The Last Few Weeks in the Great Outdoors

While I was focused on getting that Jag out of the left side of our garage, there was a lot going on in the Great Outdoors. Amazingly, a female mallard found a great nesting spot. Right outside the left side of the garage.

Location of a mallard nest to the left of the garage.

You might not be able to see the hen mallard on her nest, so here’s the same photo zoomed in a bit.

DSC_1864cr — Hen just to the left of the blue rod, looking straight out at me.

So, even after waiting over 10 years to get rid of the Jag and park in my garage, I am now parking way, way down on our driveway so as not to disturb the nesting hen. It’ll take 26 more days for her babies to hatch, so I’ll be parking outside until then.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Gawky, the mute swan, set up a nest on our lake again.

And Mr. Gawky began chasing away all the geese and showing up each morning for his corn. Like most people, I took to taking corn to the water’s edge for my feathery pal.

One evening while hanging with Mr. Gawky, these big, black birdies went flying by.

Since their body and wings were longer than most of the regular black birdies that come into the yard, I ran over to the southern side of the lake where the birdies came to roost in the big trees on the peninsula. They turned out to be cormorants.

Cormorants resting in the tall trees on our lake.

The cormorants stayed for exactly one evening, and the next evening I came home to find male mallards fighting in my backyard. It was not sponsored by HBO or Showtime but it was a good fight nonetheless.

: Male mallards going at it.

Down by the water, a pied billed grebe went swimming by.

DSC_1624cr — Pied billed grebe looking kind of puny by that Canada goose.

A few nights later, these guys showed up.

Scaups, which Mark calls blue bills because they like have blue beaks.

I also got a shot at two buffleheads.

Bufflehead, which Mark calls cute little duckies when nobody is around.

Up until yesterday, this year’s biggest thrill has been the regular appearance of a pair of wood ducks.

Wood ducks seen on grass instead of wood.

But yesterday, this fella showed up.

Actually, the goose was just eating grass, and my best guess is that it’s a hybrid — a mix between a Canada goose and a domestic graylag goose. It appeared to be paired with a Canada goose.

An unusual goose couple, perhaps, but it seemed to be working.

Finally, this evening I saw this thing near our golf course.

Turns out this is the golf course’s new way of getting rid of dandelions.

So it’s been an exciting couple of weeks in the Great Outdoors. And it just goes to show that you never know what you’ll see outside. Or that I’ll never know what I’ll see outside. Which is why I go there.