Winter Birds

There's not much happening in my January garden outdoors, so I've been taking a few photos of the birds that have been visiting my patio feeders. Most of these have been taken through my dining room window and doors and let me tell you, it is a real challenge to keep the glass clean and lint free, not to mention all the reflections. The first photo is one of my favorite birds, the black capped chickadee, always difficult to photograph because they're always on the go. They live here year round and sometimes I'm blessed to have them raise their family right in my backyard.

Next up is the most common BC bird-feeder visitor, the Junco. These birds like to eat seeds from the ground, helping to clean up the mess other birds leave behind.

Black Capped Chickadee

Junco

Pine Siskin

Sometimes I get large flocks of these little finches called Pine Siskins, and boy can they empty a feeder fast! One day I counted 30 on my patio.

Another one of my favorites are the Anna's hummingbirds that live here year round. I don't see much of them in the summer, but two little females come by regularly in the winter, about every 15 minutes or so. They don't like to share, and chase each other off whenever they both show up at the same time. One day last week I was blessed to have a male come by. I grabbed my camera real quick and took a photo even though I was several feet away from the window. It's also interesting to see how different their feathers look in the sun compared to in the shade.

Anna's Hummingbird

In the Sun

The Male Anna's Hummingbird

House Finch male

Here is a male house finch at the sunflower feeder. They sing a lovely song in the spring.

Below is a small flock of bushtits hanging from my suet feeder. Feeding upside down is no problem for these little acrobats.  The females have yellow eyes. 

Bushtits

Stellers Jay

The pretty blue Steller's Jays still come around to collect their peanuts.

Westminster Abbey in Autumn

     Autumn is one of my favourite seasons, especially when the sun is shining and the leaves are showing off their fall colours. My husband and I visited Westminster Abbey in Mission back in October, and I took some photos to share with you. This fall has also been a difficult time for my family, since my precious dad became ill back in early October.  Sadly he passed away after six long weeks of fighting in the hospital. It has been and still is especially hard on my mom, who had shared 57 happy years of her life with him. We believe that we will be with him one day again in heaven, but until then he will be greatly missed.

Westminster Abbey in Mission, BC

Beautiful Fall Colours

A Closer Look

Wooded Trail

Yellow-leaved  Maple

Path to the View Point

The misty view of the Fraser River below

The path back to the Abbey

The Pond

Another View of the Abbey

September Blooms

Autumn is nearly here though it still feels like summer. We could actually use a good rain, but I know that will come soon enough. I've been remiss in watering, but some of my flowers are still happily blooming.  My morning glories have always bloomed late in the season, and are still in their prime.  I was delighted to see some new shades this year from my saved seeds. After months of waiting I am happy to report my tomatoes finally ready!   Also, we had a brand new bird visit our patio, the Eurasian Collared Dove. They are new to my neighbourhood, and have been busy spreading across North America. I'm joining up with Glenda at Tootsie Time for Fertilizer Friday/Flaunt Your Flowers this week. What is blooming in September in your neck of the woods?

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

Cosmos

Petunia

Brachycome

Rose Bud on my Hansa

Sunflower from Black Oil Seed

Rudbeckia 

Dove

Steller's Jay and Squirrel busy collecting hazelnuts in my backyard

Herbs & Veggies

We had our usual August heat wave, and while my tomato plants and morning glory loved the hot weather, I am rather glad we are back to warm and sunny.  My cucumbers are finally starting to produce, but I am still awaiting the first ripe tomato. Here are a few photos from my small herb and vegetable garden. I am also sharing a photo of the Steller's Jay that I have named Mr. Braveheart. He or she, is the first bird I have ever been able to train to take food from my hand :)

Garlic Chive Flowers

Tiny Dill Flowers

The Oregano is popular with bees

Swiss Chard that I primarily grew for the colour

Pretty Pink Swiss Chard

Zucchini Flowers

Mr. Braveheart and his peanuts

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Summer Birds and Blooms

Blooms from my summer garden and a few of my favourite visitors

Cosmos and Yarrow

Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus 'Fugi Blue')

Bud of the Balloon Flower along with some Alyssum

Daylily bloom, the last of the season. In spite of struggling with gall midge, this daylily still manages to wow me every year

Daylily 'Strawberry Candy'

Shirley Poppy

Sweet Peas with a lovely fragrance

Everlasting Sweet peas. I was a little disappointed to discover these didn't have any fragrance but they are pretty nonetheless.

Oriental Lily 'Acapulco'  The fragrance of this lily is amazingly potent

Cerinthe Purple Bells for the hummingbirds

Hydrangea macrophylla Nikko Blue This shrub is in the bed that will have to be dug up this fall to replace the rotten wood ties that collapsed recently.

My gardening buddy enjoying the morning sunshine

Steller's Jay enjoying the sun after too much rain, sitting on my patio fence

la la la la la

Chickadee busy with second batch of wee ones.

This Downy woodpecker became a regular this summer, and even brought his or her young. In fact this may be the young, I can't tell.