birds | Change Is Hard

May 4, 2015
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Katie pronounces it officially summer.

Katie here. Guess what, guess what, guess what?

At my park last night.

It finally got warm! And our grass is green! And sometimes I get to sit in my kennel and watch the birds and bark at anyone on my street! It’s amazing. This weekend my mama even said she might put up the tent! That means it’s summer, right?

Well, maybe not quite summer cause she never did put the tent up and we had to sleep inside the boring old house. She said she was too tired. I swear, that mama is always too tired to do fun stuff.

Well, I take it back, she did come home Sunday evening from somewhere all dressed up and she rushed out of her good clothes and put on her park clothes and we got to go to my park just as the sun was going down!

She said we had to get my dandelion photo, whatever that is. And something about the park people mowing the grass if we didn’t hurry up. So we rushed over there so fast she forgot my treats…and she marched me out to the middle of the field and guess what? Apparently dandelions close up when the sun goes down! Who knew? So she found a little patch of them in the last bit of sun and said that would have to do for this year.

Boooorrrring

I found the whole thing terribly boring. But then she and I walked all the way around the park and it was just wonderful. Don’t you think the sun makes my coat look good? I hear I’m going to the groomer Friday. Maybe if you all tell her how beautiful I already look she won’t make me go. It’s worth a shot, right? I’d give you her private cell number to call her, but she won’t tell me what it is.

Golden sun on my golden coat.

So anyway. We also got to do weeding this weekend. I’m not sure what that is either, but it seems to mean I get to lie out in the soft grass while my mama digs around in the dirt and gets all smelly. She is definitely not a princess. Sometimes I wonder why I hang out with her at all.

Then tonight after supper she and dad went back outside to weed some more. I loved it because I got to sit in the grass again and watch my road. I kept them safe from two marauding joggers and a couple of trucks. Good thing I’m around.

But when the sun started going down mama said that was enough and now she and I are hanging out on the deck!f The sky is getting all apricot, and there’s a big pink puffy cloud to the south. AND…best of all mama saw the green herons come back for the summer! All three of them flew over and made a big production of landing in our trees. Boy they are noisy! She seemed awfully glad to see them though.

AND we just saw a humming bird! Mama put the feeder up yesterday cause she figured they’d be around by now and sure enough, just a few minutes ago a little hummer flew around our heads and went to the feeder! He seems more skittish then he was when he left last fall, but he’ll get used to me. I never bark at hummingbirds. They are so cool and they make my mama happy.

So anyway, I almost forgot…mama says that by Friday it’s supposed to be hot here! And if there aren’t any storms for sure we’re going to go camping in the back yard! I almost can’t remember what that means, but I’m sure when I help her put up the tent I’ll be all excited again.

This was me last year!

So all of that means it’s summer. Right? I think it is. Princess Katie proclaims that summer has arrived. I don’t care about stupid calendars and official dates. I can’t count anyway.

Everybody enjoy this beautiful weather! I hope no one has storms and you all get to go out for walks with your peoples or your dogs or (I suppose) even your cats.

Now I need a nap. This weeding thing gets a girl exhausted.

See you soon in my tent!

Come camping with me!

May 4, 2015
by dawnkinster 16 Comments

Lonely chickens

We’ve been taking care of our neighbors’ chickens for the past couple of weeks. Well. I have only been up there a couple of times; husband has head egg collection duty.

Busy chickens

But I went up last weekend and as I approached their space they commenced to clucking and racing around, coming up to whatever side of the pen I was on. I think they miss their people. Husband says no – they’re just excited to get fed.

Whatcha doing out there?

Which could also be true.

But I prefer to think they enjoyed my company while I was there. I talked to them and took their pictures. I thought they were quite beautiful.

So are their eggs.

Yum

April 15, 2015
by dawnkinster 10 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – Incoming.

April 12, 2015
by dawnkinster 17 Comments

WordPress Photo Challenge: Afloat

After a long week of work visiting my favorite park keeps me afloat.

You can see other interpretations of ‘afloat’ at the original post. Or see a few of my favorites here, here and here. I like this one too. And this.

OK. I have to stop now. But this one made me giggle.

Care to share what floats your boat? This challenge lasts till next Friday. Let’s see what’s floating near you!

April 11, 2015
by dawnkinster 5 Comments

Saturday morning light

Weekend possibilities are endless.

Saturday morning, early because some short furry member of the household insisted that I get up before 5 a.m., I am puttering around trying not to feel grumpy and tired. But I am grumpy and tired. Said furry member of the family has long since gone back to sleep when I notice the sun tipping the tops of the trees out back.

Happy light.

I hurry her awake and we go outside, slipping on the frosty deck and almost falling, but feeling decidedly less grumpy. I take a few shots of sun on birch. Katie stands hopefully in her kennel.

Hey mama! Can I stay outside?

And then I notice this:

Two sandhill cranes flying silently across the sky. Amazing. And I would have missed it if someone hadn’t insisted I get up.

I forgive her.

Told you mama!

March 14, 2015
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Winged signs of hope

About this time every year I get so tired of it all. Tired of the snow and cold and slush and wind and dark and…well…those of you that have ever lived up this way know. I looked back at the blog for a few years and guess what? Regardless of how easy or difficult the winter was, about this time of year I’m just over it and I start searching for signs that winter is over and spring has moved into my little part of the world. Now I can’t guarantee that this winter is over, but here are a few things I’ve seen or heard in the past two days that might give us all a little hope.

Friday evening as I got home and went inside to gather Katie for our trek to the mailbox there was the sound of a robin singing somewhere near. The light was bad but I searched the tops of trees and found a dark roundish bit of shadow that I believe was Mr. Robin. This winter I spotted a robin at our bird bath, looking decidedly disgruntled with the snow. Maybe yesterday’s was the same one, just a little happier.

Cold and hungry in January

This morning as Katie and I were out in the predawn darkness I heard a sound up in the neighbor’s oak trees that I’ve never heard before. I couldn’t place it, and each time I looked toward the sound (which was coming from multiple trees) all I could see was a blue jay. Couldn’t be, I thought, and went on my way. This afternoon I went online and looked for some video of blue jay sounds. Listen to the first few seconds of this. Did you know blue jays make this sound? I sure didn’t. I wonder if it’s something they do in the spring?

Later in the morning as I drove to work a sandhill crane flew overhead. Just one, which made me a little sad — I hope the spouse is somewhere near in a nest. Still, it’s good to know at least one has come back for the summer.

And then the absolutely positively sure fired proof it’s spring – when I got home from work this afternoon the red winged blackbirds were decimating my bird feeders.

Hungry!

I hadn’t even heard them yet this year, and that’s usually my first sign. But there they were, a whole flock of them hungrily scratching at the ground under the feeder. They seemed a bit frantic. These birds eat so much so fast that sometimes in the fall I stop filling the feeder until after they’ve left for the season as the rest of my birds can’t get near it to eat. But they are a sure sign it’s spring, so today, in appreciation, I’m filling it back up just for them.

And for this guy.

Also hungry

January 7, 2015
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

May 24, 2014
by dawnkinster 9 Comments

Forget me not

Forget Me Not

I spent some of this first day of the 3 day holiday weekend weeding. It’s the same old thing, by the time I get around to weeding the perennial garden it’s overrun with grass. I don’t even need to take a before picture – it looks the same as it did last year at this time. Think of a long green rectangle filled to overflowing with grass waving knee high. You would be accurate.

So what does a person think about when she’s pulling grass mindlessly for an hour or so? Well if you’re me, you think about your Dad. He’d have been 85 last February. I’d have liked to see him achieve that age, see what he was interested in, what he’d think about world events. I imagine him talking to the DOT about truck issues, can hear his impatience with the slowness that is Washington. I hear his encouragement to keep up the good fight.

I think about Mom too, of course. She loved her flowers and her birds. Though she didn’t die at the same time or in the same way as Dad, it sometimes feels like one event, their deaths happened so close together. I think about her when the oriole couple visit, or when I hear the cranes in the swamp up the road. And I think about her when I’m weeding.

This week while work was especially difficult I’d get up from my desk to stretch and glance out the window. Thursday and Friday almost every time I did a robin flew around the corner of the building and landed at the tip top of a tall spruce tree, about level with my window. It swayed in the breeze and chattered as I stood and watched and smiled. Eventually I’d get back to work and when I’d glance out in a bit the bird was gone. But it was back three or four times when I’d stand up to stretch, and the last time it stared in my direction while it chattered. I know the windows are glazed and the bird can’t really see me. And the bird couldn’t know that I needed that little bit of entertainment during a very bad day. But each time that robin turned up I’d said “hi” to Mom, and before I sat down again I’d say a silent “bye, see you next time.”

So I’ve been thinking about the two of them a lot these past few days. That’s not a bad thing, I’ve sort of enjoyed it. Especially during these beautiful spring days when I’m pulling weeds in my garden and they’re both just a memory away.

Broken hearts

May 22, 2014
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Unrelated musings

Do you see the mama?

It’s been a long and stressful week. I think, of my regular readers, only Carol will truly understand. She has successfully retired from my industry and people outside it don’t grasp the level of stress during our busy season. Especially the busy season in conjunction with the end of a month.

This is a really really big nursery.

I’m behind on things I wanted to show you from my visit to my favorite park almost two weeks ago. So how about I just intersperse park photos among the random musings that have been rolling around in my head trying to avoid the stress headache lurking there. Click on any photo to make it bigger and see more details.

Waiting for the shot.

“Reaching out.” I suppose this blog is my way of reaching out to you. But I’d like to think it’s not because I really detest that saying. I don’t know when people started using it, but it’s everywhere now. Do people use it because it’s more hip than saying calling…or emailing? “I’m reaching out to you in the hopes that you will…” When I read that in an email, or hear it on the phone I immediately put my defenses up. Because no one ever reaches out to me unless they want something. Can’t they just say what they’re really doing…they’re emailing me. They’re calling me. They want something. It doesn’t sound any more friendly or less threatening because they were reaching out. Makes. Me. Nuts.

He was curious about me.

And while we’re on the topic of phrases what’s with “drilling down?” What exactly does that mean? That we’re going to get more detailed, maybe explore something further. I think. Why can’t we just say that? It doesn’t make me as nuts as “reaching out” but still who is fooling who? Does anyone really know what we’re “drilling down’ to? And how will we know when we get there? Exactly.

Does anyone know what this bird is?

A running friend, a year younger then me, is retiring in two weeks. She’s doing it for all the right reasons, her job is stressful, too much travel, and her parents who live near are getting older and need more assistance. I’m happy for her. She says she might have to reenter the work force sometime in the future but I sincerely hope she doesn’t have to do that, I hope she gets to enjoy a long happy time with her folks and that they thrive under her attention.

Hungry!

Katie and I are going camping at a real campground far to the north of us in a couple of weeks. It’s been cold here…really cold for this time of year. I’m starting to worry about sleeping in a tent for two nights further north. How many blankets can I pack, how many layers of clothes can I sleep in. And last time I tried to camp when it was this cold Katie wouldn’t settle down. I’ve seen doggie sleeping bags but I’m pretty sure she’s not going to sleep in one. I think I need a backup plan. I should have booked a weekend in August!

Mr. Rose Breasted.

So that has pretty much emptied my mind. I hope you could follow. Or not. Totally up to you. Me? I’m going to try to get through another day in the business at the end of the month.