Junco

Bird of yesterday, White Thoated Sparrows, they have arrived in great numbers. Also had Winter Wren,Hermit Thrush, Kinglets up at the Co. Park. Bird of today was Bluebird! Dozens at all different spots around the fields.

First Junco under the feeder, can winter be far behind? Still no more monarchs last two days.

Bear pics

No monarchs yesterday, I'm sad to see them go.

Great day...I'm back

Bear at our land.

I'm having a blissful morning. There is NOTHING that I have to do today.No one is at home which is so rare. I'm Drinking coffee, enjoying my wonderful peaceful life and doing some writing. I did some thinking yesterday while I spent seven hours up at the Hawk Watch. How lucky am I to be living this life, that when I was a kid I could only dream about? I grew up in the heart of suburbia. I so wanted to live in an area that I could immerse myself in Nature everyday. Some how, I've made it happen. For the last 23 years I've lived in this beautiful town, surrounded by more wildlife on a daily basis then most people see in a lifetime. I can look out my window and see one of the most magnificent creatures that live on earth, bears. I have several parks where I can be enjoying the outdoors with in minutes of deciding to go. I can't even begin to imagine just how awesome it will be to finally build our log cabin on that gorgeous piece of property that has even more wildlife then where we live now. And recently becoming a certified naturalist and wildlife rehabilitater. My heart is singing....LIFE IS INDEED GOOD!

Nice Backyard birds this am Y.B.Sapsucker, RC Kinglet. first W.T. Sparrow! Lots of chickadees, Nuthatch and TTmouse.

Awesome hike up in the Co. Park. The most gorgeous fall day I can ever remember and no one, not a single soul was up on the trails or in the fields! There are literally thousands of cars cursing into Warwick to enjoy the Fall colors, but no one hits the trails. Birds of note today Swainsons thrush, Towee, Kinglets, W.T. Sparrow, first Junco of the year and the bird of the day....is the WB Nuthatch! They were everywhere!

Hawk watch count for yesterday, with Westerly winds and complete cloud cover, 173 birds total, 4 Bald eagles and 5 Merlin. Also saw 3 Brant flying with a canada goose. 11 Monach butterflies.

Birds

Yesterday the first of the W.T. Sparrows have started to return to our area. Today there are even more up at CL Park. Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Golden-Crowned Kinglets and Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers (2) are around. Prarie and Yellow-Rumped Warblers. More chickadees, Nuthatch and Tufted Titmouse are hanging around the feeders.

Feeling lost.....

There is nothing on this earth that feeds my soul better then getting out into nature daily. No matter how I'm feeling it always helps me to see the world clearly again. It is my drug of choice to heal my heavy heart. I can fully escape from what ever is getting me down just by stepping out into the woods. It helps me to make decisions that getting clouded by the chaos of daily living. I now know why I'm feeling so lost with out my Petey....he was my hiking partner, he was part of my nature tonic for the last four and a half years. When I'm out there, I miss him terribly. I feel like my soul is screaming for him. I feel lost. He wasn't *just a dog*, he was my dog. My constant companion, he knew me inside and out. I miss the simple bliss of just being with him sitting on the side of a mountain or in a pine forest, or at the side of a lake. I miss his zoomies, always thanking me for taking him. I miss his Dobe smile, his utter joy of living in the moment. I miss him making me go for a hike by poking me and barking at me until I put my shoes on. I MISS PETEY. What we had was very special. I hope that Monty and I can build the same kind of quiet understanding, the same bond. I know it will take time, strong bonds with dogs are earned with time together. For now.....we are out there everyday working on it, in Petey's honor.

Random Fall wanderings...

We have yet to have our first frost. Many monarchs continue to gather on the last of the Butterfly blooms. We lost some of our leaves during the rain over the weekend, but many trees have not even changed yet, it will be an extended Fall color change, to the delight of all the leafers who travel north to see them in all their spender. This morning, two Red squirrels were hanging around the feeders as well as both Gray Squirrels. Seeing them all doing well put a smile on my face first thing today.

Oops someone left the fryer pot on the deck

This is what happens when you leave a large pot full of cooking oil on an open deck and there are hungry bears roaming around. We had people to dinner and ended up running out and forgetting to lock the pot back up in the garage. Derek was in the Living room in the early hours of this morning when he heard a loud crash. He looked outside to see the mess.

The weather is GORGEOUS this weekend. Last night we had a small gathering of friends and family up at our Tipi. The moon came up while we were all arriving, it was stunning. The air was crisp and scented with fall. We hope to spend much more time at the tipi now that we have furniture. I feel so at home on our land.

Hawk Watch on Friday was a bust, 6 total birds, rainy on and off all day. I do love being up there and watching the change of seasons. Having so many hours to stand in one spot helps me to stay in the moment and really observe nature, each minute detail of it.

Red Squirrels go free

Today was the day to let the five little girl Red Squirrels free. Once the cage was opened it didn't take long for them to come out and begin to explore. With in a half hour all were in trees. Miss them already, but know in my heart freedom is all that matters to a wild animal. Wildlife Rehabilitation is very rewarding work. I'm glad that I decided to work on my bucket list now rather then later....because already I'm starting to check things off, one from way back was to get my Rehabilitators license. Another dream was to become a Naturalist, that I accomplished two weeks ago. I'm now working on becoming a Certified Master Naturalist. There is so much to learn and do... Life IS Good!

Gray Squirrel Rehabs

The two gray rehabs are doing really well,they were released a week ago. The last two days they have showed up at the feeder in the afternoon. They both look healthy.

Fall Hike 10-11-11

Goose Rocks Beach weekend

So incredibly blessed to spend an awesome long weekend with my wonderful hubby and our pup Monty at Goose Rocks beach where we lived 28 years ago. We stayed across the salt marsh from our old cottage. Spent the entire weekend soaking up the beauty of the area and eating lots of delicious seafood. How blessed were we to have lived there for a whole year. Several times we watched a Immature Bald Eagle up close, just before leaving the cottage he flew right in front of it, almost as if he was saying goodbye to us, maybe he was.....

The're back!

The last two nights I've been awoken by lots of noise in the backyard. The first night horrifying noise, the rehab squirrel cage being knocked over. I knew immediately it was a bear. I was up in a flash and ran down stairs, outback and began banging and yelling, I looked under our patio canopy and there was still a bear there! I couldn't believe that he was being so brazen. It's rare for them not to run at the first sign of humans, especially when there is that kind of noise. Bobby ended up throwing two fire crackers and the bear finally left. Just before that he stood at the end of the patio and stared at me. He was a little guy about the same age as Monty. Only about the same height, but he weighed more then a hundred pounds. I was able to right the cage, one squirrel was out, the other settled back in his nest box. I left the outside light on and the cage open. The next morning I took the nest box out of the cage and left the squirrel some food. He spent the early morning exploring the trees and feeders. I left for work. Later on that morning I received a call, it was my son, Jason said the bear was at the house again. That is what these pictures are from. He did scare him away. Early this morning I awoke again to lots of noise,knew instantly it was the bear again, flew open the window and had a thought...I'll be there are TWO. Sure enough there were! They were under the apple tree pigging out on all the apples on the ground. I now know why it seemed like the bear didn't get out for under the canopy during the squirrel ordeal, the first one did, his bro didn't! Lets see what tonight brings.....

Monty and I had a fantastic hike today. We went up to the AT over looking Greenwood Lake, via Cascade Lake Park. We were out about 3 hours total. Bird migration was in full force everywhere we wandered. The overlook was filled with migrating Raptors, 1 Eagle, 3 Osprey, 1 Red Shoulder, 1 Sharpie and lots of Red Tails and Vultures playing in the wind. Other notable birds, lots of Phoebes, Towees, King Fisher, Wood Duck, Nashville, Prairie and C. Yellow-throat Warblers. Only one turtle remained sunning himself on a log. Sad to see the warm weather leaving us for the year. Upon returning home a lone Hummingbird was feeding on all the flowers in my garden. I filled up the feeder with fresh nectar for her. Hoping her migration is successful and she gets to her Winter home below Southern Mexico.

Over the weekend I took two shifts up at the Hawk Watch. Friday I did an 8 hour shift and had 152 birds and Sunday I did 7 hours for a total of 65 birds. Lots of great company, beautiful birds, I enjoyed myself completely. Yesterday was the Applefest here in Warwick, the roads were jammed with people, I was asked to count because no one wants to try and drive to or from Warwick on Applefest day. The entire time I was up at the watch I thought about just how blessed I am to have such a undying love for all of nature, how it carries me through my life like nothing else. No way I'd trade a bad day up at the watch for a single Applefest. Watching beautiful birds is far more exciting then looking at crafts and fighting crowds of people.

October 1, 2011

I have the seven squirrels back now. 5 female reds, 1 female gray and 1 male gray. They are almost old enough to release. I've weened them off the bottles and started to dish feed the reds. I've gathered some natural foods for them and will be putting the cages outside today or tomorrow. They will spend about two weeks getting used to the sights and sounds of the yard, and then the cages will be opened. They will be allowed to return to the nest boxes each night to sleep. I will provide food for them all winter.

Yesterday was my regular day at the hawk watch. I did a 8 hour shift and was rewarded with 152 birds. Lots of fantastic company as well! I've also taken tomorrow which looks very promising for a nice count. It's dreaded Applefest...crowds of people headed to our lovely little town. The traffic makes it impossible for anyone to get around.

I'm feeling pretty good about some of the things I've added to my life. I'm proud that I took the steps to become a certified naturalist, a wildlife rehabilitator and also an official counter at the Mt. Peter Hawk Watch. I feel as though I'm beginning to fulfill my destiny, doing what I was born to do. Now if only I could come up with a job that encompasses some of what I love.