Living Creatures: Wildlife At Hickory Hill Haus

I’ve recently seen several unusual living creatures in and around my place (aka: Hickory Hill Haus). I thought I would start cataloguing the wildlife and, maybe, if I get the chance, take photographs of the different wildlife here. Broadhead Skink (Eumeces [Plestiodon] laticeps): At least I think that’s what these are. I saw a large […]

Identifying Plants In Our Yard

Identifying plants — especially native ones — can be a somewhat difficult process, especially if you’ve moved (as I have) to a bio-zone different from where you’ve lived before.  I was talking about this issue with my brother Gene, out in Washington State. He’s gotten very good at identifying native plants on Vashon Island, where […]

If I Knew Birds Songs Better: What Is It? Video

Yesterday, May 5, 2018, was a Big Day in birding, and it left me wishing I knew bird songs better. First, what’s a “Big Day”? If you’ve seen the Jack Black / Steve Martin movie “The Big Year”, it’s kind of like that.  www.eBird.org organized a world-wide “Big Day”, where birders all over the world […]

Barred Owl in Hickory Tree

Coming through the woods at about 8:15 a.m. today, I spotted what I think is a barred owl in a shagbark hickory tree. It was surveying the white crownbeard wildflower patch, before heading off to a higher viewpoint. Here’s the YouTube video. I also joined eBird, run by Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology. Looks to […]

What Is It? Nature’s Guys Want To Learn!

I confess: Nature’s Guys don’t know everything! Especially about the flora and fauna of Northwest Georgia, where I just moved. But this morning in mid-March, a whole bunch of birds’ songs hit my ears. And I’m curious: What ARE they? So we decided to start a new section of Nature’s Guys, called “What Is It? […]

So Much Nature! Not Too Much I Hope!

My property in Northwest Georgia is covered with nature I don’t recognize. New flowers. New trees. New bugs. New birds. Things I’ve never heard, seen, smelled or felt before. It’s almost as if I can’t keep up. Is it possible that there is just too much to learn? Not to mention, it’s Spring, which means […]

Why Take Risks

The field had to flood. The pair had to trek through woods. Risk brings blessed beauty.

Albino Grackle – What Is It!?!

A couple of years ago (July 2016) my dad said he thought he’d seen a white bird feeding with a bunch of dark (purple) grackles at a neighbor’s lake-side bird feeder (normally reserved for geese and ducks). Sure enough, when I went out to see, I was able to video this rare albino grackle! One […]