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When the weather is nice on these May evenings, Millie and I go walking over the hill late in the day just to hear the whippoorwill's call. My how that brings back wonderful memories of when I was a child visiting my grandparents. It seemed there was a whippoorwill in every tree. I loved those lonely calls then, and still do to this day.
Dan keeps warning me to watch for bears when Millie and I are out walking through the woods. (A couple of weeks ago, my son saw a mother bear and her two cubs making a bee line straight toward our hill.) But, of his warnings, I just reply, "There are no bears on Hemlock Mountain." (The kids loved that story when they were young. Of course, as you might guess, there actually were bears on Hemlock Mountain.*)
The Summer Tanager still makes regular visits to the backyard to sing his sweet song when I am out and about. A little earlier, when I was out hanging sheets on the line, the ruby-red male perched on the fence and put on quite a performance. He seemed totally unconcerned that I was shaking out wet laundry. I think he likes me!
I have seen the female only a couple of times. I love the orangish coloring on her underparts and the olive on her top with olive brown wings and tail. Her taste for dressing is exceptional, I think.
In the picture to the right, the Tanager has come to serenade me as I feed the hummingbirds. It was another excellent performance. He is, for sure, running a close second to Merle Haggard and the whippoorwill, two of my other favorite performers. (And, of course, I should mention the oh-so-beloved mockingbird that delights us every day.)
Before the Tanager heads south to Mexico or beyond this fall, I hope to get at least one good picture of him, and hopefully, one of the pretty female Tanager too. I would also like to record that pretty song the male sings so well. (I already have several of the whippoorwill's song recorded on my phone.)
And, finally, another small garden, which is pretty much a work in progress, has a mix of veggies and flowers. And blueberries. Most of the flowers are marigolds and mints planted to keep away the deer and, hopefully, the aphids that have had a field day with the tomato plants the past couple of years.
19 comments:
I like what you've done on your rustic garden. No wonder the Summer Tanagers like hanging around and singing for you. Talking about singing____do you enjoy Merle Haggard's sons music too? I have a couple of their songs that I often listen to.
I think you once mentioned that you carry bear spray when you and Millie go walking. That gives you some protection (even if there are no bears on Hemlock Mountain).
Good morning Mary, I enjoyed seeing and reading about your rustic garden. Loving the bricks and rocks.
I have yet to see a tangar or mockingbird. When we retired to the woods was when I first heard the whipporwhill (spelled that wrong) sing I fell in love and looked forward to hearing him every year. I have not heard one here at the lake so far-and I miss him.
We had the small black bears nearby in our woods but when the cougars came in I stopped walking in the woods-we had several in the area that had moved in.
I can't imagine living in a city again-so much nature we would miss Hugs
I have not seen a bear in our neighborhood this year, but it doesn't mean there isn't one there. We have a couple of persistent deer not sure how my garden will make it with them there. My daughter has a whip-o-will, and it is so loud it keeps her up at night.
Cathy
Beautiful photographs! Thank you so much for sharing. You could make one of those DIY calendars for gifts for family and friends.
I love your rustic gardens! Mine now are wild and rustic too! I haven't heard a tanager sing since I was a child! I would love to visit your gardens and enjoy the sounds and views. Nice pictures with such descriptive commentary!!!
My gardens qualify as 'rustic' and I'm OK with that, although I can see that many bags of mulch need to be hauled in and applied if there is ever to be any staunching of weeds. If only stamina was the equal of my gardening aspirations!
I, too, enjoy the songs of the whip-poor-wills although my husband finds their repetition irritating. I've not heard them in our present location, nor do we have a presence of mockingbirds--odd, as we were surrounded by them at our first Kentucky property on the other side of the county.
Your rustic gardens are a vision of delight! How peaceful they look. Our local bear tore down all the suet feeders when he emerged from hibernation last month, and recently he stole the big niger seed feeder, which we later found in the nearby woods, complete with teeth marks around the bottom where he had grabbed it. There is a big sticky note on the cabinet near the back door now, reminding us to take the new feeder down every night.
We do not have Whippoorwhill's however I do believe they have a similar sound to the Bobwhite which were prevalent at my parents home, however I have not heard one in years. We have Baltimore Orioles here which are black and orange and some yellow ans black. They are cool too! Wish we ha the Tanagers. Love your lanterns in your garden. What a great idea! Janice
Your gardens are lovely... I can imagine the peace they bring...and your photos are beautiful. Our hummingbirds have only just returned in the past several days. Now...about those whippoorwills.... For some reason, their song is very disturbing to me. As a child, my room was in the upper loft part of our old farmhouse...the heat unbearable on summer days so opening the single window in the room was a must. And that window was surrounded by huge old oak trees, the limbs of which actually brushed up against my window. And in those huge old oak trees, the whippoorwills took up residence each night it seemed, right outside my window. They frightened me despite all reassurances. So, each night when the whippoorwill(s) sang, my mother fitted me with an old wool cap that had flaps to cover my ears and tied under my chin so it would not come off when I slept. And, yes, it was hot...but I gladly endured that versus having a whippoorwill sing in my ear. The cap is long gone, but the dislike for the whippoorwill's song is not. Thankfully, they seem to be scare where I live now...although one visited last year, and I was wishing I had my cap. ~Robin~
I love your posts...I want to get on the computer to see the photos better. We always heard the whippoorwills at home...I news to look up the tanager's song.
Love the photos....I can see so much better on the computer. Love that coyote howling....or I guess it is a coyote. that is what I am calling it till you tell me different. But maybe it isn't. I listened to the Summer Tanager's song...it is just so clear and cheerful!
Your rustic gardens are beautiful! Everything about rustic is beautiful! You know, around here we no longer hear the whip-poor-wills and I miss them so much. The Whip-poor-wills have been replaced by the the chuck-will's-widow. Their call is similar to the whip-poor-will's. You and Millie watch out for those bears.
Your garden looks like a beautiful place from which to listen to birdsong, especially with that wide green space beyond and the verbena nodding their heads and bringing in the butterflies. I am always so happy when the birds are singing as I hang out the laundry, it enhances and already pleasurable occupation. No laundry on the line today though, we have thunderstorms on the way across the English Channel and the birds will have to wait for their morning treats!
Your rustic gardens are lovely.
People are always telling me to be careful of bears but every bear I've seen has ran away!!
Your gardens are so pretty. I feel like I have been walking around and soaking in the beauty. And hearing your whipoorwill....the only time I ever heard one was when we rented a cabin in Maine. The bird sang to us all night. I had never heard one before, but I knew what he was because he told me! I loved visiting your blog today.
How lovely is your rustic garden! It is so picturesque! Yes, do be careful about those bears. I have never seen a Tanager! Such a pretty little bird!
So enjoyed your post today!
I loved your post. We don't have bears, but we do have mountain lions. My husband heard one behind the cabin last week. Your garden is fabulous! I now have four male tanagers. I think the number is growing as their offspring follow them back. I have one female hummingbird. She just came back on Saturday and scolded me for not having the feeders out. Thanks for your post. I enjoyed it immensely.
I haven't been here for so long and thoroughly enjoyed my visit to your "Hemlock Hill"! Beautiful scenes, and WONDERFUL birds.
We can't afford to water to keep it green up here, so it's nourishing to see the green in your rustic garden. :~) We do have green, but I keep it to herbs, irises, and roses.
Your photography is beautiful.
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