Fate cut her duclaw on the ice a couple of days ago. I took her to the Vet today and Dr Fariello cut the nail, cleaned it up and bandaged it. So Fate had to stay in when when Zinnia and I went for a walk in the woods today.
Instead of going our usual way, I followed the tracks of an animal that left marks in the snow as if it slid down the bank to the stream.
The animals footprints led me through the twiggy trees and low bushes in the frozen marsh. That’s where I saw the nests, easy to spot because of the cap of snow on each one.
I had a feeling there might be someone living inside this dead tree hollowed out by a woodpecker.
Inside were the shells of nuts and bird droppings.
At the base of the tree where this nest was, I found a cache of berries and seeds in a piece of bark and under ice.
Were those chamomile buds in the bottom of the nest? Maybe even momma birds use them to help get the baby birds to go to sleep? Or just for the nest to smell lovely. And I like the pic of the colorful well-stocked bird pantry.
I’m not sure what they were Amy, but they might be camomile. I’ve never really seen seeds like that in a nest, maybe I’ll look into it more, it may be telling about what kind of bird would do that.
Maria, I also noticed those Hawthorne Berries, which grow along many wooded areas in our neck of the woods, I understand they may also have health benefits for us as well. Looking forward to the video chat also. Jean
Good spot Jean, We have so many Hawthorne trees in our woods. I collected berries this summer and tried to dry them and make tea, but it somehow didn’t work. Maybe they weren’t dry enough. I’ll try again this summer.