Backyard Birds in the Winter

Yellow-bellied sapsucker

The sapsucker is drilling holes for sap.The icicle on the side of the branch is actually sap that has dripped and frozen.

In this picture you can see the sap dripping from the drill holes.

Creating a Nature Shelf

Before

After

My daugther adds her first treasure, a concrete chipmunk. She will add natural items as she finds them.

After viewing my blog while away at college, my daughter posted that she would love to have her own nature shelf in her dorm room. One day not long after her request, I was digging around an antique shop on the Eastside of Providence and I came across one buried under a heap of other treasures. It looked like something she would enjoy. So I purchased it that day and gave it to her for a Christmas gift. She decided to paint it to match her own summer porch.

Happy Holiday Nature Goddess!

This is definitely one of my favorite things!

Just before the holidays I went on an annual trip to The Book Barn in Niantic, CT. I hit the jackpot! I found a book I've been looking for, I'd say, 20 years, easy. We decided to stop at this funky antique shop right near the book store. I was ecstatic when we discovered this wonderful collection of local beetles and butterflies. I'm always looking for a collection like this to put in my nature studio and share with my students. The glass in the frame had to be replaced because, according to the shop owner, a clumsy customer knocked it over and broke the glass in the frame. Fortunately there was very little damage done to the specimens and I was able to walk away with a treasure.