Tuff Guy

It looks like we are going to be blessed with lots of Tufted Titmice, chickadees, and white-breasted nuthatches this winter.  They have already formed their loose feeding flocks and were non-stop at the feeder when I sat out for a while this afternoon.  There is a hierarchy, of course, but since they are all grab-n-go birds, scuffles rarely break out.  Nothing particularly special about this shot, just that I liked the bokeh from the sun hitting the trees in the background.

This morning I met up with two friends for a walk at the Wildlife Refuge.  It was a good day - chilly but sunny and lots of avian activity in the marsh. There were raptors, shore birds, swallows, and warblers - all part of the fall migration.  And very enjoyable company too.

When I got Jax home from daycare late yesterday afternoon, the first thing we saw was one of those damned bears in the backyard.  Apparently it had been around for a while because both of my feeders were gone.  It ran off into the woods, leaving Jax all hackled up and me slightly hackley too.  And, then, no more than an hour later, the damned thing was on the patio!  I stuck my hand out the door and gave it a couple of good blasts with the airhorn at which point it took off into the woods like all the demons from hell were on it's tail.  No evidence that it was back last night, but I'm being vigilant.  This is the time of year when bears are usually the most annoying as they wander trying to find enough food to fatten up for the winter sleep.

Jax was almost nose to nose with a chipmunk on the deck today - the chippie was on top of the grill getting some seeds I'd put out and Jax was sitting right next to the grill watching.  It would have been very easy for him to put his feet up and snatch the chipmunk but I was gently telling him to "leave it" and he seemed more curious than - ahem - hungry.  Good boy.  For now.

I'm going in for some dark with peppermint today.

xo
Debbi

PS:  an hour later, my two oil beetle love bugs were still at it yesterday.  And as of about an hour ago, they are only a few inches away from each other.  I wonder if the male is guarding her, ensuring his sperm fertilizes her eggs?