Down by the Fairy Creek

My friend Catherine and I went to Bullington Gardens the other day to sketch and I got to talking to one of the gardeners there who studied creek conservancy. She was able to tell me not only the name of the creek but why it has silt in it. Evidently I will be dealing with silt for awhile due to the Britton Creek Stabilization that is happening up above me, yep I am getting all the run off from the work being done on it.

My set up...nothing better than dipping your feet in the cold mountain water on a hot summers day.

My steps down to the creek need some help but hey, the concrete blocks were free. So were the "tables" you see which are the broked off bases from planters that were in the junkyard. Hopefully they won't wash away when we get some heavy rain...will have to keep my eye on them.

I have been working to store up the edge of the banks with rocks, it might not be doing any good but at least it looks good, lol I'm also weeding and removing dead branches. I want to have lots of moss and ferns growing along the edge by next summer. This is also my exercise plan to go along with my dieting....so far I've lost 5 pounds this month. I figure it's a win-win situation...the creek and I will look better together, lol

Proper duck food etiquette

Sunday was peaceful, cool and relaxed down by the creek. I even got a visit from a lady Mallard, although she wasn't thrilled to be sharing the creek with me and decided to go back upstream after eye-balling me for a moment. 

I want to feed them so they will get use to me but I didn't have the "proper" food to give. Bread, crackers, popcorn etc. are bad for them and should not be offered. I know this and yet I have done it.

Bad, bad, bad me!

This is a list of the "proper" duck food:

• Cracked corn
• Wheat, barley or similar grains
• Oats (uncooked; rolled or quick)
• Rice (cooked or uncooked)
• Milo
• Birdseed (any type or mix)
• Grapes (cut in half)
• Frozen peas or corn (defrosted, no need to cook)
• Earthworms
• Mealworms (fresh or dried)
• Chopped lettuce or other greens or salad mixes
• Vegetable trimmings or peels (chopped)

And, of course, duck feed pellets or poultry starter pellets are another great option, and they can be purchased from farming or agricultural supply stores, but I don't need a large amount of feed since I really don't see them that often.

By knowing what to feed ducks as part of a nutritious and responsible diet, birders can enjoy this activity without inadvertently harming their favorite waterfowl.

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Ebony Jewelwing

Sometimes I wonder if I am just seeing more of what around me (nature wise) because I am out in my garden and along the creek bed a lot lately. I don't remember seeing dragonflies damselflies before but I've been seeing them often in the last couple of weeks. I finally got a picture of one and came back inside to research and find out what it is. It's called an Ebony Jewelwing. I love the first sentence..."You first catch a glimpse of black wings that flit and flutter in the vegetation on the banks of a tranquil woodland stream."....Yep, my stream is very tranquil indeed!

 a common damselfly of eastern North America

"Damselflies, along with dragonflies, belong to the insect order Odonata. Damselflies are in the suborder Zygoptera and have two pairs of similar-shaped wings. When perched, they hold their wings, either closed or slightly spread, above their abdomens.  Dragonflies are in the suborder Anisoptera—their forewings and hindwings are of different shapes and, when perched, they hold their wings out flat or somewhat downward. Dragonflies are generally larger and are strong, fast fliers. Damselflies are dainty looking and are weak fliers."

Green Heron

I only have crappy pictures to show my latest and newest (to me anyway) bird.

A Green Heron!

I was so shocked to see him land less than 5 feet away from me (I was working on my Creel Fairy Lodge) that I couldn't get my camera ready fast enough and he didn't like me moving around to get my camera so he took off and landed a little ways down the creek, but I looked him up online when I got back inside and found out what he was! For me, it feels so surreal to see Herons in the creek...in the mountains! 

My hands were a little steadier by now, but he was intently moving away from me! 

I hope I see him again!

I love life by the creek!

Birding Life List:

1. Crow

2. Eastern Bluebird
3. Common Grackle

4. Red Belly Woodpecker

5. Mallard Duck

6. Downy Woodpecker

7. Ruby Throated Hummingbird

8. Green Heron

scatterbrained is the word for the day

Well, to be more precise it was the word for yesterday...since I am writing this post today about yesterday...ahhh, the art of blogging! Anyway, I admit it, I am not the most well-centered person, there are days I need to adhere to my list...although I need a list to remind me to look at my list!

However, here I am down at the creek working on the largest damn fairy house on record. I am thinking it needs to be called a fairy lodge, dance hall or something along those lines. Yes, it isn't officially a cute tiny little fairy house....oh well...I just figures this one houses a whole lot of fairies...

So imagine, working on a project at the same time keeping an eye out for snakes slithering by or trying to keep the occasional ant from committing harikari by embedding themselves in the glue all the while artfully arranging moss and pinecones to the top of the roof...

And look! over there, isn't that a gorgeous iridescent black and blue dragonfly? I need a picture of that....but my hands are full of glue...sigh...yes, my mind wanders a bit....

Creek Fairy house

I admit, I am not too proud to go into the junk yards and find my treasures...I actually get excited that I can take something destined for trash and turn it into something. We have an area in the development I live in where people can dump big items for pick up, and it happens to be in the same area as the communal mulch" that I had been using for my flower beds. I had been eyeing some broken planters where the bases had come apart from the urns, but had no idea what to use them for until the other day I found this really big feeder and thought it would make a great fairy house along the creek using one of those bases to hold it up.

 OK, so my first thought was IN the creek...I very happily gathered moss and rocks around it and sat back in my chair admiring my work....and started thinking....sometimes we have heavy rains... and the creek turns into a small river....surely that would wash away my fairy house. And by now I am calling it the "creek fairy house"....just so you know. lol

So I moved it,,, and the moss...and the rocks to the side of the bank and now was much more pleased that it wouldn't wash away now if we had a big storm.

I then get back up to my balcony and to my dismay I realize that I cannot see the creek fairy house from there....oh man....I feel another move coming on. But I made sure to "eye" the area where it would go so I could sit on my balcony and enjoy it. Last move? I hope so!! I also moved it a little further up the hill, just in case we get a flood, lol Now, I think a little welcome sign for the creek fairy house and maybe some wind chimes could complete my little nook by the creek.