I SAW THE MOST AMAZING THING TODAY!!!!

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it! I had just dropped hubby off to pick up his truck from the shop and what to my wandering eyes did appear but a bird that I had never seen before.

After much searching on the internet, I finally found it!  I can't believe it.  I have a new bird to add to my life list.  I'm such a bird nerd.

Isn't the song just beautiful?

Ahem . . . I celebrated my birthday a few days early and guess what I asked for?  More bird seed!  Guess what I got?  A watch.


And bird seed!

Can you help id these birds?

Any idea?

Juvenile Rosebreasted Grosbeak?

Juvenile Downy Woodpecker?

Bluebird or Indigo Bunting?

This is one of the Mother's Day plants I picked out.  I love Fuschia.  My Grandfather's sister, Alna, always had this growing on her front porch.  It reminded me of her.

Bird Nerd

I love sitting outside trying to catch pictures of all the birds that visit my only two trees left in the yard after the ice storm a few years ago.  The two remaining trees aren't big but both appear to be diseased. 

The Robin only posed for a moment. 

I believe this is a House Finch.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

This little flirt kept the male Cardinal busy.  She would fly from the feeder to the tree and back again.  The male Cardinal watched admiringly.

There were two finches playing.  Their song and the way they played reminded me of watching small children play and laugh.

Click on this to enlarge.  The colors on this hummer are amazing.

You know it's spring when you see this!

I have no idea what this is.  The tail feathers are blue.  Any help?

These are growing in abundance in my yard.  Does anyone know what it is?

If this damn rain would ever stop then the ground could dry then I could plant my garden then I could start watching it grow! 

I'm really hoping to see the Rose Breasted Grosbeak again this year.  I saw it two years ago.  The bluejay made a brief visit, but not long enough for me to get a shot.

The boys just got home, so Mom time is over for now!

Happy Easter

Tomorrow is the beginning of my Easter break.  The boys and I will be traveling.  Hubby will be home.  My dad has been battling the most God awful cough.  They are tentatively saying COPD and Gerd.  He's never smoked a day in his life.  He has an appointment to see a pulmonary specialist, but not until May.  He fell Monday and is in a lot of pain.

My Grandmother fell twice last week and has some other health issues.  She was admitted to the hospital.  The Dr. told her today she would have to go to the rehab facility.  Mom told me there is a chance she may not be able to go home.  We are all sad.

She has lost much of her strength.  She is not happy not being able to go home.

Mom is still working full time and trying to take care of everything (with her sisters, of course! :-)  And not taking care of herself.  She is sick with a cold/bronchitis/yucky stuff.

Please keep them all in your thoughts.


Please enjoy the pictures below.  I took them this week.  They are my Easter gift to you.

Is this just a regular blackbird?

This guy was very active.

Bluejay

 This one is my absolute favorite.  The sparrow on the right is singing.  The sparrow on the left has a mohawk!  Click to enlarge.

Yellow finch

Red bellied woodpecker?

Taking a moment to breathe

Here's the sandbox that I recycled into a planter.  Radishes on the left and mustard greens on the right.

This is when I truly know spring is here.

This little fellow kept playing peek a boo with me.

These three kept prancing around but wouldn't get any closer.

I snapped this one just before the bird took off with his treasure.  I think it is a whitebreasted nuthatch.

A few more weeks and I'll be out for summer.  Unfortunately I am taking 6 hours this summer in order to graduate in December.  I was honored to win two scholarships recently.  I'm so excited!

I've  been working on my resume this morning because I want to do an internship in the fall.  I visited one location but it isn't the type of environment for everyone - juvenile sex offenders.  They typically do not allow female interns, but I am the exception, so we'll see.

Also, Smoochie #2 is being recognized Monday night for his achievement on the scores on the KCCT (Kentucky Core Content Test). 

I am so blessed.

Spring has sprung

We spent the day outdoors today.  We rode the four wheelers around the backyard.  Hubby cranked up his bike and put a few miles on it then washed his truck.  I piddled in the garage and straightened it up a little, hung several loads of clothes on the clothesline.  I even turned the air conditioner on for a few hours!

I'm back to school tomorrow.  Unfortunately I didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped.  I finished one project, wrote one short paper and did a little research on one of the other papers I need to write.

The Dr removed one polyp during the colonoscopy and did other biopsies so I'm waiting on those results.  He didn't think it would be anything to worry about but I will feel much better after the results confirm that.

Hope you all have a great week!

One bitterly cold morning Hawk and Blue jay were huddled up desperately trying to stay warm.  Natural enemies, Hawk and Blue eyed each other suspiciously.  They knew if they huddled together, their chance of surviving the cold was much better than if they stayed alone.

Blue inched a bit closer to Hawk but Hawk would have none of it.  His natural predator's instincts kept him wary.  The wind began picking up speed and each bird realized it was now or never.  Friend or foe.

Blue gathered all his muster and inched closer to Hawk.  Both strong, both territorial, both freezing to death.  What could Hawk do?

He did what his instincts directed him to do.   And alone he faced the biting cold.

The moral of the story is that together so much more can be accomplished.  Every now and again it would behoove the human race to go against our instincts and do something that is for the better good of all instead of self.

For the love of birds . . .

School was cancelled at 5:30 this morning because we got about 2 inches of snow.  It's not unusual for school to be cancelled for this amount.  A lot of this area is rural and I imagine some of the school routes are likely still gravel roads.

I got out this morning and filled all the bird feeders.  I was glad I had some of my homemade suet, as the my cage feeders were empty too.  As soon as I stepped out, I saw a flutter of cardinals, juncos, finches, and blue jays.  I was hoping if I gave them a few minutes they'd come back.  I stood the cold as long as I could and managed to snap a few. 

Bluejay

Finch

Snowy dill

Snowy Rupert (Yes, that's his name!)

Finch??

Finch??

If you can identify the last two, let me know.  I think they are house finches, but not sure.

Thanks!

Lazy Day

Today was a very lazy day for me.  I've recuperated from surgery, the house was clean, laundry was done, so I did a lot of nothing.  I did a bit of reading and ordered a new magazine, Mary Jane's Farm.  I'm excited to get it.  I'm already thinking about what to plant in the garden this spring.  Usually by mid February my hands are itching to get dirty and feel the soil.

If you garden, do you start planning early?  Do you have a favorite vegetable that you grow?  Do you start everything from seed?  Is there something you've always wanted to plant but haven't yet?

My favorite vegetable to grow is tomatoes.  They're so versatile and I am able to can them many ways - juice, salsa, spaghetti sauce, catsup....

And cucumbers.  I have to pick them small and can them quickly.  The boys love whole dill pickles, not quartered, not sliced, but whole.

Some things I do start from seed, others I don't.  I did try purple hull peas for the first time last year and I will definitely be growing them again.

Birds, Big Bucks, & More . . .

The cooler weather has finally arrived and I decided to make a batch of apple - seed suet.

Lard and peanut butter melting together

Stir in some bird seed

Tossed in a bit of cornmeal and some apple

Poured into a foil lined cake pan and plopped it all in the fridge.  After it hardens, I lift it out and cut into 6 squares that fit perfectly into the wire feeders.

Saw this on Tuesday and have no idea what it could be. 

Click to enlarge.

Not sure if this is the same one or not, but still unsure of what it is.

Click to enlarge.

WOOHOO!!!  Two big bucks in two years!  Joe tagged out, so he bought his extra doe tags.  So far he's harvested the buck and two does.  I haven't had time to go hunting yet with school, but I'm hoping to before the season is up!

Here's last year's buck . . .

Oh yes, this was a big, big boy!

We have lots of meat that needs to be cut, ground, sliced, and diced.  We grind our own, make our own jerky and our own summer sausage.