Instography

littleredelf

Ain't no party like a bushtit party! 🩶🤍🎉

Ain't no party like a bushtit party!
🩶🤍🎉

📷: @my.bird.buddy
✅ Fun facts from @wildbirdsunlimited
eugene.wbu.com/bushtits

🩶 Bushtits are some of our tiniest birds, ~3" and weighing less than 2/10 of an ounce. They are found only in western North America and range as far south as Central America. They are highly social birds at all times of the year, and flocks of 10-40 birds will remain loosely associated with each other all year long as they wander across their territory.

🩶 Bushtits in Oregon are gray and male and female look alike except for eye color. Males have all-dark eyes and females have a light-colored iris surrounding a dark pupil.

🩶 Bushtits eat insects and spiders that they glean from the surface of vegetation. They eat any seed that you put out, but you can usually attract them with suet cakes, especially during the winter months.

🩶 This was one of the first bird species ever described as having nest helpers: non-breeding adults that assist breeding pairs with feeding and raising young, a behavior that varies geographically and much more common in areas of the southwest and in Central America. Over 70% of these helpers are males, either unmated or those that have lost their mate.

A couple years ago we were so excited to see a mated pair building a nest in our passion flower vine. We began seeing them collecting spider webs from under our porch eaves. Both male and female worked on the nest using spider silk and soft plant materials. It looked like a slipper or sock made of moss with an entrance hole near the top where the nest was attached.

#bushtit #birdphotography #birdsofinstagram #birdbuddy

Sunset Hyssop (agastache rupestris) aka hummingbir

Sunset Hyssop (agastache rupestris) aka hummingbird mint.

It is definitely the favorite of hummingbirds and other little insects, including this tiny spider.

#agastache #sunsethyssop #hummingbirdmint #spider #threetreestaborgarden

Happy Autumnal Equinox 🍃🍂🍁 Now is the ti

Happy Autumnal Equinox 🍃🍂🍁

Now is the time of harvesting seeds, of picking pears, figs, grapes and apples blushing red with starlight specks. 🍎 The gathering of late Summer's rich sun baked tomatoes before the rain splits them into sauce and sandwiches. 🍅 Now is dark violet asters and deep burgundy chrysanthemums, the burnt gold, amber, orange, and reds reflected in leaves, foliage, and flower. ❤️‍🔥

September sun softens the edges, comes in gentler somehow, like last season's comfortable sweater you'd forgotten about.

I look forward to this time of rest and rain, the cool air in the windows, morning and night, the earlier sunsets after the tempestuous heat of Summer.

There is still color in the garden and flowers waiting to bloom, while others are falling asleep. I thank them for their beautiful gifts and say goodbye to the perennial friends I will see next year. 💐

#autumnvibes🍁 #autumnalequinox #threetreestaborgarden #mums #goldenrod #aster #blanketflower #seedcollecting #fall

Woodland Faerie Mushroom 🍄 Insalata Caprese! 🍅🍃

Basil, fennel, red-veined sorrel, and flowers from our garden ❇️💐 including: calendula, violets, aster, verbena, bachelor buttons, garlic chives, and love-in-a-mist.

I was on the hunt for the classic red cherry tomato but found a rainbow selection of beautiful tomatoes from @durstorganicgrowers in Hungry Hollow pints at @newseasonsmarket.

My neighbor Carol @coralbellsdesigns had floral foam which I covered in plastic food wrap. I used colored toothpicks to set the basil leaf bottom, mozzarella base, and tomatoes, then dotted the tops with piped cream cheese.

A little bowl of balsamic glaze on the side for dipping and it was a delightful hit at @cec55's Summer Potluck!

Inspired by the luscious and magical food stylings of Appalachian gardener, forager, recipe developer, and photographer ✨💖🌿 @mustloveherbs

#insalatacaprese #faeriefood
#fairyfood #amanitamuscaria #summertomatoes #threetreestaborgarden

Metallic Sweat Bee (Agapostemon) in a common mallo

Metallic Sweat Bee (Agapostemon) in a common mallow sylvestris 'Zebrina' aka high mallow, zebra hollyhock, French hollyhock and a host of other nicknames.

#metallicsweatbee #agapostemon #zebrina #mallowsylvestris #threetreestaborgarden

A juvenile raccoon perched in our redbud making th

A juvenile raccoon perched in our redbud making the nearby Scrub Jay really mad. 🦝🌳

#raccoon #redbud #raccoonsofinstagram

Happy National Hummingbird Day 💖✨ Enjoy the m

Happy National Hummingbird Day 💖✨ Enjoy the magic of this pair of female and male Anna's Hummingbirds from our garden feeder 🌺

📽️: @my.bird.buddy

#nationalhummingbirdday #annashummingbird #birdbuddy #hummingbird #hummingbirdsofinstagram

The red-breasted nuthatch! Earlier in the season,

The red-breasted nuthatch! Earlier in the season, I only saw his tiny tail but recent postcards from my two feeders show his face racing stripes 🖤🤍🧡

📷: @my.bird.buddy

#birdphotography #birdbuddy #birdsofinstagram #redbreastednuthatch

Unplugged. Technology in the wild on Hawthorne Blv

Unplugged. Technology in the wild on Hawthorne Blvd @hawthornegameexchange

#unpluggedtech #mural #techinnature

Benary's Giant Zinnias (zinnia elegans) a perfect,

Benary's Giant Zinnias (zinnia elegans) a perfect, plush, pink bed for a sleeping bumble bee 🩷🐝

#threetreestaborgarden #benarysgiant #giantzinnia #bumblebee #sleepingbee

'Lady Alice' Trumpet/ Aurelian Lily. That apricot-

'Lady Alice' Trumpet/ Aurelian Lily. That apricot-orange is delicious and lightly fragrant. 🧡🤍

#ladyalice #trumpetlily #threetreestaborgarden

The Loch Ness thornless blackberries are coming in

The Loch Ness thornless blackberries are coming in. 🖤❤️ But they're not just good to eat or for making wine, the nectar and pollen-rich flowers attract bees, beneficial insects, birds, butterflies, moths, and other pollinators. 🐝🐛🦋🐞

#lochnessblackberries #threetreestaborgarden #growyourownfood

Blue globe thistle (Echinops) getting ready to blo

Blue globe thistle (Echinops) getting ready to bloom 💙🤍💜💚

#globethistle #echinops #threetreestaborgarden

Summer in the garden and everything is hitting its

Summer in the garden and everything is hitting its bright and burgeoning zenith 🌼🌻🌹🌺

#summervibes #echinacea #gardening

Peanut 🥜 Butter suet nugget PEZ dispenser, crow

Peanut 🥜 Butter suet nugget PEZ dispenser, crow edition 🐦‍⬛

📷: @my.bird.buddy

#americancrow #crowsofinstagram #birdphotography #birdbuddy #birdsofinstagram

Black Swan Poppy 🖤💜 🦢 A dusky ballerina.

Black Swan Poppy 🖤💜 🦢 A dusky ballerina.

#poppy #blackswanpoppy #threetreestaborgarden

Bare-faced angel in a sun hat 👒👼🪽 📷:

Bare-faced angel in a sun hat 👒👼🪽

📷: @suburbancampfiremedia

#wings #pccdreamstakeflight

This rain-soaked starling hoisting a prize peanut

This rain-soaked starling hoisting a prize peanut butter suet ball, but just behind that is a caterpillar in its beak! 🥜🐛 What a gourmand!

📷: @my.bird.buddy

#birdbuddy #birdphotography #starling

Anna's Hummingbird flashing her ruby-hearted throa

Anna's Hummingbird flashing her ruby-hearted throat at dusk ❤️

📷: @my.bird.buddy

#annashummingbird #threetreestaborgarden #hummingbirdsofinstagram #birdphotography #birdbuddy

I turn 51 today. Last year, the universe challenge

I turn 51 today. Last year, the universe challenged us with the stress of looking for other jobs in other cities to hedge our bets, but we dug in and with the help of family and friends we were able to purchase the home we rented for ten years, and then we were burglarized on what should have been a milestone birthday.

But what was stolen has returned to us many times over in so many ways. This year, the universe has given us positive transitions and experiences: two big job offers, a home and garden that is completely ours, and a trip with the man I love to a beautiful place near where I was born.

I am grateful for all the good in my life, my health, my sweet David and our cats, our glorious garden, my family and amazing friends and neighbors. Thank you for being in my orbit. 💖✨

📷: David @suburbancampfiremedia

#birthdaywishes #peonies

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