Tulips starting to peek through

The calendar can change and we can see Robins, but I like to see flowers coming up to let me know Spring is here...

Milkweed and Monarchs (I hope)

Growing up with milkweed in our yard, I have long wanted plants in my yard (or near my yard)  I learned to appreciate the Monarch butterflies it attracted and the fact they need the plant to survive.

I have been reading that Monarch numbers are down due to weather and loss of habitat.  So the combination of my wanting it around and the desperate need to have it led me to plant some behind my back fence.

On our walks, we have met many nice people in our neighborhood.  One in particular has milkweed and I have commented on it. 

Last fall, he walked up to our house and hung a bag full of pods for me on our doorknob (even some from his neighbor).  He included a note and some lucky buckeyes.  I got the seeds planted in probably 20 spots behind our back fence last November.  I wanted to keep them away from Rusty.

Here is the bag....

Here are the buckeyes (I planted one for luck)

Here are some seeds in the ground....

Wish me luck.  I will certainly post updates as the plants (hopefully) grow and you can expect me to be stalking Monarchs.

Fox News

I finally got my Red Fox.  Credit to Russ.  Cindy and I could not count the number of times he barks at something out the back window.  Sometimes we think he's just bored and making things up.  But yesterday I went in to see what the fuss was and after a double-take, I was staring at a Red Fox in the afternoon light.  After calmly (not really) asking Cindy to hold Russell back, I got two quick pictures and then a short video clip for evidence.  Cindy was able to see him duck back into the woods.  I can cross this off my list to capture on film.

Here's what I got (the last two images are from the video)...

 

 

Rusty is 7!

Happy Birthday Rusty/Russell/Russ/Russie!  We've had him about 5 1/2 years.  He turned 7 yesterday and celebrated with family and a walk.

 

What's for breakfast around here?

Russ barked this morning and I looked out and saw five deer running through the woods.  They came out in someone's backyard up the street.  I watched them and they came back a bit so I could see them a few doors down.  These photos were actually taken with Russ outside with me.  Two of them wandered back in the woods but clearly they are pretty comfortable...

 

I like the ears

Of Ice and Birds

Our yard doesn't look like this today, but here are pictures of our "ice feature" in the backyard.  Russ does not like the ice or the mud and mush around the ice.

 

Here are some tracks from what I presume was a raccoon...

 

And here are some close-ups I got from my feeder...

Black-Capped Chickadee

White-Breasted Nuthatch

For the birds...

I'm sure deer scoop up what they can at night, but it's been awhile since we've seen any stop by for a bite.  When I had a tray-style feeder, they would lick the seed out of the tray and basically drain the feeder.  They can't do that on this one so even though it's in reach (see below), they have to settle for what's on the ground.