Sing It, Willie!

I love Lazuli Buntings!  

I had 15 of these blue beauties at my seed feeder yesterday.  Makes me think of Willie Nelson singing "Blue Skies"    

Blue skies smiling at me

nothing but blue skies do I see

Bluebirds singing a song

Nothing like bluebirds all day long.

I never saw the sun shining so bright

never saw things going so right.

Noticing the days hurrying by

when you’re in love, oh my how they fly.

Blue days all of them gone

Nothing but blue skies from now on...

I am so happy to see that Spring is here!  While the little birds are blue, the very sight of them lifts my blues.  Hope you enjoy these little Lazuli Buntings as much as I do in My Mountain Green.  

Springtime Friday Afternoon Hike

Finally Spring has finally arrived! How do I know? Well, the FOTY (first of the year) Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are buzzing around my yard and lapping up the nectar in the feeder.  One male arrived yesterday.  The temps are in the mid to upper 60Fs and the sun is shining brightly!

Late afternoon brought on the "sleepies", so I thought to myself that I could either lie down and take a nap or go outside and enjoy this wonderful weather while it lasts!  Not a hard choice.  I decide to hike up along the ridge line trail above the house.  So off I go, walking through my yard to my neighbor's trailhead to get up the hill.  On the way, my neighbor was out working in the yard so I stop to chat a bit.  He warned me that the last 3 times he and his dogs had been up, they had run into a cow and calf moose.  So off I tread, making noise along the way and keeping my eyes out for the pair; however, no moose were seen today. 

Along the narrow trail up hill,  I stop in a clearing to look back from where I had just come.

You can see the 2nd story and the balcony of my house just at the edge of the trees. 






Also along the trail I notice the budding Hawthorne trees. 

Also Glacier Lilies... 

and Shortstyle Bluebells were blooming.

My house sits at an elevation of 5100' +/-.  The top of the ridge is around 5450'.  About half way uphill, I come upon what I call the lower ridge road.  I follow it until I get to a 3 way intersection, naturally I take the one on the right leading to the top!

About half way up to the top, again I stop to look back from where I had come.

I reach the top out of breath, of course!  The wind is at a gale, a steady 10mph wind with occasional gusts that I have to brace against.  The view is spectacular.

Looking West (Weber Canyon)

South

South East towards the city of Morgan

East

North.
The snow covered peak in the far distance is Powder Mountain Ski Resort.  You also notice the wide path here which is used by ATVs to turn around.

North East
(Snow Basin Ski Resort is along the right side of the mountain.)

I continue along the trail heading North enjoying the quiet except the crunch of my feet along the path.

The terrain here consists of crumbling shale rock, sagebrush and low standing scrub oak trees.

At the bottom of this long stretch I make a turn downhill to reconnect up with the lower ridge road again and return home.

All the while enjoying the views along the way!

Along the trail, an Old World Swallowtail dances in front of me before landing on the sagebrush.  This was the only shot I could get of him as he quickly took to flight, got caught up in a gust of wind and flew (blew) away!

I think the wind kept most of the birds away or down on the ground, but I did see a few:
American Robin
Spotted Towhee
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-billed Magpie
Tree Swallow


Thanks for taking a walk with me in My Mountain Green!

A Few Signs of Spring

As Old Man Winter still lingers on, my yard birds are ready for Spring.  After being out the country for six weeks, it has taken about a week for the birds to rediscover or return to my seed and suet feeders.  However, light snow and cold temps have not kept the birds from shedding their winter clothing.  Here are just a few examples from the photos taken this morning:

American Goldfinch sporting Summer plumage.

Cassin's Finch with his bright red crown!

Evening Grosbeaks are glowing with their new GREEN bills.

Contrasting bill colors.  (This photo taken on January 13, 2013.)

A few more days of cold weather are expected before warming up to the 60Fs this weekend.  I am looking forward to Spring in My Mountain Green.

Thanks for stopping by.  

What? It Can't Be!

It's still very much Winter in My Mountain Green.  So, much to my surprise, this is what I see out my window on this snowy and grey morning! 

Mr. Squirrel makes his "Spring" debut a little early.   "Just great!", I thought to myself. You see, squirrels are not my favorite pests animals in the yard.

Yes, they are cute, but they eat my bird feeders out of house and home.  I really don't want to take all my feeders down since Winter is still so cold.  So for now, I will take down the feeder you can see as well as another one that is easy for the "pig" to climb upon to eat his fill.  

Hopefully he will soon move on to another neighbors house! One of my friends said that it was time to get out my slingshot.  My comment..."more like my .22"!  (Hey, what else would a Texas girl say?!)

Please note: no animals were harmed in this My Mountain Green post. Yet.  ;-)

Thanks for stopping by My Mountain Green.

Nesting News

A beautiful sunny Friday morning beckoned me to soak in the sun's rays and to sip my coffee (from my favorite mug, of course) on the bedroom balcony.  While here I noticed some nesting activity in the trees below.  

I repositioned myself to the lower deck so I could get a better angle on the nesting boxes.  This is a major lesson in patience for me....my camera is a Canon Power Shot point and shoot camera, no bells and whistles, no sports mode, only a 16x zoom.  After about 100 photos and some major cussing over missed shots, these are the photos I got.  

Three Springs ago, I hung 2 nesting boxes in the trees on the south side of my house.  One on the far right, I purchased at the local hardware store and it is made out of pine.  The one on the left, I so crudely made from untreated cedar scraps I had left over from when I made garden boxes.  Not having my own table saw to cut the wood to size, I just pieced it together as best as I could with wood screws and chiseled a hole in the front for an opening hoping that the birds might use it. 

Well, I am happy to say, this year a pair of Black-Capped Chickadees have deemed my crudely made nesting box fit for their brood!  Getting the nesting box ready is in full swing with the pair flitting back and forth with nest materials. 

I recently noticed that tree bark from some of the scrub oaks near the balcony has been stripped.  Now I know why, the chickadees are stripping bark to use in the nest building.

"You lookin' at me?"

I was also happy to notice that one of the chickadees is the one I spotted several months ago which has the overgrown upper mandible.  No picture of it yet, still trying.

Going in....

Flying out....

While back on the balcony, I heard a noise just over the ridge line above my house.  

What is it?  Looks like 2 huge birds of prey.....

but take a closer look...

An air glider is being towed to altitude by a Cessna airplane.  Morgan County Airport located a few miles East of my canyon is the glider airport for Northern Wasatch Front mountains.  An amazing sight to watch the gliders soar!

Well, thanks for joining me on my Friday morning adventure in My Mountain Green.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Rainy Day Visitors

While this weekend sports sunny blue skies and 70+F temps, the past week was a little unsettled with off & on showers and very gray skies, but that did not hinder many little visitors to my front yard bird feeders and eating every last seed!  Even a pair of Eurasian Collared Doves are hanging out each day...

Along with many American Goldfinches....

Almost standing on his head to get at that perfect seed!

This little Goldfinch is so obsessed with getting the seed he wanted he did not notice a House Finch landing nearby.  

If he does not watch out, he may get stuck!  He has his head stuck underneath the shield all the way to his wing bars!

Oh, yes, other visitors I saw that day were several Black-capped Chickadees, a Spotted Towhee, a female Red-Shafted Northern Flicker, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, a couple of Western Scrub Jays, and a half of dozen Black-billed Magpies!

Every bird I saw this day in My Mountain Green are year round birds for my yard.  Last week while I was playing the in the Las Vegas Desert, the Dark Eyed Juncos decided to migrate out.  Now I am waiting for migrating birds and my usual Summer birds to show up.


Time to go outside and enjoy My Mountain Green! 

Daffodils in White!

It's Springtime in Utah!

Daffodils in snow.  4-6-2012

Daffodils are the first bloomers in my yard!  I love how the soft yellow radiates the glory of creation and awakening of life!   The dwarf iris and tulips are next to shine.  These flowers are located along my front walk leading to the porch. 


Springtime in Utah is fickle to say the least! Beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures in the upper 70s F on Wednesday afternoon gave way to swirling snow and low 30's on this Friday morning! Now at 1pm, as I look out my office window, I see bright sunshine and blue skies!  


Welcome to Springtime in Utah where the weather changes by the hour!


Happy Easter from My Mountain Green!

"SPRINTER" - a new definition of the word!

Utah redefines the word "SPRINTER" - noun, the period of time when Spring begins its emergence only to have Winter swing in with a vengeance.  Welcome to April in Utah!

These series of photos are what I see as I head down to the kitchen to start the coffee! 

 A fresh new layer of snow blankets My Mountain Green this morning!  Forecasting off and on snow all day today!