Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
It’s Coffee Time! #86.
Good morning everyone! It’s cold again, but not like yesterday at least. But I still have lots of hot coffee and tea for everyone to enjoy while we spend a few minutes relaxing and enjoying the activities outside. I was going to do something different starting this morning, but, it didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to, so I guess that means I just kind of ramble again this morning. Sort of. A nice treat this morning is a flock of about 15 evening grosbeaks are here for their breakfast right now. Nice to have their bright colors out there again. There is something around that keeps scaring the birds though, but I haven’t been able to see what it is.
Must be a hawk, like a sharp-shinned hawk, although it’s a bit early for them to be back, or one of our small falcons like the Kestrel or Merlin, a more likely idea. Another chipmunk showed up yesterday, Pocket. At first he was a bit nervous when he saw me until I started talking to him, then he came bouncing over right away. For those who don’t know, last year I had 7 chipmunks, but 2 disappeared shortly after a pine marten showed up. Marten’s hunt chipmunks. Anyway, Pocket was one of the main 3, the other 2 were Chester and Skamper. Coffee showed up later in the summer.
Jasper and the chipmunks had lots of fun together, in a sort of odd kind of way. Jasper liked to protect his peanuts. And I am sure the chipmunks worked together to get peanuts away from Jasper. After all, they were meant for everyone. Jasper is sitting on the box that I kept the peanuts in, to keep them safe from the crows. Skamper comes in the west door while Jasper is facing east. Jasper heard something so turned to face west, while Skamper came out the east door and Pocket came in the south door. Jasper turned again and Pocket came out the east door.
This time Jasper spotted him and the chase was on! Pocket went behind another box and Chester came out of that box and in behind Jasper. Pocket jumped off the deck but Jasper stopped, so Chester ran into him. Poor Jasper went straight up, then jumped off the deck and didn’t land too gracefully in the raspberry plants. Chester and Coffee got their peanuts before Jasper got back. It was like that every day, something always happened with Jasper and the chipmunks. It was great fun to watch them each day. We’ll see what happens this year. Have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve’s Bird Of The Day #41.
Hi everyone! Our bird today is the broad-winged hawk. This hawk is a little larger than a crow and breeds across the eastern half of the U.S. and across Canada in nearly every province. Out in western Canada they breed quite far north but not so in eastern Canada. They prefer deciduous or mixed forests and usually close to some kind of clearing or near a lake or river. Mostly they eat small rodents such as mice, but will go after a wide range of prey including insects, chipmunks, squirrels and small birds. They generally nest about 10 to 30 feet off the ground and the nest can be up to 20 inches (50cm across). Most winter from southern Mexico to S. America. They have broad black and white bands on their tails and very broad wings, making them easy to identify while soaring. In fall migration they can fly in flocks, called kettles, of several thousand birds. They are usually our last hawk to arrive here in the north, normally late April to early May. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 