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Inspired by Dogs & Nature
My patio pond is a repurposed poly stock tank. It’s 8 foot across at the top, and tapers a bit to the bottom to about 7 foot, and it’s about 31″ deep. That’s about 725 gallons of water. Here are the goldfish that thrive… Continue Reading “The Pond Frog”
Illinois’s 2024 white-tailed deer population was estimated at 730,000. That represented a significant increase from the 690,000 deer recorded, and reflected a broader upward trend — the population has grown by approximately 90,000 deer since 2021 after remaining relatively steady for eight years prior. In… Continue Reading “Dear Deer”
Pip: Tammie Rogers has been spending a lot of time in a golf cart, very quietly, waiting for birds to do something interesting — and it turns out birds are almost always doing something interesting. Mara: This episode covers nest box life across the… Continue Reading “Podcast Episode: Backyard Birds And Nest Boxes”
The cute little bird, Bell’s Vireo, is very common at our farm. I hear their song in several locations around the property. They spend their time in the underbrush and wild raspberry bramble, and they are small, so I rarely get to see them.… Continue Reading “Bell’s Vireo”
Birdhouse “J” is located north of our farm pond, in a low area where, during heavy rains, a temporary stream forms which funnels the run off into the pond. I wasn’t sure if the birds would like this spot – as it’s low, but… Continue Reading “Bluebirds at House “J””
This Indigo Bunting was snacking on some grass seed alongside the pond. What a beautiful bird.
I have a bit of an issue with the names that many bird species are given. Words like, Killdeer; it’s just not right. How can that lovely bird kill a deer? Dickcissel? What? And, the most recent species on my list (only because I… Continue Reading “Common Yellowthroat”
What? What is a Chuck-will’s-widow? I had never heard of it, until it popped up on my Merlin app yesterday (5/24/26) with a RED dot next to the photo. Red dot means, not supposed to be there. I hadn’t heard of the species because,… Continue Reading “Chuck-will’s-widow”
Yesterday, as I was sitting on the west side of our pond waiting for the birds to settle after my entrance, I was running the Merlin bird ID app. I looked down at my phone and saw an orange dot next to a bird… Continue Reading “The Alder Flycatcher”
Although it wasn’t what we had originally planned, my chickens quickly become FULLY free-range when I decided that the risk of hawks nabbing one was lower than my desire to give them a fully enriched life. I must say, I really have enjoyed watching… Continue Reading “I Love My Chickens – But I Love Plants, Too”
