Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: yard


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Name this bird

Sitting at the dinner table last night I was watching the birds come for their own suppers. I had spread some black oilers on the deck railing and refreshed their bath water in anticipation of watching them while we ate.

Hmmm….who’s this little lady?

The fresh water was a big draw as any number of birds showed up for a quick bath. Then this bird arrived. She didn’t look like any of my regulars.

Well, she likes oilers, that’s a clue.

Bigger than a gold finch, about the size of a warbler, but not a yellow warbler.

She kept an eye on me but didn’t budge.

Greenish gold with darker wings and a little tuft on white near her shoulder.

After she ate she hopped on over to the bathing area.

Luckily my camera was right behind me on the kitchen counter, and the bird wasn’t upset by my reaching for it.

One by one she told the bathing birds to get lost.

All these shots are through a window, with reflections splashed across the image.

Then she hopped in for her own bath.

I think, based on my Michigan bird book, it’s a female Evening Grosbeak.

She had a nice, long bath.

We’re not supposed to have them around here, though they were here a couple of winters ago. Mostly they live way up north. So it could be something else.

And then she was gone.

What do you think?


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Youngster has a lot to learn

Oh…you thought this would be about Penny? Well…it is true she has a lot to learn. But so does her mom.

The view from my chair. Is that a very large hummingbird?

But no, this isn’t about her. This time anyway.

“Maybe there’s something good under here.”

No it’s about birds, which I guess is my second most frequent type of post.

“I can’t fit my beak in that hole!”

But the young birds are visiting now and some of them missed the memo about which feeder is meant for them.

“Maybe up here.”

On the other hand, it’s possible this young male was just making a point that we shouldn’t be segregationists, even with our bird feeders.

“I think there was a tasty ant right here yesterday.”

Regardless of what he was thinking, or not thinking more likely, I hope he got something sweet to eat!

“Hey lady. I’d like to return this to the chef and order a little suet, please?”


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Abundance

It’s that time of year again, when everything seems to be blooming all at once.

Though May is my favorite month, full of promise and hope of a bountiful summer, July runs a close second just because it’s the middle of summer.

I took a wander around the yard today and realized just how much stuff in my gardens was blooming.

On a warm sunny day with big white puffy clouds everything looks perfect.

And I realize I love being retired so that I can take a leisurely walk around the yard and discover blooms hiding among the foliage.

Stuff, that in the old days of working long hours far from home, I would have missed, only noticing spent blossoms way too late.

So today I savor my freedom and the beauty of a warm summer day. And I’m sharing it all with you.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the mini tour of my gardens. Have a wonderful day in your part of the world!


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Father/daughter lunch

Walking through the living room this week I noticed two hairy woodpeckers on the feeder. That’s unusual. We don’t get hairy woodpecers often, and when we do it’s always a single bird chowing down.

Adult male hairy woodpeckers (similar but bigger than downy woodpeckers) have a red spot on the back of their heads.

I stopped to watch, from across the room so as not to startle the. Sure enough, one of them was a youngster, eating away happily while dad was on the other side of the feeder…

The young one enjoys a succulant oiler as dad eats on the other side of the feeder.

…but happily accepting a special morsal from dad when he offeres it.

This time of year seeing parents cater to their teenage, soon to be adult, children is pretty common. They don’t seem to notice that their kids are eating just fine and on their own when they’re not being waited on.

Can you see the love in dad’s eyes as he feeds his youngster?

I’m glad I happened to wander past their special time together when I did.

That was a good seed, wasn’t it!

Note: I’m not sure if the kid is a boy or a girl. There’s no red spot on the back of it’s head which leads me to think it’s a girl…but there IS a spot just above the beak and I don’t know what that means. If you know, please comment below!