Coco is our chocolate lab. He is almost a year old. We all love him very much. My wife took this picture a month or so ago and it is one of my favorites!

Wow, we need to get to work!

I was very surprised to see the number of followers and the number of hits this blog has received the past few months. Caleb and I need to get back to work with our camera. Hopefully some new photos will be coming soon.

A few more pictures from our backyard

Ugly or cute

Take a look at the Bluebird chicks in our front yard. Ugly or cute? You be the judge.

Squawk's a lot is a Mom!

Laurie took this picture this morning while checking on all the boxes. All three eggs are gone but only one baby could be found.

Bluebird Update

This afternoon I checked box 1 in our yard and we have two new bluebirds with three eggs yet to hatch. Mother was not in sight. I took Caleb down a few hours later for a look but momma bluebird was back and would not leave the box. I opened the door and lifted Caleb up and momma sat on the eggs and chicks the entire time. I left my camera at school today, so no pictures. I missed a great photo opportunity. Hopefully I will have a chance tomorrow. It is supposed to frost tonight hopefully they all stay warm.

Do not Disturb!

I checked the box this morning and the do not disturb sign was up. Mom did not exit the box so I assume she is busy tending to the little ones. I usually open the box but decided not to this morning once I saw the concerned face of Mrs. Bluebird. Maybe I will open it this evening.

Maybe Tomorrow

Looks like our first batch of Bluebirds will meet the real world in the morning. The shells are beginning to crack. Tomorrow will be exactly 12 days since the 5th egg was laid.

Egg laying machine!

Yesterday I checked the Bluebird box in the front yard and egg number five was in the nest. Today I looked and I believe the egg laying machine is finished. When I approached the box this afternoon the female exited the box which tells me she has begun to incubate them. So in 12 to 14 days we should have a few new Bluebirds. As I monitored the box previously I determined that she laid her eggs in the morning and was not around in the afternoons.

Egg number 5 April13th, 2010

A very busy spring!

This spring we have been very busy and the birds have also been busy in our back yard. Here are a few of my favorites pictures from the past couple months.

Introducing Miss Squawks a lot. She is a Killdeer that made her nest in our driveway. Every time we walk past to get the mail or check the other Bluebird boxes she likes to talk to us (squawks a lot) and pull our attention away from her nest by acting injured.

Miss Squawks A lot's nest.

Miss Squawks a lot acting injured.












This spring we installed six Bluebird boxes March 1st. Three are at our home and we placed the other three on the Kokosing Gap Trail. As of today Bluebirds are in three of the six boxes with sparrows in one box and Tree Swallows in another. The last box is still empty.

 We also installed two additional Bluebird boxes at the Bladensburg Elementary School April 1st.

Tree Swallows in our backyard.

1st egg April 9th.

2nd egg April 10th.

Egg number three April 11th.

Egg number four - today!

Enough Snow!

The bird house below was built by Laurie's grandpa George a few years ago. As you can see we have enough snow. Currently there is over 20 inches of the lovely white stuff on the ground. I have never seen this much snow at one time in Knox County although many old timers say it is just an old fashioned winter.

Only the strong will survive this winter.

Caleb's pictures

Caleb took the following pictures this morning. Needless to say all the birds are cold and hungry. We shoveled a path the the feeder and knocked  all the fresh snow off of it. We even built a a snow wall blocking the wind while they feed.

Cold weather - hungry birds

As the temperatures hover around 5 degrees our birds are feeding like crazy and trying to stay warm. The cardinals were back again this morning as well as many finches and woodpeckers. We do have a new visitor that Caleb and I have not identified yet.

Can anyone tell what this bird is?

Warm January Weekend

For a brief moment this past weekend I thought spring was on the way. The warm temperatures provided the opportunity for the bluebirds to visit us while searching for a few insects. I finally got a picture of one sitting on the edge of our roof. Caleb and I also went for a hike at Honey Run Waterfall Park. Now the temperature is well below freezing but at least I have the pictures!

Today's winter snow storm

Today we were able to get a lot of great pictures while the birds were feeding during the snow storm. The cardinals are beautiful as they standout against the snow.