June 20, 2008
A red squirrel was seen trotting along the driveway toward me yesterday. A first sighting for the season, I welcomed him and he turned around and ran back into the yard. The rose bushes are in full bloom. A rare multi-sensory treat, finding so many in one spot, there were at least a couple of dozen and they smelled as wonderful as they looked. Several species of butterflies have also returned to visit the wildflowers.Backyard tip of the week:
Try letting some wildflowers grow in an area of your yard, if you live in a place where you can do that. You'll find all manner of beneficial insects, birds and other wildlife using your wildflower or meadow space for food and habitat. Bunnies will eat some of the leafy wildflowers, birds will eat seeds from them, for they are the ones who bring the seeds to your yard. Goldfinches wait until late in the season to raise their young so they can use the down of wild thistle to line their nests. And some birds will only nest in tall grasses, so you may be helping them out as well. Either way, a nice wildflower area is something that you're sure to love!
Backyard sightings for last week:
Including northern cardinals, American robins, northern flickers, rose-breasted grosbeaks and bluebirds. White-crowned sparrows, chipping sparrows, Carolina wrens and house wrens, eastern goldfinches and house finches. Red-bellied and downy woodpeckers, white and red-breasted nuthatches. The tufted titmice, black-capped chickadees, blue-jays, American crows, a couple of grey squirrels, a mostly white skunk, some bunnies, and a lonesome doe. Also, European starlings, common grackles, red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves, a bullfrog, a toad, chipmunks, a red squirrel, butterflies, and a yard full of fireflies!
Cool sighting of the week:
As briefly mentioned, the fireflies have returned to the backyard. Last Sunday, the grass cutting was just finished, as dusk fell under a nearly full moon, and just in time to notice my favorite natural backyard light show. Interesting and fun, fireflies are like proof that there really is magic in the world. By the end of the week, they filled the backyard. It was very cool!
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