Mealworm farming?......I don't think so!

I have a friend who raises worms of all sorts to sell to bait stores. She also has mealworms....that tasty treat that some of you buy for your birds! This is one of the plastic containers she raises them in. The stuff in the bottom is oatbran and there is shredded paper on top for them to hide in.


Inside is a mixture of the darkling beetles that make the mealworms and mealworms in assorted stages.

I don't know about this.......as soon as I saw the bugs, my interest in raising my own mealworms went downhill fast!

I'm actually holding a handful of assorted bugs and worms! Susan says the beetles don't fly off....but the websites I checked said that they do! She feeds them an apple whenever they run out of something to eat. Doesn't that sound like fun??? Not for me! Sorry. Let the birds find their own worms like God intended them to!

Here are two websites that I looked at, if you want to learn more about raising your own.

http://www.efinch.com/mealworms/mealworm.htm

http://www.sialis.org/raisingmealworms.htm

What can I say?.....it was a slow day.

Well....nothing much happened that was photogenic yesterday. These are mostly shots I took sometime last week and never used.Except this 5-lined Skink that decided to climb the dead dogwood.


Chickadee...dee...dee

Local berries!....I didn't grow them or pick them, but I sure am enjoying eating them!

Dove picking out its next target......look out below!

Grasses waving in the wind while I waited for a train to go by. They were really blowing!

Sunday Stroll and the "suet wars"......

Being Sunday, I took hubby along with me to the wetlands, and sure enough..."Chief Eagle Eyes" spotted something I didn't!!! ......... ..........a frog! He blended right in with his surroundings, but I guess that is no excuse for not seeing him. First frog that I've seen at the wetlands, but I'm sure there are plenty there.

Another first.....Cedar Waxwings up high in one tree. We saw 5 of them, but this is the best shot I could get with my limited lens and some cropping when I got home.


The honeysuckle smelled wonderful!

A very lonely looking Mallard.....sitting on the boardwalk all by himself.

I tried for a couple of butterfly shots, but they flit around so much, I didn't do very well. One white one.....

......and one yellow one. They love the clover and other wildflowers in the meadow area.

Back home I watched the suet feeders for a while and there was a "suet war" going on! It started with a baby downy and it's parent trying to enjoy some suet. Then suddenly .....4......white breasted nuthatches showed up and started chasing the downys! I wondered if they were young ones.....very persistent and their beaks look so pale colored compared to what I normally see. Then a couple wrens showed up wanting suet, too! I actually have about 4 different suet cakes, but they all wanted the same one!

Young nuthatch, maybe?? (pale beak)

Staring match....who will give up the suet? Or will they share?

Baby Downy trying to stay out of the whole thing.....but really wanting some suet.

The top of his head is sort of speckled looking....not very red yet.

Hanging in there!

Making a funny face while sticking his tongue out looking for crumbs

I haven't been seeing too many goldfinches, so I was pleased to see 4-5 of them hanging around on the finch feeder. They are smart enough to stay well away from the suet! Nobody else wants their niger seed.

This guy just looks scary.......or crazy!

I think this Grackle wants to try out for the part of Igor or maybe Poe's raven! All he needs is a creepy laugh track in the background!

Squirrel Sunday

Ooooops!......Didn't you put this here for me???? Are you sure???