When Men Fly!

When Squirrels Fly!

Wednesday night of this week we heard a terrible commotion outside. We opened the garage door to find this little dude in Blackie's (Our Outside Kitty) Mouth. I grabbed a welding glove to protect my arm and attempted to break things up. I finally managed to rescue the little bugger from certain and painful death, and Hudson snapped this pic. We placed it on a nearby Pin Oak and then it soared into the cool night air, and away from danger. Hudson now believes me that squirrels indeed can fly! Blackie however, may never forgive me for stealing her prize catch and releasing it!



Carolina Chickadee

Finally got a picture of this little fellow. He had been very camera shy. On the Cornell University Website it shows that the middle of Texas is about the end of the range of the Carolina Chickadee. It has a less brown in it's coloration than the Black Capped Chickadee which it can be confused with. Arrowolf at BushcraftUSA.com helped me with the ID. It is said that the Carolina Chickadee is often the first bird in it's range to find a new feeder, and that was the case with this one. I just could not get his picture! The Carolina Chickadee was named by John James Audubon during his travels in the Carolinas.



Cardinals

The birds on my property for the most part have been very wary of the new feeder. I am learning that it can be a slow process to establish a feeder in a new area. The birds have slowy started to migrate in the morning time to the large Oak that it hangs from. This morning what I would assume is a breeding pair of Cardinals broke the ice. The female must have been famished because she had no issues feeding as I took pictures with the Canon Rebel. The male was too shy and never came all the way into the feeder. I used a 250MM Canon IS lens for these pics shooting from about 35 yds. I am rapidly learning that I will have to buy a bigger lens to really enjoy birding. It was fun watching the male sneek peeks at the feeder as he debated coming into it. I will post more updates with different species as time allows. For the amount invested this is a very enjoyable pursuit. As I work in the yard it's fun to look over and see what birds have dropped by. I hear some singing out there right now I have never heard before, so I am off to investigate!



Fish Freedom Day!

After 3+ years of hard labor Daniel's Goldfish won their freedom today into Lake Swan. It was a festive occasion as they finned their way to freedom in their new digs. Hudson had squirreled a few small Black Bass into Daniel's tank that he caught with a cast net and they were released as well. Slim was our only casualty over the years, and he now resides in our septic tank. We acclimated the fish to the new water temps by letting them spend the night outside. When we got up this morning they were all frisky, and ready for their big adventure. We put the tank in the back of the pick up and headed to the lake. Enjoy the pics!



Michael Pritchard makes filthy water drinkable

The Birds!

I am often amazed at the many types of birds here in East Texas. I have wanted for some time to hang a feeder and do some  bird photography. Today I took the time to do it. The Pennington Wild Bird Feed I put out is supposed to attract everything from Cardinals to Woodpeckers so we will see what happens. I am wary of the squirrels so I attached the feeder with a section of coat hanger to try to keep them out! I hope to start posting photos of the birds soon. We also have the large Fox Squirrels on this property so a pic or two of them would be fun as well.



Home Fires Burnin'

It broke twenty degrees last night which is very cool for East Texas. I have a nice stash of Pin Oak out back that I split to fire the Heat-A-Lator with. We turn the central heat on the fan setting sometimes and let the blower from the insert run hot air into the return which warms up the house quite a bit without running the heater strips on the central unit. Nothing better than a nice oak fire on a fall night with the family.... I hope everyone gets more time this year with their loved ones, here's to a great 2011 for all.