Yup, I'm a Meme

 Have you seen all the memes and Tik Toks making their way around the interwebs about being over 50 and the growing interest in birdwatching?  Well, yup, we are those people! 😂  The wildlife on the farm has increased dramatically over time and with it, the variety of birds has diversified.  Recently we bought a Netvue Next bird feeder that has a built in video camera and identifies the species of birds that stop by.  

It even has an alarm on it so that I can scare off the occasional pesky squirrel! 

I've got to say it has been so fun!  I may have to add the optional hummingbird feeder attachment in the future as they are suddenly popping up everywhere now too.  Have you started any new hobbies as your aging?

Looking for Love

The air is alive with the the sounds of birds this morning, peppered with intermittent quacks from my little friend here.  The sun is shining and Spring is in the air, can you feel it?

Singing for Spring

A little morning walk with my camera, if only I could have captured the sounds of all of the birds around despite the 28 degrees, singing for spring.

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That keep so many warm.

Emily Dickinson's Hope is the Thing with Feathers

Something in the Air

 I do not know what it was, but yesterday when I was driving the kids home we encountered quite an event.  It lasted for about 30 minutes and then disappeared as quickly as it had begun.  The sky filled with geese.  The pictures do not begin to do it justice. 

This was much more than the typical nightly heading into the roosting grounds.  This was my early carpool, so mid afternoon.  Hundreds upon hundreds of geese filled the entire sky overhead and were flying frantically with no organization, and in every which direction.  As they would circle in clouds, the deafening sound of their honking would fade in and out.

At the same time, when I dropped off our carpool, one of the trees in front of his house filled with robins.  Odd this late in the season and being so cold out.  There was easily two dozen of them hopping around trying to gain footing on the frozen branches. 

The sky was crystal clear and the moon was just rising in the East.  There must have been something in the air, maybe a warning of today's coming snows.

Random Five Friday

1.  Bird Houses : We bought one of those bird houses that you suction cup to the window this spring.  I was feeling a little frustrated because we have never seen any activity through the glass viewer, and I realized that just maybe it was a silly purchase.  If I were a bird, I would not want to see large shadows constantly peering in at me, so why set up housekeeping?.  Last night B opened it up to peek inside...lookie at these five little beauties!

2.  National Zucchini Day:  Yep, yesterday was the day and with our squash plants producing like crazy, I have been searching and searching for new recipes.  This quiche was. the. bomb.  The kids are asking for more and it was so easy!  Do not worry, you have not missed out.  Remember if you garden, everyday can be a day to randomly gift your neighbors with zucchini! (aka adult ding dong ditch em :)

3.  Note To Self:  When you are mowing and disrupt some sort of nest, after the first sting, give up.  Even if you go outside 30 minutes later, one of the angry little buggers will gun for you.  Just wait it out and have your husband put the mower away later...trust me on this one.

4.  School Days:  We have officially finished school supply shopping.  Whew!  The summer is winding down way too quickly and we are already trying to balance fall schedules that are seeping out for both school and sports.  Sid has 13 days of summer left and making the most of all of them.  Charles is gloating that he has 25 days, but I am guessing he will feel differently come the end of the year when she is still  sleeping as he heads out the door!

5.   Motivation:  We have decided to start running as a family.  The kids are both interested in track, and B and I are looking to ease our way into running.  Of course I made this decision on fair week, which was ridiculously busy and it was never going to happen then.  I have researched healthy ways to ease into running to avoid injury and build up stamina and with the purchase of running shoes this week, I am set to go.  Now, it is setting aside the time to make the first venture out.  Now that I have written it, I can't hide from it, this weekend it shall be!

Linking up with:

 

Silent Sunday ~ Take Flight

Hearts in Nature

 I love that I can just glance out the window and have my camera within arms reach.  This time of year the birds all travel in pairs.  Never was this so vivid as in Colorado when we happened upon a ranger leading a party of bird watchers and asked if we wanted to tag along.  It was at this moment that I realized that leaving my camera at home was a monumental error.  I tried my best, but the iPhone just couldn't zoom in enough to capture the great horned owl pair with their owlets just above our heads.  Never again will I leave home without it, regardless of how heavy and cumbersome!  Thankfully, I was able to see this pair of star crossed lovers this morning to begin my day.

 Two hearts joined in nature.

Silent Sunday ~ Feathered Friends

1. Red & Green, 2. Bath, 3. Woody

Springing The Chickens

Nothing does my heart better than to give the little specialty chickens their access back to the outdoor tractor again.  This morning was Spring moving day for Topaz, Chanticleer, and our little D'uccle hen whose name escapes me at the moment (I will have to wait till Sid gets home from school for that one :) 

We are in the process of scoping out which beds to set our first salad greens, leeks, and radishes to seed in.  No worries about spinach, it over-wintered and is thriving!  Since we can't rely on this amazing weather not being interrupted by a little jack frost, we are going to order two high tunnels for beds that we will attempt all season gardening in. 

The garlic is managing to push it's way through all of the heavy straw that we had piled on it's winter resting place and it looks to be strong and healthy.  

I find the sun's higher location in the sky and the music of frogs, yes they're out already, songbirds, and roosters all around to be amazingly energizing and relaxing at the same time.  I'm looking forward to a weekend of 4-h, sunshine, soccer, and gardening! Happy Friday!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am oh so thankful:

::  that Tuesday evening I was reminded that old friendships never die, they return like time has stood still, even after many years of dormancy.

::  for the loads of giggles that we have experienced from our family bad mitten rounds each evening this week.

:: that I have been able to watch a very diligent mama and daddy robin tirelessly feed the two babies that are in the nest outside my window at work.

::  for fireflies

::  that we are almost ready for our fourth annual chili cook off Saturday!

::   for the amazing, rich, cold brewed gold that I made last weekend, it's almost gone!!

::  warm sleepy good morning snuggles from the kids before they embark on another fun filled summer day.

What are you thankful for this week?  If you don't blog, leave your thoughts as a reply her or a comment on my facebook wall.  Thanks to Miss Buckle for this weekly post!

Sweet Start

 This morning as we were rushing out (what's new), Sidney said oooh, I think there is a goose behind the wood pile!  As I came out and walked toward the car I saw not a goose, but a duck's head just above the grass walking toward the tree line.  Then a second later, I saw little movements behind her in the grass and I realized she had a slew of baby ducklings following her!  I ran back to the house, changed lenses and out I ran with my camera. 

I caught up just as she reached the tree row and tried to catch a few shots.  She was a little perturbed with me being so close and she was scurrying around very fast so the photos aren't great.  But she was a stunning creature, one I had not seen before.  We have tons of Mallards around here, but this sweet girl with her babies was a Wood Duck.  I'm too embarrassed to post the shot of her, it's so blurry, but this one is fair of a few of the babies and you can see their dramatic eyes.  What a sweet start to the day!

Thankful Thursday

Thanks to MissBuckle for starting my day with a great post that I thought about all day long.

I'm thankful.....


~  that the sky looked like this early this morning when I came down to pour coffee.  How can a day go wrong when this is the first thing you see!

~  that I got to work and this little bird was hard at work nest building, and I could watch him all day long.

~  that the first thing Sidney asked me after school was if we were having dinner on the porch again tonight.

~ That the days are getting wonderfully longer, and I can almost taste the days of summer.

What are you thankful for today?

Limbo

This time of year is really bi-polar.  We have a beautiful day or two where the mild sunshine and exposure to Vitamin D invigorate us, then it is back to grey, cold, windy (we really must get a wind turbine put in), and rainy.  This weekend was a perfect example.  We knew rain would be predominant, but the mid afternoon bliss of Saturday spurred renewed enthusiasm for farm work and planning.  We managed to install most of the cover to the chicken yard that we had fenced last fall.  It went fairly smoothly with only one frustrating hiccup which hopefully we will be able to get solved this week as we dodge rain showers.  Not too bad for a big farm project!  If you check out the Back to the Garden section, you can see we have gotten a number of planting jobs completed too.  

Our sunny evening walk on Saturday had us listening to birds and planning the layout of the new garden fence and much needed tree pruning.  We then began to discuss whether we wanted to move the old orchard to new soil and where to plant our nut tree grove.  Sitting on the front porch, warmed by the evening sun, we ended the day renewed and ready to get going.  Sunday, we woke up to rain, grey and wind.  Back to indoor tasks like garden bag making, running kids to birthday parties and play dates, and once again feeling a bit like we are in limbo, waiting impatiently for sustained time out doors.

Tweet, Tweet, Honk

As spring approaches I am beginning to hear more birds chirping and can catch a glimpse of them coming out of there confinement here and there. Mostly, we still have lots of Canada geese about. In particular one yard between here and work has hundereds of them.  It seems to be a stopping place for them.  I think that the owners of one of the houses feeds them, so they just set up shop there.  Today on the way home from school we stopped so that I could catch a few pictures of them.  Their symphony of honks was mesmorizeing and served as the perfect backdrop for capturing the scene.  Are you starting to see the early signs of spring life?

This post is part of Jillsy Girl Studio's prompt me segment. This weeks prompt is actually a month long photography challenge called tweets around the world.  Click on this to get all of the details and join in the fun!