Category: Photography

Image #167 – The Squirrel Cafe is Open

Image #167

A few posts back I wrote about squirrels being a pain when it comes to keeping bird feeders full and the truly effective way that some North Carolinians take care of such a problem — they shoot them. My friend Mary took exception with such extreme measures and described how she feeds the squirrels around her house.  Her comments resonated with me, especially when I considered that my sister and brother-in-law are currently fostering two orphaned flying squirrels.  There is, after all, a yin and a yang in life. We must honor that.  So I set up a small squirrel feeding area on my deck using pieces of lumber from our recent tree removal.

As the picture demonstrates, the squirrels have found this solution very much to their liking.  They have, for the most part, stopped raiding my feeders.  I seem to have 3 squirrels that regularly visit my deck. If they get too obnoxious I set Tango loose on them and they scatter in every direction.  He enjoys the romp and its best to keep the squirrels on their toes. My neighbor had some horror stories about squirrels chewing their way through screening to get food from inside the house.  I sure don’t want that. ❧

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Image #166 – Gaping Gator

Alligator at Myakka River State Park
Alligator at Myakka River State Park

I’ll be heading down to Florida soon where I plan to spend a few weeks. Looking forward to getting back out to Myakka River State Park and taking more gator pictures, like this one.  Unless there is a severe drought the odds are very good that you will see a gator at Myakka.  They are all over the place out there.  Best of all they love to congregate by the Park Drive bridge which makes getting photos like this one quite easy and safe. ❧

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Image #165 – Nine Turkeys Trotting

Image #165

This picture of wild turkeys was taken last year at Myakka River State Park. There was a time at Myakka when wild turkeys were nearly extinct.  They were aggressively hunted in Myakka Park and  a part of me can understand why. The meat of these turkeys would not be anything like the Butterball that some of you cooked last week for Thanksgiving. But I feel certain it was satisfying never the less.  And wild turkeys have beautiful feathers that no doubt pulled down a nice chunk of change in the early decades of the 20th century when women’s hats were elaborately adorned with feathers.  Living here in North Carolina, where poverty is a very real thing, I find myself thinking about all of this in a different way. It takes me back to my very early days in New England when I recall many classmates who were malnourished and poorly clothed, but once we moved to the gleaming Gulf coast of Florida it seemed poverty went into my rearview mirror. I suppose that was the goal. Still, these “pockets” of poverty are with us and extend to our urban areas as well. Any one who has watched the news in recent days has probably heard about the battle for a higher minimum wage. The current requirement of $7.25 an hour is a pittance and can barely sustain a single individual much less a family. If you want a concise essay on that battle I suggest the article by Richard Trumka and Christine Owens on CNN.

We’ve managed to protect the turkeys in Myakka and they are flourishing. Can we find a way to help our fellow human beings? ❧

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Image #163 – Angry Birds anyone?

Image #163 (1)
Northern Cardinal  (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Anyone who has ever played “Angry Birds” knows that look!  Northern Cardinals are endlessly enchanting. I seem to be over-run with them these days. I counted seven at the feeder today– 3 males and 4 females. So stay tuned for more Cardinal pictures. ❧

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Image #161 – Watching His Back

Image #161

Squirrels are the bane of those who love to feed the birds.  If you aren’t careful about the type of feeder you purchase you could be hanging a “Free Eats” sign that every squirrel in the neighborhood will see.  My feeders are a mixture of squirrel-proof and non-squirrel-proof so its no wonder that these varmints are hanging out at Alice’s. When things get too bad I take down the easy-access models and the squirrels eventually stop coming.

But here in Western North Carolina things are different.  If you are over-run with squirrels here  you simply get your 22 rifle and start ridding the world of squirrels one-by-one.  That’s what my neighbor has been doing and the neighborhood has six fewer squirrels as a result.  Maybe that’s why this fellow has his back to the post.

A part of me — the urban part — is a little squeamish about this practice. But no one is making me take up a rifle and shoot them. And I have to admit that the squirrel traffic has been considerably lighter at my feeders. ❧

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Img #159 – Thanks . . .

Image #159

In many parts of the country today a cozy fire made Thanksgiving just right. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. ❧

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Image #157 – When the weather turns bad …

It has been a miserable … wait, let me amend that.  It has been a MISERABLE day here in Western North Carolina.  It has been raining steadily since the wee hours of the morning and my rain gauge is showing more than 2″.  Our temperature has been above freezing so the precipitation has remained liquid. That will change tonight when the forecast says that snow will begin and carry on through most of tomorrow.

Sigh….

There really is nothing you can do about the weather except have faith that it will change and remember happier times. So on a yucky day like today I try to remember better times and returned to my photo diary to see what I was up to last year. It appears that I was hiking in the Myakka Park Wilderness area, a lovely pristine part of an already pristine place. Here’s a picture from that day.

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As you can see it was a beautiful day and Myakka was, as always, sublime. On my way out the area I encountered a deer who stopped and calmly assessed my intent. I passed muster and she walked away quietly. I hope she is enjoying a warm, sunny and peaceful day. ❧

Image #157(1)

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Image #154 – Stalked Hairy Fairy Cup

The Stalked Hairy Fairy Cup, according to Audubon’s Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, is “Often in large groups, on dead twigs, stems, beech burs, and birch catkins.” That explains the large number of these specimens that were populating the various pieces from our recent tree removal on Fawn Hill.  There were plenty of dead or dying stems and twigs for this fungus to enjoy.Image #154(1) At approximately 1/8 of an inch (3mm) in length is is very easy to overlook this unique mushroom.  The actual cup is only 1/32 of an inch (1mm) wide.  When you get down close to it you see that is is covered with long, white hairs. Just another wonder from the mushroom world. ❧

Image #154

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Image #150 – The Pool Has Closed for the Season

Image #150 (1)

That’s my backyard bird bath this morning.  It was chilly here, actually downright cold. When I awoke it was 15º F.   The birds are flocking to my feeders in great numbers and who can blame them? I can barely comprehend how they manage to survive in such weather but clearly good nutrition is a part of it.  Just yesterday I was talking with my neighbor about bird bath heaters.  She was talking about the need to get her’s in place and I was marveling that such an item existed. It never occurred to this Florida girl but I’ve already been to Amazon.com to check it out and this morning certainly confirms the need for such a device.  There are some technical issues to resolve, however. So, for the next few days at least, my feathered-friends will have to try skating.  Thankfully the weather is forecast to moderate and by the weekend we will be back in the 60s. ❧

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