To refresh your memory, here are the photos from January’s Bird Quiz. The bird was seen in Colorado during the month of December. Don’t read any further if you want one last chance to identify this bird.
Author: LAH
Snowy Blankets
We have a lot of snow in our front yard. It may not seem like much to those who live in Minnesota, upstate New York, or Maine, but for us here along the Front Range of the Rockies, it’s a lot of snow. Colorado is dry. Colorado is sunny. We don’t get all that much snow, and what we do get melts the next day. The “real” snow is supposed to stay up on the ski slopes, not in our front yards.
When we picked out a lot for our new house, we were thinking about a longer growing season from our south-facing backyard, the spectacular view of Pikes Peak out the living room picture windows, the warmth of sunshine filling our bedroom. We carefully oriented our house to take advantage of all these.
January Bird Quiz
Can you identify this bird? The photos were taken in Colorado during the month of December. The answer will appear next week.
Parting Shots
Once again, it seems appropriate to post a few “parting shots” as we leave 2015. Hope you had a great year, and wishing you the best for 2016!
Swirling Shovelers
Last month, I explained how to ID a Northern Shoveler. This time, I thought I would write more about their ducky lifestyles.
And We Beheld His Glory
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. … But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Birding the City
“Two juncos.”
“OK, what kind?”
“One Grey-backed, one Pink-sided—oops, there go half a dozen more! Were they Slate-sided?”
“Oh, I can’t tell! Just write down eight Juncos!”
“Over there—that looks like a Bushtit. And another, and… there must be 50 of them in that bush!”
Counting birds isn’t always easy, but that what I did Saturday. I was participating in Audubon’s 114th Christmas Bird Count, something I’ve done off and on for the past ten years, ever since I discovered the joys of birding.
Colorado’s Iconic Blue Spruce
Colorado has a love affair with the blue spruce (Picea pungens). Perhaps we’re enamored with the striking, steel-blue tint to the needles, and the way the color causes fall’s orange leaves to glow. Perhaps we appreciate the towering, pyramidal shape of a mature tree, or the short and squat dimensions of a dwarf cultivar.
A number of gardeners I’ve talked to added a blue spruce to their yard because it’s Colorado’s state tree. Blue spruces may not be the easiest species for Front Range landscapes, but they’re definitely worth the effort.
December Quiz: Answer
To refresh your memory, here is the photo from December’s Bird Quiz. The bird was seen in Texas during the month of December. Don’t read any further if you want one last chance to identify this bird.
Gardening Advice: Clearing Up a Few Misconceptions
In my recent web-browsing, I’ve come across some garden advice that made me stop, blink, and yell loudly at my screen, “No, you idiot, that’s not true!” Since I didn’t want to be the only one yelling at my computer screen, I thought I’d share some of this sage advice with you, along with what I think about it. Besides, we’re all idiots until we learn better!
Mountain Plover 