birds — Page 37

Birds, Bugs & Friends

July 2, 2017 at 8:16 am by Claudia

I’ve been watching this young bird, who tends to hang out on the grass right outside the window over the kitchen sink. Usually I’m in the midst of something so I don’t have my camera handy. Yesterday, I grabbed my telephoto lens and got a picture of him.

He’s a young robin. That makes me wonder: could he be one of the recent fledglings from the nest by the shed?

I like to think so.

Yesterday, he stayed in this position for a long time. And then he sat for a while. I imagine all of this flying and feeding is exciting and exhausting for a recently fledged robin!

This bug was lounging on a coneflower leaf and I loved his iridescent rainbow colors.

One more day! And a lot to do.

The winner of a copy of The Right Side by Spencer Quinn is Vicki! Vicki, I need your mailing address. Congratulations!

In other news: My friends made an offer on the house and it was accepted very quickly. They will be moving here.

What are the odds that my dear friends would be looking for a house in the very large area that is the Hudson Valley and come upon a listing that intrigued them, which they then realized was in the same town that we live in, not only in the same town, but only six minutes from our house????

And that, after looking at so many houses all over the Hudson Valley (which encompasses several counties), this would be the one for them? It’s too bizarre! It’s been 16 years since we moved east from San Diego, leaving Rick and the Old Globe behind, and now we’ve come full circle.

I still can’t believe it. They can’t either. I think they’re in the ‘What are we doing?’ stage of this transition.

Wow.

They fly back today. I fly there on Monday. We’re all attending the same matinee on Wednesday of Escape to Margaritaville. It’s all too weird!

I’ll dash off a quick post tomorrow (most likely writing it tonight) and then I’ll be off to the West Coast. If I don’t post every day, I know you’ll understand. Though I love writing posts so I just might come up with something every day. We’ll see. I’ll also post on Instagram.

Happy Sunday.

Empty Nester

June 19, 2017 at 9:37 am by Claudia

I’m an empty nester.

I noticed that the robins were feeding those babies less frequently. The day before yesterday, one of the robins constantly cheeped at me, so I know there were still babies in the nest. Yesterday, in the morning, I heard one of the parents cheeping again and I looked outside to make sure there were no predators in the area. All was well.

Later in the day, I went out simply to see if I received a warning of some kind.

Silence. No mama. No papa.

So I went over to the nest to discover it was…empty.

They’ve fledged.

I imagine the cheeping I heard yesterday had to do with getting the last of the babies to fledge.

I got sad. I’d become used to the constant warnings from the mama and the papa. It was too darned quiet yesterday!

I found myself wondering, where are they now? Where did they go?

Sigh.

I’ve also noticed that the brown thrashers, who had a nest in the brambles/wild roses right outside the kitchen window, have disappeared. There was a period where I saw them all the time, getting worms from the ground, flying into the brambles, flying back out for more food.

It was just last week that I realized I hadn’t seen them recently.

They come. They make their nests. I get used to seeing them. And then they’re gone.

This is the way I feel when I start to see the bunnies less often, as well.

I feel like my little family has dispersed, they’ve left home.

I cannot tell you how steamy it is here. Yesterday (and today) I woke up to steamy windows and so much humidity! Yesterday it was 88° and felt like 96°. Today I had to flip on the A/C as soon as I got up. We are supposed to get storms later in the day. It feels like August instead of June!

Tomorrow, I head into Manhattan to watch a performance of Anastasia and take notes, so I’m spending the night in the city.

Happy Monday.

Observation Mode

June 16, 2017 at 8:40 am by Claudia

I mowed the back forty yesterday. Don had asked about the black raspberries so I was in ‘observation mode.’

The milkweed is getting ready to flower.

This wildflower is scattered throughout the back forty. Does anyone know what it is? It has lovely little bell-shaped blossoms.

I watched this determined bee (took many photos) get right inside that blossom.

Until he was completely curled up enjoying that nectar.

There they are. The black raspberries are on the way. I sent this photo to Don. Can you freeze black raspberries? If so, I might freeze some so he can enjoy them when he gets home.

This branch gives you an idea how flower-laden the catalpa is at the moment. I stood right here and put my nose up to the flowers. Oh, so lovely, that scent.

They are here but briefly, so I am running over to the tree as often as I can to get a whiff.

As you know, when I walk toward the shed or the trash can which is right next to the shed, mama robin flies up into the tree and starts cheeping at me and doesn’t stop until I move away. This goes on every day. I assure her that the babies are safe. I’m sure she absolutely loves those days when I don’t have to go in the shed or put a bag in the trash.

Anyway, I figured that since I was mowing and I would have to put the lawnmower away in the shed, I would also take my camera and, while she was cheeping at me anyway, grab a quick picture of the babies in the nest. I didn’t want to be too intrusive, so I quickly lifted one of the vines and pressed the shutter. It’s a bit blurry, but I think you’ll like it.

I count three babies and maybe a fourth, as the body in the foreground looks as if that birdie’s head is tucked out of sight.

What a wise place for a nest! It’s nestled within the climbing hydrangea. You can’t see it at all unless you know where to look. It provides cover for the babies – from predators and from the weather. Smart mama and papa!

Speaking of birds, I’ve got a couple of noisy crows hanging around. I wonder if they’re scaring off some of the birds? I haven’t seen my mourning doves this week and I bet those darned crows are the reason!

Happy Friday.

Birds, Bugs & Friends

Empty Nester

Observation Mode

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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