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Ok, so remember this? The manky bone the squirrels were sharpening their teeth on? Well, it disappeared after the post, probably because they thought it would attract a crowd. A week or so afterwards, I was standing on the opposite side of the yard and heard the familiar sound: eek,eek,eek. I couldn’t locate it, but … Continue reading
Galliarum glandiferae maxime arbores agaricum ferunt. est autem fungus candidus, odoratus, antidotis efficax, in summis arboribus nascens, nocte relucens. signum hoc eius, quo in tenebris decerpitur. e glandiferis sola quae vocatur aegilops fert pannos arentes, muscoso villo canos, non in cortice modo, verum et e ramis dependentes cubitali magnitudine, odoratos, uti diximus inter unguenta. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/16*.html See also … Continue reading
We’ve had many blessings in the garden this year, and have learned of many more in the world at large. Firstly, closer to home: Hedgehogs We began with one, but numbers on any one evening reached five and of all different sizes. Some were bolder, not ready to relinquish the food even at our approach. … Continue reading
We’ve had the first batch of babies through here: baby Great Tits and Blue Tits (who together form a gang which dominates the airwaves and the feeders); baby starlings (ditto); baby sparrows (babies well-behaved, it’s the adults that are little highway bandits with the bird food, especially worms); baby squirrels; baby magpies; one baby … Continue reading
***Warning! Rant in middle of post! It’s summer, so we can either be aggravated by swarms or entertained by Baby Watch 2014. The summer around here did not just begin with bees leaving their homes, but all kinds of birds fledging. We were actually privileged to watch a family of baby blue tits leave one … Continue reading
As in the recent BBC series. There are duels, there is sex, there are duels that look like sex and sex that looks like duels. There is birth, there is death. No, I’m not talking about the action indoors, but of that outdoors, namely among the birds. First the duels: Our yard has been divided, … Continue reading
Depends on your perspective. Take, for example, the humble but cheeky-with-it UK House Sparrow (passer domesticus). Beloved in Great Britain where it is believed to be in decline. Who could think ill of anything with “domesticus” in its name? But in the USA, it is public enemy number one. Why? Because of these guys– Sialia … Continue reading
or Finders Keepers According to Baby Robins OK, I’m cool with that, says Baby No. 2. But one question: how are you going to eat them if you are standing on them? I guess I got a little carried away, I found them all by myself you know, says Baby No. 1 Birdy News from … Continue reading
No, not ‘e-u’ but as in ‘yew’ or ‘u’ or….Maybe you should just skip to the middle. In the mean time, just know that They’re Alive! We, or rather my husband, mustered up the courage last weekend to invade bee space again. I had to do my taxes. Believe me, bee stings would have been … Continue reading
Yes, capitalized on purpose, because it is supposed to call to mind Hitchcock’s The Birds. Maybe you will understand when you look at this: I know they don’t look like much in this picture, but there were anywhere from 30-50 starlings repeatedly landing in the garden. That was bad enough, but if you look closely … Continue reading
My Latin Notebook 