Tag: birds

Image #78 – I Hate Briars

I hate briars, brambles…thorny vines, whatever you care to call them, I hate them.  This morning I spent some time working on the south 40.  That’s the south 40 feet of my property not the south 40 acres.  We have a bit over an acre here and there is a small peninsula of land at the south end that narrows down towards Potts Branch Road. It sits behind our tool shed and is a pleasant little spit of land. It will be even more pleasant after I get rid of the greenbrier.  I attacked it heavily Image #78athis a.m. because I just hate briars. I think it must stem (pardon the pun) from some bad experiences in childhood. I was always running around and prowling in the woods behind our house and I remember getting tangled up rather badly on a couple of occasions. Being a child there was that tendency to panic and try to get away from bad things quickly. Such tendencies have bad results in briar patches.   I’m more cautious now, of course.

The strategy this a.m. was weaponry coupled with chemical warfare. I cut and pulled free the vines, traced them back to their origin, cut them at the root and applied a surgical squirt of weed killer.  I cleared a good amount of vine, heaping it in a clearing with plans to move it to a burn pile later.  There is still more to go but I feel I have made some young trees much happier. They had been pulled down by the accumulating vine and were bent nearly to the ground under the weight. Some vines climbed high into mature trees and when I was able to pull some down I was surprised to see berries.  And then the guilt hit. Image #78Perhaps the vine has a purpose?  My ego initially rejected such an idea but my pace slowed and I decided I would learn more before proceeding. I have cleared the area I foresee as the “path” so the brambles along the fence can be pruned more judiciously, I reasoned.

Returning to the house I went online and learned that greenbrier do indeed serve a purpose. The berries are loved by birds. They only form after the vine reaches the high trees so a lot of time and effort is spent growing that vine. I’m chagrined and a little chastened but I’m unchanged … I hate briars. I’ll find a way for all of us to live together.  But the glory days are over for much of the greenbrier on the south 40.  The tangled mass of intertwined brambles is gone.  Sorry … well, not really.  The birds are getting plenty to eat at my feeders and maybe they’ll miss the succulent greenbrier berry but I really won’t.☙

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Image #76 – Shelter from the Storm

Image #76We have a good deal of rain here on Fawn Hill. I’ve been told that the Nantahala Forest, in which I reside, is actually a rain forest.  Well, I don’t know about that but, as I said, we have a lot of rain and it is often tropical in nature. It pops up, comes down in buckets and then the Sun comes out.  During the downpours the birds often take shelter on the feeders.  Hey, on a rainy day what better to do then stay dry and eat good food? These finches and a male cardinal seem content with each other’s company … at least as long as it rains.  ☙

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Image #75 — Sub-adult Ruby-throat Hummingbird

Image #75Read enough bird identification guides and you come across some curious terms. Like “sub-adult”. Why not “young adult”? Why not “aged juvenile”?  Oh well… He’s strong and well-fed. May he live long and prosper. ☙

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Image #73 – Summer’s Bounty II

Image #73Today the birds descended on this berry tree behind my house.  Like yesterday’s squirrel they seem to enjoy the bounty. ☙

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Image #69 – Hummingbirds

Image #69There are hummingbirds that come to my feeder.  What a treat! You can sit on the porch, with the feeder just a few feet overhead, and the little rascals will zoom in, sometimes stopping to hover and have a look at you. Their aerial abilities are beyond description and, I can tell you, present a challenge to the photographer.  All birds, it seems, have an aversion to cameras. Hummingbirds are no exception and their speed and agility make them even more of a challenge.

I did get a picture today of a juvenile sitting on the feeder. I think this is a very young ruby-throat. They are the predominant species here Image #69(a)but this little guy is still in knickers.  Look carefully at the base of his belly and you can still see his downy feathers.  Good luck little hummingbird.  Live long and prosper. ☙

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Image #40 – Shelter from the Storm

Image #40Things are moving along at Fawn Hill.  There are now two bird feeders up and the birds have definitely found them.  They are grateful for a dry place to feed — as this blurry photo through a window shows.  There is a wonderful variety of birds here, quite a treat for this Florida gal who is accustomed to cardinals, blue jays, the occasional wren and not much else at her Florida feeder.  For years I have known that in Sarasota I was just a bit too far south for the variety of birds that flock to Florida in the winter. The more colorful ones — the finches, orioles, grosbeaks and buntings — stay in the Ocala area.  Sarasota does have great water birds and Myakka River State Park always provided a smorgsboard of water fowl.

It has rained here for days. I’ve been told this is a rainforest and my brief — two week — experience would confirm that. When I stand on my front porch I can hear the nearby Potts Branch — a minor tributary of the Little Tennessee River — as it races down from the hills. It  provides the name for the road that accesses my house on Fawn Hill.  My friend Boni tells me that in times of drought you can use the creek bed as a hiking trail but that certainly is not the case this year.  The rushing of the water is somehow soothing, even though I know it is wreaking havoc as it gains momentum and slams into the Little Tennessee. In downtown Franklin there is a 3-4 mile walkway along the Little Tennessee. Tango and I walked a bit of it yesterday and it is significantly higher than it was a week ago.

So much to learn in this new place.☙

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