Hawks and other backyard animals

We have a bird feeder in the back yard by a big pine tree . I love watching the birds come in to feed. I put squirrel food out as well at the base of the bird feeder. Squirrels, chipmunks, bunnies and other animals feed there too. That is until recently... We have had some hawks that roam the neighborhood and picking off small animals. I had not seen them in the prior 2 years that I have lived here - not so visible anyway.

I think they are Coopers Hawks, but am not certain - I'm not skilled in the identification of birds, but understand they are somewhat common in this area. Maybe they are babies learning to hunt? They are fascinating to watch, but not so much when their lunch is the squirrel or bird you've been feeding.

Here's a photo I snapped of one of the hawks standing guard at the bird feeder, it's cloudy because it was taken from my dining room through the window. This was after it ran off a squirrel - without blood shed, thankfully!


Am I leading these little animals to slaughter because I put food out? I certainly hope not, but will tell you that I have cut back on the food supply.

I am happy to report that I have not seen any hawks in the last few days, and have seen lots of squirrels and birds again at the feeder.

Summer storm

We had a nice summer storm yesterday afternoon. It was balmy all day, the thunder started up in the afternoon, followed by a nice light show and lots of rain. We ended up with thunderstorm warnings, flood warnings and a tornado watch before it was over with. I captured bits and pieces of it on my digital camera between 5:30 and 6:00 pm and thought I'd share it here.

Here is the thunder off in the distance working up to a big rainstorm.


Here is some footage of the rain that came shortly after the thunder began.


I love the storms, the sounds, the smell - all of it. Weather fascinates me to no end. I wonder sometimes what it would have been like growing up with storms and 'weather'.

The weather...

A sunflower in my garden last summer

The weather is a hot topic in this part of the country. Being from California, I was not used to it when I first moved here. So much depends on it - and it can change so radically from one minute to the next, it seems it is always in the news.

I have come to enjoy the change of seasons and the varying weather patterns - most of the time. I do not care much for Tornado watches and warnings, but thunderstorms and lightning fascinate me to no end. Well, until it gets really close - then it scares me. And the really cold weather isn't much fun either..

There are many farmers in this area and from what I have seen, the vast majority do not have irrigation systems. They depend on the rain to water their crops, when it doesn't rain they suffer.

And on days like today and yesterday we have too much rain - several inches in a short period of time. So now there is flooding. It's always something with the weather around here.

There are 3 rivers in close proximity to Fort Wayne. The St. Joseph River and the St. Marys River join to form the Maumee River. Needless to say, when it rains a bunch - like the past couple of days - there are flood watches and warnings throughout the area.

Speaking of watches and warnings - it seems there is one or the other pretty consistently. Wind, hail, snow, freezing fog, heat. Again, coming from California this was foreign to me. For the first year I lived here I was alarmed whenever I heard the warning signals on the radio or the TV. Now I have become used to the little map up in the corner of the screen showing which counties are being affected by the weather flavor of the moment. I truly understand now, that as a Californian, I never really appreciated the temperate climate, but that is how it goes right? You never really appreciate something until it's gone.

Here's a riveting video of the rain (and a little thunder too) I shot today using my cheap digital camera, if you have absolutely nothing else to do, by all means - check it out.

Amazing Grace by Wintley Phipps

What a perfect first post!

I have been wandering around You Tube looking for music (thanks to my buddy Monica). I found one clip that was particularly moving to me and thought I'd post it.