Adoptive 'children'...

even in the wild there are adoptions going on....i'm not sure whether the baby is a Brown Headed Cowbird ( Molothrus ater)   or a Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) .... both are Brood Parasite birds.... a very interesting but world wide phenomenon, there are a few different species but in my world the Cowbird and Starling are the parasites... they will find a host 'nest' lay their egg or eggs and leave..... the unsuspecting parents will hatch and raise the baby as their own.. BUT in most cases the alien baby will 'dispose' of the other eggs or hatchlings and have the parents to themselves... there are some excellent sites if your interested in reading more about the parasitic birds... for a more detailed study on the parasitism of Starlings here is a great site
i've been trying to get a shot of the parent Junco feeding the baby but as of yet, this is the best i've come up with... as for this 'family' there are no other babies, just this one, so am assuming the junco babies were destroyed either as eggs or as hatchlings.... 'ain't' life grand ....

i've been busy in the garden, finally got a few ripe tomatoes, some budding cucumbers are coming along nicely and yesterday i planted some containers with a mixed bag of arugula, lettuce, onions and beet greens... they are in a cool shady spot and hopefully if the temperature doesn't skyrocket i'll have some tasty new greens in a few weeks...

this is what happens to a leek flower when it doesn't open correctly!

this red cabbage is from last year... it came up so beautifully i decided to leave it.. it's not flowered yet, just keeps growing and growing... i keep thinking the leaves would be good for cabbage rolls but since it's from last year and doing so well, i just don't have the heart to pluck it's leaves..... 

 

this hoverfly was pollenating my parsley plant..i guess some people would call me 'odd' but i find wings fascinating.. how such a delicate appendage doesn't rip, tear or fall off is amazing...  

the Daddy Longlegs had it's one leg stretched out... thats some gams!  i noted that something black was on it's back.. i'm not sure what it was, parasites perhaps?

Blues and Babies.....

Blues

been awhile since i last posted.. since the last depressing post, i've been kind of in a funk... i hadn't realized how much the death of ms cougar affected me... mr bear i've heard also joined ms cougar in heaven... i really just don't get it... if you live in the country, one should meld with the country and that includes our wild life...'townies' as my children call them... come out to the country, spot the most beautiful site... say " this is the most beautiful spot' promptly bulldoze and build a McMansion right on 'the most beautiful spot'... then when a wild critter does wander forth, promptly phone the 'conservation officer' who comes out and if the animal is deemed a 'threat' then disposes of the 'problem'..... when all along the 'problem' was the human..... my son in law stated this recently... ' you know, the best thing we could do for the wildlife is drive it away, then our neighbours won't have anything to shoot at, complain about or generally 'hate'..... how sad is that....

anyways... enough 'funk'.... i'm trying to be cheery and happy about the fact that the deer arrived and ate a goodly portion of the leaves off my apple tree..... daughter says 'mom, they gotta eat too'...

arrrumphhhh just not MY apple tree!!! that poor apple tree has been delicious for too many things this year... aphids, apple caterpillars and now deer.... it still has apples tho... at least for now....

Babies

Baby Finches that is.... i've been watching this family come and go from my feeder... i've been debating whether or not i should leave it up as momma is teaching babies to come to the feeder and not go scrounge for goodies in the wild...yesterday i noticed she had them on the ground and they were busy pecking about soooo.....
i also have an enormous amount of kale seeds just about ready to burst forth give any self respecting bird a tasty treat... for the birds i've always left any last bits of kale, mustard, or any types of greens to go to seed  but kale is definitely the most prolific ...  anyways i'm thinking momma finch is going to do the proper thing and teach babies that seeds are on the plants and on the ground... not just in my feeder!!