A couple of weeks ago, I had the fun of birding at a neighbor’s family farm up the hill from our house in Muncy Hills, PA.   John and Leah Tewksbury have over 40 beautiful acres of mixed farmland, open meadows and hardwood forest where they grow heirloom vegetables, herbs, and shitake mushrooms for customers in their CSA (community supported agriculture) and local up-scale restaurants.  Everything is hand-cultivated with no chemicals or GMO’s.  They welcome all the flora and fauna that make themselves at home in their gardens, including massive meadows of bee balm,  purple coneflower, and what many consider weeds.  Birds were everywhere, picking insects from the beans, rows of rainbow kale, and raspberry canes. Even foxes and coyotes are welcome because they help keep down numbers of other varmints.  Biodiversity is a buzz word when talking to John about his farm!  For more information on the Tewksbury Grace Farm, see http://www.localharvest.org/csa/M20370 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugl5-mnnu0A.

Tewksbury Grace Farm

Ruby-throated Hummingbird with Bee Balm

House Wren bringing lots of bugs home to her babies

Eastern Towhee stealing blueberries

Field Sparrow on fence

Bee on Chicory

Common Yellowthroat on Purple Coneflower

Dragonfly on fence

Bug on Sunflower

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Female Indigo Bunting in the Green Beans