10 August 2010, 7:00 am
As most of the country is suffering in the 90s and 100s this week, I thought I would try a little visual aid — frozen crab apples with that crystal-ly, icy snow:
I remember my Aunt Sally (many years ago) draping a wet, lightweight towel (maybe a feed sack type dish towel) around her neck to help keep cool. I mentioned this to DH last month when he was doing some work in an un-airconditioned house. He tried it and he said it did help. I’ve also read a suggestion to keep a second towel in the fridge in a plastic bag so you can swap towels from time to time to stay cool.
By the way, this is post # 498 — in two more posts it will be the 500th Post Give-Away!
–Sue
PS: Maybe the frosty crab apples are working! It’s been dark and thunderstorm-y this morning, and at 10:45 am it’s only 70 degrees. Just hope the temps don’t shoot up and breed more storms.
19 May 2010, 12:50 am
I have some catching up to do on my pictures! These are all photos taken out my front kitchen window. The little crab tree is a stopping place for all kinds of birds and bees. This bumblebee lumbered his way through the blossoms a few days ago:
I have seen more of the usual suspects: goldfinches, blackbirds, cow birds, and savannah sparrows. This was the first time, though, that I spotted a Blue Jay in my little tree:
And I never thought I would get such a close shot of a Blue Jay:
I hope he stops back again! I’ve never seen one so close before.
I had all but given up hope on the hummingbirds this spring, but I did see one briefly this afternoon. She didn’t stop and take a drink from the feeder, so tomorrow morning I’ll put fresh syrup in. We’ve had so much big-bird activity at the nearby seed feeder, I’m wondering if the bigger birds are keeping the hummers away?
Have a Wonderful Wednesday!
–Sue
28 April 2010, 8:44 am
Nope, your calendar isn’t fast; this blogger is just slow. I spent most of yesterday with a family member while she had a four-hour test done at a clinic. Got some knitting done and caught up on my magazine reading!
So, back to the birds out my kitchen window. I was just thinking this morning how sick I would be if anything happened to this crab tree — it’s a major source of entertainment for me. This House Finch was giving me the look. “Hey, Lady, shoot that red beam somewhere else!”
The Goldfinches have been abundant this spring. I don’t often catch them on a branch; they are usually at the feeder.
And another one:
The blooms are pink for such a short time. When they fully open, they are white. We’ve also had a Chipping Sparrow hang around. He is usually cleaning up the seed that falls to the ground, but this time he decided to go directly to the source (this is the picture I had you imagine last week when I couldn’t upload photos! Was it everything you imagined?):
You might be thinking, “Poor Sue, she only has one window in her house.” We DO have other windows, and sometimes something catches my eye and I grab my camera. I thought this was a duck feeding off the bottom of the pond behind us. I looked through the camera, and thought maybe this one-eyed duck was mooning me. Then he popped upright and I could see…
It’s a goose! Wednesday’s Puzzle later today…
–Sue
20 April 2010, 7:36 am
Yesterday we spent cleaning son Rob’s rental side of his double bungalow. I thought I wouldn’t be able to move today, but I actually feel pretty good! And major bummer: I forgot to take my camera, so you will just have to imagine a little two-bedroom place, nice and clean and fresh smelling! He took us to Matt’s Bar for dinner and we had their famous Juicy Lucys. Mm-mmm good! Monday night, and it was packed. Before we left, the line waiting for a table was well out the door, spilling out onto the sidewalk. A VERY popular spot.
This red-winged blackbird thought he should get in on the finch seed buffet:
If he gets to be too big of a pest, I’ll just snip off that bit of a branch he is standing on. The house finches (or maybe it’s just one) have been regulars this past week.
And I love it when the birds clean up after themselves. This chipping sparrow was gleaning the leftovers that fall down into the river rock below:
Well, that’s it for now. I’m going to head downstairs and finish the quilting on my Out of the Bag quilt. I’ll post a photo later. I was asked yesterday how I was quilting it. I’m using a Golden Threads Panto, Cascade, by Keryn Emmerson.
Have a terrific Tuesday!
–Sue
9 March 2010, 12:33 pm
I take lots of pictures, and sometimes I wonder why. When I go to the birding center and Paradise Pond, I have taken over 600 pictures on a single afternoon. Then I delete-delete-delete, until I have a more reasonable number to save. The good part of having so many pictures to choose from is sometimes I find a surprise in the pictures that I didn’t notice when I was busily shooting away.
When I took this picture, I was noticing that the Black-Necked Stilts and the American Avocets were out of the water and standing on the sandy point with the Roseate Spoonbills.
As I got a better view of the point in my pictures, a big white bird entered into view. I didn’t notice it at the time, but viewing it on the computer monitor I thought maybe it was an albino!!!
What the heck? Then I started looking for this white bird in other photos, and I could see it was a White Ibis, doing wing lifts just like the spoonbills. (Albino! What was I thinking???)
I enjoyed getting a better view of a Black-Necked Stilt right on the point of the sand bar. (The Black-Necked Stilts look like they are wearing tuxedos.) Look at those skinny, long legs! (The Avocets have the white horizontal stripe on their wings.)
Another computer monitor surprise was the big turtle in the midst of all these birds. Do you see him? He on the far side of the sand bar.
What a busy little piece of real estate.
–Sue
16 February 2010, 11:51 am
Here are two Texas bird pictures. The pelicans always fascinate me:
And another favorite, a Northern Shoveler:
Click here to get to the give-away post. You can enter the drawing once per day this week — drawing on Saturday. Be sure and make your entry HERE!
–Sue
9 February 2010, 8:23 am
Last week at the birding center, this cute little Least Grebe entertained me for a long time. When I take bird photos, I always have my camera set to take multiple (up to four) exposures if I hold the shutter button down. You never know what the birds are going to do when they are already in motion. This little guy didn’t disappoint me. You would never guess how long his neck is!
Enjoy whatever you’re doing today, and don’t forget to take time to s-t-r-e-t-c-h!
–Sue
2 February 2010, 10:14 am
Last week on Mustang Island, we had some lovely days. This week we are getting clouds and drizzly rain.
I’m sharing a picture from last week! I love this time of day, and it really only lasts a few magical minutes. It’s right before sunset when the sun is really low and just catches the tops of the waves and shades them pink. Wishing y’all were here — next week when it’s nice again!
–Sue
26 January 2010, 7:00 am
Monday I made the short trip to both Paradise Pond and the Leonabelle Turnbull birding center. It’s always a surprise to see what birds are there — or aren’t there. Last week Paradise Pond was teeming with Great Blue Herons, Black-Crowned Night Herons, and Ibises. This week there were turtles. Lots and lots of turtles. It was a warm sunny day, and anywhere there was the slightest bit of a log protruding out of the water, there were more turtles! In case you’re interested, these are Red-Eared Sliders. In the third picture, you will see the tell-tale red marking on the turtle’s head. The largest ones are pretty close to the size of a dinner plate.
Then I made the 2-minute drive to the birding center. No big birds at all. From a far distance, I did see three of the Showy Egrets, and I saw one Tri-Colored Heron, also a little too far away. Lots and lots of ducks, just like last week. It was a calmer day, however, and with the bright sunshine, a lot of the ducks were taking a floating nap, like this Green-Winged Teal:
We sometimes see Moor Hens, but they are usually walking along the shoreline, in and out of weeds, and I haven’t been very successful in getting a good picture. Today this guy was having a nice swim:
And a picture of a Northern Shoveler:
The water was so much more calm this week, it made for some nice reflections. The next time I go, the weather, the birds, and the water will all be different. It’s always an adventure!
–Sue
19 January 2010, 10:06 am
Telephoto Tuesday — Yesterday I showed you some of Paradise Pond. Only a mile or so away is the Leona Turnbull Birding Center. You can click here for an aerial photo/map of Port Aransas, showing the birding center, and a small box to the upper right is Paradise Pond. (If you hover with your cursor on the boxes, it will show the names.)
Usually we see a larger variety of birds at the birding center, but Sunday it was pretty much all ducks. I did see a Roseate Spoonbill flying in the distance and landing in a marshy area, so they were hanging out down out of sight. I think the ibises and herons were all at Paradise Pond.
The birding center is a very large area dedicated to hosting the migratory birds that travel along the Gulf coast. It’s a fun place to visit, because you never know what you’ll see. There is a long boardwalk on one side of the water with an observation tower in the middle. Here is a picture from the top of the tower. DH is at the far end of the boardwalk:
To the left (I think it’s south, but I’m usually wrong!) is a pretty wide open body of water with some marshy areas beyond:
And to the right (north?) is a mostly marshy area, home to nutria, many kinds of birds, and an alligator (I think to keep the nutria numbers under control). Sunday I saw a hawk circling around for a meal, but I couldn’t get a decent picture.
And in the water we saw a number of green-winged teal (here is Mr. and Mrs. — aren’t they cute?):
blue-winged teal:
and this crazy northern shoveler who thought he was an otter. He would swim totally under the water, kind of snake-like. He is totally saturated, and it gives him kind of a crazed look. I like this picture a lot! Doesn’t he look a little psycho?
I’ve got my walking shoes on, and I’m off for an afternoon of shopping in the “big town”, Corpus Christi. The excitement continues…
–Sue
