Birds and blooms....

I prefer not to 'shoot' the birds at the feeder, but sometimes they are so fun and so wild, I just can't help myself.

I love the action shots best even if the background shows my paddock with the ugly fence and ground behind it.

These goldfinches have been absolutely wild this spring!

On some mornings I can get out and walk in the neighbor's meadow to the east of us. It is a huge meadow with the forest surrounding it.

I can hear Brown Thrashers, Crows, Robins, Orioles, Wrens, and many more birds. When I reached the far eastern edge of the meadow, I looked back and there was Sunshine my 28 year old mule watching me from her pasture.
 

I stood quiet for a long time and was so surprised to see an owl! I'm pretty sure it is a Barred Owl. He/she is near a spot where we used to find Owl Pellets.

Eventually, it flew away.

These Palm Warblers are making nests in the multiflora rose bushes. Aren't they smart? They pick the worst and nastiest thorny spots to keep their nests safe.

I don't have a very good shot of the Catbird but they were singing back and forth across the meadow.

This is the time of year when I want to be out in the meadow or forest every single morning.

This was another 'nap' time foray. I was back home before hubby woke up and quite pleased with what I was able to find.

The wild apple trees are just starting to show color and blooms.

The forest is exploding with Virginia pinks and other flowers. But I'll have to get to them tomorrow. I need to get a lot of farm work done today.

Enjoy some birds and blooms....

Everything Everywhere and All At Once!

 

I think Spring gets me going just like Fall does. I feel like I am missing something out in the woods...except in the opposite direction.

I want to be digging in the flower garden and creating beauty when all sorts of activity is also happening out there...in the woods, in the pastures...

Everything Everywhere and All At Once!

I save part of a day to take a walk. I have to or I'd go crazy. After chores, I generally walk up to get yesterday's mail through the neighbor's woods.

These scrubby trees have reddish green leaves opening up. I have no idea what they are but with the morning light shining through the leaves...
well, it was beautiful and worth stopping to look at.

I'm afraid that we got distracted by the buds on the trees and took the long way around to the mailbox.
I noticed that the tiny fruit tree near the road was going to flower. There are two of these trees in one place. They have evil thorns that rip and tear. No wonder no creature has eaten them in the past 20 some years. 
They have never gotten large and I really have no idea what they are.

Dogwoods near the mailbox! We finally made it there! I riot of colors is coming quickly. Can I see it all at once?

Garlic mustard. It is now everywhere. However, it has good flavor so I picked some to use in my salad for supper.

After I made lunch and arranged for a friend to pick up our 4 wheeler and give it an oil change, I headed back out to the woods. Rumor had it that someone in our part of Wisconsin had found some grey morel mushrooms.
That is my go-to excuse to get out in the woods in the spring. 

Below is one of our patches of Wild Ramps. It is huge.

There is an issue with people now going out to find them and digging these plants up and selling them. It takes years for these plants to grow. I take a few each year to eat fresh and a few to dehydrate.

I leave the rest because they are so beautiful to see in the Spring. They do flower and spread seeds which take quite a while to grow into an edible Wild Ramp.
In the photo below, they are mixed in with Mayapples and Virginia Spring Beauties.

Spring is a wonderland after months of winter.

Carpets of Spring Beauties

Woodland Lilies --
Not Lily of the Valley

Ferns of all kinds poking up...

As Charlie and I were headed home from the back part of our property, a Barred Owl flew over us and landed in a tree.
I sat down and grabbed Charlie to stick him in my lap. I suppose he could be the right size for an Owl to think of as dinner for Owlets.

We watched the owl for quite a while.

It struck me then that I'd seen this owl [or maybe one just like it] in this area last year while hunting morel mushrooms. Charlie hadn't been with me then, but I did watch the owl for quite a while. The date was March 15th of last year.

Shot from last year....

I guess I should have remembered. Charlie seems to have a good sense of when to stay close. When he hears large hawks or the twitter of an eagle, he usually scoots right between my feet.

Spring is coming on hard. We'll have warmer temps and some nice rain to get things moving along.

Meanwhile, I'm outta here to watch the forest come alive...