Birds and Berries

On the way in to SLC via I-80 there is a large pond close to the Kennecott facilities that always has birds on it. On a small island I have seen the outline of a heron as I zoomed past so yesterday I pulled off at a wide spot on the side of the road and got out to see if I could photograph it.
The island was unfortunately not very visible from where I stopped but as I stood there watching a Harris Tern fishing, a Black-crowned Night heron flew by for his portrait session! So here he is along with Avocets.

The House Finch below sat in the new Crabapple tree in the front yard and serenaded me for at least 5 minutes. As soon as I decided I had enough photos he flew off. Love the finch songs!

Now to the berries part - as an old Minnesota boy I love blueberries but growing them in Utah has been daunting. Recently at the Tooele Valley Nursery where one of the owners is from Minnesota also I discovered a way that I might be able to have them! I took a half-barrel (plastic from Home Depot), filled it with peat moss and planted two varieties of high bush blueberries in it.  Feeding them with an acid fertilizer and watering daily they have responded wonderfully!  Lots of new growth and the berries keep getting bigger and bigger. Pretty soon my own fresh blueberries!  Yummy!