Monday, December 3, 2007

A New Look & A Look Back

I decided to change my blog template (again!). The main reason for this is to get away from that bright blue border and go to something more neutral (and inconspicuous) so if I'm looking at my blog at work, people who happen to look over my shoulder might see it as another work-related document (or if anyone questions it, I can always say that I'm taking my break at my desk, right?)

It was a really nice sunny day today....not very warm, but the sun still has enough power to melt a little bit of the ice. Here's a look back at some of the bird activity around my house during our snowstorm on Saturday. Even though the weather bad, the birds were still quite active, gobbling up as much food as they could and taking advantage of the shelter available in trees, shrubs, and brushpiles in my backyard.

Poor Mr. Bluejay--good thing he's got his own "down jacket" to fluff up and stay warm.

I filled the blue jays peanut tray several times during the day.....they ate them all!


I haven't seen squirrels for several weeks, but the weather was bad enough to lure this fat little gray squirrel back to my yard.


My apple trees still have quite a few leaves on them. I thought this was a fun picture of my crow family lined up on a branch and trying to get out of the wind for a little while.


Mr. Cardinal shone like a beacon on such a gray and snowy day.


House sparrows galore!

This handsome little male house finch was a winter storm visitor too.

Plenty o' juncos too. I counted 38 at one time yesterday afternoon!

This Red-Bellied Woodpecker used the bottom of a birdhouse to crack some seeds and peanuts.

And Penny had an exhausting day watching all the bird activity right outside the window.

14 comments:

Larry said...

That's funny about wanting to be inconspicuous at work. We don't even have the internet so its not a problem.

Robin (Bumblebee) said...

The photo of that little squirrel almost makes me feel sorry for them--despite what they used to do to my bird feeders. Well, forgive and forget, right?

I expect we'll get more variety once winter storms in for good. Right now we still have leave on the trees, although that might end tonight with all the wind.

If you make your own suet or peanut butter or other mix for the birds, will you post recipes sometime? I think I'd like to make some tasty pinecones or apples for the birds.

--Robin (Bumblebee)

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Your pictures sure make it look cold there. Brrrrr Only Penny looks warm, lucky kitty.

Anonymous said...

Love the new layout and shots of all your feeder birds! BRAVO

http://monarchbfly.com

Jayne said...

Nice to see all the feathered friends enjoying your offerings! Love the new look too!

Mary said...

I love the way you have a feeder right outside your window for Penny to view. She must be wild with pleasure about that! I'd sit and watch her eyes and face watching the birds for hours.

You are a good person, Ruthie. When the birds need you the most, you are there! If I had an ice storm, I'd crawl on my hands and knees with a bucket of seed to the feeders :o)

Meggie said...

Penny looks quite content to be inside and warm. You sure do put out an array of birdfood. We got ice yesterday in PA and it is now snowing.

Dave Dorsey said...

Thanks for keeping Penny inside allowing the birds to have a great feeding. Keep warm!

RuthieJ said...

Hi Larry,
Sometimes during the workday I have a few "extra" minutes. I guess this is a benefit of having to sit and stare at a computer screen for most of the day.

Hi Robin,
I still get excited about seeing a squirrel in my yard--I don't have enough of them to be a problem. My sister called me yesterday--she had 14 playing around in the backyard when she went home for lunch. My dogs would go ballistic.

I'll include some recipes when I finally get your package mailed out!

Hi Lisa,
When I think of how we have to bundle up before going outside, it's truly amazing that birds and other animals are able to survive.

If Penny happens to sneak out the door when I go out, she quickly realizes it's too cold to spend any time outside.

Thank you Mon@rch!

Thank you Jayne. I think I spend too much money on birdseed, but with all this activity, it would be difficult to decide which feeders to take down (glad I don't have to worry about that yet!)

Hi Mare,
Penny loves those window feeders and I love watching her. In the picture she's watching for a chickadee to come and get a mealworm. It's cool to see how Penny's eyes dilate when the chickadee gets close!

At my house, the birds get fed before my spousal unit (no matter what the weather)!

Hi Meggie,
I saw on the weather last night that the eastern US is going to get some wintery weather. Hope you don't have to travel in it!

Hi Dave,
Penny would dearly love to be an outside kitty, but I only let her out for a few minutes at a time in the summer and I'm always right there watching her. She has a much better life indoors.

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Mary C said...

Great shots, Ruthie. I hope you are staying warm. We had a bit of rain this morning; it's supposed to continue throughout the day. We'll see - we really need the rain.

nina at Nature Remains. said...

So nice to see so many visitors so nicely fed at your stations in this turn of snowy weather.
I've just gotten my email reminder from Cornell about the Backyard Bird count 2008 dates Feb. 15-18.
Do you count for them?

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Mary! I saw on the CNN weather map as I was going to lunch a bit ago that rain was moving through northern CA. Fortunately not as much as they're experiencing in Washington and Oregon though. Hope you continue to receive it in manageable amounts!

Hi Nina,
I've done the GBBC for the past couple years. It works well, because I can use weekly my Project FeederWatch data for the GBBC too!
YIKES, seeing those dates in your comment just made me realize that I will be at the Sax-Zim Winter Birding Festival that weekend, so I guess I won't be able to count in the backyard this year.