Counting Crows

 . . . and other birds for that matter.

It's no secret that we love our birds around here.  In the summer we have a Hummingbird feeder at the edge of the patio.  We also have several bird houses placed around the property that were intended to be homes for Blue Birds, but are usually occupied by House Wrens and Sparrows.  We don't mind since the Wrens frequently serenade us with their beautiful and joyful songs.  

In the winter, seed and suet on the patio draws in birds of every kind.  We laugh at them as there definitely seems to be a pecking order in who gets to eat what.  Woodpeckers rule the roost but the Junkos are great at finding every last seed when it looks like there is none left.

The birds provide me with what I often term my personal air show.  They make me smile.  They amuse me.  And, given the time we spend at home these days, that is much needed and appreciated.

Next weekend, February 12th-15th, The Cornell Lab and the Audubon Society are once again sponsoring the Great Backyard Bird Count.  People from all over the world will spend a little time recording what birds visit their area.  Click on the link for more information.  

Last year I counted fourteen distinct species.  I am curious as to what I will see this year.  My guess it will be even more.  

Carolina Wren & Downy Woodpecker

Red Shouldered Hawk

Hummingbirds

Nuthatch

The main point of Christianity was this:  that Nature is not our mother: Nature is our sister.  We can be proud of her beauty, since we have the same father

- Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

AMDG

First Photo - October 2019

The calendar might say October but the temperature is yelling mid-July, with a forecast of near ninety today.  I'm loving every minute of it!

There was something special about this summer.  We enjoyed our property, in many ways.  Working in it was theraputic.  Relaxing in it was peaceful.  Sharing it was joyful.  And, for all that, I am grateful.

AMDG

First Photo - September 2019

 Yikes this is late!  The picture was taken on time, almost, but lazy me just never got around to posting it.

The dog days of summer may be over, but the froggy days of fall have just started.  We have been enjoying the patio and falls more than ever, and it seems the frogs are as well.  We have christened our water feature as the Five Frog Falls.  See if you can spot all of them in the first photo below.

AMDG

Dirt Therapy

I don't think I have ever gone this long without writing.  Well, I guess I have, I just checked.

It isn't as though I don't have anything to say.  I do.  It's just a matter of sitting down and putting it down in some coherent fashion.

It isn't that I am so busy that I don't have time.  I do.  And, dare I say, I've been a bit bored.  I have been catching up on The Closer, by way of Amazon Prime, and there is only so much of Brenda Leigh Johnson I can take in one sitting.

It has been a weird summer. Quiet, mostly, punctuated with a variety of things - a death in the family, jury duty, a geriatric dog with health issues, a family member in ICU, a work trip to the west coast.  Life happening.

Tonight, after dinner, I put my grubbies on and headed out to the yard to finish a project I started a month or so ago.  I haven't been able to do much in the last couple of weeks because of the weather.  Either it has been in the nineties with high, horrid humidity or in the sixties and rain.  Neither of which I want to be out working in.

But tonight was perfect.  Seventy degrees and a pleasant breeze.  I dug out weeds and moved large rocks and planted grass seed.  I got dirty and sweaty and it felt good.

There is something about "playing" in the dirt that is refreshing and restorative.  It's quiet but it's not.  If I listen, really listen, I hear birds and bugs and other critters and the rustling of leaves.

Concentrating on the work at hand with the symphony of nature playing in the background helps quiet my mind.  Pulling weeds and planting flowers and watering the gardens provides an up-close glimpse into just a tiny part of God's great design.  It is a reminder of all that is good, even in the midst of what, perhaps, seems not to be.

We often refer to yardwork as Dirt Therapy.  It doesn't take much time outside to wash away the worries and aggravations of the day.  And, it's much cheaper than a shrink!

“Properly speaking, of course, there is no such thing as a return to nature, because there is no such thing as a departure from it. The phrase reminds one of the slightly intoxicated gentleman who gets up in his own dining room and declares firmly that he must be getting home.” 

– The Chesterton Review, August, 1993

AMDG

Knock, knock! Who's there?

Yesterday morning Himself heard what sounded like pounding outside.  He guessed that maybe one of our neighbors was getting a new roof or some other construction.  Later on, though, it sounded much closer.

He finally found the source.  This robin has spent hours sitting on a branch of the rhododendron knocking on the dining room window.

We have tried scaring her away and putting pictures on the window to hide the reflection of the bush, but she persists.  I think she wants in where it is warm.

My guess is that she isn't too happy that there is still snow in April.  Where are all the worms?


AMDG

Things I Would Have Missed

I went for a walk early this morning.  It was cold, down in the low twenties and heavy frost on the ground sort of cold.  It was much earlier than I would have like to be up on a Saturday morning.  When we started out, it was dark with just a hint of the sunrise that was still more than an hour away. 

But, when the hairy beast says he needs to poop, we walk.  Because somehow he just cannot manage to do it in our yard.  He must walk.

You know what?  It was glorious! 

If I didn't have this crazy mutt, I probably still would have been in bed.  And I would have missed the pinks and oranges and yellows that painted the sky as we returned home.

*   *   *   *   *

Last night Himself wanted to show me the lights he had put on the house for Advent.  As we walked out the front door something very large flew in front of us and landed high in the treetops. Silhouetted by  the full moon behind it, sat a majestic owl.  Had we walked out the door even thirty seconds later, we would have missed it.

*   *   *   *   *

I wonder how much I miss, what beauty I don't see.  These little opportunities make me grateful for what I do see.  Because it's there.  I just need to look.

AMDG

And Then There Were None

Three nests.  Nine eggs.  Two babies. 

 

 

One raccoon. 

 

No birds!

 

  😢   

 

A couple of weeks ago, I found the nest of a pair of Mourning Doves in one of the bushes I was about to chop down.  It was wrecked and the two white eggs smashed on the ground. 

Last Saturday night or Sunday morning a raccoon found the Robin's nest in the Blue Spruce and had himself a meal.  We discovered that the eggs were missing later in the day when we noticed that the mama bird was nowhere to be found. 

 

Since two of the Cardinal eggs had hatched in Alberta Spruce, we were particularly worried.  Himself went out after dark, looking for the offending creature.  He happened upon it and scared it away.  Tuesday evening I borrowed the rodent trap from my dad, hoping to catch the beast.

 

For a couple of days it stayed away.  We hoped we were in the clear.  The baby birds' eyes opened, they were getting feathers and were very vocal when it came to feeding time. 

 

Then on Friday morning, first thing after I got up, I went to check the nest.

 

And found it on the ground.  Empty.

 

If anyone ever tries to tell you that raccoons have some, any, even one, redeeming qualities, don't believe them.  It's a lie.

 

 

AMDG

WIP (#6) - Bushes and Birds

WIPs lately have moved from inside to out.  Over the last couple of years I have been redoing the landscaping in the front of the house.  Shrubs that were supposed to be slow growing and small (2-3 feet) grew well past six and seven feet.

I started cutting down and digging out the last of the Gold Thread Cypress and Yews.  I still have a few more to do, but a mama Robin and a mama Cardinal also have their own WIPs in two of the bushes!  Thankfully Himself found the well hidden Robin's nest before I chopped that bush, ironically called a Bird's Nest Blue Spruce.

Robin's nest

Mama Cardinal 

AMDG

April Fools?

This would be pretty, if it wasn't in April.  Is it some kind of joke??

AMDG

. . . and a Brambling in a Pear Tree

We were feeling a bit restless after Mass on New Year’s Day, so we decided to head to the park for a walk.  It was cold, but tolerable, and it certainly beat staying cooped up in the house all day.  As we neared the park we saw a bunch of people by the side of the road.  They were donned in their best and warmest camouflage parkas.  Many carried cameras and spotting scopes that would make even professional photographers and army marksmen jealous.

When we pulled into the park, we saw that this was apparently a really big “to do” as cars filled the lot and extended out along the driveway.  Signs pointed to an overflow parking area.  We guessed that all these people were bird watching, perhaps for a bald eagle that has been known to frequent the area.  But this seemed a little extreme.

We went for our hike, enjoying the quiet and the slowly falling snowflakes.  Near the end of our walk we saw a couple come out of a distant trail and head towards their car.  Since they were parked near us, and I’m known to be nosy, I asked them what was going on.

A Brambling had been spotted in the area.  Huh?

It’s a small bird, native to Europe and Asia, and hasn’t been seen in these parts since 1978.  Someone had spotted one a few weeks earlier, keeping company with a flock of finches.

As we drove home, we chuckled.  Everyone has their thing, and apparently this was theirs.  We often consider ourselves “birders” but not like that.  I don’t have the patience to stand for hours in hopes of possibly, maybe, if I’m lucky, seeing a particular bird.  When I see an unfamiliar bird my yard or neighborhood or walks in the park, I’ll look it up.

After we got home, Himself went online and looked up this Brambling.  When he showed me pictures of this bird we both laughed.

We need to rewind a week here . . .

On Christmas Eve the weather, for December, was awesome.  It was sunny and in the low sixties.  In the early afternoon we needed a break from cooking and cleaning and prepping for our celebration and company the next day.  We grabbed a cup of coffee and sat on the patio for a while.  Himself remarked at the number of Robins that were still in the area.  They seemed to like this weather, as well, and hadn’t flown south yet.

I looked at the birds and said that they weren’t Robins, some of them were too small and they were eating the fruit left in the Bradford Pear tree.  Robins like insects.  I got out my Birds of North America book.  After looking at all the birds and reading about Robins, I finally gave up the argument and conceded that they were, in fact, Robins.

The day after New Year’s, we were back at the park for another walk.  The crowd had grown even larger.  As a car with out of state license plates drove by us, we just looked at each other and smiled.  What some people waited and searched for, we had in our own backyard.

♫ A Brambling in a Pear Tree!  ♫

Happy Epiphany!


AMDG

It Was a 'Yeah God' Sorta Day

As I mentioned in TToT(10), two weeks ago I was in Colorado and Wyoming.  I needed to be in Cheyenne on Monday morning for training at our plant and the flight was much, much cheaper if I flew in on Saturday rather than Sunday.

So that left me with a day to “kill”.  Sunday found me driving from Denver to Estes Park and then on to Cheyenne.  What a day that was!

A former coworker who had just moved to Estes Park gave me some advice about things to see.  She also warned me that on a weekend traffic could be heavy and therefore slow.  Taking that into account, I hit the road early.

I have to admit that I find much of Colorado rather meh.  It’s a dessert after all, lots of dry grass and sandy brown dirt.  But this drive showed me the beauty in all that.  Huge, wide open spaces and vistas like none other I’ve seen.

As I drove north on I25 I began to think I was seeing things.  UFO sorta things.  And I was.  Hot air balloons and lots of them.  Out came the camera and my first attempt at road photography began.
  

 



 

I had the radio tuned to a local country music station.  As I got closer to the mountains, Tim McGraw's song Top of the World came on.  Oh so appropriate!

Don't know where we're gonna be
But I know we're gonna be
Sitting on top of the world
So keep hanging on to me
Yeah, don't you wanna be
Sitting on top of the world
Top of the world

 

 

I stopped at the Visitors Center in Estes Park.  When I told the woman there that I had limited time but would love to see some of Rocky Mountain National Park she suggested Lily Lake.  It was a fairly easy drive and didn't require paying a fee to enter.  Since I was a little uncertain about driving some of the roads I had seen in RMNP, and I was too cheap to pay the twenty dollar entrance fee, it sounded perfect.

It was. 

It doesn't matter what direction I looked, the views are stunning.  I would walk ten or twenty feet, stop, take a picture, and repeat.  I met an artist along the way and chatted with her a bit.  She was happy to share her work with me.  As we talked I told her that seeing all this made me think "Yeah God!" and she agreed.

 

 

 

 

The day ended with the lunar elcipse.  I stood in the parking lot of my hotel watching it with a dozen or so other travelers, knowing that Himself was at home doing the same.

I couldn't help but think about how awesome the day had been.  How perfect, how glorious a world our good Lord gave us. 

Shouldn't every day be a Yeah God sorta day?

AMDG

 

Oh Deer!

I never get tired of seeing deer in the yard.  I don't even mind sharing the mulberries and apples that they glean from our two trees.  But, stay out of the veggie garden, please! 

I have a row that I planted the front half with lima beans and the back half with wax beans.  I now have just wax beans and a bunch of lima bean stems.   Apparently deer prefer lima beans over wax beans.  Really??

AMDG

The Company I Keep

They say you can tell a lot about a person by looking with whom they spend time.  I'm not sure what this says about me, but I've had some very lovely, but rather quiet friends around lately.

I've been weeding and planting the veggie garden and was surprised to find a beautiful lime green frog watching me.  The garden is about halfway between our stream and the neighbor's pond.  Perhaps he stopped to visit on his travels between?  

There have been a lot of toads in the garden, but that's to be expected.  This one was rather on the large size and was catching a few rays in the Saturday afternoon sunshine.  Hopefully he caught a few bugs, too!

Tonight the other neighbors' kitty, Baby Cat, didn't know whether to watch what I was doing or look for dinner in the stream.   I had more luck petting the toad than I did Baby Cat.  She's about as shy and skittish as they come. 

 

If you ever come by, it might look like I am talking to myself, but rest assured, I have company!

 

 

AMDG

A Day Well Spent



Dad's birthday was yesterday but we celebrated it on Sunday.  Sis and her family came over and we had a leisurely meal and then enjoyed the sunshine, both figuratively and literally.  We often say that our niece and God-daughter is the sun, the moon, and the stars, and Sunday was no exception.

Sara seems to find delight not only in the new and beautiful, but also in things we take for granted, ignore, or even find annoying.  Pretty yellow wildflowers Dandelion flowers (I was told they are not) become a delicate flotilla in the stream.  Sticks become fishing poles and an orchestra conductor's baton.  Stones are a never-ending fascination as they can construct bridges, be given as gifts, or made into projectiles that, when properly tossed, will get Uncle wet.

After a busy week, looking at nature through a two year old's eyes was a perfect reminder to slow down.  Sometimes there is no better way to spend a day than tossing flowers in the stream.

AMDG

Spring Break, Relatively Speaking

 
Once again we headed south to find warmth and sunshine.  The drive down in pouring rain left us wondering if we would find the light we craved, but we knew our destination would provide the warmth.  It was the warmth you find in a relative's welcoming hug and tight embrace and the smile in their eyes when they see you arrive. And, as it was, the sunshine followed soon after.

We spent a few days with my aunt and uncle catching up on family doings and talking politics and news and the state of the world.  We played with the dogs and walked and rested.  I found a new-to-me quilt shop and added to my stash of fabric for my niece's quilt.  We even went for a drive in the Smokey Mountains and visited Cades Cove.  

It may not have been as warm as last year's trip, but it was a whole lot warmer than it was back home - 50s and 60s versus 20s and 30s - and to us that was heaven.  There may have even been fewer flowers in bloom this year versus last year, but, once again, there was much more than was blooming at home.

But we soaked in the vitamin D and breathed in the fragrant and fresh air and reminded ourselves that it was coming.  Soon, relatively soon, this sunshine and warmth would be at home. 

We just need to hold on a little bit longer.  Relatively speaking.


AMDG

There’s No Place Like Gnome

While perusing blogs the other day I read this post over at Small Things.  Although all of Ginny's pictures are quite beautiful, one in particular caught my attention.  It wasn't one of the new baby goats that are so adorable that had me smiling.  It was the one of the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange garden catalog.  It has Gnomes on it!  Lots and lots of Gnomes!

Seeing the Gnomes sent  me on a trip down Memory Lane.  When I was in high school we had to do a speech in one of my classes.  We had our choice of topics: either talk about an embarrassing moment in our lives and what we learned from it or give an informational, teaching talk.  Well, back then I was terribly, horribly, painfully shy so my most embarrassing moment would have been that speech, right then and there.

So, I decided to do the informational speech.  I had recently received the book Gnomes for Christmas and fell in love with these little people.  That would be my topic.

I told the class how Gnomes were small, elusive little people only about 15 centimeters tall and 250 to 300 grams in weight.  They live to be many hundreds of years old and dwell mostly in rural woodlands and farms.  Their senses are far superior to humans, and, like dogs, "see" much of the world through their noses.  It is estimated that they can smell nineteen times better than man!

At about the time a male Gnome turns 100 years old, he begins to think of marriage.  He must search far and wide for a bride, since Gnome populations are scattered and small.  Plump womenfolk, round of form, are the favorite.  Once he has found and won over his bride-to-be, the wedding will take place under the bride's birthday tree at midnight of a full moon. 

Gnome pregnancies always result in twins and last twelve months.  Their families used to be quite large, often with 10 or twelve children, but that is no longer the case. 

I continued to tell the class about Gnomes' relationships with the animals in their environments (they are quiet close) and about how they would entertain themselves (they love to play games).  I brought the book I had received as a present and showed the class some of the pictures.  It was noted that none of the pictures were actual photographs, but instead were paintings and sketches.  Since Gnomes are such private and elusive creatures no one has yet to be able to capture them on film.

Sometime during that speech I lost my shyness and spoke with such passion and conviction about these little people.  The girls in my class asked questions afterwards and walked away wondering if Gnomes actually existed and weren't just a myth.

That catalog cover will soon be adorning my soon-to-be-newly painted laundry room.  I wanted something whimsical and fun to hang on the wall and that artwork has me grinning ear-to-ear.

Gnome sweet Gnomes!


AMDG

Joy on a Gray Day

Yesterday has to have been one of the grayest, dreariest days I have seen in a long time.  It was like someone took a can of flat, gray paint and coated the sky in a dismal stainless steel color.  There was no texture, no clouds, nothing to break it up.

So, what's a girl to do?  Go to the park for a walk.  And, apparently someone felt the need to spread a little cheer.  It was much appreciated!

AMDG

Winter Wonderland

I played hooky yesterday, kinda.  And it was wonderful.

When I woke up I just didn't want to go into the office.  I couldn't do it.   I decided to take one of the floating holidays that I just discovered I had last week.  I emailed my boss and his response confirmed my decision.  The roads were bad and the commute long and slow.

We headed to the closest county park.  It just happens to have a seven acre, fenced in area for dogs.  Jack loves it and so do we since we can go for a walk with him off-leash.  I can’t begin to tell you how nice that is.  Jack has two speeds – either really fast or stopped.  Our walks are usually walk, walk, walk, stop, sniff, sniff, sniff, repeat.  At this park we can all move at our own speed.

It had started snowing the night before and the temperature was right at the point where it sticks to everything.  The trees were so beautiful and the wind was fairly calm, at least until Himself stood under a tree to take a picture of the covered canopy above us.  Nothing like a face full of snow!

We wandered the paths until the cold started chilling our bones.  Back home we went to hot cups of coffee and a lazy afternoon.  All-in-all, a perfect kind of day.

I wonder if the snow LOVES the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again." 

- Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

AMDG

The plus side of insomnia

I woke about 3:30am last night and just could not fall back to sleep.  I went into the other room and put the TV on.  Usually watching that will knock me out.  Not so this time.  I saw the end of an episode of Law & Order: SVU and then watched Antiques Roadshow on PBS.  Tell me, how do I find an ancient Chinese metal bell from 1500 B.C., pay only twelve dollars for it and then learn that it is worth of thousands and thousands of dollars?

When the news came on at 5am the meteorologists were all excited about the impending full lunar eclipse.  Huh?  I didn't know there was going to be one.

About twenty minutes later I glanced out the window and there it was in all its splendor.  I pulled on some clothes over my nightgown and woke up Himself.  We made some coffee and enjoyed the show.

And what a show it was!  The moon slowly disappeared and sky grew darker.  The stars were magnificent!  I don’t remember seeing Orion shine so brightly.  Some of the Seven Sisters were even visible to the naked eye.  I was also treated to a satellite heading south and a shooting star.

What a great way to wake up in the morning!  Yeah God!


AMDG