Woodland Friends

Hello, Dear Friends, it's been quiet and still here in 

the foothills of Mt. Rainier, and the little creatures 

in our corner of the woods are enjoying the solitude. 

Except this little guy - a male Annas Hummingbird. 

He is tiny but fierce, as he defends his nectar feeder. 

You can see him looking around, ready to chase off 

any other contender. 

Luckily for his rivals, I have two other feeders to keep them 

all happy. 

Soon, the Rufous Hummingbirds will arrive from their 

spring migration, and he will be very busy! 

The Annas Hummingbirds are year-round residents here, 

as we have relatively mild winters due to the moderating 

south Pacific currents off our coastline. 

This little Song Sparrow has been a regular around here. I frequently see him/her

searching my back deck looking for insects, even when I am just 

a few feet away. 

I am so happy to have this little sweetie around, because I so enjoy 

the beautiful songs all spring and summer. 

We have Chestnut-backed Chickadees and Black-capped Chickadees. 

When it is hot, they will sit in the pear tree by my hydrangeas

when I water, and let me spray them 

while they rustle their feathers,

all the while chattering happily to each other. 

A Spotted Towhee looking for grubs. 

We have a nesting pair here. 

Our beautiful Steller's Jays. 

It is difficult to photograph them, as they move very quickly. 

These intelligent birds mate for life and stay within 10 miles of their 

place of birth. 

They are the watchdogs of the forest, mimicking the calls of hawks

and eagles as a warning to others. 

They fearlessly harass them if they make the mistake of 

coming into their territory, attracting other jays 

from the surrounding area to join in. 

The common American Robin.

Still wet from the bath.  

We have year-round residents and also migrators 

that arrive in early spring. 

I always know when they arrive as they eat all the remaining 

holly berries off the trees. 

They also sing from dawn to dusk and sometimes 

later, all spring and summer. 

They are very territorial and will attack their own reflection 

in the windows! 

Yum! 

A Dark-Eyed Junco searching for insects in the moss of the 

Big-Leaf Maple tree that grows behind my house. 

Don't you love the descriptive names? 

Who comes up with these? Lol! 

This large tree is visited by many species of birds

which gives me wonderful opportunities to observe them. 

Same tree - different bird. 

A Northern Flicker. 

This beauty seemed to be hanging out with 

a pair of Steller's Jays that arrived at the same time. 

Revealing the black necklace over a pretty spotted breast. 

This one appears to be a female, as the male 

has a bright red 'mustache'. 

These woodpeckers feed on ants and beetles, primarily,

and are the only woodpeckers to regularly 

feed on the ground.

Their loud 'wacka-wacka' call clearly identifies 

their presence.  

We have a pair of Ravens that nest nearby. 

I've not seen the nest, but they regularly parole 

their territory with juveniles in tow in spring 

and summer. 

They are considered the most intelligent of all birds, 

and mate for life. 

I have a love/hate relationship with them, as they 

are nest robbers, much to the dismay of our 

local songbirds. 

This is our native Douglas Squirrel.

They love the cone seeds from our Douglas Fir trees  

and the wingnuts from the maples. 

They frequently search our deck-boards for any 

that have fallen and are lodged in the spaces. 

They are named after David Douglas (1799-1834),

a prominent Scottish botanist. 

You can read his interesting biography by clicking on the link.  

We keep a little basin of water next to a large tree

just for them. 

We love watching them scampering around

and chattering angrily at the dog from high above. 

We have a healthy population of Pacific Tree Frogs, here. 

They are about 2 inches long with a black stripe from their 

snout to their shoulders. 

They come in a wide range of colors, from bright green,

brown, tan and even reddish or bronze. 

Their long legs and rounded toe pads allow them to easily climb. 

Males have a loud "ribbit" call to attract females. 

They are a protected species. 

They usually set up camp around the outdoor lights 

to catch the tasty moths that fly around them. 

We have cottontails here occasionally. 

The population will expand and contract depending on 

the predator population. 

We have had a resident Black-tail Doe for the last 

3 years. She was born in our fenced in 5 acres

and we watched her grow. 

Last year she surprised us with a fawn, 

although we shouldn't have been surprised...

She had visitors...

Aren't they beautiful? 

This was the 'surprise'! 

She kept her hidden for a few weeks, 

but we suspected something when she turned unusually 

aggressive towards Kai. 

We always keep Kai in the fenced area around the house, 

but she was patrolling the fence and rushing the dog! 

We gave her lots of space and never let the dog out of the fence. 

Kai...

What? I just want one little bite. 

O.K., I'll settle for a treat. 

Good boy! 

We call her 'Deer Baby' and have watched her grow. 

And yes, they have eaten a lot of my flowers and landscaping, so I have been 

researching deer-resistant plants. 

Over the years we have encouraged native plants that are naturally deer-resistant, 

so that we can enjoy these beautiful creatures.

We keep a healthy distance and never interact with them

as we don't want them to get too friendly for their own safety. 

These photos were taken early in the morning from the windows. 

Deer Baby is almost grown and able to leap the fence, 

so, we only see them occasionally now. 

But every sighting is a happy occasion. 

This little family arrived late last summer to eat the wild plums

growing at the edge of our clearing. 

There were actually three little ones with mama, 

but one was in the tree! 

They made quick work of all the fallen plums

and then disappeared as quickly as they came. 

xx

These photos were all taken from windows or my back deck

over the course of the year. 

Living here in the foothills of the Cascade mountains 

is peaceful, quiet and occasionally exciting when wildlife 

comes to visit. 

I consider myself very fortunate to experience nature 

up close and take my stewardship very seriously. 

My motto: Do no harm. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my woodland friends. 

Thank you for visiting, Dear Friends! 

Today I am linking up with Saturday's Critters

Won't you join the fun? 

 

Fall into Winter

 Hello, Dear Friends. 

I hope that those of you who live in the North, like I do, 

are staying warm and cozy and settling in for the long winter ahead. 

For those of you who live in the South, 

I hope that you are enjoying the lovely flowers and sunshine. 

Every season has its challenges, but also its beauty. 

As we enter into the final month of the year, 

I want to share some of nature's beauty, here at my home in the 

foothills near Mt. Rainier.

We've had our first snows in the higher elevations. 

It's especially pretty at sunrise. 

Migrating hawks stop by to look for a quick meal. 

Sometimes they stay for the season. 

The beautiful Varied Thrush winter here in the lower foothills. They live in the 

higher elevations the rest of the year. 

I love their reedy calls. 

Mt. Rainier with its cap of swirling clouds. 

The mountain forms its own weather, 

and sometimes the clouds are captured in the whirlwind. 

This is a forecast of future rain or snow, 

usually within 24 hours. 

Most of the time it looks like this. 

The mist has a life of its own,

changing every moment. 

It adds a mysterious atmosphere to the forest. 

You can see why the 'Twighlight' movies were

filmed in Washington State. 

With all the rain and mist, mosses thrive on every surface. 

Raindrops look like fairy lights. 

When the sun shines through just right, 

some of the raindrops will turn brilliant colors. 

I've yet to capture this phenomenon on film, 

but I keep trying...

Barberry

Beauty Berry

Berries and rosehips take center stage in winter. 

Big-Leaf Maple wingnuts 

Annas Hummingbirds are year-round residents. 

I feed them sugar water all year, but they also

live on insects, flowers (we actually have flowers that bloom here year-round),

and the sweet sap that is released 

from deciduous trees by our native Western Sapsucker. 

Isn't he pretty? 

 Western Sword Fern stays evergreen and 

carpets the woodland floor. 

Bracken fern nearby turns golden and dies back. 

Can you see my American Eskimo dog, Kai 

between the trunks of Western Red Cedar? 

A Stellar Jay with an insect in his beak. They love carpenter ants and termites, 

so are very beneficial. 

This is one of a nesting pair of Stellar Jays that live on the property. 

These beautiful birds are the watchdogs of the forest, warning 

the residents when Hawks are around by imitating 

their calls. 

They warn of Ravens and Eagles by imitating 

the way they clack their bills together. 

It creates a unique sound similar to 

hollow bamboo sticks banging together. 

I've watched little birds dive for cover when 

they sound the alarm. 

Like this pretty guy - a Spotted Towhee. 

He has red eyes and white spots on his wings. 

This is another bird that has a reedy call. 

We also have a pair of Ravens who nest in a neighboring hill. 

This is their offspring. 

I see them flying together every day with junior alongside. 

Sometimes junior gets separated and will sit 

in the treetops and cry. 

These are large birds, much larger than a crow. 

Can you see him in the treetop, second from left? 

Off he goes...

One morning recently, I noticed from my deck, a large flock of crows 

swirling around and around above me. 

They seemed to be focused on one large fir tree in particular. 

They were screeching and carrying on, 

and I had my suspicions as to why. 

They stayed for about an hour, then mysteriously flew 

away together. 

This was unusual, as I normally don't see flocks of crows here. 

My suspicions were confirmed a little while later, when I happened 

to see a Bald Eagle fly away from the direction of the fir tree.

(I was out on the deck planting winter pansies.) 

He must have sadly caught a crow, which was the reason for their distress. 

I've seen the eagle several times since, 

but not the crows. 

I spied this beautiful girl from my kitchen window the other morning. 

You can see that she spied me, also! 

She was eating my ivy along the walkway, which I didn't really 

appreciate, so I shooed her away. 

I've seen her with her half-grown doe fawn nibbling on my gardens

the last few days. I enjoy seeing them and don't mind 

their pruning, except when they come too close to the house. 

I don't want them to feel too comfortable around people. 

For their own safety. 

xx

They are Blacktail deer. 

One afternoon a couple of weeks ago, I was looking out that same 

kitchen window when I saw movement at the edge of the clearing 

we call the 'front lawn'. Lol!

There are wild plum trees there. 

As I zoomed in with my camera, I could see this little family 

come into focus. 

A mother Racoon and her three offspring. 

They were very busy eating the fallen fruit and climbing the trees

to shake down more. 

I loved watching them and was glad that my little trees 

 provided a much-needed meal. 

I love all God's creatures and try to always be kind and compassionate. 

I even catch and release spiders that find their way inside.

(Cover with a dedicated see-through plastic food container and carefully slide 

a sturdy, thin piece of cardboard underneath. Carry outside. Make sure you open

the door before-hand or have a partner to do it for you!) 

I rescue insects that fall into buckets and the bird bath, too. 

A leaf is good for this. 

We are given the gift of living on this beautiful Earth

and I believe it is our duty to honor that by taking good care of it

and not take it for granted. 

Nature needs all the help she can get right now. 

I know that all of you, Dear Friends, feel the same. 

We are old souls that have found each other. 

It's so important now, more than ever, to show kindness 

and compassion in a world that's sadly lacking in these qualities. 

And please, Dear Friends, take good care of yourselves and one another.

We are all in this together.  

xx

Linking with: Saturdays Critters

 "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."

- Lao Tzu -

"Everything you can imagine, nature has already created."

- Albert Einstein -

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one

thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, 

we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. 

All things connect."

- Chief Seattle -

xx