Garden Friends

Our back garden is a haven for birds and squirrels. Our garden has been certified a National Wildlife Federation Wildlife Habitat. We're proud of that!

We feed 12 months of the year and have several birdbaths around the garden for water. In winter, we have a birdbath heater on one of them so that our feathered friends can drink or bathe no matter what the temperature.

We welcome our feathered visitors and enjoy seeing the winter residents return as well as seeing our summer friends and their young cavorting around the yard. We enjoy, too, the occasional migrator that stumbles upon our food supply! It's always a great day when we see a stranger!

We love their antics both in summer and winter and besides feeders, Husband Jim enjoys putting food in unusual places. Because of that, he has trained the birds to feed in places other than the feeders.

What a thrill is was last week to see the two doves enjoying lunch on the statue. So busy were they with gathering seed that they didn't realize that I had snapped their picture!!!

And the same day, I looked up and at the pond . . . . where the day before 10 robins had been

Was Herr Squirrel getting a drink as well. It was a warmer day and the pond wasn't frozen over -- that day and the day before, besides the robins, were lots of sparrows and finches and even a tufted titmouse drinking from the pond.

By the time I got the camera, Herr Squirrel was sitting up and soon bounded away.

It's nice to be able to not only feed the birds and squirrels but to make sure they have a source of water as well.

What little the food and water cost us is repaid over many times by the birds themselves!

It's Wednesday and time for Outdoor Wednesday so I'm joining Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.