A Sad Spring Day

So this morning the city came and chopped down the very large, very old and very rotten oak tree across the street. I am pretty sure there were Downy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker families that just lost their homes. I am hoping that they hadn't already laid their eggs.
Tuesday morning a giant limb came crashing down at about 8am and went clear across the street, across the top of a parked car and right up to the front stairs of the house across the street. Thankfully no one was hurt. That is the time of day that all the kids are walking to school and commuters are heading to catch the bus so everyone truly was lucky. The city posted signs on Thursday about its removal and they were here by 7:30 today so I never got a chance to call City Hall to ask if they could wait till the breeding season was over. Not that they would have listened to me but it would have made me feel better that I at least tried. Human safety trumps non-endangered birds any day, but still it doesn't seem fair. I kind of feel that it is now like a game of musical chairs. All the good trees/homes have been taken and these birds now have nowhere to go and probably won't produce a brood this year.
I think I will add more suet cakes to the yard to make up for the lost homes. Again, the birds won't get the gesture but I will know that I am doing what I can for them.

Weekend of "To-Do"

After stalking the weather forecast I have made a "Honey Do List" and I am the honey that needs to do. The city yard waste is finally picking up for the first time since November and they don't come again until the middle of May so all of the limbs that fell and all the bushes that didn't survive the ridiculous amount of snow this winter all need to go! After work tomorrow this is what needs to be done:
1) Stop at Home Depot for 2 more sets of lights
2) De-thatch the lawn front and back
3) Spread corn gluten front and back
4) Clean and till the garden
5) Cut back old perennial growth
6) Chop down broken bush and tree limbs
7) Clean up under bird feeders
8) Clean bird houses
9) Clear out flower beds and raspberry patch
10) Fertilize asparagus bed

Then after all that is done I can add to the list - cleaning off the back porch, emptying out the worm bin and adding a new layer, start the Brussels Sprouts and cabbage seeds, finally plant the peas, and the worst job of all - the Spring poop run around the yard! Oh how I wish dog waste could go in the compost bin. With three dogs (two of mine and one of my mom's) the poop gets a little crazy during the winter because neither of us wants to head out in thigh deep snow to pick it up. This makes for an awful Spring clean up!

After all is said and (hopefully) done a glass or several of wine will be well deserved!!!!

Backyard visitors

I don't think I ever mentioned that I have tons of bird feeders, birdbaths and bird houses around the yard. This week parents have been bringing their 'kids' to visit. Here is a juvenile cowbird. He sat in that feeder for a good 10 minutes with no help from mom and dad and he wasn't at all concerned with the dogs hanging around.

Here is the whole nuthatch clan. Not sure if it was mom or dad but you can see one of the kids getting fed. This family makes me laugh. One of the kids flies from tree to feeder back and forth with its parent just begging for something to eat. But never attempting to get seed from the suet feeder himself!

Not the best picture but these downy woodpeckers move so fast it is the best I could get. This is the dad giving a snack to his young one. Mom was in and out days before flying from feeder to the tree out front. Leave it to the guy to go about it the lazy way!