We have planted snags in our backyard. Why would anyone do that? Birds love them. They stop to rest, preen and watch for bugs. They wait their turns for the feeder and the bird bath. Sometimes they just watch. Yesterday there were six Western Bluebirds on one snag! Here are three different species – a juvenile Lewis Woodpecker, two Townsend’s Solitaires and an unusual sapsucker that Ken photographed with my camera. What are your thoughts on the sapsucker ID?
Our favorite dog walking trail has been off limits for months to protect nesting Sandhill Cranes. It was their second attempt to nest there. Last year, predators got their colts. A baby Sandhill Crane is called a colt and it is orange! This year, they lost one to a coyote but the other survived and the three of them have moved on. It is great news to have cranes nesting in our valley.
The girls were happy to get back to the wide flat trail through the woods, to the river. Luna can no longer negotiate steeper, rough trails, even with her braces. The braces give her good support and she gets along ok but not for far. Her back legs are growing weaker with the laryngeal paralysis and the braces are relatively heavy but they support her damaged Achilles tendons. It’s hard to get old. She still has an optimistic attitude most days and really WANTS to be her old self.
This was earlier in the month after we’d had a bit of rain. Lately we’ve had endless sunny, dry days.
Yes, I am behind on my personal photos. And it’s not like I’ve been making very many lately. Here are a few highlights from our annual visit to the Salish Sea.
We needed to get up early to start a short trip so the alarm was set for 4:30 am. I rolled over to shut it off and out my bedroom window, I could see the aurora borealis making one huge pillar! I had no extra time for making photos but I did a few anyway and ate a nut bar for breakfast in the car. We arrived at our destination just in time.
Mostly butterflies from a mountain hike yesterday in the midday sun. It seems that there are not enough wildflowers for everyone who wants one.
My Everyday Photos 