Spring Hares

Yesterday morning when I looked out my window I spotted a Snowshoe Hare hopping around in my yard.  By the time I got outside there were two of them, and they made a mad dash away from me.

They paused briefly to see what I was doing.....

.....and then hopped for safety in the brush.  I added a poster filter to the last two photos--I wasn't quite quick enough to catch the proper focus.  That seems to happen more and more as I get older......

I am linking up with Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

Backyard Visitors

The last few days there have been a couple of Hairy Woodpeckers visiting my backyard.  I like how they announce their presence with a loud call, getting my attention and allowing me to grab my camera.

I am linking with Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

Mama Moose

A couple of moose wandered through our yard last week.  They look to have come through the winter quite well and I'm sure they enjoyed the mild winter we had. 

Mama moose appears to be pregnant and will give birth mid May to early June.  

Shortly before she gives birth she's going to chase off last year's calf, who is now close to her size.  That's the calf in the photo below.  It's amazing how much they grow in one year!

I'm linking up with Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

Woodpeckers and a Bike Eating Tree

We've been seeing a lot of woodpeckers at our feeders.  They don't stay long, but because of the loud cheep that announces their presence I'm alerted to their arrival and can grab my camera.  This male Hairy Woodpecker seemed to be enjoying the late afternoon sun shining on his back this afternoon.

A female Hairy Woodpecker was at the feeders earlier in the month.  Even without the bright red patch she's a flashy bird too.

I'm linking up with Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

My entry for Gaelyn's Foto Friday Fun 81 is Index #6661,

taken October 7, 2012, on Vashon Island in Washington State.

Woodpeckers spend a lot of time eating in trees, but this is a case of a tree doing the eating.  The bike is embedded in the tree and has been a legend on Vashon Island for some time, with many different explanations of how the bike got there.  The real story appears to be that the bike was abandoned by a boy in 1954, but it likely was repositioned a time or two to get it into the position it's now in.  It was featured in a children's book "Red Ranger Came Calling" written by Berkeley Breathed, a former resident of Vashon.  Sadly, vandals removed several pieces of the bike this past summer, but over the years this has happened before and pieces have been replaced.  Many photos show the bike with handlebars, which were not there at the time of these photos.  A local bike shop owner is on the lookout for pieces to replace what was taken.  

That's my son and his daughter in the photos in the collage above.  And, just for fun, and because legends always need to be embellished a bit, that's what I did in the shot below. 

The Fox Went A-Hunting

We've been spotting a Red Fox in our yard several times this last week.  Thursday afternoon was bright sun, and he was out hunting again. The Fox's favorite delicacy here in Alaska is the Vole, which we seem to have a plentiful supply of in our yard.  A Fox never stays still for very long, so you have to be quick or all you'll get is the flash of that big bushy tail.

I am linking up with Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

And something just a little different for

Gaelyn's Foto Friday Fun 80

Index No. 6387

a critter that I photographed back in June,

a pretty Hummingbird Moth in my flowers.

There's quite a contrast in my backyard in the summer and winter!

Frost Is Nipping At The Garden

The last couple of nights we have had a light frost and some of the more tender plants are done.  Still, there are many colorful flowers still blooming.  

I'm hoping it will warm up again and September will be nice.

The way our summer has went, though, I'm not holding my breath.

Rain on Friday brought our summer total up to 11.62 inches for June, July & August.  Local rain records date back to 1906, and the previous record of 11.59 was set in 1930.  The official totals are taken at the airport which is dryer than many of the surrounding areas.  It was a very different year from last year when we had lots of sunshine and many days in the 80+ range.  Unfortunately, that led to an active fire season, and the upside to this years rainy summer was a very quiet fire season.

It's not been a great year for gardens, and I did very little watering.  I didn't do much maintenance either, as it seemed like every couple of days we'd have more rain.

Below is a shot taken in my garden back in July when the Blue Darner Dragonflies were most active and all the flowers were blooming quite nicely.  I'm linking it with Gaelyn's Foto Friday Fun 74, using the index number of 633.

Cranes and Fireweed

This last week a family of Sandhill Cranes have been visiting our neighborhood.  This morning they investigated our backyard.  Mom and Dad have a red crown while the youngsters or colts have rusty plumage atop their head.  

I am linking up with Eileen

at Saturday's Critters.

I am also sharing the following photo from my archives with Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 72.  Foto Friday Fun uses an indexed photo from your archives and this weeks number is 3847.  My photo was taken July 29, 2013, at Creamer's Field.  Last year the Fireweed was plentiful, but sadly this year we've had a lot of rain and cool weather and the Fireweed blooms are rather sparse.

Another Visit With The Cranes

The two Sandhill Cranes that have visited our neighborhood over the last week or so were back in our front yard again this afternoon.  Click HERE to see my previous post featuring them.

Today there was a little bit of sunshine so it made for better photos.

They wandered around a bit finding nummy things to eat.

Then something startled them and they went on alert.

They prepared to take off.....

.....and were quickly airborne, a little faster than I was able to react.  Hopefully they will be back tomorrow, along with a little more sunshine.  I think my chances are probably better to see the Cranes than to get the sunshine, as it's been in very short supply here this summer.

I am linking up with Eileen's Saturday's Critters.

The Crane Caper

A couple of Sandhill Cranes have been spending the better part of the day in our neighborhood this past week.  We have had a bumper crop of grasshoppers and numerous other bugs this year, so it's made for some good hunting.

Yesterday they were chowing down in my front yard. 

Suddenly there was a bit of a disturbance.  The mailman arrived and was filling the mailboxes.  

"Alert!  Alert!"

"We'd better move out, Mabel!"

"A little faster!"

"Good grief, Fred.  This is far enough.  I'm hungry!"

"I don't know what Fred's problem is.  There were tasty grasshoppers over there." 

I am linking up with Good Fences

at Run "A" Round Ranch Report.