A long time ago I promised to show you the shenanigans going on in my backyard. Or should I call it backyardigans?
Waiter! I need a napkin!
These are self explanatory, but if the participants had anything to say I’ll add that as comentary under the offender’s image.
My morning abdominal workout might be offset by my morning snacking.
You will note there is one pictured here that is not like the others. She knows who she is.
I have to ask the help to fill this feeder every single day.
Sometimes I wonder how I get anything done in the house, given all the entertainment just outside my window.
I emptied out that birdfeeder, now my tummy doesn’t feel so good.
Oh wait. I really don’t get much done inside. Please don’t look at the dust covering everything or the dog fur rolling across the floor.
Somebody come help me with these two hooligans!
But I ask you. Which would you rather do?
I’m just going to sit here and watch the crazy in real time.
I thought so.
Me too.Me three.Not me, I’m eating while I can. A mom gets so little time to herself around here!You are so right! Eat while you can I always say!I see you lady with the camera! Could you please leave us more peanuts?She always puts the peanuts at the bottom. Good thing I have short legs.Seriously, I’m going to go crazy in .2 seconds.
I'm a long time banker having worked in banks since the age of 17. I took a break when I turned 50 and went back to school. I graduated right when the economy took a turn for the worst and after a year of library work found myself unemployed. I was lucky that my previous bank employer wanted me back. So here I am again, a long time banker. Change is hard.
hahah! Oh, Penny!! I can feel her concentration through the photo, Dawn. The squirrels–they crack me up! Look at their poses. Last night was spent watching, through my zoom lens, the shenanigans of a trio of mourning doves. Hiding in the shrubs, coming out for a breather, then rushing back in again. I didn’t even want to think about what was going on behind the leaves!
Those squirrels! So amusing with their acrobatics, but so frustrating with how greedy they are at feeders! I’ve never seen a deer at a bird feeder! New one for me! People around here have issues with bears destroying bird feeders (not me since I live on a fairly busy street) – do you ever have that problem?
We have a chipmunk who has figured out how to get into one of the hanging birdfeeders. This morning he emptied it in under 2 hours. I doubt he’s eating all of that…he’s probably socking it away for a hard winter. But I’m going to have to get a baffle.
Oh the bear question. No we don’t have bear here (yet) but I do have racoons that take down the feeders and drag them away to eat the seeds. So I have to look for the feeders in the morning if I don’t bring them in at night.
Oh my goodness, the last picture and your comment made me laugh out loud.
The squirrels must be part of an Wildlife-Cirque-du-Soleil. The deer licking at the feeder? Extra special moments. I wouldn’t get any work done in your home either.
Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful pictures.
Lots going on here all the time! I hadn’t seen the mama deer do that before either though I’m sure she does it all the time. She’s been hanging around our yard more this past couple weeks, with her little ones. They are eating EVERYTHING! But they’re so cute I don’t mind. She’s looking a bit frazzled and I hope the little ones leave her alone soon. All the parents, the racoons, the squirrels and the birds are exhausted by having to feed their young these past few weeks.
After many years of research, I have discovered that housework doesn’t go anywhere – it will wait. and. wait. and. wait. The ‘yardigans’ deserve attention, because they could disappear at any moment. Love your photos. Always.
Kathryn has a lady that comes in every 3 weeks, but I don’t have her do my space. I keep telling myself it’s very small and I can do it – and occasionally I do.
I feel like it would be unfair to bring in a cleaning person until I pick up all the STUFF! How does a person clean around piles of paper and books and mail and just stuff!?!?!?! And I need to throw stuff out. Lots of stuff. Should plow through some of it tonight because tomorrow is garbage pickup day. Thanks for inspiring me.
Thank you so much for sharing, Dawn! Penny must go nuts especially when the deer & squirrels visit your yard!
Taking time to “watch the world go by” (as I like to call it) & wild life in my backyard always wins out over cleaning. Time spent enjoying nature is precious – the dust and fur can wait! 😊
Have you seen any monarch butterflies this year? I have not seen any (Central VA).
That was so much fun to scroll through this post! Yes, lots of shenanigans and I loved the captions as well. I would also be at the window non-stop between the birds, squirrels and watching the mom and her twins … I would simply sneer at the dust bunnies. 🙂
You, too, have dog hair rolling across your floors?? I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t have a bird feeder, or I’d never get anything done. I feel like I’m constantly sweeping, picking up, etc. — and this isn’t even the muddiest time of the year. Love that photo of Penny — she’s definitely zeroed in on the activity and is eager to give chase!
Wow you have quite the nature park in your backyard. I only put out bird seed in the winter. I try to discourage squirrels from staying long in the yard; they’re so destructive. Cute, but destructive.
Yes, this season we are overrun. I THINK there are 2 black squirrels, any number of little red squirrels, a few hundred (exaggerating) chipmunks, and 3 or 4 regular brown squirrels.
They eat EVERYTHING. We think they are just tasting to see what they like. So far they are enjoying many perennials. Wish they’d eat the weeds! But it’s a small price to pay for getting to watch them. Sometimes the two little ones chase each other around the yard, playing. That’s generally when we don’t see mom. She’s less tolerant of fun stuff.
Change Is Hard 
July 24, 2025 at 11:55 am
hahah! Oh, Penny!! I can feel her concentration through the photo, Dawn. The squirrels–they crack me up! Look at their poses. Last night was spent watching, through my zoom lens, the shenanigans of a trio of mourning doves. Hiding in the shrubs, coming out for a breather, then rushing back in again. I didn’t even want to think about what was going on behind the leaves!
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July 24, 2025 at 12:02 pm
Where’s the laughing emoji?
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July 24, 2025 at 12:29 pm
Those squirrels! So amusing with their acrobatics, but so frustrating with how greedy they are at feeders! I’ve never seen a deer at a bird feeder! New one for me! People around here have issues with bears destroying bird feeders (not me since I live on a fairly busy street) – do you ever have that problem?
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July 24, 2025 at 3:09 pm
We have a chipmunk who has figured out how to get into one of the hanging birdfeeders. This morning he emptied it in under 2 hours. I doubt he’s eating all of that…he’s probably socking it away for a hard winter. But I’m going to have to get a baffle.
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July 24, 2025 at 3:13 pm
Oh the bear question. No we don’t have bear here (yet) but I do have racoons that take down the feeders and drag them away to eat the seeds. So I have to look for the feeders in the morning if I don’t bring them in at night.
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July 24, 2025 at 12:49 pm
Oh my goodness, the last picture and your comment made me laugh out loud.
The squirrels must be part of an Wildlife-Cirque-du-Soleil. The deer licking at the feeder? Extra special moments. I wouldn’t get any work done in your home either.
Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful pictures.
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July 24, 2025 at 3:10 pm
Lots going on here all the time! I hadn’t seen the mama deer do that before either though I’m sure she does it all the time. She’s been hanging around our yard more this past couple weeks, with her little ones. They are eating EVERYTHING! But they’re so cute I don’t mind. She’s looking a bit frazzled and I hope the little ones leave her alone soon. All the parents, the racoons, the squirrels and the birds are exhausted by having to feed their young these past few weeks.
LikeLike
July 24, 2025 at 1:05 pm
After many years of research, I have discovered that housework doesn’t go anywhere – it will wait. and. wait. and. wait. The ‘yardigans’ deserve attention, because they could disappear at any moment. Love your photos. Always.
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July 24, 2025 at 3:11 pm
I personally hate housework. I should just hire someone, but I need to find places for all the stuff that’s sitting around first!
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July 24, 2025 at 3:20 pm
Kathryn has a lady that comes in every 3 weeks, but I don’t have her do my space. I keep telling myself it’s very small and I can do it – and occasionally I do.
LikeLike
July 28, 2025 at 8:42 am
I feel like it would be unfair to bring in a cleaning person until I pick up all the STUFF! How does a person clean around piles of paper and books and mail and just stuff!?!?!?! And I need to throw stuff out. Lots of stuff. Should plow through some of it tonight because tomorrow is garbage pickup day. Thanks for inspiring me.
LikeLike
July 24, 2025 at 2:51 pm
Thank you so much for sharing, Dawn! Penny must go nuts especially when the deer & squirrels visit your yard!
Taking time to “watch the world go by” (as I like to call it) & wild life in my backyard always wins out over cleaning. Time spent enjoying nature is precious – the dust and fur can wait! 😊
Have you seen any monarch butterflies this year? I have not seen any (Central VA).
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July 24, 2025 at 3:12 pm
Especially the deer when she spots them. They’re not bothered by her though!
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August 1, 2025 at 2:16 pm
Sorry I missed one part of your question. I hadn’t seen any monarch butterflies this year…until about an hour ago I saw one fly through the yard! 🙂
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August 1, 2025 at 5:29 pm
No worries! I am so glad that you had a sighting! 😊
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July 24, 2025 at 11:03 pm
That was so much fun to scroll through this post! Yes, lots of shenanigans and I loved the captions as well. I would also be at the window non-stop between the birds, squirrels and watching the mom and her twins … I would simply sneer at the dust bunnies. 🙂
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July 25, 2025 at 7:19 am
I am at the windows a lot of each day. There’s almost always something going on.
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July 25, 2025 at 9:00 pm
I was also when I had the bird feeders and baths in the backyard. For the record, I am no fan of housework either. 🙂
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July 25, 2025 at 3:03 pm
You, too, have dog hair rolling across your floors?? I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t have a bird feeder, or I’d never get anything done. I feel like I’m constantly sweeping, picking up, etc. — and this isn’t even the muddiest time of the year. Love that photo of Penny — she’s definitely zeroed in on the activity and is eager to give chase!
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July 25, 2025 at 11:30 pm
I don’t have a mud problem, but I sure have a lot of dog hair floating around. She sheds more than any of our previous shelties.
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July 25, 2025 at 3:18 pm
Great captures of these wonderful shenanigans!
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July 25, 2025 at 11:30 pm
Thank you. They were fun to shoot.
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July 25, 2025 at 11:10 pm
Wow, super photos! Dust … you dust, it just comes back, why dust?
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July 26, 2025 at 7:59 am
Well, not very often because it seems so pointless.
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July 26, 2025 at 11:34 am
Deer and squirrels will always stop me in my tracks, just to look. Sadly, the occasions are rare here xx
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July 26, 2025 at 3:56 pm
Awwww I wish you had more opportunities. Meanwhile you can always find beautiful things in blog-world.
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July 26, 2025 at 1:14 pm
Wow you have quite the nature park in your backyard. I only put out bird seed in the winter. I try to discourage squirrels from staying long in the yard; they’re so destructive. Cute, but destructive.
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July 26, 2025 at 3:57 pm
Yes, this season we are overrun. I THINK there are 2 black squirrels, any number of little red squirrels, a few hundred (exaggerating) chipmunks, and 3 or 4 regular brown squirrels.
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July 26, 2025 at 7:38 pm
Well, look! You have plenty of wildlife in your backyard, too! How fun!
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July 27, 2025 at 1:38 pm
We do! And one of the main reasons we gave up vegetable gardening! 🙂 That and old age.
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July 27, 2025 at 10:19 am
These are great! So much fun and activity going on in your yard. Love the baby deer, so sweet.
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July 27, 2025 at 1:40 pm
They eat EVERYTHING. We think they are just tasting to see what they like. So far they are enjoying many perennials. Wish they’d eat the weeds! But it’s a small price to pay for getting to watch them. Sometimes the two little ones chase each other around the yard, playing. That’s generally when we don’t see mom. She’s less tolerant of fun stuff.
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