We’ve been recording and documenting our Mid-Michigan backyard since 2008. We feed and watch birds year round. Many songbirds like woodpeckers, blue jays, tufted titmouse, white breasted nuthatch, cardinals and finches make their homes here. We also welcome many seasonal visitors from our winter snowbirds like juncos to the colorful orioles, hummingbirds, and grosbeaks of summer, we try to offer something for all of the common backyard songbirds. We plant flowers and shrubs for pollinators of all kinds and love to see butterflies, moths and bees flit around. Toads, snakes, salamanders, and a wide variety of insects have also been seen around here. Deer, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, opossums and other critters also pass through regularly. Of course, the heart of our backyard are our pets. Currently, we are owned by two 10 year old hound dogs we’ve adopted – Tilda, a coonhound who has been with us for 9 years and Buttercup, a basset hound we’ve had for about a year and a half. We try to observe nature and document what’s new, what’s different and how nature interacts in our little local ecosystem.
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Meet Our Pets
Matilda Wilma
Female Coonhound Mix
Adopted Date: 3/29/2017
We rescued Tilda as she is affectionately known in March of 2017. She was estimated to be a year old at the time. The beginning of her life was tied to a stake in Georgia until moving from shelter to shelter. She’s now got some titles, RATI and RATN and has become a confident, well behaved companion dog.
Buttercup
Female Basset Hound
Adopted Date: 6/20/2025
Birth Date: 11/15/2015
Buttercup was surrendered by her owner and Steve & I actually went and picked her up from her owner. She was nearly 10 years old when we adopted her and she & Tilda are getting along great. Buttercup loves rolling in the yard and laying in the sun. She is a great napper and is just a sweet dog all around.
The Fish Tank
55 Gallon Community Tank
Continuously running since 12/24/2014
Our current inhabitants (as of 11/4/2026) – 1 bristlenose pleco, 2 yoyo loaches, 1 nerite snail, a bosemani rainbowfish, 5 cardinal tetras, a few mollies.
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American Toad Barn Hunt Basset Hound Bird Feeders Bird Feeding Bird Photos BirdWatching Bufo americanus chickadee Chip Coonhound Dogs Duke Nest Cam Nuthatch Quincy Rescue Team Tilda Tilda Toads Woodpecker
