Stories & pictures about birds & nature, mostly in my backyard.....with occasional bits of pets, knitting, weather, food & family thrown in for variety.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Next Knitting Class
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Cedar Waxwing Feeding Frenzy
I planted this tree quite a few years ago but it's still quite short (only about 6 feet tall). I think it's some kind of a crabapple or cherry, but maybe someone reading this can make a positive ID based on these pictures of the leaves and the fruit.
The fruits are very tiny--not much larger than a blueberry or grape, but like my apple trees, this little tree was covered with fruit this year.
The Cedar Waxwings were loving this tree. There were both adults and juveniles.
You can see that many of the stems have been picked clean of the fruit.
It was fun to see the birds try to maneuver on the branches to reach the fruit. They really aren't very good clingers (especially the uncoordinated juveniles), so it was pretty comical to watch them twisting and stretching to try and grab a bite to eat.
The adult birds were much more dignified and adept at plucking the fruit off the stems.
The little tree is picked clean of fruit now, but there are still Cedar Waxwings hanging around in the yard. They have moved on to my bigger crabapple trees which are still covered with lots of fruit. I think it's going to be a pretty good winter for the fruit-eating birds in my yard.
Monday, October 29, 2007
A Baby At Our House
My niece set Ethan on the couch in his carrier and then he started crying. I wish I could have captured Daisy's reaction with my camera because it was so funny. I can't recall that she's ever seen a baby or heard one cry before! She got all wiggly and stretched her nose way out to the baby carrier but wouldn't walk too close to the couch. She seemed really concerned and kept looking back at us to see if we knew what was going on.
Ethan's wearing his "Trick or Treat" Tigger suit.
My niece lifted Ethan out of the carrier and Daisy got to take a little sniff of him then. Once he stopped making noise, Daisy decided he wasn't very interesting anymore and went back to sit in her chair. Dogs are so funny!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Doe and Fawn
Almost all the leaves have fallen from the trees, so it's easy to hear them coming if the wind isn't blowing too hard. (time to use the zoom)
Here's the fawn in the foreground and the mom (ever watchful) in the background.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Deer in My Backyard
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Sorry Dear, Not Tonight
This is Ethan, he was born 8-29-07
Monday, October 22, 2007
A Few Words About Bikers
Someone sent me these words in an e-mail today at work. Don't let the leather and tattoos fool you, most bikers are very decent folks and work hard for their money just like you. They enjoy the same things you do--a lovely summer day, good times spent with friends and family, watching birds, gardening and knitting. If you get the chance, please share it with your biker and non-biker friends and the next time you pass a biker, give them a nod and smile. It will make their day and yours too. Thanks!
My Dad And I Both Are Bikers As Are Some Of Our Friends, So Please Think Next Time You See Some Of Us Out On Our Bikes!
I saw you, hug your purse closer to you in the grocery store line.
But, you didn't see me, put an extra $10.00 in the collection plate last Sunday.
I saw you, pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk.
But, you didn't see me, playing Santa at the local mall.
I saw you, change your mind about going into the restaurant.
But, you didn't see me, attending a meeting to raise more money for the hurricane relief.
I saw you, roll up your window and shake your head when I drove by.
But, you didn't see me, driving behind you when you flicked your cigarette butt out the car window.
I saw you, frown at me when I smiled at your children.
But, you didn't see me, when I took time off from work to run toys to the homeless.
I saw you, stare at my long hair.
But, you didn't see me, and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.
I saw you, roll your eyes at our leather coats and gloves.
But, you didn't see me, and my brothers donate our old coats and gloves to those that had none.
I saw you, look in fright at my tattoos.
But, you didn't see me, cry as my children were born and have their name written over and in my tattoo heart.
I saw you, change lanes while rushing off to go somewhere.
But, you didn't see me, going home to be with my family.
I saw you, complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be.
But, you didn't see me, when you were changing the CD and drifted into my lane.
I saw you, yelling at your kids in the car.
But, you didn't see me, pat my child's hands, knowing he was safe behind me.
I saw you, reading the newspaper or map as you drove down the road.
But, you didn't see me, squeeze my wife's leg when she told me to take the next turn.
I saw you, race down the road in the rain.
But, you didn't see me, get soaked to the skin so my son could have the car to go on his date.
I saw you, run the yellow light just to save a few minutes of time.
But, you didn't see me, trying to turn right.
I saw you, cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in.
But, you didn't see me, leave the road.
I saw you, waiting impatiently for my friends to pass.
But, you didn't see me. I wasn't there.
I saw you, go home to your family.
But, you didn't see me.
Because, I died that day you cut me off.
I was just a biker. A person with friends and a family.
But, you didn't see me.
Repost this around in hopes that people will understand the biker community. I hope you never lose someone that rides. Have a great week my friends.
~~Author unknown~~
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Outside Saturday
I enjoyed the sunrise from my treestand this morning.
And watched the sun set from another tree stand a couple miles down the road.
Unfortunately, the deer didn't receive the memo about it being a deer hunting day because I never saw a single deer the entire time I was out there! Maybe they were off somewhere just enjoying a rain free day also.
I was surprised to see quite a few yellow-rumped warblers around the field edge later this afternoon. My warbler field guide says they should be migrating through Minnesota by September 20, so these guys were kind of behind schedule. I suppose our unusually mild fall weather is still providing them with abundant food sources, so they should be okay for a while yet.
On our way home from our morning hunt, we drove past a little farm and I saw they had a few buffalo. As we were driving past slowly, I saw something.....
"Rick, Rick, stop the car and back up, I think there's a baby buffalo" I yelled. (loud sigh and some eye-rolling from Rick)
Isn't it cute? I don't think this little baby is very old.
I hope it makes it through the winter okay. Buffalo are a little bit hardier than beef or dairy cattle aren't they? Or have they lost all those wild genes that helped them to survive on the Great Plains 150 years ago?
So even if I didn't see any deer today, seeing this baby buffalo and lots of good birds made it a good "outside Saturday."
Friday, October 19, 2007
A Fish Story
This is going to be interesting. Squirrel says guppies are prolific breeders so I wonder how long it will be before my first baby guppies appear and how much time it will take for this small tank to be overrun with guppies of all sizes.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Note from Mom & Some Birding
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Early Winter Visitors
Monday, October 15, 2007
Cooper's Hawk Visit
I have this really nice fly-through feeder (purchased at WBU) mounted on my WBU Pole System in the backyard. Yesterday afternoon, there were quite a few little finches and sparrows dining here when all of a sudden, the Cooper's Hawk flew down and landed on top. (Note: I like this fly-through feeder because the brackets holding the roof prevents crows from getting inside to pig out on seed and now I know it also keeps the Cooper's Hawk from getting in to eat little birds!)
Why can't I see them anymore?
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Final Weekend with John
Friday, October 12, 2007
Mitten Class
At the beginning of class, I told my students that my goal for this class session was for them to have their mitten knitted up to the point where the thumb hole starts. Here's the photographic evidence of their progress.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Yard Bird Number 50
One of the reasons I decided to start a yard list was that I participated in the Project FeederWatch last winter, so there were a whole bunch of birds that I had already documented. It was amazing to me that on any given day during the winter, I was able to spot at least 14 different species of birds in my backyard.
I'm fortunate to have a backyard that's larger than most people's, thereby increasing my chances at seeing a variety of different birds. My outstanding sightings for this year so far have been a Killdeer, Red-Tailed Hawk, and just last week a Long-Eared Owl (which woke me up about 11:15 at night with it's loud cries) and I wouldn't have seen without the aide of my handheld spotlight!
Today, while walking the dogs around the backyard, I was thrilled to spot Yard Bird Number 50: Golden-Crowned Kinglet. I thought I recognized the little chirps and could see tiny birds flitting about in the evergreens, so I went back to the house for my binoculars and sure enough, I managed to catch a glimpse of this little feathered beauty. Now if you think chickadees move fast, they ain't got nothin' on a golden-crowned kinglet!
Needless to say, there was no way I would be able to get a photo, so to see pictures and learn more about the Golden-Crowned Kinglet, please click on this link for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Update on Mom: We got back from the hospital a short while ago. Mom's doing well, although the pain was starting to overcome the medication they were giving her to help with pain. She watched "Deal or No Deal" with us and then was starting to look pretty tired, so we decided it was time to go. They will be getting her out of bed tomorrow already.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
A Note From Mom
Below is a note from my mom sent to my e-mail last Wednesday (regarding her upcoming surgery). I, too, believe in the power of prayer and also ask that you please remember "Nature Knitter's Mom" in your prayers. I'll keep you posted on her progress and recovery. I'll miss her on my "comments" page until she's feeling better and able to get back to the computer again. I'm sure she's going to miss reading everyone's blogs also, so I'll keep her posted on what's going on in our "blogging family."
Monday, October 8, 2007
Happy Monday
In closing, I just wanted to say that I've been having a heck of a time with Blogger letting me add the pictures to my posts lately. Have any of you been encountering this also? I wonder if it's just a busy time when other people are posting also? I'll have to experiment with trying to get my posts in earlier and see if it makes any difference.