This morning as I’ve been fixing the big dinner I’ve been watching my birds out the window and my Penny-girl napping inside and feeling grateful that I’m in my warm house looking out at a windy cold yard. It’s 32F here (0 C) and it feels, because of the wind, like 19F (-7.22C).
Nom, nom, nom.
I know the birds watch me as I fill the feeders every morning. Every day, before I’m back in the house they’re usually fluttering around picking at their favorite spot. This morning I somehow missed the goldfinch feeder and as I was walking to the shower later I noticed a big bunch of them all huddled around the very bottom of their feeder.
That’s all the seed there was left, just a bit at the very bottom.
I thought about going out and filling it after my shower. But they were hungry now. So I ran out without a coat and hurridely filled their feeder with thistle. Then I went inside to watch. No finches. I waited some more. One finch dropped down onto the beech tree, contemplated the feeder swaying in the wind.
“Come on little guy,” I murmered, “it’s right there for you, all fresh and nice.” He waivered and clung to his branch. “Come on sweetie, I whispered.” He tentatively flew to the top of the hook and looked around. Then he hopped down to the feeder and began to greedly eat. Suddenly finches came from all over, and swarmed the feeder.
I smiled.
Happy Thanksgiving little ones. Happy Thanksgiving.
And happy Thanksgiving to all of you. We hope you have a wonderful, warm and belly-filling day. Penny added that last bit about the belly. She has her priorities.
This weekend, I guess that means yesterday, I was busy taking pictures of my backyard birds as they bounced around in the beech tree near our feeders.
This is a very polular location. You have to wait in line to get the best stuff.
I loved the colors, the tree still hanging onto her leaves even though we are well into November now.
Sometimes the little bird feeder is especially busy and the wait is long.
It wasn’t warm outside, not like it had been through most of October, but it was still a nice, if slightly dreary, day.
I was shooting the goldfinch, but look who dropped in below.(White-striped sparrow)
I spent some of the day on Saturday painting Christmas cards to be sent to folks in nursing homes. Nothing too complicated, just simple cards painted in the hope they made someone smile.
The ten.
The goal was to get 10 painted over the weekend and mailed on Monday. Christmas comes so early when you have to get your stuff off to folks who have to do their thing to get the cards to seniors in a timely manner.
Folded, I’ll write a little note inside each of them and then send them off to the card coordinator on Monday.
I haven’t felt very Christmas-y this fall. I procrastinated on painting the cards until it was almost too late. I thought maybe I’d skip the whole Christmas card thing this time.
People ignore us little brown birds all the time too.
I haven’t put the lights up outside either. I usually put lights on one tree, the smallest of the spruce trees we planted so many years ago, at the corner of our lot.
This chunky little woodpecker had a hard time fitting through the feeder cage.
I use the smallest tree so that I can get lights clear up to the top if I stand on a ladder and use a long pole. It’s a lot of work and I don’t know if I’m up to it anymore.
But eventually he got his lunch. Might want to consider a smaller portion than usual though.
Still, the neighbors tell me how much they enjoy that tree when it’s lit on our dark winter nights. I enjoy it too. Somehow it makes the winter go by a little faster, or at least be a little brighter. So maybe I’ll get the lights up the next nice day we have around here.
Probably not today though. This morning I woke to our first snow of the season. Penny is not at all sure she was good with this new development.
Hey lady! I’d like a berry special please. Pronto!
But I am happy to see the trees and shrubs begin to be covered by this new white blanket. Pen and I might even go out and play in it when I finish this post.
The cardinal was unflappable by the robin’s flight.
Some of the birds are not as happy as I am to see the change in weather. But the snow makes me think that maybe I can put the lights up. Maybe I can paint a few cards for the season. Maybe I can get into the Christmas mood.
A festive red and green image in my own back yard.
Maybe I can.
You know you’re in Michigan when one day you’re working in the garden and the next you’re laughing over bird antics in the snow.
When I see the first junco my heart drops but it also fills. Which seems a thought at odds with itself, doesn’t it?
Dark eyed juncos are only here for the winter months. And they are the first harbingers of winter, so my heart drops. But they are also adorable little round birds, and they will hop around under the feeders all winter, delighting us with their antics. So my heart fills that they’ve chosen my yard again.
No matter that the red winged blackbirds, the sign of spring and summer, are still here eating me out of house and black oiler seed before their trips south. No matter that we had temps approaching 75 degrees F yesterday (23.33 C) and will most likely again today.
Winter is on the way. Proof, a junco arrived today. Time to get out the winter coats, find the snow shovel, and check the antifreeze in the cars.
Welcome Mr. (or Ms.) Junco. I’m glad to see you again, but did you have to arrive so early?
PS: The pictures aren’t in focus. I was a long way away, and this little one popped up on the driveway, almost blending in with the asphalt. Still, I can’t fool myself into thinking it’s a sparrow. Can you?
Every summer we are lucky enough to have orioles visit our feeder. They never stay long enough, many adults leave sometime in mid to late August which seems too early.
This lady serves gormet grape jelly!
The juveniles stick around a couple more weeks, eating the jelly as fast as they can.
What do you mean I have to feed myself?
Even though the youngsters are pretty, I always miss the adults.
You’d think the lady would put a roof over our lunch!
But last year and this year, after quite a long break without seeing any adults, I’ve had adult males and on occassion an adult female stop by the feeder in late August!
You shut up! No YOU shut up!
I’m always excited when, long after I think they’re gone, they show up for a few more days.
I need to grab a snack before those two come back!
I guess they’re fueling up for their trip south to Florida, or Central America. That seems like such a long flight I can’t imagine.
I thought I’d check out the finch food. Not as good as jelly.
And it seems even harder to imagine the youngsters being successful at the trip on their own. I wonder if families reunite once everybody is down there or if once they leave they’re leaving their family forever.
You’re not my mom!
I know they’re gearing up to leave me. But I bought a big jar of jelly this week, hoping they’re around long enough to finish it all.
Sometimes I go camping just to have a few days away from everyday responsibilities. Time to nap and read and snack and daydream.
Just one exit up the road from home.
Sometimes I go camping with a specific goal in mind. I’m hoping to get that perfect Milky Way image, or find a new bird to photograph, or see a part of the state I haven’t seen before.
My favorite site at this campground.
Last week, at the last minute, I got to reserve 3 nights in my favorite campsite at the local state park. It’s a spot where Katie and I camped many times. This trip I hoped to introduce Penny to campground noises.
“Did I hear something over there, mom?”
She’d been there for a couple visits last year, but it was all overwhelming to her, and even with her dad and me right there she was pretty nervous about all the people and cars and noisy trucks with trailers driving by.
“Hey! What’s my tent doing out here in the woods, mom?”
This year she’s older and wiser and a little bit calmer. Though she still looked when noisy things including people with their dogs walked by, she didn’t automatically come undone.
“I’ll just stay real close, OK mom?”
She was only visiting me for a few hours each day, and while she was there we took plenty of walks around the campground, letting her sniff the vacant spots…
“I approve of this one, mom.”
…and moving swiftly past those occupied.
“Nothing to see here, just protecting my bikes.”
She even got to walk past a couple of pitbulls and their flustered dad. She was a rockstar.
See them coming around the corner up there? Penny’s tail was already up in alarm and I didn’t notice them until they were much closer. She knew right away. She never barked, she just heeled with me right by them.
We spent about an hour on her second visit inside the tent as evening fell. I think she would have been fine spending the night in the tent if I had insisted. But she was a little restless after an hour and if I’m honest, I wasn’t looking forward to packing up in the morning with her on site.
“I guess this is OK mom. But daddy has air conditioning and a bed. Just sayin.”
It takes me an hour to pack up without the distraction of a curious dog. But next time, if she’s willing I think we’ll spend the night in the tent. Maybe she’ll begin to understand it’s all an adventure and mom’s got her back.
“Umm, excuse me mother, let me be clear. I’m not taking a shower.”
The other reason I jumped at a chance to camp at this site is the opportunity to photograph birds. Every time I’ve been at site 16 there have been birds flitting around. Their images are hard to capture, they’re not like Kensington birds, posing for treats.
A really poor image of a cardinal that swooped in and then out.
These birds are never happy when they stop by and you’re at their site. I sat for hours, still in my chair, camera ready, and didn’t catch a good look at one bird, though I heard redstarts and vireos and wrens all around me.
Mostly I got bird imposters like these brown leaves.
Then this guy bounced out of the underbrush.
A gorgeous brown thrush.
After looking at me he hopped up on a vine with his back to me. In a moment, though, he turned his head to make sure I got the shot, and then he took off.
“Did you get my good side, lady?”
I smiled, at least I got one decent image of a bird!
And then I noticed this little red squirrel looking a bit worse for wear. She skittered around the campsite and then disappeared.
A skinny little red squirrel.
While I’m looking for her, tossing a few blueberries in the direction she ran, a opportunistic chipmunk showed up, very happy with the blueberry offering.
“Hey lady! You got anything to spare?”
Meanwhile Ms. red squirrel, apparently a tired mom, was up in a tree at the edge of the campsite, happily chowing down on a nut.
Nom, nom, nom…
She was happy until she noticed the chipmunk was feasting on blueberries.
A special treat!
That seemed to make her very unhappy. She watched the chipmunk more carefully. I tossed a few more blueberries. She was conflicted.
“Wait! Those blueberries were for ME!”
And then she ran as fast as she could down that tree and back out into the site where she scored a blueberry of her own.
“That chipmunk got one, but he’s not going to get the rest!”
It all made me smile.
Camping generally makes me smile, even when it rains, which it inevitably does at least one day on every camping adventure. At least this time it was overnight. And in the morning the sun rose again.
Another beautiful morning.
Time to get packing and head home. A little fuzzy girl was waiting for me to provide her next adventure. She’s kind of demanding that way. I don’t mind.
Another adventure in the books.
Till next time, site 16. Thanks for the new memories.
A long time ago I promised to show you the shenanigans going on in my backyard. Or should I call it backyardigans?
Waiter! I need a napkin!
These are self explanatory, but if the participants had anything to say I’ll add that as comentary under the offender’s image.
My morning abdominal workout might be offset by my morning snacking.
You will note there is one pictured here that is not like the others. She knows who she is.
I have to ask the help to fill this feeder every single day.
Sometimes I wonder how I get anything done in the house, given all the entertainment just outside my window.
I emptied out that birdfeeder, now my tummy doesn’t feel so good.
Oh wait. I really don’t get much done inside. Please don’t look at the dust covering everything or the dog fur rolling across the floor.
Somebody come help me with these two hooligans!
But I ask you. Which would you rather do?
I’m just going to sit here and watch the crazy in real time.
I thought so.
Me too.Me three.Not me, I’m eating while I can. A mom gets so little time to herself around here!You are so right! Eat while you can I always say!I see you lady with the camera! Could you please leave us more peanuts?She always puts the peanuts at the bottom. Good thing I have short legs.Seriously, I’m going to go crazy in .2 seconds.
Change Is Hard 