Hanging with the neighbours.

Besides all the usual shenanigans ….renovations, multiple dump runs to clear the property, one of our favourite pastimes here has been gazing out the window at the parade of wildlife happening literally in our back garden.

A regular feature around here has become our local herd of mule deer. Usually about 15 to 20 of them….tho we have seen a larger group of 40 ish over at the human neighbours.

The winter covering of snow left them doing a fair bit of damage to my trees……we went from..”aww…look at the deer’….to Stop eating my Fsh$%#^^ trees..!!!

I guess someone has to like those spruce tips…!!!

Then there are the pronghorns. They are a lot more skittish than the deer. The fastest land animal in the western hemisphere they can run up to 98km/h.

We have never quite managed to catch a photograph of the coyotes……but there are regular foxes.

The farm next door has a line of trees along the highway where there is a nest of Great Horned Owls. We have them visit from time to time to help reduce our gopher and vole population.

The Bald Eagles apparently just visit for a bit as they migrate through….but end of winter/beginning of spring they offered a little assistance with gopher control.

As spring arrives…as well as the appearance of the robins, there was the arrival of the Swainsons Hawks. These guys love to glide around in the thermals showing off in such a majestic fashion, (Photographs of the Swainsons and the Myrtle Warbler courtesy of our human neighbour. Thanks Andrew.. 😁 )

Then there are the blooming blinkin’ gophers…….they are cute right up until you almost break your leg down a gopher hole ( which are numerous by the way) They are a nuisance for farmers….both for equipment landing down the holes and hitting their earth mounds…and for livestock breaking legs….. We have great fear of becoming the gopher sanctuary…as they neighbouring farmers shoot them trap them and poison them……..

When they first started popping up with the late spring snow on the ground they were like field lice…they were just everywhere…..!!!

The barn cats do their bit also…..

We have partridges, magpies and mallard ducks nesting around.

Magpie nests are hard to spot……until you know where it is…and the Mallard duck I would never have found if I had not gotten close enough to her to scare her off……she scared me truth be told……but there are nine eggs in there ( that I have been able to see without trespassing too closely)

There are all sorts of little birds …sparrows finches and warblers of various different types. I spotted a red breasted nuthatch out there……no camera in hand…pretty bird..!! ( another picture borrowed from neighbour Andrew’s collection )

This rather lovely butterfly…its a Mourning Cloak butterfly . A very interesting little fellow. I did a litttle bit of searching…this guy hibernates in the bark of the tree……..very clever…

…and then there’s the little mosquito vacuum ( I think he is a Silver Haired bat…Lasionycteris noctivagans). We found him/her when we were demolishing the ugly shed in the north field…..

We can’t talk about the birds without including the bees. I have to keep a stick in my water bucket to stop them drowning..!!

There’s lots more out there…most of the time we are out with no camera or phones with cameras to record the moments……..and there are lots of moments……… life is full of them if we can take a little time to see…….. 😁

……and then there’s the resident wild life……..casually observing……as he does….!!