This morning, hubby filled the cavity in the dogwood with a fistful of peanuts, much to the delight of this nut-loving Nuthatch, who was delighted with the discovery.
This fellow, who is of the Red-breasted variety, made trip after trip, thoroughly enjoying this Saturday morning surprise!
This gorgeous male Pine Warbler paid a visit the other day.
He was sporting his finest fall feathers and looked as if he were definitely dressed to impress. He kept hopping from branch to branch, striking a pose, and then glancing about in all directions.
Every once in awhile, he would flare up his head feathers a bit, as if to say, “Aren’t I the most handsome bird in the backyard?”
A moment later, I discovered the object of his interest – this lovely lady who swooped down to land on the limb. Although her beauty is softer and more subtle, I can see why he was intent on getting her attention.
I think they definitely get the cutest couple award.
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is one of my favorite migrators. I typically only see them for a few days each spring and fall, so I was thrilled when this young male stopped by for a visit.
He perched high in the tree tops, enjoying the remnants of a dogwood berry.
Right now, he looks more like his Mama, as you can tell from the photo of a female below…
…but before long he will be the spitting image of his Dad, boasting the bold red, black and white as this guy.
You can already see a hint of his rose breast emerging.
I kept hoping he would come closer, but he seemed content with the place he had chosen to perch.
Ah well, even though he kept his distance, it was still nice to enjoy his company and admire his beauty.
All these years we thought the word was “Octoberfest”, but now that we have a Lab we have learned that it’s actually “Octoberfetch!”
This morning we took Tucker for a romp at Little River, one of his many happy places, and played an energetic game of fetch.
When this guy gets the chance to play in water he just exudes joy!
He makes up his own games with the glowing green fetch sticks, and then lets us know the rules.
A few weeks ago, while Tucker was leaping and bounding at a different river, a man stopped to watch. He kept saying, “Look at him! He’s so happy! Just look at him!”
After repeating this several times, he turned to me, lowered his head and his tone and sadly said, “We have a dog. It’s a Maltese.” I have to confess, I had a hard time not laughing. But I do have to agree with the guy, it is fun watching Tucker have fun!
The water is starting to get a bit cold (although it doesn’t affect me since my hubby is the one in the water with him!) but we should still have a couple more outings before winter.
I have a feeling that next month we will learn from a reliable Lab source that it’s really Fetchgiving…though I suspect we can still have turkey!
This perky pilferer paused in a picture perfect pose to
proudly portray his perfectly plump peanut!
A trio of Nuthatches arrived as soon as I went outside to replenish the peanuts and lather up the branches with some Bark Butter this afternoon. I think they were hoping for some protein since the temperature was dropping and rain is in the forecast.
There was a Brown-headed Nuthatch, who is a frequent feeder in the backyard.
There was a White-breasted Nuthatch, who is also a regular.
And there was a Red-breasted Nuthatch, who recently arrived to enjoy a bit of warmer weather for the winter.
All three types of Nuthatches make squeaky, tub-toy chirps as they hop about. They are curious little birds that don’t seem the least bit concerned by my presence – especially if I come bearing peanuts!
Last winter, I had a Nuthatch eat out of my hand…who knows, maybe I’ll get a repeat performance this year.
With butterfly season well past its peak, the few stragglers that are remaining have lost a lot of their luster. So, imagine my surprise when I stepped outside to see almost a dozen Monarchs fluttering about the front yard butterfly bush – all looking as if they were fresh from the cocoon.
Setting aside the to-do list (vacuuming can always wait!), I grabbed the camera and headed out to snap some shots of these glorious creatures.
If the Cardinals from my previous post were radiant, these magnificent Monarchs were nothing less than majestic.
It was hard to get pictures with uncluttered backgrounds since the the bush has grown to be a rather mammoth mess, but hey, you take what you can get, right?
Occasionally, I got a shot with double-the-beauty, when two would briefly land on a blossom together.
Every now and then, one would flutter over and sip from one of the handful of remaining zinnias…
…but for the most part, they hovered around the blossoms on the butterfly bush.
It was such an unexpected delight to have a few more moments with majesty!
