Home & Habitat Journal Turns Two!

Home & Habitat Journal marks it’s second year of sharing stories, nurturing a backyard wildlife habitat, exploring DIY projects, and tracking seasonal birding discoveries. I didn’t even notice the first anniversary – but this time, I made sure to. Somewhere along the way, the blog grew alongside the yard, shaping the stories I shared. Documenting seasonal shifts, half-finished projects, and the discoveries that make both the space and the stories come alive.

Thank you for joining me on this adventure so far – whether you’ve been following along from the start or just found your way here. Every read, comment, and backyard story shared has shaped this space into what it is. 

From Basecamp Diaries to Home & Habitat Journal

Originally called Basecamp Diaries, the blog began as a place to capture life in our new home – small projects, updates, DIYs, and the ways we made the space ours. We nicknamed the house Basecamp, our launch point for more time outdoors: birding, hiking, camping, and flatwater kayaking.

A few of the first posts were written before we even moved in, sitting there while I wondered whether anyone would actually connect with them, if they were good enough to share. After months of deliberation, I finally hit publish – and that was enough to begin.

Shortly after moving, we adopted our sweet dog, Ranger – a cautious, fearful and reactive homebody shaped by early trauma, instability, and too many changes early in his life. Because long walks or busy outings can be very stressful for him, our version of outdoor adventures shifted. Instead of going further afield, we turned our attention to what was right outside the door.

As the yard became less of a backdrop and more of a living, breathing space, our focus shifted. By spring, we were shaping a wildlife-friendly habitat: planting native species, building a pond, and making space for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife to move through and settle in.

And naturally, the blog shifted with it. Basecamp Diaries became Home & Habitat Journal (coincidentally around the blog’s first anniversary) – a space to celebrate where cozy living meets wild spaces. A place to witness the beauty of rewilding, backyard birding, native plants, slow living, DIY projects, and the radical potential that is hiding in a small city yard.

How The Blog Has Evolved

Two years of writing, observing, and sharing haven’t created a perfectly polished blog – or a huge audience (yet). But what it has created is something more meaningful: a space that captures curiosity, learning, and the small moments that matter.

Over time, Home & Habitat Journal has become: 

• A personal field journal – documenting what I notice, try, and learn as the yard and home evolve together, season by season.
• A backyard naturalist’s notebook – observations shared and contributed to citizen science platforms like eBird and iNaturalist, connecting my small patch to the bigger ecosystem.
• A platform for creativity – DIYs, home projects, and experiments that blend cozy living  with the wild.
• A place for inspiration – showing how small, thoughtful actions can make a yard more alive, welcoming, and wild, and encouraging readers to notice and care for their own spaces.
• A space for reflection and growth – part of my own journey rebuilding life after being laid off from a long career in tech, exploring creativity, learning, and designing the life I want next, one post at a time.

Favourite Posts

Here’s a look back at my favourite posts over the last two years. Each reflects a piece of what Home & Habitat Journal is about: curiosity, discovery, and celebrating small victories. From wildlife observations to yard experiments and seasonal lessons, each post tells a part of the story: 

• Our Yard is Officially a Certified Wildlife-Friendly Habitat! – Celebrating the backyard becoming a Certified Wildlife-Friendly Habitat, proof that intentional planting, habitat-building, and hard work really pay off.
• Three Years Later: From Accidental Birder to Backyard Naturalist – Recounting my birding journey from first sightings to creating a certified wildlife habitat in my backyard.
• Global Big Day: Birding in My Backyard – One of the busiest days in the backyard, bringing a whirlwind of wonder, chaos and delight. Watching the (unfinished) pond hum with life as birds came and went was unforgettable.
• How to Attract Hummingbirds to Your Alberta Garden: 2025 Migration Map, Tips, and Nectar Recipe – How to prepare your yard for hummingbirds each spring, from tracking their arrival to creating a space they’ll keep coming back to. Updated for 2026, this has become the most viewed post on the blog.
• Into the Wild – A Timelapse & Photo Journey of Our Backyard Transformation (2024) – A visual journey showing the backyard’s transformation over the year. I love revisiting it to see how much has changed – and still need to make one for 2025!
• A Year In Review: 2024 Backyard Birding List – My first full calendar year in our new house, spotting a wide variety of birds – including 14 new lifers in my backyard!

What’s Next

The next chapters of Home & Habitat Journal will continue exploring the backyard and home. From expanding the wildlife habitat, experimenting with new plantings, to seasonal observations, and cozy indoor updates that connect our living spaces to the outdoors.

You can look forward to: 

• Seasonal bird updates
• Monthly musings
• DIY projects and woodworking experiments
• Photos and videos of the birds and wildlife

I will also be sharing these posts soon (links will be added here once they are published):

• A Year In Review: 2025 Backyard Birding List
• Backyard Birding | Winter 2025-2026
• Monthly Musings – March 2026
• Details about the wildlife pond build

I can’t wait to share what’s next, and I hope you’ll follow along as it unfolds.

Reflections on the Home & Habitat Journal Anniversary

Two years in, this still feels like the opening chapter of a much longer story. Each season brings another shift, small changes, and transformations that, over time, shape the landscape of both yard and life.

Whether you’ve been here from the beginning or are just wandering into this space, I hope it sparks curiosity. To watch closely, try boldly, and let your own patch of the world grow wilder and more alive than you imagined. Start small: plant a native shrub, add a water source, or leave one area a little less managed – and simply watch what arrives. If you’re feeling ambitious, head over to Our Yard is Officially a Certified Wildlife-Friendly Habitat! to see how small, thoughtful steps add up – and maybe inspire a few ideas for your own space.

Thank you to everyone who’s read, shared, or added your own backyard stories. You’ve made this journey rich and full of wonder. 

If this post sparked an idea, made you pause, or nudged you to notice the life in your own space, share it. Every share spreads the invitation: to garden with purpose, to rewild a yard, to create a place wildlife trusts – and helps this little patch of land inspire more backyard birders, native plant gardeners, and nature-lovers.

Thanks for reading! Until next time,
Tracey

---

If you enjoy what I share and want to support my journey to rewild and document this little patch of land, you can do so through my Ko-fi page. Your support helps me continue photographing, nurturing, and sharing this space with you.

---

Leave this field empty if you're human:

PIN IT!