Thursday, May 29, 2008

More Sunflowers With Guests

Here is the beautiful sunflower as backdrop to various "guests" - a bluejay and a bee. I love blue and yellow and the colors of the bluejay next to the sunflower are eye candy, I think:



Next, a few non-sunflower pictures. Two of a cat in a basket - our Neko, a backyard monk parakeet looking for food and a tiny red flower. Oh - and the usual squirrel with a peanut.

I love to sit in the backyard and enjoy our beautiful and amusing guests. I have to confess I like them so much more than most people and would rather enjoy an afternoon with them than an afternoon spent in the midst of people.

I almost forgot one last guest - a knight anole lizard in our firebush:


Here is another plant that sprouted from bird seed. I have no idea what it is, but I'll leave it until it ripens, then place the seeds in a feeder, unless the birds eat them right off the plant before I have a chance.








8 comments:

anne said...

Hello! I found you via Steve H.'s blog. Lovely photos! I agree with you when you say you often prefer the company of the furred and feathered to many of our fellow humans. Right there with you.

At any rate, I think that plant you've grown is some species of millet - I grew a whole bunch of them last year under my feeder. I took some photos of mine, too - see here:
http://the-flying-mobulas.blogspot.com/2007/11/millet-and-other-things.html

Your birds are adorable, by the way.

Susan Humeston said...

I saw your photos! Yes, it is millet. I should just take a bunch of sunflower seeds and other bird seed and just plant it - I love what comes up - and I saw a Bluejay picking the seeds off that green millet plant in the picture last night!

anne said...

Very cool! Mine were eaten mostly by chickadees and titmice - completely adorable.

I adore sunflowers, and the variety of sizes and heights you can get out of bird seed is pretty nifty.

I think my favorite picture above is the shot you captured of the jay with both feet in the air. Do you have scrub jays where you live?

At any rate, nice to "meet" you!

Susan Humeston said...

Nice to meet you, too!! I am planning to plant some bird seed this weekend - I hope it works! So far, what has grown are just accidental droppings from the bird feeders into the sand beneath. I want to get potting soil in an effort to make the plants bigger and stronger.

No scrub jays here in South Florida - if they ever were here, they are long gone from the over population and concrete-ization. They are on the coast and in Central Florida about 2 hours north of here. When I visit my mom and dad, I bring peanuts to feed to the scrub jays there.

anne said...

Sorry to carry this conversation on for so long in your comment section, but... oh well!

I'm sad to hear about the loss of habitat and consequently the species of that habitat. "Concretization" - never heard that term, but it's certainly apropos. I live in the Hudson Valley in NY, and I'm seeing farmland/orchards plowed under time and time again for "McMansions" to be built. It's such a terrible waste of natural resources (to wit: some of the most arable land in the world), and the critters - both flora and fauna - end up getting the short end of the stick too. It's very frustrating to watch.

I got to see western scrub jays once, visiting S. California - they're very curious, intelligent birds, aren't they? I also do a lot of hiking in the NE, so I've gotten to hang out with my fair share of grey jays, too; it's difficult to think of a more engaging bird than those guys! Aside from the psittacines, of course! :)

I hope you have success with your birdfood gardening project - please do post pics of the results as they occur!

Susan Humeston said...

No problem on carrying on a conversation here - it works just fine.

I was born in Middletown, NY, in Orange County and I lived there until I was 23 years old. I went to visit last October - my sister lives in Catskill - since autumn is my favorite time of year and I wanted to show my husband where I grew up. It was beautiful, but I know what you mean about overbuilding. I'm hoping the housing downturn will discourage continued building.

Anonymous said...

Our jays were just out screeching for me to bring more peanuts a short time ago. Thanks for the pictures of all the nature..I really enjoy them and the information you add... Jody

Susan Humeston said...

I just love our blue jays and our squirrels. They both are very demanding. When my husband or I come out on the porch in the morning, they are waiting - and they begin calling what I think is "They're finally up - there'll be peanuts soon!"