As I write this, there are some unhappy dogs in this house, one (Nettie) at my feet. The local fireworks are in full swing. Since we live in the “country” we are surrounded by fireworks stands and there are no regulations. Luckily, the horses are not concerned. They have been conditioned by the regular gunfire that they hear on an almost daily basis.
The day started well, with happy horses grazing. The light was beautiful, and stayed that way for our early morning ride. It was warm, but not horribly hot until later in the day.
There are always birds to photograph. This has been a great year for birds, and they bring great joy. But nothing can compare to the story of Melissa and Tuffy. I asked her if I could share the story, and she said I could. It started with my picture of the flycatcher on the hay feeder a few days ago. I will let Melissa tell the story…
“Yes, it is a fly catcher, but I don’t think you realize what a rare picture you have taken. This is a Wood Pee Wee, not a Phoebe, or a King Bird, or the amazing scizzor tailed fly catcher, all of these are fly catchers. The Pee Wee is the smallest of the fly catchers , and the only upper canopy fly catcher. Many years ago, Tony found a tiny bird, about the size of your thumbnail in the driveway. It had just been hatched so the tiny creature was literally ‘see through’. I had a special friend in south Missouri who was known everywhere as the ‘bird lady‘. She told me how to raise the tiny embryo . At this point, we had no idea what type of bird it was, we thought it might be a Tufted Tit Mouse so I named it Tuffy. Every morning I woke up early expecting the tiny creature to be dead , but it was alive! After several days, the eyelids opened and the first thing the tiny bird saw was me, it was love at first sight on both sides! I carried the tiny being around on my arm in a basket for weeks as it demanded to be fed from sunup to sun down. When I rode horses, I hung him on the side of the barn with his bug mash close and I would literally do ride bys and feed him. The tiny bird finally started to get feathered out and Tony asked his friend from the university, Pete Goldman, an ornithologist, to identify the little bird . He looked at the bird and said in shock, that’s a Wood Pee Wee! And it was illegal for me to have him, so he arranged with the Conservation department for us to have a special permit to raise him, which we did . Raising this bird I consider one of the great privileges in my life. After he fledged and was flying, Tony decided that being a fly catcher, it was important he learn to catch insects in the air, so he came up with the brilliant idea to shoot tiny crickets ( I don’t even want to talk about the amount of money we spent buying very tiny crickets! ) into the air with a rubber band. Tuffy would dive off the china cabinet and snatch the cricket out of the air! We finally released Tuffy in early September, he hung around the house and we fed him (sometimes he would bring his friends!). I was heartbroken when he finally left . The next spring, as I listened to the beautiful Pee Wee calls around me, I started calling, and out of the upper leaves, a Pee Wee dropped out of the leaves to land on the hood of the car! He flitted all around my head and followed me. For the next 3 years, Tuffy showed up at the house, flew down very close to me. I know it was him as no wild bird, especially an upper canopy bird would dare come within touching distance.
Tony and I have reams of video of Tuffy, including Tony shooting crickets into the air and Tuffy snatching them out of the air .
Tuffy was one of the most amazing adventures in our lives! “
“Tony says this is one of the last pics of Tuffy before he migrated to Guatemala. I was so depressed after Tuffy left. I received multiple letters from ‘Guatemala‘ signed Tuffy (with his foot print), telling me he was stuffed with exotic bugs. I knew it was Tuffy as he lost his middle toe in the door of a bird cage I kept him in, so his signature was unmistakable. Tony continued to send me ‘Tuffy‘ letters for several years, even throughout the years Tuffy continued to return to our house and flutter around my head, not quite able to land on me as he used to. A testament to my husband’s amazing love for me, to write and mail me (with stamps!) letters from our amazing little Wood Pee Wee! “
I learn a great deal about nature from Melissa, who is also a great rider, trainer, horseman and friend, in addition to being a real “bird lady” herself. She credits Tony with much of the knowledge she has about the natural world, and I learn something new and important from her constantly.
Today, I saw a poor Cardinal that has started to molt and lost his crest. He looks like a horror movie character. This happens in late summer when food is abundant, after breeding season. Well, certainly no female Cardinal would be interested in this guy, so it’s a good thing breeding season is over!
I continue to pursue the pileated woodpecker in flight. Not the perfect picture yet…
Also seen today, a turkey at the bottom of the pasture, and the summer tanager has figured out how to land on the suet, with the help of a downy woodpecker.
I managed to accomplish a project initiated with Rebecca’s help. The planting of two perennial hibiscus plants on the west side of the stream was a brutal job, but worth the sweat.
Not the very site, but this is basically what we started with 
Looking east 
Looking west
Stay safe, stay well, Happy Independence Day!
Wow, the hibiscus look great! I wish that I could have helped more, quite the accomplishment!
Poor cardinal. I look molted every morning when I wake up.
🤣🤣🤣
Wow, thanks for sharing the story of PeeWee! Hope everyone is having a peaceful morning. We walking early these days because it’s too hot after 10 am: Northern Michigan’s new normal. We were up with poor Tink last night, watching movies with the volume turned up, while the bombs dropped all around us until after midnight, yuk. Have you tried Rescue Remedy for the dogs? It helps Tink.
Discouraging to think it’s hot way up north there! We stopped by the Travers City show a few years ago to check it out, and it was uncommonly hot, and even humid! I thought what bad luck it would be to travel all that way to show on a rare week of miserable weather. I guess, like you say, it’s becoming less rare. There are fires in Siberia. Aren’t we lucky to have had our youth when we did?
The story of Tuffy is so touching, lucky Melissa to raise a baby bird successfully, to be released in the wild and for it to come back and remember her. Thank you for sharing.
Beautiful story of Tuffy and Melissa, the connection that can exist. Wow! LOVE IT! Has Marmalade disappeared? Farm life, full of surprises it seems. Certainly leaves us to wonder.
Marmalade has not disappeared, but he still wishes I would disappear (not the food, though!). I will post a picture of him on Monday’s blog.