Open Your Eyes

My ramblings today were from the front yard to the backyard and back; numerous times.  If it wasn't with a wheelbarrow full of gravel it was with a large bag of mulch.  I was laying mulch along side a window wheel and some motion caught my eye.  The poplar and willow fluff has been flying for the past few days.  It has looked like a blizzard.  It was a piece of willow fluff that was moving on the gravel in the window well.  

I went closer for a good look to determine why the fluff was moving.  A little frog was tangled in it.  It was trying to move but it's legs and body were covered in fluff.  

I put the little guy in some rainwater in a pail.  The water rejuvenated it.  I watched as it struggled to free itself from it's bond.  I had to use a couple of sticks to assist.  Once the frog was free, it stretched its legs and swam around the bottom of the pail.  When I was sure that it was okay, I found a nice shady spot under a spruce tree for the remainder of it's recuperation.  As I glanced back, it appeared to be smiling.

Today's adventure ended on a better note than yesterday.  I was mowing the lawn and numerous little frogs were jumping out of the grass as the lawnmower was going through.  I'm certain that a couple of them didn't move fast enough.

This is one reason that I am nature-scaping my yard.  I am making it wildlife friendly; hoping that my choices will entice the frogs, salamanders, bats, birds, etc to stay.  I want the yard to be a safe haven for the little creatures.  When I get finished, I won't have to mow and the frogs won't have to worry about hopping for their lives.

As I worked outside today, a red winged blackbird made numerous visits to the sunflower seed feeder; often scaring the goldfinches away.  Robins were close by looking for worms in the earth that I was turning over.  Tree swallows swooped over the backyard; catching insects for their young that were waiting back in the nest located in the tree stump in the middle of my yard.  It was a great day for watching birds in the yard.  As I observed them I realized that my nature-scaping began years ago with the choice to leave a couple of snags when I took some rotted trees down.  

I noticed butterflies and bees flying from flower to flower.  There are not many blooms open.  In a couple of weeks there should be more on the annuals that I planted.  I'm working on planting more perennials for my insect friends.

I was sitting at the kitchen table this evening.  As I looked out the patio door, I saw a bald eagle fly over the treetops.  It's white head stood out against the blue Alberta sky.  What a glorious sight.

Thinking back over the day's events I came to the conclusion that one does not have to travel far to enjoy forest creatures.  All you have to do is open your eyes and pay attention to your surroundings.