Sunday, January 4, 2026

USUAL SUSPECTS



It's been a while since we have seen some of the Usual Suspect out in the baren garden and grounds. I was able to finally get out yesterday, and a few times the last few weeks or so with the canon, while I collected many felled twig and branches, what with all the strong gales we've had lately. Not to mention the bird feeders are emptying quick this time of year. I have contemplated getting a heated bird bath, as many birds have a hard time finding a water source this time of year...but will not bite the bullet yet, not to mention I shut the outdoor water off in the winter. For now, I continue with my special mixture of bird seeds, dried fruit pieces and suet bricks. And a week had passed since any more carriage from the hawk. With the drab of winter, and no color at all. no life in the garden except for my rosemary for all things...it looks bleak. Thank heavens for the birds...they are adding the life currently...among others. So many too. They are others I couldn't get a snap of.


I love hearing the chipping of the Juncos.

I heard a new call this week I didn't recognize. Look everywhere till I finally spotted the suspect. Turns out it's a Yellow-Bellied Sap Sucker. Since then, I spotted a what might be a couple.

Meanwhile, speaking of perches...Sophie Lucille in one of her usual spots. I think she must adore the tree. She always lays on the end of the sofa next to the tree. I think she overheard me yesterday saying it will be coming down by week's end.

Thats right...breath it all in my child.....

11 comments:

  1. Anonymous1/04/2026

    Sophie Lucille est très adorable :)
    Mon jardin à Deauville attire de nombreux oiseaux migrateurs (couscous, hérons, rossignols, fauvettes, bruants jaunes, rouges- gorges, hirondelles, chardonnerets, et loriots) et j’ai une cigognes blanches qui vit dans un nid sur le toit de ma maison.
    Quand les oiseaux chantent, Mère Nature les fait chanter pour nous :)
    -Beau Mec à Deauville

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    1. Oh là là... ce que je ferais pour voir des hérons, des rossignols et une cigogne vivre ici ! Je parie que ça doit être merveilleux à voir ? Sophie est une petite compagne toute câline.

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  2. Your usual suspects all look well-fed and happy, so you're obviously doing something right! Lovely photos, as always, and I'm glad to see you're a Blue Jays fan, LOL!

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  3. First: Sophie’s adorableness makes my heart ache.
    The birds are always so beautiful to see and your photos make it even better from here.

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  4. Sophie Lucille is one little cutie-pie, that's for sure!

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  5. oh, but I miss feeding the birds! I would start on Thanksgiving morning and continue until spring. How I loved to look out the kitchen window at what was at the feeder.

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  6. I love that you're into birds, and that you feed them - and know who they are! So you know that you live on an important migratory flyway, I'll assume. Do you know that feeders are the #2 food source for migrating birds in your region? If it weren't for y'all folks maintaining your feeders year after year, that flyway would collapse (source: Roger Tory Peterson is a household god here at the El Apartmento. And here you thought my binoculars were for nefarious purposes.)

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  7. Anonymous1/04/2026

    Sophie Lucille wants you to keep that tree ! 🌳
    Luv me some garden birds and critters.
    Our backyard plays host to hummingbirds, finches, wrens, crows, owls and on occasion the tallest white crane I have ever seen. By our neighborhood is a lake that is home to wild ducks, geese and hawks. Among the critters in the neighborhood and at times the backyard are rabbits, possums, gophers and skunks.
    Of concern is the low number of bees and lack of ladybugs as both were numerous in other places we have lived.
    CA jock

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  8. My fav is our resident woodpecker who insists that there are bugs inside the aluminum gutters. Nothing like the machine-gun quality of the sound it makes at dawn...

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  9. I love it that the birds in your part of the world are similar to ours but far more colourful! The blue is the lovliest shade.
    I still WANT Sophie. She is a sweet little soul. I think the tales of her killing things is just a pack of lies! 😂

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  10. All birds - well, the vast majority of them - are so very photogenic, and this posting shows just how much.
    As for the lovely Sophie Lucille, here's sending her a little transatlantic 'woof'!

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!