Category Archives: Wildlife

Seriously???

Posted on September 6, 2025 by daeja's view

I’m delicious. I can attest to that, as these freakin’ mosquitos confirm it. Doesn’t matter what foods I eat or avoid, if I am sweating or cool and dry, whether I am freshly out of the shower and scrubbed squeaky … Continue reading →

Posted in Are you kidding me?, Autumn, Coping, Gardening, nature, Rant, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Vent, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife | Tagged commercial repellent fail, electronic fly swatter, flying army from hell, huge mosquito bites, immune response, moquito wrist bands, mosquito army, mosquito bites, mosquitos, tennis racquet insect swatter, type O, waiting for mosquito death, waiting for winter, weeding with mosquitos | 3 Comments

The Dulling

Posted on September 2, 2025 by daeja's view

Summer is closing out and the action surrounding The Urban Porch has very much slowed down. There is a tinge of color on the edges of some leaves. A slight shift in the quality of the light. Cooler nights, great … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Animal Stories, Autumn, Cooking, Daeja's Garden, Dogs, Food, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged barred owl, black bears, crow tree, dog adoption, dog rescue, dogs, dull foliage, emotional dullness, Fence Dinosaur, katydid, milkweed, milkweed pods, milkweed seeds, monarch, night sounds, no blooms on morning glories, no figs on my fig tree, weird yew berries, zinnias | Leave a comment

Home Invasion

Posted on August 8, 2025 by daeja's view

It was a little over a week ago, time approximately 3:30 am, when I was awakened by the sounds of crashing and muffled yelling coming from somewhere downstairs. Actually, in my ever-increasing deafness, I felt, more than heard, what appeared … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Animal Stories, Are you kidding me?, Coping, Dogs, Hearing Impaired, nature, Perspective, senior musings, summer, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged Bats, bats in the house, Deafness, feeling unsafe, Hearing Impaired, middle of the night, papillon alert, safety, safety preparedness, safety weapon, unwanted visitors, useless broom, weapon | 4 Comments

Drifting

Posted on July 26, 2025 by daeja's view

This morning I decided to tackle some of the worst of the weeds in front of The Urban Porch. Although I’m not all that worried about neighborhood appearances (when you live across the street from a hoarder, everything looks better … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, Memories, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged aquarium, beach, Childhood, cicada killer, cloud formations, clouds, communing with the octopus, drifting through life, Family, Flowers, how to dry overalls, July flowers, lake, late summer blooms, mesmerizing jellyfish, noisy overall buckles, ocean, octopus, overalls in the dryer, spacey | Leave a comment

Sometimes I Feel Like Margot

Posted on June 18, 2025 by daeja's view

The story takes place on Venus, where it rains all the time, the sun only appearing every seven years and lasting for one precious hour before the endless rain begins once again. Just one child in a classroom of nine … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Coping, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged antisocial, art exhibits, dog vomit slime mold, FOMO, FOMO as a catalyst, garden, Gardening, isolation, life, Little Rudi, look for the rainbow, mosquitos, only one bloom, original illustrations, papillon, Rain, Ray Bradbury, roz chast, si, so much rain, summer garden, summer wildlife, tulip tree, Weather, weeding, wet summer | Leave a comment

Ants

Posted on May 28, 2025 by daeja's view

Over the years I’ve been increasingly tolerant of some insects in my environment – or sharing our environment, to be exact. An attempt will always be made to relocate a spider, a beetle or a bee from the house. Outdoors, … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Are you kidding me?, Birds, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife, Wow! | Tagged ant bait, ant nest, ants, big ants and little ants, circle of life, entomology, getting rid of ants, guilt, home made ant traps, insect consciousness, moral dilemma of killing insects?, myrmecology | 1 Comment

A Celebration of Fertility

Posted on May 1, 2025 by daeja's view

There was a dead ant floating inside the teapot yesterday morning, the arrival of such yet another sure-fire harbinger of Spring. This particular teapot has a very narrow spout, which makes it rather nice if you make pour-over coffee. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Animal Stories, Birds, Daeja's Garden, Dogs, Gardening, Holidays, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife, Wow! | Tagged ants, bees, Beltane, Birds, cycles of flowers, flora, Flowers, Gardening, look in your teapot, May Day, my papillon, nature, new blooms, olfactory bliss, open the windows, photography, Spring, the rotting porch, The Urban Porch, turn turn turn | Leave a comment

Sploot

Posted on April 23, 2025 by daeja's view

There appeared to be a dead squirrel on the back deck yesterday afternoon. It was sprawled flat out, looking rather like a small, worn out old rug; on closer observation it resembled a flying superhero, sans cape. Upon approaching further … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Daeja's Garden, disability accommodations, Earworm of the day, Gardening, Hearing Impaired, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife, Wow! | Tagged April, Earworm of the day, eastern flowers, eastern flowers of april, Fence Dino, Fence Dinosaur, garden, Gardening, magnolias, rando tulips, second spring, splooting, splooting squirrel, spring flowers of the East, springtime naps, Squirrels, sugar magnolia, the neighborhood | Leave a comment

Veering Off That Track

Posted on February 14, 2025 by daeja's view

Well, it was good to get that last one off my chest! The previous post was a Major Rant of frustrated feelings and opinions on a situation that had been brewing for a few years. After finally writing it down … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Are you kidding me?, Coping, Humor, Mushrooms, nature, Perspective, senior musings, Uncategorized, Weird, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged avoiding a rant, barred owl, burn morels, Dutch Baby, finding humor, joy in the details, looking for lightness, looking for the humor, mushroom powders, neon finger, no rants!, owls, talismans of the heart, The Queen, turn off the news | Leave a comment

Summing Up Twenty-Four

Posted on December 29, 2024 by daeja's view

Scrolling back over the past posts of 2024 puts it right in my face that there was plenty about nature, food, weather, and just mindless, ambling summations. That, and a couple of Rants here and there. At the beginning of … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Animal Stories, Coping, Earworm of the day, Flashback, Food, Gardening, Holidays, House plants, nature, Perspective, Photography, Rant, Regrets, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Vent, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged 2024 in retrospect, celestial phenomenon, clouds, colors, Cooking, earworms, impressions, little dog, mind-spinning, oddball thoughts, ROYGBIV, serenity, snow, Stuff, the Zone, Weather, whimsical observations | 1 Comment

Gems of October

Posted on October 25, 2024 by daeja's view

Small gems of October have provided entertainment and distraction throughout the month, acknowledged with appreciation, wonder, and some amusement. I’ve been admiring the treasures afforded, observing wildlife in their environment over the past few weeks. While walking by the ocean, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Animal Stories, Autumn, Birds, Mushrooms, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged beautiful skies, bees, colors of autumn, fall foliage, gingko, house sparrows, hunters moon, late autumn, matsutake, mums, northern lights, October, papillon, pawpaws, seals, skies of october, squirrel antics, supermoon, turkey in the road | 1 Comment

Hawkmoth Leitmotif

Posted on October 5, 2024 by daeja's view

The awareness of a particular image continually showing up began about a year ago, when I was repeatedly borrowing my daughter’s hoodie. Whenever I was at her house I found myself reaching for it, as it was roomy and cozy … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Are you kidding me?, Autumn, nature, Perspective, senior musings, treasures, Uncategorized, Weird, Wildlife | Tagged Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, coincidences, Death's-head Hawkmoth, Death's-head moth, frequency illusion, moth-themed, recurring themes, repeat observances, squeaking moths, visual leitmotif | Leave a comment

Observations on the Arrival of the Equinox

Posted on September 20, 2024 by daeja's view

A day or so away from the Autumn Equinox, here we are again. It’s been cool nights and still very warm, ever-shortening days. All signs are barreling towards Fall at full speed, pops of orange here and there, gardens calling … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Autumn, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife | Tagged Autumn, browsing deer, clematis, crow tree, end of summer, Equinox, Fall, full moon, insects, invasive insects, Muscovy ducks, oak wasp galls, putting away the summer clothes, shorter days, Spotted Lantern Fly, starlings, white markings on deer nose, white-tailed deer | Leave a comment

Soaking In the Last of Summer

Posted on September 7, 2024 by daeja's view

September in the Northeast. While it is probably a temporary thing, we did get a break in the heat and have had some deliciously bright, temperate days. Actually there were a couple of weeks of those days, with one or … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Animal Stories, Autumn, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, House plants, Mushrooms, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged black walnut remains, cricket in the house, edible Fuschia berries, flash flood, Fuchsia, Fuchsia berries, fungus gnats, Fuschia, gnats in houseplants, moss, moss magic, mossy bliss, Northeast September, September, squirrel action | 2 Comments

Incoming

Posted on August 2, 2024 by daeja's view

Perhaps I’m taking a risk by speaking too soon, but it is of note that this summer (so far) there has been a marked absence of mosquitos here. Of course there have been a few around The Urban Porch, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Are you kidding me?, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weird, Wildlife, Wow! | Tagged August, crow gift, crows have left, dog rolls in something awful, dragonflies, dragonflies on the beach, dragonfly migration, dragonfly swarm, fauna, fireflies are over, flora, insecta, lily pollen, lily pollen stain, mosquito magnet, no mosquitos, Rhode Island, small observations, Summer, upstate NY, urban fauna, vermont, where are the mosquitos? | Leave a comment

Summer By the Side of the Road

Posted on July 12, 2024 by daeja's view

Well into July now, the weather is hot and steamy and the neighborhood is a-pop with the next phase of color and bloom. With just the tiniest bit of guilt, I note the tidily tended perennial beds of the house … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, House plants, Mushrooms, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged Hollyhock leaf rust, July, july garden, Mid-July, orange flowers, Oranges of Summer, porch Papilllon, Robins, rose of sharon, shabby chic porch, The House by the Side of the Road, weedy garden, wild front yard, wild garden | Leave a comment

Tipping Over Into Summer

Posted on June 13, 2024 by daeja's view

As I headed back toward the house after the last evening dog walk tonight, I wondered to myself when the fireflies would appear. They always show up in June. As if a manifestation of my wishes, there they were as … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Birds, Daeja's Garden, Food, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged blooms of late spring, early summer, early summer blooms, firefly season, gifts of spring, June, late gifts of spring, late June, late spring, late spring blooms | Leave a comment

Crow Silhouette

Posted on June 6, 2024 by daeja's view

Crow sentinels come and go from the top branches of The Crow Tree throughout the day and into early evening. It’s been happening for the last couple of weeks. Observing them distantly from my view on The Urban Porch, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Birds, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife | Tagged bird life, black birds, crow shadows, crows, dark shadows, dark silhouettes, keeping watch, silhouettes, what are they thinking? | Leave a comment

Two Springs

Posted on May 2, 2024 by daeja's view

Today I think I am mostly going to fill the page with visuals. Spring has truly sprung. My family are East Coast-West Coast people. At times all of us have been living in the East. Other times all have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, Spring, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Travel, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife, Wow! | Tagged bi-coastal family, blooms, east coast, exploding spring, Family, family visit, Flowers, northern california, spring flowers, spring photos, spring twice, super blooms, upstate new york, west coast | 1 Comment

Fall Back

Posted on November 4, 2023 by daeja's view

The week has brought forth a number of seasonal changes and fall-scapes. With something just short of a flourish, the Halloween decorations were happily removed from The Urban Porch ™ very early the following morning – so ready to have … Continue reading →

Posted in Autumn, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, Holidays, House plants, nature, Perspective, Seasons, senior musings, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged autumn scenes, curious raccoons, daylight savings time, fall back, fallscapes, first frost, Halloween, night animals, November, peak leaves are over, take down the decorations, the fading of autumn, trick or treat, trick or treaters | Leave a comment

Hit the Road Jack

Posted on August 31, 2023 by daeja's view

What a beautiful, breezy, blue-sky day! I sit here on The Urban Porch ™ with Rudi, watching the busy proliferation of bumble bees, honey bees, black wasps, Blue-winged wasps and swallowtail butterflies hovering about. There are all sorts of smaller … Continue reading →

Posted in Are you kidding me?, Autumn, Coping, Earworm of the day, nature, Perspective, Rant, Seasons, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife | Tagged aggressive hornet, earworm, hateful hornet, most hated insect, nasty insect, stinging insects, wasps, wasps i have known, yellow jackets | 2 Comments

In the Last Week of August

Posted on August 26, 2023 by daeja's view

The late August flowers growing around The Urban Porch ™ are a haphazard medley of tangerine, apricot and marmalade shades, interspersed with fuchsia, magenta and bubblegum pinks – all of it entangled in a mass of weeds gone rampant. Amidst … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Photography, Seasons, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife | Tagged almost autumn, cinnabars, colors of late summer, giving up on the weeding, injured while weeding, late summer flowers, late summer palette, pinks and oranges, too many weeds, woodlands | Leave a comment

The Value of a Life

Posted on July 19, 2023 by daeja's view

Just happening to glance down while heading towards my car ended up derailing any other plans I had hoped to accomplish yesterday afternoon. Following a medical appointment and walking across the hospital parking lot, a small movement on the pavement … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Are you kidding me?, nature, Perspective, senior musings, summer, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged baby mouse, ethical questions, Mice, mouse, rescuing small mammal, saving a rodent, what are your tears really about?, wildlife rehab | Leave a comment

The Heat is On

Posted on July 6, 2023 by daeja's view

It’s really the humidity that can get to you more than the temperature. Just in case that clammy, uncomfortable feeling isn’t enough, the frizzy hair barometer is letting me know it’s in the upper ranges. A quick check confirms it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Daeja's Garden, Food, Gardening, Mushrooms, nature, Perspective, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged Earworm of the day, July blooms, kitchen implements, moth plagues of the past, moths everywhere, neighborhood flowers, no mushrooms, orange blooms, raccoon family, spongy moths, The Heat is On, too hot to cook | Leave a comment

The End of June Brings Steamy Days

Posted on June 25, 2023 by daeja's view

The start of the last week of June has brought on the humidity and my hair is a-frizz. Along with the frizz, the heat has rapidly ushered in the next wave of flora. A number of people have been sending … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Birds, Cooking, Food, Gardening, nature, Photography, Seasons, summer, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife | Tagged bird fight, cool summer meals, end of june, i miss my tree, mountain laurel, scent of Linden, summer humidity, the elusive cedar waxwing, where is the time going?, white hydrangeas | Leave a comment

Summer Solstice on The Urban Porch ™

Posted on June 21, 2023 by daeja's view

Back out on The Urban Porch this morning with Rudi, there is a mild breeze with a tinge of humidity in the air, a lovely place to be until either the sun moves and heats up this side of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Birds, Cooking, Daeja's Garden, Food, Gardening, nature, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife | Tagged avian gangs, beetles and bugs, breezy days, Dutch Baby, solstice dinner, Summer meals, sun tea | Leave a comment

Wandering On and Off The Urban Porch ™

Posted on June 16, 2023 by daeja's view

The smoky skies from the Canadian wildfires had kept Rudi and I off The Urban Porch ™ and sequestered inside for a number of days. Once they cleared, we were especially eager to get out and about. At first, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Animal Stories, Birds, Food, Friends, nature, Photography, Seasons, senior musings, summer, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged bobolinks, crayfish memories, mulberries, Neighbors, out in the fields, overpriced nostalgia, summer happenings, the mosquitos are biting, when the smoke cleared | 2 Comments

Early May on The Urban Porch ™

Posted on May 11, 2023 by daeja's view

It’s kind of nice to roll out of bed and sit out on the porch in the early morning, cup of coffee in hand, watching the neighborhood come awake. You would think with all the rain, sun and early blooming … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Spring, The Urban Porch ™, Uncategorized, Views From he Urban Porch ™, Wildlife | Tagged crow, neighborhood, nuisance squirrel, poppies, views from my porch | Leave a comment

On a Stretch of Rainy Days

Posted on May 3, 2023 by daeja's view

Shortly before a recent stretch of rain drove the focus on projects and diversions inside the house, I managed to get out with a friend for a bit of meandering through the woods and fields. There was a portion of … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, baking, Birds, Cooking, Food, nature, Spring, The Urban Porch ™, treasures, treasures, Uncategorized, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged Buzzards, duck eggs, Foxes, Muscovy ducks, road crew tales, sniffing lilacs, Spring flora and fauna, vixen, Wildlife | 2 Comments

Departures and Arrivals

Posted on April 8, 2023 by daeja's view

The population in the vicinity of The Urban Porch is experiencing many changes. My wonderful neighbor who has been renting the upstairs of the house directly next door for the last two years just moved out last weekend, on to … Continue reading →

Posted in Are you kidding me?, Birds, Daeja's Garden, Gardening, nature, Perspective, Spring, The Urban Porch, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged good and bad neighbors, homemade yogurt, neighborhood changes, neighborhood vibes, relief, spring flowers, trauma from bad neighbors, using up the harvest, what to do with celeriac? | Leave a comment

Out of Focus

Posted on March 31, 2023 by daeja's view

Everything feels out of focus this week. Making order of the thoughts in my head has been almost impossible – an inability to hone in and complete most things without becoming distracted. Events occurring in the news are probably a … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Cooking, Deafness, Food, Hearing Impaired, nature, Perspective, Spring, The Urban Porch, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged cooking fail, disconnecting, distraction, external reactions, internal feelings, low-end hearing loss, RSHL | 1 Comment

Arising

Posted on March 23, 2023 by daeja's view

People are coming out of their houses, shoots are pointing up like green arrows from beneath the melted snow. The crocuses and daffodils are lending pops of happy brightness. Birds are returning, winter jackets are coming off, rain is soaking … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Cooking, nature, Spring, The Urban Porch, Uncategorized, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged returning of the birds, skunk in the yard, Snakes, spring menu, urban nature | Leave a comment

Mountain Power

Posted on March 19, 2023 by daeja's view

If you asked my children or siblings, they might tell you that I have a song for just about everything. Words on a street sign, an incident, a phrase, a photo, and suddenly a song pops into my head. Sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, nature, Perspective, Photography, Travel, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged ghost riders, mountains, Organ Mountains, songs in my head, southern New Mexico, the southwest | 1 Comment

Winter Prints

Posted on February 13, 2023 by daeja's view

It’s been a little freaky having northeast February days hovering around fifty degrees, but I admit it has been nice to get outside in it, even though this weather is most likely global warming right smack in our faces. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, nature, Perspective, Uncategorized, Weather, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged freaky February, prints in the snow, small observations, unseasonably warm | Leave a comment

Emerging From Eeyore

Posted on January 14, 2023 by daeja's view

Well, I’ve been down in the abyss for the past week. I find it consistently amazing that when you (and I guess it means “me”, unless it’s also you) don’t feel physically well, it colors just about every single thing. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Coping, Perspective, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged depression, feeling better, illness and depression, urban porch, urban wildlife | Leave a comment

Ms. Almanac

Posted on November 26, 2022 by daeja's view

The riotous outdoor color show is over. A lacework of sepia and gray branches framing the sky is pretty much what’s left behind, although the grass is still green, for now. I have removed the dead hanging plants from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Autumn, baking, Dogs, Holidays, House plants, nature, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged autumn insects, christmas cactus, grandchildren, holiday baking, little dogs, Mema, moving towards winter, the cranberry custard curd, urban wildlife | Leave a comment

Random Goings-on While the Leaves Were Turning

Posted on October 31, 2022 by daeja's view

I vacillate between the excitement of the seasonal splendor and the worries or annoyances regarding larger and smaller events surrounding life these days. The blog postings here tend to go in erratic cycles. I might not post for months and … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Autumn, Dogs, Perspective, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged autumn ramblings, i burned the granola, local wildlife, my papillon is sick, papillon chihuahua, random thoughts, sick dog | Leave a comment

Transitions

Posted on October 16, 2022 by daeja's view

The coloring of Autumn is building to all its glory, and I walk around sighing with mouth agape. But I will share all of that at a later time. Right now the large and small creatures are in motion. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Autumn, Perspective, treasures, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged animals, Autumn, Changes, falling into autumn, insects, nature, small wonders, Wildlife | 1 Comment

Ursa

Posted on September 22, 2022 by daeja's view

With such a cool, breezy morning ahead, it seemed the perfect day to take a walk in the woods. I decided to hop in the car and drive to the mountain trail behind a friend’s house to herald in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Autumn, nature, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged autumn equinox, bear in the woods, bears, black bears, into the woods | 2 Comments

Readying

Posted on September 15, 2022 by daeja's view

Life cycles into the next phase, as we push into early Autumn. The heat has broken and gifted us with cooler nights. Afternoon light is becoming more honeyed and the billowing cumulus of August have given way to the shifting … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Autumn, nature, Perspective, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged autum, mantis, orb weaver, seasonal cycles, spider, Squirrels | Leave a comment

Summer Winds Down on the Urban Porch

Posted on September 1, 2022 by daeja's view

The late summer view from the Urban Porch has been one of browned grass and parched hostas. This season of humid, yet rain-starved, scorching days has resulted in a drought. The herculean clouds of August have built up into billowing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Perspective, summer, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged city porch, nature everywhere, observations, porch life, summer insects, urban views | Leave a comment

Things That Land In Your Hair

Posted on July 30, 2022 by daeja's view

For most of my life my very curly, somewhat long hair has been a catch-all for things that land, fly or fall into it. Mosquitos. Dragonflies. A wasp. A cicada. Moths and butterflies. Pieces of leaves, seeds, wisps of dandelion. … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Are you kidding me?, summer, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged Bats, bats in the house, best neighbors, curly hair | 3 Comments

More Views from the Urban Porch

Posted on July 23, 2022 by daeja's view

I sit on the Urban Porch with iced refreshment and dog as the summer progresses. Some views remain the same and some continue to shift. The most spectacular event this month was a bit of dramatic weather. Those who know … Continue reading →

Posted in summer, Uncategorized, Weather, Wildlife | Tagged dog days, Summer, summer storms, urban wildlife, views from the porch | 1 Comment

Wildlife On and About the Urban Porch

Posted on June 2, 2022 by daeja's view

This is a small, urban neighborhood of old houses. We get some significant vehicle and pedestrian traffic during the day. The city is bordered by areas of woods, streams and trails. Because of this, we occasionally will find a deer … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Spring, summer, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged house sparrows, neighborhood insects, porch life, small gifts, urban wildlife, views from my porch | 4 Comments

Mantis

Posted on April 22, 2022 by daeja's view

Last fall my three-year-old granddaughter became fascinated with a dead praying mantis she found in my driveway. That was the second one I had seen around the yard that week, after not seeing any. A few days later I discovered … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Gardening, Spring, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Wow! | Tagged Earth day, mantis, nature, praying mantis | 3 Comments

Crow Tree

Posted on April 9, 2022 by daeja's view

There are a couple of very old, unhealthy, towering maples and oaks on the corner that probably aren’t going to last much longer. While walking beneath them with the dog, I noticed some rotten limbs had recently fallen and crashed … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Autumn, Birds, summer, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged Birds, corvids, crows, flocks of crows | 2 Comments

Passing of the Buck

Posted on October 5, 2020 by daeja's view

I went out to investigate why a police car was parked in front of my driveway on this sunny Saturday afternoon, officers standing there pointing towards the backyard. Years ago there had been a foot chase culminating in a suspect … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Are you kidding me?, Coping, grief, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged Deer, EHD, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, municipal responsibility, Red tape, sick deer, sick wildlife, who is responsible | 4 Comments

Little Bird

Posted on July 18, 2019 by daeja's view

Following a quick but torrential downpour and some gusty winds, the S.O. discovered a fledgling robin scooting around between the dying iris foliage in our front yard. The linden tree immediately nearby is the most likely place it came from, … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Birds, Coping, Daeja's Garden, grief, Regrets, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged death, fledglings, grief by proxy, saving a bird, the right decision? | 2 Comments

Crayfish/Karma

Posted on November 13, 2018 by daeja's view

When my grandson’s elementary school class sent home a notice saying they have eleven crayfish that are coming up for adoption at the completion of their science unit, my daughter immediately said “NO WAY” and expressed how she is still … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Stories, Are you kidding me?, kids, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged aquarium adventures, class crayfish, class science project, crustaceans as pets, Fish Tank, karma, pet crayfish, pets, school pets | 2 Comments

Don’t Steal This Book

Posted on February 5, 2016 by daeja's view

My books are like old friends. When it comes time to purge items from the home, the most difficult items to reduce seem to be the books. Even when I know I am not going to be reading a particular … Continue reading →

Posted in Are you kidding me?, Birds, Uncategorized, Wildlife | Tagged library book, old Audubon guide, used books | 4 Comments

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