When Nature Calls

I adore being outdoors, I don't like the humidity some days, but I will sit out in it just to enjoy the birds and the wildlife scampering around in the yard.  I keep my solar water fountain/bird bath going all summer long and into fall so the birds can enjoy it, and everyone knows cats love watching the birds, I have five of them!  It keeps them entertained all day long.  The sound the fountain makes is also very soothing when I am sitting out there taking in all the nature that surrounds me.

 My little garden on the deck is growing, free from the groundhogs eating it.  Little tomatoes and peppers have finally appeared, it won't be long now until we can pick them off and eat them.  

 The tall grasses on both sides of the deck are coming in,  these are very hardy plants and come back bigger every year.  Praying Mantis love to hang out in these.  I also have them lining my creek that runs along the side of the house.

 I put this old rusty birdhouse out every year and a House Wren nests in it.  I watched him all day long build a nest, he comes out of the house, perches on the flag hanger (you can see him right on the end), sings a long song, then flies away to get another twig and repeats the whole process over and over again!  He was so cute trying to attract his mate.  I have all kinds of birds, bats (we hung a bat house in the woods this year), foxes, deer, racoons, chipmunks, squirrels, hawks and owls nesting all over the property.  It is interesting and also relaxing to watch them go about their daily routines.

This is the nest that took all day to build, there must be hundreds of twigs in there!

I put two more knockout roses in the garden behind my shed, the groundhogs ate everything I had there last year.  They won't eat these because of the thorns.  A lot of moss growns naturally back there because of the dampness.  I let it grow, I think it looks cool.  My fig tree sprouted again in the garage, and it has a new shoot.  I had it wrapped in plastic and kept it in the garage, because it goes dormat during the winter.  This year I am going to plant it in the ground.  It will soon produce figs and they are always sweet.  Last year I got 15 figs off this little tree! I use them in cooking and in salads.  If I get more this year I am going to make fig jam for the first time.  Fig jam is great on toasted crostini with ricotta cheese.