The right tool for the job.

I was so disappointed with how the pictures of the hawk came out, I started to do a little research regarding cameras.  I didn’t want to loose another memory.  On one of the birding websites I like to visit, a photographer mentioned her experiences with her Nikon D70.   Off I went to Nikon’s website and started looking at their Digital SLR camera options and came across the D90.  It was pricey, more than I would have ever expected to pay for a camera – but we got a fairly nice deal for the camera body, one 18-50 mm lens, one 70-300 mm lens, the battery, case and some bells and whistles.

I LOVE this camera.  It has truly inspired me to better capture the small and magical events that happen all around me every day.  I am still a complete beginner, but I can’t wait to learn more about how to use the camera to its full potential and preserve memories as vividly and beautifully as possible.

House sparrows at my mom's feeder.

An American Goldfinch! They are cute and lightning fast!

Without a doubt, one of the most special nature shots to me, the return of the red tailed hawk.  He wasn’t hanging about for as long as he did the day of my previous post – but long enough.  I miss hearing him lately and can’t wait for him to come back for some more closeups!

My favorite juvenile Red-tailed hawk.

A Red tailed Tale

Amongst the friendly red admirals butterflies, the occasional black swallowtail and those pesky cabbage whites – who destroyed our lettuce – we’ve had some other flying visitors of interest.  One of the most meaningful, to me in any case, is a juvenile red tailed hawk who has been frequenting one of our larger trees.  Even if you don’t see this large raptor you’ll be sure to hear him!  I know that this hawk is young, as his eyes are still yellow and his tail has not yet turned the red his names implies.  While I can’t be sure of the sex of the bird, I’m going to watch for telltale signs through behavior.  For now, “he” seems right to me.

Our visiting Red tailed hawk perched high in a tree.

The red tails around us seem to be very vocal, I hear the red tails crying as they soar often in the morning and I believe this little guy is looking for a mate because he is very noisy!  Would you like to hear what they sound like? Click here!  It is so exciting to hear the hawks cry as they soar; we stop what where doing just to catch a glimpse of them.

I’ve read that the red tailed hawk has significance to some Native American tribes, but I’m still reading up on that.  One of the most interesting results I’ve come across is that Munsee, one of the tribes who lived historically in this area actually translates to “red-tailed hawk“.

I was also lucky enough to catch him calling on video.  Please bear with me as I am still learning how to properly edit and annotate these videos and this is still raw footage.

Here's a shot of the red tailed hawk looking right at us.

Red tailed Hawk soaring.

Fruits of our labor

Our first tomato harvest!

We finally harvested some tomatoes and they were absolutely delicious!

They grew to the size that you see here rather quickly.  Considering how rapidly they grew, we thought they would ripen just as fast.  How wrong we were!  It can be difficult waiting for those green tomatoes to turn red.  You begin to question if you’ve done what you need to do for the plant or wonder if something is wrong.  Naturally, I hit the internet looking for other people’s experiences.  I was reading that people have their tomatoes ripen in a paper bag, or to prune off certain branches, but I think we did right by listening to one poster who added a solution of “patience”.  I’m glad we simply waited for the tomatoes to ripen on the plant.

Even though we have several tomato plants growing, the plant to give us these tomatoes was a fast growing hybrid from Home Depot.  We also have two plants that were donated from Frank’s family and two more from seeds we germinated ourselves – so they are all at different stages of development.  You would think that the transplants, which look healthy and happy, would have produced first, but one of our little seedlings is the only one to have little tomatoes growing.

Overall, I couldn’t be happier so far with our little garden!

Berry Protected

In early May we planted a strawberry plant in our garden and they grew a few strawberries, but we did not get a chance to eat them since the other woodland creatures beat us to it. It started producing strawberries again this month and I was not going to be had this time around. I created my own “bird netting” by using some sticks and window screening I had around. I created a basic tee pee shape around the plant and draped the screening over it. For added security, I pushed a few toothpicks through the screening into the ground around the base of the plant to prevent any animals from getting under the screen.

It seems to be working well and Frankie will be able to enjoy a fresh ripe strawberry from our garden any day now.

Grow little tomatoes, grow!

I cannot get over how quickly we’re seeing changes in our garden.  We were so excited to see these tiny little tomatoes just starting out.  To be honest, sometimes I would get nervous thinking they were not going to grow.

This plant is a Roma hybrid we picked up at home depot, we have transplants from Frank’s parents’

garden, and some from a packet of seeds.  They’re all at different levels of development.   What a difference just a little time and some nice, warm days can make!  I bet it won’t be long until we’re indulging on our own tomatoes!

We did end up having to add some stakes to help keep the tomato plants growing up straight.  Spare the rod, spoil the tomato!

What’s a scape?

Garlic flowers?

As the plants continue to grow and develop in our little garden, there’s been quite a few changes.  I recently noticed that the bulb of garlic we planted has started to flower.  Until tonight, I had no idea of what this means or what we were supposed to do.  Turns out that we missed an opportunity with the blooming of these tiny flowers.  Had we clipped the scapes before they opened, they’re actually edible!

Overnight Blooms

The first Tiger Lily to bloom in the front of the house.

It was clear that it wouldn’t be long before the Tiger Lilies in the front of the house but I sure did not expect them to open over night the way they did!  We had transplanted them to make room for the garden where we planted all the edible goodies.  I’m glad that nearly all of them survived the move.

One of my favorite poets, Emily Dickinson, turned out to be “known more widely as a gardener, perhaps, than as a poet” (Judith Farr) during her lifetime.

Surprise! Yet another bloom that appeared literally overnight.

It appears that Emily and I have quite a bit in common, including our withdrawal from society and a love for growing beautiful flowers.  Even though I am a novice and still don’t have a space with plenty of sun, I’m truly excited to take on this project and can’t wait to see what my humble garden yields.  In any case, I’m getting a great learning experience!

You can visit Emily Dickinson’s garden if you’re able to get to the Bronx.

HIDE MYSELF WITHIN MY FLOWER

I hide myself within my flower,
That fading from your Vase,
You, unsuspecting, feel for me –
Almost a loneliness.

Emily Dickinson

Butterfly in my hair

Meet French Fry!

A family friend comes to visit us in our backyard almost every day, meet French Fry, a red admiral butterfly.  I know it is an odd name for a butterfly – but Frankie (my son) was nibbling on French fries when this friendly butterfly first made himself known.   This little butterfly makes us smile as he bounces around the yard, landing on all my potted plants, warming himself on the bricks, or sometimes, on us!

While trying to catch a picture of him with his wings open, French Fry decided a better place would be on my head.  I think he startled Frankie a bit when he took a quick break on his glasses.  We have all developed a real attachment to this little guy and hope he continues to spend time with us.

Isn't the underside of French Fry's wing amazing?

I was hoping to catch some of the backyard birds we usually have hopping around but they were rather camera shy today.  Two catbirds perched on the fence but by the time the camera came out of sleep mode they were gone.  I was surprised that we didn’t see the large robin who I suspect is stealing our strawberries off the plant.

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