hanging up the gloves after a hard days work!!

There will always be much to learn from nature, it just requires listening and watching.

"National Bird of Canada"

Meet our family of Gray Jays. Our feathered friends visit us and we hand feed them on a daily basis.  Blueberry pancakes is one of their favorites!!

Did you know that Gray Jays are actually shown

scientifically to be the smartest bird on the planet?

They are tough little birds and never migrate out of Canada, wintering in the boreal forest where they nest.  They've been observed sitting on eggs in temperatures as low as minus 30 C.

Gray Jay is also nick named Whiskey Jack

****50,000 online votes****

The Gray Jay was chosen the National Bird of Canada

"Ohhhh Hello"

Don't let the cuteness of this Black Bear fool you!!

Respect the power of nature and

remember, we are in their territory!

Black Bears have poor eyesight, but they compensate

for this with an acute sense of smell and excellent hearing.

HAPPY EASTER

The Easter bunny hopped by for a visit today....

Tamarack Tree Cone

Tamarack Tree Cone (aka Larch Tree Cone)

We collect these little gems and find lots of ways to enjoy them! Love to craft? The tiny cones (15mm - 20mm) accent a rustic wreath very well....We like to put some in a bowl and spray a few drops of our favorite essential oil on the cones to create a natural room freshener!

Catkins

Female Catkin

Male Catkin

The Catkins are flowers that grow on the Alder tree.  These flowers often appear before the leaves do.  You might see butterflies feeding on the catkins and leaves.

Alder is a hardwood and can be used to make furniture, guitars, and cabinets.  The wood of some alder species is also used to smoke salmon and other foods.

Did you know:  Alder catkins provide an early source

of pollen for bees, especially honeybees.

Hiking Buddy

Black-capped Chickadee

We love it when they hang out

with us on our hiking trails!!

My First Winter

It's not hard to tell it's this lil juvenile's first winter, and maybe a little more practice on his landing skills is needed in the snow, but he "got the peanut"!!

Evening Grosbeaks

This large flock of Evening Grosbeaks visit here on a daily basis.  They know the platform feeder very well.  Although they do just fine on their own eating the buds of maple, willow, oak and elm trees, to name a few, we enjoy offering them some sunflower seeds during the winter.  They also drink maple sap by breaking off small maple twigs.

We sprinkled some seeds on the hard

packed snow for the rest of the flock!

As you can see, it was freezing rain when I captured these

images, but that didn't stop either of us!!

Black Vulture "Elvira"

"Elvira" the Black Vulture arrived on our property just over one year ago and was emaciated and very distressed.  She was thousands of miles away from her home range of South America and Southeastern US.  To make a long story short, we captured her about a week later at another property down the road....(click on the link at the bottom of this post for the full interview)

We brought her home and made a temporary house for her while we waited for Hope for Wildlife to arrive.  We fed her a little bit of meat, and yes, that is our dinner plate beside her - it was black to match her beautiful feathers!!

The next morning, staff members from the wildlife shelter made the 8 hour return trip and brought Elvira back to their facility where they fed and housed her for the winter!! They are truly amazing!!  Once word quickly got out that Elvira was ''in the house'', she soon became a bit of a celebrity and had thousands of people wish her well on their social media outlets.  Hope, in her 20 years of wildlife and rehab work, has never had a Black Vulture patient in her care.

This past spring, after she was all fattened up and practiced her flying skills inside the flight cage, Elvira was given the green light to be released back into nature!! Hope for Wildlife and her team released Elvira nearby at a bird sanctuary where she had the best possible chance to find her way back south during the bird migration! The Black Vulture is mostly seen in large groups, and although Elvira was alone at the time of her release, her breed is also known to hang out with Turkey Vultures, which we hope she found a few at the bird sanctuary to migrate back south with.

We know you are soaring high Elvira!! Thank you Hope for Wildlife for everything that you did for Elvira's stay with you and for all that you continue to do for all of the furry and feathered friends that need you!!

Click on this link to see the interview with Elvira:

Elvira made new news and was interviewed a couple of times and also appeared in an episode on Hope for Wildlife TV

. . . My Name is Squirt . . . ''Coloring Book/Story Book"

I'm excited to introduce my coloring/activity book "My Name is Squirt" just released on Amazon. This book is based entirely on the storybook of the same name published in 2016. Squirt is a baby duck who narrates her story as she explores her enchanted world on the farm. She always has time for fun, including riding piggyback on a Border Collie or hiding in a sneaker. This book includes beautifully illustrated coloring pages with an added bonus at the end of the book for your child's imagination.

To experience life with Squirt, please click on the links below. Both the full color story book and the coloring books are available here:

Coloring Book/Story Book on Amazon.COM

Coloring Book/Story Book is on Amazon.co.UK 

Coloring Book/Story Book is on Amazon.CA

~ A sneak peak inside the coloring book/story book ~

.... Also Available .…

"My Name is Squirt" is also available in paperback and eBook versions featuring FULL COLOR double page illustrations. For your convenience, click on these links:

Story Book and eBook on Amazon.CA

Story Book and eBook on Amazon.COM

 

 ~ A sneak peak inside the storybook!! ~

Watch the book trailer on YouTube - My Name is Squirt

**Reviews

Gnome Home

Look what I found!!  A gnome home in this
tree stump!  I wonder where they are hiding??!!

Shelf Mushrooms

Amanita Mushroom species

Happy Halloween!

''What will my costume be this Halloween??!?"

"Ta-da .... I'm a Qtip"

Eastern Chipmunk

I LOVE peanuts....I really DO!!

One chipmunk can gather up to 165 nuts in one day.

I found his hiding place!!

Actually, this looked to be this little one's home for the winter.  It was a very deep burrow, where he was storing his food.  Chipmunks will spend most of the winter months underground.  They do not hibernate, but go into a deep sleep and wake only to eat every few days.  In spring, they may have to dig through a few feet of snow to get out.

Chipmunks have pouches inside of their cheeks.

They can store lots of food when foraging.

Chipmunks are very active in the daytime during spring, summer and fall. Besides peanuts, they love to eat berries, corn, mushrooms, insects, and plant roots

Did you know that Chipmunks have four toes on the

front feet and five toes on the back feet?

Back to the burrow .... (his cheeks are full)