Yard, Gardens, Birds and Critters

The Determined Male Bluebird By Mary J Williams © The weather has been cold Below the freezing mark We have had snow It hasn’t been a walk in the park I feed the birds But in weather like this I have to put more out Otherwise, the birds will miss I have one feeder With a Starling guard on it Chickadees, Titmouse, sparrows and more In and out the cage, they don’t quit Now a Red-bellied Woodpecker Is quite a large bird But has a long beak A long tongue I have heard I watched the woodpecker land Held on to the cage Stuck his head in The distance he did gauge He ate for a minute And then he flew away I was amazed He will eat another day I saw the male Bluebird Fighting to get in That cage held him back Little heavy I said with a grin The next time he tried He knew what to do Grabbed onto the cage And pushed himself through The female was watching From high on a roost Wondering how the male did it Without a big boost She couldn’t do it Couldn’t figure out how Male came back He did it again,...

 I have already wrote several poems but none really fit in this blog. I watch the birds daily. They empty a bird feeder that I have on the deck, every day. It's not a real small feeder either.  I will see if I can find a picture of it. It's one that the squirrels can't invade. The openings close up when they try and get the seed.  However, the feeder is close to the 2x6 on the deck. I have seen them reach and put no weight on the feeder and grab a bite.  One squirrel hung from the top and reached in. If there is a will, they find a way! So, I saw a squirrel out there. Maybe the birds didn't eat it all! Who knows Today, the 12th of January, I was attempting to cook a supper and noticed a Mockingbird on the hot seed.  Looked so pretty as it was all fluffed out because of the bitter cold and wind.  It was around 16°F at that time. It's colder now. My battery in my camera died. Yes, I do use a camera, not just a phone!  I switched to a fully charged batter...

 I was standing on my deck, looking out and saw some red dots.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  I have a Winterberry bush/tree and have never seen it bloom and there it was with red berries all over it.  I was thrilled. I went and got my camera and took a picture from the deck.  Even with my zoom, it wasn't a terrific picture as the camera was trying to focus on the the branches of a tree that was much closer.  I finally went down the deck steps and made my way to the back fence.  I took a couple of pictures of the Winterberry and then noticed something else that also had the red berries.  I didn't know what it was, but I should have.  I have an app on my phone and used it for the identification of the unknown berry.  It was the berries of the Amur Honeysuckle. The Honeysuckle that is so invasive.  I have pulled it out every year I have lived in this house. Over 30 years now.  It's a losing battle. The birds sure like them. As I w...