birds — Page 11

A Visit

June 12, 2022 at 8:46 am by Claudia

A little bit of wonder for you this morning.

Look closely. A small fawn is investigating one of my potted plants. A beautiful little baby.

Mama saw me as I stood in the kitchen taking this picture, so they were soon gone. I posted it on IG and my neighbor commented, wondering if they were the same pair that had been hanging out near her house. As they took off toward her meadow, I think they are.

Oh, such sweetness.

This morning the Carolina wren pair that were scared off when the trailer dollhouse was knocked over and hanging by a thread, came back. (They had opted to nest across the street on my neighbor’s property. I could hear them singing every day.) They were clearly scouting for their next nest. They sang on the porch and flew around, concentrating on my purple hanging plant. Ummm….no.

Then a while later, they turned up on the maple tree and one of them went in and out of the trailer.

Dare I hope?

I keep having this urge to push the nesting material away from the opening to where it probably was before the house got tilted. But Don says to leave it alone, that the birds will fix it up if they want to nest there. He’s probably right.

All this and three bunny sightings – two yesterday and one this morning.

It’s going to rain today.

I donated three bags of books to the library yesterday and I’ll be donating more next week. I have SO many books around here, and I have no problems letting go of some of them. Many of them, of course, I would never consider donating. But I only have so much shelf space. Next up: some older decorating books that I have not cracked open in years. Reward: others get to enjoy them and I have more shelf space available.

I finished the Elizabeth George and have now started the next in the Slough House series by Mick Herron – Real Tigers. What a joy he is to read!

Don reinstalled a clothesline outside, and I hung the sheets out to dry last week. They smelled so fresh! Since rain is on the docket for today, I’ll wash them tomorrow so I can hang them on the line.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

A Beautiful Sunday

May 2, 2022 at 9:08 am by Claudia

Yesterday was a beautiful day; sunny and in the mid-sixties.

We were busy.

First time using the potting area in the shed! Note: I potted some urns by the porch as I didn’t want to carry them all the way to the shed. But everything else? In the shed. I’m starting to look at everything on the porch that I’ve stashed there out of necessity in the past; broken bits of pots for potting, tools, a big rubbermaid tote that I kept under the picnic table and I’m realizing that all of it can go in the shed!

We also mowed the corral and the back forty in the middle of my ongoing potting of plants.

We also saw a huge hawk in one of our maple trees – right by the corral. I ran inside the house to get my telephoto lens. This guy wasn’t budging, even though we tried to shoo him away. They’re around here more often lately because of the chickens next door. – I’ve often chased them off. In the middle of all of this, I realized I hadn’t heard the rooster next door for a long time. I wonder if he was taken by a hawk? I’m afraid to ask. This is one of the reasons I won’t keep chickens. Too many predators. Too much heartbreak.

Hawk flying away. Finally. Since he was in silhouette, I can’t be sure, but I think he’s a Northern Goshawk. They have that white eyebrow marking. His wing span was massive.

Side note, we’ve also seen a Bald Eagle recently, hanging out near the river.

After we finished our chores, I took a shower and then we traveled several hundred feet down our road, made a left turn, and visited the Taco Truck. We recently learned that about its existence and that it would be parked by the Old Grist Mill across the road on a daily basis. We were thinking that we’d buy something to help them out because surely not that many people would know of their location. We were wrong. There was a long line of people ordering and while we were in line, a group of bikers roared up the road and also got in line.

Delicious food which we ate while sitting on one of the decks right outside the Mill – one that not many people know about. We know because we live across the road and sometimes walk around the grounds.

This was our view:

Water flowing under the now unused mill and the river. If you walked out of the upper right corner of the photo and crossed the road diagonally, you would arrive at our cottage.

Also yesterday:

Our first groundhog sighting. This guy seems to be living in the tunnels under the big maple. Or maybe he was just hanging out there, which often happens. He’s on the smallish side, but I’m betting he’s the one who ate the tulip and is nibbling on some hosta leaves.

It was so beautiful that I wandered around the property and took some photos with both of my big girl cameras.

A baby crabapple right by the maple on the far side of the porch, near our property line.

Working outside, potting, feeling the warmth of the sun, doing a bit of mowing – that’s my happy place. I felt my shoulders drop for the first time in a long time. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time.

We will be taking it easy today as it’s raining.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Wind, Wrens, Magazines, And Books

April 28, 2022 at 8:59 am by Claudia

You were going to get another photo, but after editing it, I realized our stair treads were all scuffed up and not at all attractive, so you get this one instead: Maggie Rabbit and Olivia on Easter Sunday.

Suddenly, Maggie – who previously seemed on the petite side to me – looks huge!

Well, yesterday was an extremely windy day and today looks like it will be, too. So I can’t do anything outside because of pollen/wind. The wind was so bad yesterday that Don even commented on it. And we’re going down to freezing tonight. We are now two days from the beginning of May but it feels like March.

I want to scream.

I’m trying to stay positive and I do, for the most part. But to be perfectly honest, there were some tough stretches yesterday. We also have a fire danger warning because of the combination of dry air and high winds.

I am enjoying the latest Michael Connelly – gosh, it’s so wonderful to know that you’re in good hands. As I’ve read everything he’s written over many years, I know that I will immediately be immersed in the plot and that the writing will be so uniformly excellent that I can just sit back and go with it. I read a big chunk this morning and, given the weather forecast, I’ll read another big chunk this afternoon. I got an email yesterday afternoon saying that the other books I reserved are in, so I’ll drive on over to the library later this morning and pick them up.

These writers – Michael Connelly, Louise Penny, Susan Hill, James Lee Burke, Deborah Crombie – are like old friends. I trust them and I’m never disappointed.

The Carolina wrens: I still think the wrens were scared off by that trailer bird house tipping forward. I don’t see any activity. But I have often heard another wren on the porch. This Carolina wren has a higher pitched song. Late last night, I started to wonder if he’s made a nest somewhere on the porch. The only place I could see that happening is in the pots that contain my now-dead lavender from last year, which are right outside the picture window in the den. I know the wrens will make a nest just about anywhere. I’m going to investigate – carefully and quietly – later today. Another sleuthing expedition!

No news yet on Country Living. I mean, really, it’s April 28th and the May issue isn’t on the stands? The newest issue is usually out at least two weeks before the start of the month. Given the state of magazines in general, could there be problems at CL? I hope not. Even though it’s not my favorite magazine, we need print. Digital just doesn’t cut it. Just as a three-dimensional book feels absolutely right in my hands, so does a three-dimensional magazine. Since this month marks the sudden end of Martha Stewart Living in print, things seem a bit ominous.

Added to original post: Verna wrote to relay this information: There’s an April/May issue and a May/June issue, which comes out on May 29th. I believe Dee Dee mentioned this, as well. The editor originally said “May issue” but perhaps she meant May/June. I will try contacting her again (though she never responded to my first request) to clarify that. If it’s May/June it will be another month until we see it.

Update on the update: Just heard from Sarah – “Hey Claudia! So sorry, I missed your first email. Our May issue ended up becoming our May/June issue. It will be out later in the month — 5/24. Please get in touch closer to then and I’ll mail you a few copies!” Okay. We have an answer!

Okay.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

A Visit

A Beautiful Sunday

Wind, Wrens, Magazines, And Books

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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