Animals – Page 14 – M. Sullivan Photography

May 19, 2010May 19, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Animals, Photos

New Tenant

We have been noticing two pairs of birds hanging around in our back yard recently. They sit on the grapevine next to the deck, then fly off before we can figure out what they are. This past weekend I was finally able to take a picture of this guy out our dining room window.

We thought that he and his girlfriend and the other couple they hang around with must be nesting in our backyard somewhere. Then last night we found this in the butterfly bush next to the house.

After a bit of research, we believe we have a pair of house finches making their home eight feet from our back door. This afternoon I checked the nest again and found that another egg had been added. According to the information I read about finches, two weeks from now there should be three to six featherless baby birds in the nest. Two to three weeks after that they will get kicked out and will be on their own. I guess our kids have it pretty good compared to those birds. I plan to remind Sebastian and Sophia of that the next time they complain about homework or chores.

May 10, 2010May 10, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Animals, Family, Photos, Weather

4.5 Inches

That is the amount of snow that we received on May 7. Rather than being completely freaked out, the kids, Mike and Daphne decided to enjoy it. I was personally a bit freaked out, but kept myself amused by seeing how much fun they were all having.

By lunchtime this is what our backyard looked like. I didn’t have much luck playing fetch with Daphne. She had difficulty finding the ball and when she did actually locate it, she rolled it around so much that it turned into a snowball.

After we all got home from work and school, Mike pulled out the sleds from the top shelf in the garage while I dug out winter boots, hats and mittens. Mike and the kids piled up snow for a jump in the backyard, then pretended it was February instead of May.

The plants, bushes and trees took a bit of a beating.

After getting my fill of snow, I headed inside while the kids and Mike stayed out to play some more. Sophia found it amusing to throw snowballs at me while I was looking out the window.

Sebastian also found it very amusing.

One last photo before I put the camera away.

February 19, 2010February 19, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Animals, Photos, Weather

Daphne

We have had beautiful weather this week. Sunny and highs in the 30’s – great for northern Minnesota in February. The kids have been off from school all week and have come home from daycare soaked after playing outside all day. I think Daphne is getting spring fever with the rest of us. I couldn’t help but take her for a long walk during my lunch hour yesterday. Now that the snow has almost cleared from the streets, she was able to take a walk without her dog booties. Yeah, our dog not only wears a coat when it’s cold outside, she has sensitive paws and needs dog booties to walk/run in the snow. Part of the problem is the salt that is put on our streets during the winter. We found booties for her that work great and are also inexpensive from a local company – doogbooties.com. If those tough dogs in the Iditarod can wear them, our sensitive Boxer can wear them too.