I have my computer in the upstairs bedroom.   I don’t check the internet a zillion times a day, I like to check it and read anything interesting in the morning.  While I’m sitting here I have a couple of bird feeders to keep me entertained.  I have unfortunately trained some of the squirrels and the jay birds to also beg for peanuts, so I have to constantly stop and hand out treats.  (If I didn’t hand them out, they would immediately empty a feeder.)

This is Sooty, giving me and the freshly filled feeder the eyeball.  These little black squirrels mainly lived in the forest to the north of town, when there was a big fire last year some of them moved south.

Here is a pinon jay eyeballing me.   These are the most common type of  jaybird in the area.   I see the ordinary Blue Jays as they migrate in the spring and fall, as well as Stellar Jays.

Sometimes I see the deer.

A ninja squirrel.  I also get visits from Bold Squirrel, a very lady-like squirrel who takes peanuts out of my hand.

A young Grosbeak, also a summer bird.

A Northern Flicker woodpecker.   These can be a real nuisance if you have wood siding on your house.   I have stucco, and I go out and yell at them if they try anything.

This upside-down bird is a nuthatch.   They love to get sunflower seeds out of the feeder, then they smash them against the bark.

I counted up the different kinds of birds that I see throughout the year and there are about 25 different species.   The most hilarious are the baby birds.  They will sit on the feeder, act pathetic and beg the parents to pick up the seeds and feed them.

No birds, just the turning leaves.

These two showed up just seconds after I put out a new block.

It was so delicious that they stayed for over an hour, nibbling and having a bit of a lie down.  Miss P felt that it was her duty to run them off, but I didn’t let her.

My back yard is on the side of a hill, so there’s really not much that could be done with it.   But I do enjoy the wildlife in the area.

You can see how much his antlers have grown since the last picture.

I also have hummingbird feeders.   Earlier this year is was a crime

scene after it was vandalized.  I suspected the bear or the squirrels,

until I got this evidence.

I get two kinds of hummingbirds, rufous and

ruby throated.   The rufous are quite aggressive and regard the feeder as their own personal property.  They are always ready to defend it, that’s probably why the raccoons had to wait until a dark night to raid it.

I know that you’re wondering ‘What the heck is a  deer block?’  Is it a place where deer have to live, like a tower block for deer?   Is it something that stops deer?  No, it’s not either one.   It’s a cube of deliciousness that deer love to nibble on.   It has molasses with oats, corn and magical ingredients that is irresistible.   I just cruise down to the nearby feed store (they also sell food for your horse, rabbit, guinea pig, etc.) and get these so that I can have some entertainment.

I do live in the city, but it’s close enough to the mountains that deer will wander through the neighborhood, eating our expensive landscaping.  Unlike my neighbor down the street, I have no expensive landscaping, so I don’t care if they come around (except when they come up on the porch and eat out of my planter box!).

Apparently, this little fellow did not read the fine print declaring this for deer, because he was waiting for me to put out a new block.   The rabbits like to sneak out in the moonlight and snack on this.   I can see their light fur against the dark earth of the hillside.

Here is a more typical customer.   I’m not sure who this is, his antlers haven’t grown out enough for me to tell.   He spent a lazy afternoon snacking and having a lie down.  I always enjoy having a visit from one of God’s cattle.

Here’s a picture of his doe.