Thursday, November 30, 2006

Our little furry friends





Our doggie Shadow (she passed away last month) used to love to chase these little furry friends. It was the joy of the day for her! Now the kids and I are finding so much joy in leaving food for them without them having to worry about Shadow's wrath. They are so fun to watch through our kitchen and bedroom windows. Outside my bedroom we can see their nests. They are so cute!

There is a hawk we see often as well. I have posted about it before. We saw the hawk yesterday perched in another neighbor's tree waiting to catch his dinner. Maybe a squirrel? Sometimes we have five or more squirrels at a time in our backyard. I've seen the hawk come close to getting one once.

Yesterday I saw a small bird I had not seen before on my back porch. It was red and gray. One day I hope to buy a nice bird guide book. Binoculars are hard for me to use because of my glasses. But the kids and I sure enjoy bird and animal watching. I find it a little sad that we get so excited when we see an animal or bird we don't see often. I wonder if our forefathers and mothers had to look hard and pay attention to catch a glimpse of creatures we rarely see now days?

I believe loving nature is an important gift to give to children. I know I have accomplished this goal! Yesterday we were driving down the road and Holden raved about a flock of geese flying overhead which I had missed. I love it when they get excited about seeing things in nature. It makes my heart overflow with joy to have human friends and furry ones too.

2 comments:

zamozo said...

This is my favorite online bird identification website:http://www.birds.cornell.edu/
but you have to kind of have a general idea what kind of bird you're looking for. The bird you saw that was red and gray - did it have a splotch of red on it's head? Like a woodpecker? If it was small it might've been a Downy Woodpecker or a Red-Bellied Woodpecker. IF it was bigger it might've been a Flicker??

Heather's Moving Castle said...

It was really colorful like a finch but it was bigger than a Downy Woodpecker and more colorful. The red wasn't a bright red but a pinkish/fuschia red. And it did have some sort of gray. Maybe it was a brownish gray. It was early dusk so hard to see. It was right outside my kitchen window and Holden saw it too. It was thrilling to see something we had never ever seen before. We have lots of woodpeckers around here. Although I haven't seen them lately.

Just a few minutes ago I was putting groceries away and saw a large hawk swoop over a squirrel. So amazing to see.