Grackles A plague of grackles arrived on the 9th and filled the maple trees that lined the new farm’s driveway all the way to the Jarrettsville Pike. I marveled at their collective chatter, and how they would go silent at a single shout – Hey! Then how the volume would ascend in waves as they […]

Behind the Gate Our Florida yards feed an itinerant white ibis flock, and they graze assiduously next door at the Katz’s. Features of an ibis include a pink-red decurved bill, white wings with black tips, and icy irises. Although common in southwest Florida, ibises appear exotic to visitors more familiar with ancient history than ornithology. […]