Friday, May 08, 2015

Five on Friday ... Spending Time in my Backyard

Now that the really warm springtime weather has arrived, I'm finally able to plump up the chair cushions and spend time in my backyard again. How I love to sit outside enjoying the sound of birds singing and calling to their mates in the springtime with the sun warming us all up again!

I'm linking up with Amy's Five on Friday this week. Thank you Amy for hosting this fun meme :) Be sure to stop by Love Made My Home to see what five things others have posted.

1. One of my favourite springtime birds is the Redwinged Blackbird. They have such a variety of calls, from scratchy chucks, to a short and sweet warble. I remember when they would arrive at our country home, and in particular when they would all gather to roost at night in the maple trees lining the forest's edge beside our house. What a chorus of song they put forth, it was really noisy, but so welcome after the silence of winter. If I keep the bird feeder topped up in my backyard and the birdbath filled with clean water, I can encourage a few of these birds to stick around all summer ... even though I know they would much rather be down at the marsh.


2. Cody is feeling his years now. More and more we find him soaking up the sun's warmth. When he was a young puppy he couldn't stand being in the sun for very long. He's ten now, and we're noticing his markings on his head are a bit more sprinkled with white than they used to be. Apparently, when I leave the house without him he howls!


3. The ferns are all coming up again. I love these ferns. I love the way the sun filters through them and creates a beautiful mosaic of brilliant lime green and dark forest green beside the pond. When the wind catches them it makes them dance and sway so beautifully! 


4. Stepping stones that I had given my parents over the years. I made these stones for them out of coloured cement. These are laid down through a garden that never did well under a large overhanging bush. I gave up on it, laid down large bark "nuggets" and set these stones where the dog runs through from the patio. It looks much better with the bark on it rather than dusty, dry dirt. The nuggets still look good even though I haven't replaced them in the 5 years that I've had them down. Good investment :)


5. I like to keep the niger seed feeder topped up for these colourful guys. The American Goldfinches are attracted to the yellow of the feeder. I know I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. When I first moved into town I was buying some bird feeders and read on the box that the yellow feeder will attract goldfinches within a few hours. I had never seen a goldfinch in my town yard at that point, but I thought I'd try. I was amazed when after a couple of hours, the feeder had goldfinches at every port! Since then I've always had a niger seed feeder for these sweet birds. We once had a canary in a cage and we would put him outside in the summer. The wild goldfinches would come and sing together with our little Percy ... so cute!


Thanks for stopping by today!
Have a wonderful weekend.

Wendy


20 comments:

  1. I hope the weatherman is right about this weekend :) Love your photos... Have a wonderful weekend, Wendy.
    -Gaia

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  2. Really like your photos - have a wonderful weekend!

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  3. A lovely selection of photographs and Cody looks so sweet and comfy in the sun- he reminds me of ted :o)

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  4. Beautiful photos, I was really impressed with the stepping stones. Have great weekend.

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  5. I always forget about 5 on Friday. Cody is such a sweetie. Jingles is 11 now and sleeps a whole heck of a lot. As a cat, she is always searching for the sun. Lovely photos of enjoyable things. Best wishes, Tammy

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  6. I love seeing plants, birds and flowers from your part of the world, it is so fascinating and I always learn something new. I have never seen a redwinged blackbird before and didn't know about the yellow feeder attracting your beautiful goldfinches. One of the best things about blogging is learning all this stuff!! Your paving slabs/bark area is fabulous, and as you say, much nicer than bare earth. I hope that Cody doesn't howl for long when you leave, he is obviously very attached to you! Thank you so much as always for joining in. I hope that you have a great weekend! xx

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  7. Hello Wendy, Your Cody is so sweet! I love the ferns too, they look so pretty. And the Goldfinches are cuties.. Happy Friday, have a great weekend!

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  8. Hi Wendy - Oh, I love red-winged blackbirds! They have the prettiest calls. We had them by the little pond we lived on when I was a child. When I hear them, it brings me back to that time. So sweet about the stepping stones...Love those unfurling ferns! I hope you have a lovely Mother's Day! xo K

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  9. How lovely to see your backyard in Springtime. We don't get red winged blackbirds... So pretty!

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  10. Lovely photos, your dog looks very peaceful enjoying the warm sun.

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  11. Hi Wendy, I enjoyed your post today. So cool about the goldfinches - I feed them but I don't have a feeder with yellow. Perhaps I'd get more if I did! I will keep that in mind when I need a new one. So fun about your little canary! :)

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  12. How interesting to see spring in your part of the world, Wendy. I didn't know that about yellow feeders! Ours are green and we get blue tits, sparrows, a wren and the odd finch. We get blackbirds too and they sing very loudly in the mornings :-)

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  13. I didn't know that about yellow feeders how interesting, I need to buy new feeders mine are all battered after the awful weather we have been having, it's still too cold here to sit outside but apparently the weather is going to improve so fingers crossed, I need to cut the grass. I love your pictures Wendy it's always interesting to see the wildlife from your part of the world. It's hard when our pets age and it's a shame Cody howls when you leave aw bless him he must love you so much, but he's still fit Wendy and could live for many years yet. Ferns are beautiful when they first start to emerge after their winter sleep I have a huge one at the bottom of my garden and I love it. Have a lovely weekend. :) xxx

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  14. What a lovely story about the yellow feeders and your visiting goldfinches singing with your canary. We put out both nyger and sunflower hearts and our visiting goldfinches and greenfinches seem to like both:)

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  15. Wonderful Five on Friday post, Wendy! Red-winged blackbirds remind me of the farm I grew up on. Hearing their song immediately takes me back to when I was growing up. Interesting about the yellow feeder. I have only seen one goldfinch here at our cottage. Maybe I should give this a try and see if I can attract more.

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  16. Loved all of your photos and your doggie looks so sweet!! Happy weekend to you. xoxo

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  17. I'm glad I'm not the only one with a senior dog that has developed separation anxiety - Topaz howls too!
    It's been a great spring so far, a little rain today but we need more for the parched soil.
    Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day Wendy.

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  18. What a joy to be back in the garden Wendy!!! Loving those stepping stones!!!! Here are to many more lovely days to come!! Nicole xo

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  19. I'm a bit behind, Wendy, hope you had a wonderful weekend.
    Amalia
    xo

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  20. My you have so much knowledge of birds. It is a delight to learn all about them through your eyes, Wendy. Your Cody is a beautiful fellow. He looks so content sleeping there in the sun.

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment, it's nice to know when you've stopped by! :)

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