Nature chronicles and Taco Tuesday :)

We had some pretty great nature sights around here I wanted to share :) First of all we have a lot of bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, and owls. With our chickens who wander freely around the yard, we worry most about the red-tailed hawks, who like to circle around the yard, and keep a close eye on the chickens. I think the rooster and the dog do a good job of keeping that hawk away.
The other day when the sun was out, I was watching the sky, and I saw two red-tailed hawks. One of them was flying around in circles, sometimes big circles, sometimes smaller. The other hawk, rose up to a high height, and then he held a position, perfectly still, adjusting his feathers every now and again, so he kept exactly in the same spot. His talons were down. Then, when the other hawk circled beneath him, he made a sharp and precise dive, and the two of them collided. From then on the two of them flew together in tandem. It looked like they were doing a mating ritual. It was beautiful to watch.
There are things you can make so that the chickens can run around, and still be sheltered from predators. We have a lot of predators around here, foxes, racoons, skunks, weasels, and even bears. Years ago we had a bear in the yard that tore apart the bird feeders, but lucky we haven't had him around lately.
Every morning I feed the wild birds that come to my feeder. The woodpeckers eat a suet cake that I put out for them. The finches eat thistle. I fill the tray with black sunflower seeds and half a cup of peanuts. The Blue Jays whistle to me to come out, come out! Come out! The birds that come visit are redwing blackbirds, chickadees, nuthatches, sparrows, to name a few. In May we will be getting the rose-breasted grosbeak, orioles, and whatever else is passing through like cedar waxwing.
The robins and bluebirds have taken over the yard but they eat worms so they don't visit the feeder. We have many bluebird houses around the yard, & they are such a bright splash of color against the otherwise colorless world right now.
My stepson and my aunt both have motion-sensing cameras in their yards & they have shared a bunch of pictures with us of the large bucks that come through the yard, they also have some pretty clear pictures of foxes.
I am really bummed out we had to chop down the big Elm tree in the back yard because it had gotten killed by Dutch Elm disease. When we first moved here that tree was very leafy, and so loaded with singing birds that I called it the singing tree. Now it is lying across the yard like a dead black skeleton, waiting to be turned into firewood. I see a redwing blackbird on a branch, chattering away.
We get some deer coming through here from time to time. They like to eat the small apple trees. We planted those trees many years ago but they haven't produced yet, probably because of the deer :) My aunt in Colorado planted hers at the same time and she already had apples last summer! But, Colorado is in a warmer climate. It is pretty cold here still and we haven't had any flowers come up yet, although there are shoots from the tiger lilies starting to come up, which is a good sign. Next we will have Asparagus.
For dinner tonight I am making a taco salad :) I've made adjustments to the recipe over the years and modified it to be more healthy :) My dad came over for lunch today. I was trying to get the house cleaned up, but ran out of time! My DH thawed out some home made chicken broth. Then we added another mixture to that, to save time, and some pieces of meat we had in the freezer, so that it was very good. We served it with hummus and pita bread, and some kalamata olives. I was talking with my dad about eating healthier. He dropped off some things for us. I worry about him sometimes. I can't believe he is 73 already. We have had our differences & things have not been perfect. He can tend to be a little heavy-handed. For a while I thought he was lightening up and becoming more easygoing. But he is still wound pretty tight. He was the sole caregiver for his mother, and he seems to have lost his mooring since she passed away 18 months ago. We all miss my grandma as she was the matriarch of the family. Then it was a sudden shock that his younger brother died in February, unexpectedly. None of us saw that one coming.
Well it is time for me to go make dinner :) Happy Taco Tuesday XOXO