Author: Paul Stoecker, Ph.D.

A fairly uneventful day after yesterday’s deluge which supposedly dropped 2.9 inches of rain which I find a bit hard to believe as my backyard near the plant bed has normally been like a large puddle when we get rain, but not this time even after 2.9″. Could the plants have changed the soil in…

After most of the day being fairly nice, the severe thunderstorms have started. I watch the incredible power of nature with rain and wind. Just a half hour ago, there were birds at the feeder and a rabbit in the yard. They scattered as I approached so that I could bring the feeders in. Short…

Another beautiful day where I was greeted in the morning by two rabbits playing and hopping over each other and then two squirrels playing and rolling around on the ground but in my garden. The little rascals have also solved the puzzle and are able to get to the bird feeders again. Flora: A few…

The beautiful days keep lining up and today is bound to be another one as we enter the last part of July. Saturdays are my days for plant and landscape maintenance as well as getting the opportunity to check out the flora and fauna more closely. Fauna: Today the two male and one female American…

It is nice when nature decides to treat us with multiple great weather and days especially toward the end of July. It is a spectacular day today and after cleaning and refilling the bird feeders late yesterday afternoon, I have been treated to a consistent stream of wildlife. Tomorrow will be my time in the…

After some thunderstorms and heavy rain overnight the backyard nature preserve is fairly tranquil. The Eastern Gray Squirrels found their way onto the bird feeders again after several months and so the cage goes back on the tube feeder and the game is afoot to see what I need to trim back to force them…

It is always interesting watching the woodpecker at the seed cake or the inverted suet feeder. One of the few that frequents these feeders along I think with a dead tree that stands in my yard which has obvious indications of woodpecker activity. I had white patches below the blooms on my coneflowers (echinacea) originally…

I didn’t have much time for observation, but the wind brought in a lot of smoke from the Canadian Wildfires and air quality not that good. I did refill the bird feeders and have noticed the food going quicker this week than in the past. I am hopeful it is because all of the fledglings…

The birds were less active and mostly trying to survive the oppressive heat. I feel bad for them, but I did refill the bird bath. The birds and squirrels do share the bird bath. I do hope they all are doing well. The Native plants seem to be fairing the weather well, but still concerns…

The birds are very vocal at Sunset tonight, one thing that makes me sad is that I don’t know their songs and which of my feathered friends are being the most vocal. I can only assume it is mostly the house finches, but I can tell there are others out their chirping away. My native…