As usual, it has been quite some time since my last post, and at this time of year that means I am outside. The garden is doing well although we already had several drought spells. We will see what July brings. A mid summer drought that lasted almost two months last year is still impacting […]
Archive for the ‘Fauna’ Category
All creatures great and small
Posted in Fauna, Interesting on June 13, 2023 | Leave a Comment »
They DO exist!
Posted in Fauna, Interesting on September 6, 2018 | Leave a Comment »
Here I am weeding away around a nesting box, which I thought totally abandoned. It is September after all and from this time of year on through the winter the only residents I’ve observed in the past don’t have feathers and don’t fly. Imagine my surprise as a little creature lept from the tiny doorway […]
Call me Cylon
Posted in Fauna, Interesting on May 11, 2017 | Leave a Comment »
I know, the title is an odd reference to the cybernetic antagonists in the old Battlestar Galactica science fiction series, but the male hummingbird that arrived in the garden a week or two ago reminded me of one of those robots with the red “eye” going from side to side. Said hummer went face to […]
How My Pet Helps Me See The Wilderness in My Cape Cod Backyard
Posted in Fauna, Guest blogger, Interesting on October 17, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
We recently got a new pet, and he is far more interested in animals than our previous pet was. We don’t let him run around the yard without a leash with concern that he would devastate the wildlife we are trying to cultivate (or become a victim of wildlife himself). However his keen eyesight and interest […]
Winter Walks on Cape Cod: Upper Cape and Mid-Cape
Posted in Fauna, Flora, Guest blogger, Rants & Raves on May 15, 2016 | Leave a Comment »
Unfortunately, as time would have it, we were able to do very few winter walks on Cape Cod this year. We were able, however, to see a few new sites and revisit some of our old favorites. Our goal this year was to check out some of the areas on the Upper Cape, as we […]
Trapeze artist
Posted in Fauna, Interesting on August 27, 2015 | Leave a Comment »
Frost Fish Creek Trail in Chatham
Posted in Fauna, Flora, Guest blogger, Interesting, Invasive, Rants & Raves on December 31, 2014 | 1 Comment »
On the day after Christmas we decided to explore a new trail, this time in Chatham. Our plan was to drive to the trail, hike it for an hour or so, and then grab lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in town. I had Googled “hiking trails in Chatham” and picked the “Frost Fish […]
Fall Walks on Cape Cod: Pilgrim Heights in Truro
Posted in Fauna, Flora, Guest blogger, Interesting on November 29, 2014 | Leave a Comment »
On the day after Thanksgiving we treated ourselves to some travel to the Outer Cape. It was an interesting way to see how radically the weather differs from one end of Cape Cod to the other in the space of an hour or two, as Truro had thick snow and icy roads while Yarmouth and […]
Refueling station
Posted in Fauna, Interesting on August 27, 2014 | 1 Comment »
A female rubythroated hummingbird is enjoying the nectar from a pink variety Monarda didyma (scarlet beebalm). Several hummingbirds, mostly females, have been visiting the beebalm colony. They are very territorial and don’t like to share their food source. I’ve seen several skirmishes and chases this summer – they seem to occur almost daily. I have […]
Hanging with the harvestman
Posted in Fauna, Interesting on August 26, 2014 | Leave a Comment »
Although an order of the Arachnids, harvestmen (or Opiliones) are NOT spiders. harvestmen are scavengers. Spiders are predators harvestmen have no venom. Spiders do harvestmen don’t build webs. Many spiders do harvestmen have one pair of eyes (although a few species have none). Spiders have 3 or 4 pairs. (Better to hunt with) harvestmen have […]