Imagine

Growing up where you never find a black raspberry overlooked by foraging birds and pop it in your mouth to savor the wild, tart flavor.

Never being able to ramble at will, wandering aimlessly, lost in imagination, immersed in passive education, learning from living. Letting your mind run unfettered and free.

No mud puddles. No tire swings.

No secret rays of sun slanting down to reveal some hidden delight, deep in the wild jungles of the backyard or the edge of the hay field.

Missing out on that first wild deer staring back at you from a dew-soaked hedgerow, and the thunder of a Ruffed Grouse winging away through the pines.

Never climbing a real tree, skinning your legs on the sharp bark as you shinny and shove your way to a mysterious vantage point looking down on a different world.

Never hiding in a grass fort with a magical book that spirits you away to places no one has ever seen except among its pages.

Imagine a world without the Internet and never missing it.  Dewey Decimal anyone? I have since embraced it with great glee. It's kinda nice to be able to know almost anything you want to learn but freedom was better.

 I feel sorry for kids who are missing out on the joy of running wild in the world and trusting yourself to find your way home.

It's kinda sad. 

A Pretty Lily

A Fun Game

This is the most inclusive shot I took.
Note that there are birds all the way to the edges. I think
there were some outside the photo as well.

Called "Count the Commons".

Mergansers that is, Common Mergansers.

A portion of the frantic raft o' ducks

This little flow of water around the edge of an island at Yankee Hill Lock was crammed with them. It was impossible to count through the bins so I took photos.

A lot of them.

However, between the rocks among them and the number with their heads under water a rough count is the best I could do.

*Hint-there are more then 20. 

Let me know what you think, as I have to finish my eBird checklist for the location.

Thanks.

But wait, there's more!

Or should I say there were more. At least 14 additional birds were resting on rocks downriver a bit.

It was a fish duck extravaganza. 

Full o' smiles, taking my turn to wait in the car. Cheery eh?

Osprey

We found something neat the other day.

While waiting at a stop sign over in Fonda, I looked down at the county building. There was a bird on the cell tower there. A closer look through binoculars revealed an Osprey nest complete with adult Osprey.

I think that may be the first time I have ever been glad of a long line of down-the-hill traffic. I snapped a few shots, the traffic let up and we were off. Once home I realized that the nest is in the atlas priority block we live in. We have found a number of breeding species here, as mentioned the other day, but there sure haven't been any this exciting.

Ospreys not only nesting in our county but right across the river from us. I wonder how long the nest has been there and if others have noticed it and I just haven't heard. I'll bet they have.

Anyhow, we go that way often so it will be easy to keep an eye on the nest to see what we may see. I think, by the manner in which the adult was tending the nest, that there may even be babies.

Meanwhile our county is getting hit with an uptick in Covid cases, which is of no small concern. I can't lie. We have been getting a little lax in our vigilance. Back to the drawing board on that. Ugh.

And just to add to the 2020 fun, as I was walking across the living room this morning there was a big bang down by the road that sounded like a truck tire on the Thruway. Except that the power went out instantly. Thankfully Nat Grid came in and fixed what turned out to be a thrown fuse on the pole, but we were plenty worried about the freezers wherein there are months worth of food for both families. We do have a generator, but it isn't exactly handy to hook up.

Just another day in paradise. 

Heat Wave

Sunset over our favorite orchard..unedited

This weather is not kind to people like me. My paternal grandmother suffered horribly from it, my dad does, and the older I get the worse it gets me.

Thus not much posting. 

Older doe or nursing big fawns? Or both? She is awfully thin for high summer

However, we have stolen some time from a broken baler, babysitting, housework, and gardening to sit in front of our fans ramble around watching the corn fields burgeon and the brilliant sunsets fling their bling.

Summer snow storm...Cottonwood seeds

Of course there have been birds involved but this is not exactly the birding festival season. High points in general include atlasing all the nests and fledglings and shrieking babies in the bushes and trying for photos and audio of as many county species as we can get.

No comment, other than that she is sure a worker

So far this season in my primary "patch", which I have named Northview Farm House Yard, we have had successful nests of Cedar Waxwings, Purple and House Finches, American Robins, European Starlings (not much of an accomplishment that) Black-capped Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Baltimore Orioles, Common Grackles (another dubious delight), Eastern Phoebes, and Mourning Doves that I can think of offhand. 

Grey Catbird

We have counted 85 species in the area that includes the house, driveway, the walk over to the barn, and the yards around the house. This is actually somewhat low, because this year I split observations on the farm into two "yards" to be more accurate for the atlas. Thus the back of the farm birds are on another list.

I think this guy may do custom work. We see him and his mules all over

Last night we took a little ramble and saw interesting things including most of the White-tailed Deer population of the entire county attempting to end it all on the hood of our car. I was actually really glad to get home alive.

Lyker's Pond

Anyhow, here are a few of the things we have seen when out and about.

And baby makes three....see him back there following the rake that his mama is pulling?

Stay cool!

Happy Father's Day

To my dad, my dear husband, my brothers, uncles, friends, and family men, and all the men who were there for their kids and raised them. 

Well done, guys, kids need daddies.

And especially thanks to my father for giving me a lifelong love of learning, books, the outdoors, music, and especially birds. 

Love you dad!

The Sparrow

Willow Flycatcher

With hay season in full swing there are almost no opportunities to get out and bird. I make a list or two from home each day and that is about it.....

Fledgling American Crow begging from a parent. There were four! Parents were
downright beleaguered. 

Not that we are bored or anything. Major breakdown with the baler yesterday. That's gonna leave a mark...on the checkbook that is.

Now you see her

Now you don't

Plus watching Peggy in her little pool, working our way through some Dick and Jane books Becky and I found for her, and enjoying the "Barbie Beach" which is the little border of sand along the herb garden that holds down the landscape fabric. Plus house cleaning with Becky.

This is kind of a doldrums season for birds anyhow. Not much migration going on...and everybody is nesting or feeding fledglings and they are quiet and secretive. That will change in about a week when the mulberries get ripe, but I digress.

Common Grackle fledgling begging from parent

Poor poor pitiful me

Let's just say birding has been on the back burner here at Northview and I am feeling the withdrawal.

That being said it has been fun and interesting to watch the results of a little birdie we came across on the 31st of May. I may have mentioned it, as it is fairly rare, a Clay-colored Sparrow. I heard it buzz-buzzing when I got out of the car up on Dingman Rd. near Fort Plain. That's a good road for Short-eared Owls in winter and pretty decent for grassland species year round. We had a fine time birding it that day, plus meeting the owner of a small homestead we have admired in passing. 

Turns out the singing CCSP was a big deal I guess...

Aqueduct henge, still not much water in the rivers

Because birders from all over have been coming to see and hear it. Almost every day a list or two is posted to the county eBird making note of it. Some days several people come by to count it. One visitor even labeled the location where the bird is being seen "Clay-colored Sparrow Stakeout" and it has been mentioned several times on the regional bird club email service.

Kinda fun in the absence of actual personal birding.

So far no one has gotten a photo of the little fellow, so I guess we might pursue that if we get to go chasing anytime soon. Meanwhile, it rained last night so along with the baler being really badly borked there will be no haying over this weekend. Hope the boss can find a part a little cheaper than he has so far.

And other than that...bring on the mulberries! And the birds that eat them.

A snoozing doozy, sunning snapping turtle

It's not the Party

It's the journey that matters.

35 years ago on this day I talked my brother into milking the cows for me at my job on a large dairy farm. He had gotten me the job in the first place when he went into the military and they needed someone to take his place, so he knew the ropes...first girl at the job btw, but it worked out all right.

He was the only one we told...besides two very dear friends who also knew what was up. Had to let him in on the deal to get him to milk as he wasn't home much in those days.

Went to a JP with our friends, and stood in his living room saying words that moved me nearly to tears. There was such a rightness. There were even unplanned flowers as our friends brought us some. They were nice.

Then they took us out for Chinese. I had never tasted it before, but it was the beginning of a long and enjoyable relationship. Too salty for me now and I miss it.

The nearly perfect (introvert-style) wedding was followed by that journey I mentioned.

There were kids and cows and amazing dogs and involvement in all sorts of organizations.

There was good and bad and heartbreak and joy. 

It was the most amazing trip I have ever taken, like a spin on the world's highest, fastest roller coaster, with lots of good food and fun along the way.

I sure am glad I didn't miss the party. 

Happy Anniversary boss, it's been quite a life.

Working Moms

We were birding a favorite swamp when this
Belgian foal came thundering up the road,
already heavy with the strength and power soon to come
He was pretty cute from my POV although I am not sure
his mom shared my opinion

Working mom driving the skid steer up to the field for stray bales

Doesn't she look thrilled to have her picture taken?

And working dads and kids too!

Been outdoors every spare minute lately, so I haven't been on here much. Can't let a day in June pass unexploited, as they are the best the year has to offer. Found orange mint down in Middleburg the other day, which was a really big deal. Mine all froze out and it is super hard to get.

Anyhow, enjoy these days. They won't last and every second must be savored. Take care.

Expert friends, can you help me ID this plant? Thanks!

The Boys are Back in Town

They never saw me sitting on the porch taking pics of them, but were driven to run away by the relentless flies. The long lawn is an endless window on the wild world. In the past few weeks there have been woodchucks, myriad bunnies, and an opossum trotting across. Sometimes there are both colors of foxes too, and deer right often. These are the first bucks in velvet I have seen this year although the boss says he has seen plenty of does with fawns.

He started mowing hay over the weekend and baled yesterday. Nice green hay and big fat bales. With the rain today that will be in abeyance for a bit. Good day for a nap.

When you Want to Fly

But have no wings....

And the neighbor's lawn mower hits scary things....

It must have been Magic

First, as I was watering plants at around 4:30...hey, it's almost light out then...a Yellow-billed Cuckoo sounded off in the yard. Awesome to have had both potential species of cuckoo right in the yard this year. Liz and I heard a Black-billed last week. Nabbed a short recording too.

Then when the boss got up he took me up to a swamp on Pavlus Road that never lets me down. I was enjoying the many local birds when a female Eastern Bluebird landed in a tree right next to the little parking place. She was gorgeous and I snapped some photos.

What do you think dear?
Does this twig go with the curtains?

Just as I turned away the male appeared and I realized that they were working on a nest in a dead tree just a few feet from where we park the car.

I am hoping they continue there and that I catch a glimpse of their brood if they have one.

The Missus

With a last winnow of a Wilson's Snipe we headed for another favorite pond. Alas that one is posted now, and the nice man who gave us permission to bird there has passed away. Thus we parked out on the verge of the road and peered in from there.

Forgot to put this guy in first time around...Common Gallinule

It is always a magical spot, but when not one but two Common Gallinules swam out of the cattails and paraded by I was spellbound.

Not to mention really happy as I hadn't seen one yet this year.

There are regular turtles with only one head at Lyker's too
Lots of them

And the day went on like that. We managed to get six nice tomatoes yesterday and I was out planting two of them when the Purple Finches brought the kids in to the feeder. It seems pretty special to have them breed right down by the driveway.

Perhaps the high point of the day though was the two-headed turtle at Lyker's Pond. You see something like that and it makes you reflect on the magic of nature.....

Photo below.....