Nature’s Wonders

Sometime between my April 3 post and today’s posts I managed to pause for a few moments to catch nature at its best. There is truly nothing more calming than taking a breath of fresh air and enjoying one’s surroundings.

The Blue Heron—
I believe it was in mid-April when I made sure I put my camera in the car to snap a shot of the Blue Herons that nest in the same trees every year for the past decade. They are such beautiful large birds, and so graceful when they fly. I’m glad I was able to photograph them this year before the foliage covered their huge nests.

Here’s a picture of a few Blue Heron in their nest.

Here’s another happy couple in the nest a few trees away. Every spring these birds come back to the same group of trees that overlook Big Sewickley Creek. There are approximately 25-30 nests total and each year they add a few more.

I was able to catch this one in flight before he landed.

Poor Old Coon—

I stood taking pictures of this coon at the top of the dead tree wondering if he was stuck in the hole he’d climbed into. All that was visible was the fur on his back. Two Feather and I rapped on the tree. The hollow sound of the dead wood echoed, but the coon never budged. We stood watching it for a bit, then decided to leave him alone. Maybe he was sleeping. The following week we walked by the tree again. The poor old coon was still in the same hole of the old dead tree. Obviously, the coon had expired there. Each time I walk by that tree I wonder if he’d gotten stuck and died trying to get out. I guess we’ll never know what caused the demise of that poor old coon, but one thing for sure, he’s still there and the only thing visible is the fur on his back.

Screech Owl in the Daytime—

With woods surrounding our house, we hear birds all day long. That’s nothing new. But when I heard an odd sounding screech behind the house, it immediately caught my attention. I walked slowly toward the edge of the tree line listening for the screech again. That’s when I saw this tiny screech owl in a knothole in the center of an old dead oak. What is it with old dead trees and knotholes this year?

In fact…

What is it with trees this year?

I know you wouldn’t believe this one if I didn’t have a picture of it!

Treehog—

Well, actually, it’s a groundhog in a tree. Yeah, I thought it quite interesting, too, when I looked out the window and saw this overweight groundhog climbing out to the end of the tree limb to eat a few tasty black walnut leaves. It was even more humorous watching him try to hang onto the branch as he eased his way back to the trunk of the tree.
Chair Nest—

Please remind me to take my comfortable camp chair inside next time I use it. Now, that may not be until next year. Early in the morning I noticed a pile of mulch being sculpted into a neat arrangement in my chair. Mom and I had gone out for the day and when we returned, the sculpting was complete. A perfect bird nest in the middle of my chair. I still don’t know what kind of bird nested in my chair, because I haven’t seen her yet, but I keep watching. It may be for nothing, though. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why any bird would build a nest in my chair on the front porch when my mom’s cat keeps a vigil by his food dish just a foot away. I’ll bet the cat was sleeping on the back porch in his bed when the bird decided the chair was a safe place.
I’ll be back with more pictures of the beauty of nature and gardens another day. Right now, I need to catch up on my beauty sleep. Hope you all enjoy.