A nest of chickdees successfully fledged from a nestbox near the wildlife corridor. A couple of weeks later, a nest of tree swallows fledged from a bluebird box nearby. Cleaning out the nests brought an interesting insight: The swallow nest was vacated just two days before the clean out, the chickadee nest had sat empty […]
Trees! They provide oxygen, keep us cool in the summer, provide nesting places for our winged friends, and shade to play in. We finally got around to planting some trees for the path, and discovered that all of our underground utilities and coho plumbing make it difficult to find a good spot for trees. […]
You may have noticed the lone hawk sitting in one of the twin towers early in the mornings. Or you may have seen one circling over the cemetery and floating over the buildings of Coho. For the longest time, I could not tell what variety of hawk it could be. Early in the morning, with […]
The hornets and yellowjackets are cruising for their last snacks before the frost gets them. Yellowjackets have been particularly annoying, lately, buzzing around hair and exposed skin. If you stay calm while brushing them away, they seldom sting. They appear to be curious, more than aggressive, perhaps they want to taste the perspiration on skin, […]
This time of year Oregon buzzes with yellow jackets, paper wasps, and hornets. Yellowjackets nest in the ground in large hives with multiple openings, and they are very aggressive if a person happens to enter their space. Hornets can also be aggressive, but usually nest up high, where we are unlikely to bother them. Paper […]
Somewhere in the wilds of a South Corvallis neighborhood (two to three blocks from CoHo, as the heron flies) exists a cohousing community consisting of Great Blue Herons. Last summer, as Austin was walking home from downtown, he encountered a geezer who was gazing into a variety of tall evergreens in his yard and remarking […]
While playing in the sandbox, some rustling in the woods got our attention. Then this couple appeared, and we all watched each other. As unique as it was to spot some deer, they do love vegetables and we’d prefer they not eat our food! The doe eventually trotted down the path, then the young buck […]
On first glance, this cluster of snails on the path appeared to be having a meeting, convention, or a very quiet party. However, on closer look, they were connected in pairs, making it more of a snail orgy. My duty as a gardener probably should have been to destroy the enemy of plants, but some […]
On April 1st, while working outside and talking with a friend, I noticed two turkey vultures, wings outstretched and sunning themselves with their backs to us. They were perched atop a snag by the garages. As there were two, Deb wondered if they might be a pair. I expounded on how generally unfriendly they often […]
We had a visitor hanging out around the mailboxes…a mantis. Looks like an African Mantis. They are supposed to like temperate and tropical climates, so either Oregon has some nice weather in mid-September or we’re experiencing abnormal climate here (what do you think about climate change?). Not sure if this is a male or […]