Bird station

The winter feeder station for the birds has been very popular as usual, but not when I’m standing there taking a picture.

Several times recently, I’ve seen a hawk sitting in the top of this apple tree waiting for small creatures to capture. This has scared the birds away many days, but now they are returning. There is also a mouse that emerges several times a day from the high grass nearby to get sunflower seeds for it’s nest. There is even a little red squrrel that often comes for food. The hawk, I assume, gets it’s fill too.

I fill the miniature cabin with sunflower seeds everyday, and keep a steady supply of other seeds, peanuts, lard balls, old bread and sometimes apples.

I often sit at the kitchen window to watch the birds fluttering about. A sure sign I’m getting old.

Bird house

The bus stop has a bird house.

It has occupants. I rest here still but now with the accompaniment of the constant chirping of the chicks and the parents flying in and out with morsels of food.

Sunshine

After a very long time with grey dismal weather the sun came out this morning.

The bird feeding station out side the kitchen window is still very popular. My camera seems to scare them away tho.

Bad bread

I haven’t made any sourdough bread for many years. The kids have taken it up, so I wanted get back into it again. I couldn’t quite remember the routine, so I figured I’d better go by the book. The book was wrong (or did I misinterpret something). The bread turned out hard and compact like a brick. It tasted great, but this is not the way I want it. Out it goes – to the birds.

I’ve started another dough – this time I’ll listen to the rest of the family. So far it looks very promising.

April weather

Today has been a good example of the so called typical weather of April. This morning was sunny and relatively warm. We changed from winter to summer tires on the car. At lunch time dark cloads came in from the north, and it started snowing. It didn’t stick, so we decided to take an excursion to the local bird sanctuary – Hjälsta Viken. On the way the car nearly got stuck in the accumulated snow on a shady, high point in the road. We did get through of course.

There, on a sunny slope we found our favorite sign of spring.

A group of blue liverwort – blåsippa (Anemone hepatica syn. Hepatica nobilis) – and a white one too.

Then we took a walk across the old lake that is becoming a swamp loved by birds and bird watchers alike.

There were not many birds to see for all the ice and snow, but with the intermittent warm and cold, sunshine and snow, light and dark it’s been a dramatic day, and it looks like it will keep up through the night.

Birds and worms

The dirt in one crop circle is now dug and turned over. The sunflowers are left for the birds. I feel quite satisfied.

Some people think this looks naked – that the ground should always be covered, but it doesn’t bother me. I like the tilth that comes from the clay freezing. This garden, however, was so cleaned up before turning that I started to feel sorry for the worms.

So I raked up and threw out a couple of wheelbarrows of leaves for the worms. It looks kinda nice too.

Bird bath

This bird bath is made of two insulators for high power electricity that fit together nicely. I bought them seperately at the local auction. Most people there think I’m a bit crazy buying all this weird and useless stuff. But it’s very cheap, as no one else wants it, and it makes fabulous garden art, or so I think.

The birds love it too during dry spells as well as many insects including bees and butterflies who flock to it for a drink.

This summer, however, there have not been any dry spells. And the rain is still falling, keeping the night air warm and the frost away for a little while longer.