Pictures from the cabin and the backyard

Well it's finally really summer out there.

I was up in Lake Park, MN on Turtle Lake for the week.

There was a pair of Loons that would make laps around the lake all day.

Found a Dragonfly shedding its exoskeleton which was really cool!

I went fishing, but the fish in Turtle Lake are smart so I didnt catch many. But one morning I caught a Northern, and it swallowed the lure as usual. I hope it swam off and didn't die.

And now that I am back the yard is looking very green and lovely.

But, the deer are playing games. This is a picture of my cucumber, zucchini and squash plants around noon today.

And this is about 30 mins ago.

I no longer have any squash. Maybe they will come back like the zucchini and cumbers did last week after being attacked.

A dragonfly on the black-berries

Here are some shots of the yard.

Clematis

A few roses in bloom

There are tomatoes, lettuce, and dill in this bed. There were also beets but the bunnies i think ate all the seedlings.  And there is a lot of Milkweed in this bed. I try not to pull milkweed because I want the Monarchs to have someplace to lay their eggs and well this year the milkweed sure has been taking over.

 Butterfly Weed.

 Back left is Potato, on the right is Peppers, and the bottom there are eggplants that are not getting very big (maybe 8 inches) and are already making fruit.

 Potatoes

 This trellis I had used in the past for Loofah, cucumbers, beans. I planted some loofah just to see what would happen and instead just have a ton of Milkweed.

 Lots of milkweed popping up in the hay and blackberries

June

June has been very busy for me. So here are a bunch of photos from this month.

One of my Columbine really bloomed this year! And then the deer ate it, but i got some pics!

Tree Swallows have built a nest in one of the bird houses. And there are babies!
Here are pics from earlier this month, I think the day I realized they had eggs that may have hatched because their activity level really ramped up.

 

And here are some pictures from today! The babies are bigger and have started poking their heads out of the nest. Well actually one chick seems to be taking over the hole and the second is trying its best to fight for food when the parents come back to feed them. 

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Great Crested Flycatcher

Bunny!

Female Cardinal

The boat in our backyard filled with water, so i took the cover off one day and emptied it.

Some cool mold/fungi growing on one of the oars

The elusive Ruby Throated Hummingbird. There had been 2 maybe 3 in the area at the begining of the summer. But after some storms I began to only see this one male. And after this past weekends storms i was worried when I hadent seen him. But he showed up today so I was happy.

Nuthatches have multiplied

I think the top left one is a youngster

Found out this week there is a Raccoon hiding in one of the tree's (right next to the Tree Swallows house)
It pops its head out every now and again.

Chestnut Sided Warbler! and other birds!

It seems everyday there is a new warbler in the yard! Its pretty exciting! Today I saw two Chestnut Sided Warblers!

I also saw a Red-eyed Vireo

I saw two Great Crested Flycatchers

There were five Brown Headed Cowbirds (three males and two females) only got pictures of two males.

Blackburnian Warbler

Today was a surprise day off. Woke up at 6am to get ready for work only to get called that my shift has been canceled. So I planted some eggplant, green and yellow peppers and some swiss chard. I went and ran some errands and it started sprinkling when I got back so I decided to bird watch from the deck.

I noticed this lil black and white bird with a splash of orange and figured it to be a Blackburnian Warbler. I tried playing its call and it would respond but not move any closer. After about 15 mins of that i stopped and just assumed either it had flown away or would be back shortly. I then heard it calling again and it slowly moved closer to the branches above the deck.

Its a very pretty bird. I think Warblers are my new favorite.

Blackburnian Warbler