Outdoors

Backyard Nature

turtle3
Sunday was a gorgeous day and I spent some time wandering our yard looking at the flora and fauna in it. The turtles started gathering at their usual spot for a morning sunbath.

rubus
I noticed a Rubus trailing down by the pond.

sesbania
The rattlebox (Sesbania) mesmerized me for a few minutes…

sesbania2
so much so I took two different photos.

sweetgum2
The sky was the color I always wish I could just roll in, a stunning blue that puts a smile on my face.

loblolly

turtle2
I tried to get closer to the turtle but it saw me move and dashed under the water never to return.

resurrection
Some resurrection fern was rehydrated, others were still crinkled up and waiting for a good rain.

sweetgum
I noticed the sweetgums are getting ready to flower. I was curious what their flowers looked like: check it out!

bluebird2
A lot of bluebirds have been hanging about lately, and this one was checking out a screech owl box we installed.

bluebird
I stalked him around the yard until he got too tired of me following him and flew away.

wren
Not sure which bird this is—anyone know?—but it was snacking on something near our peach tree.

pinewarbler2
A couple of pine warbler were chilling out in the afternoon bringing a bit of color to the still unfoliated treescape.

pinewarbler

titmouse
I think this is a titmouse (?).

titmouse2
Hmmm, what’s in the leaf litter??

cardinal
And late in the evening the pair of cardinals that hang out near our potting bench flew by. I only managed to get two shots of the female before they both flew away. The males are a brilliant red right now!

turtles
It’s getting crowded!

I wanted to get a few shots of the wading birds that have been hanging out in the pond (and osprey!) but they weren’t around at the time. There’s a rookery about a half mile as the crow flies from the house. Need to get over there sometime soon and get a few photos too.

I love our yard!

4 Comments

  • Erin

    Oooooohhhhh spring! I’m so antsy for it, and these colorful pics aren’t helping! My guess on your mystery bird is yellow rumped warbler, female or juvenile. But I could be wrong! That dark cheek patch is a little confusing…

  • chel

    This is amazing. You have all this in your yard?! Wow. It’s like your own private nature reserve. You should make a little painting/art station out there so you can spend time out there doing nature studies!

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