Puppy in the Clouds

–Sue

Jim made this board with partially drilled out areas to load with Bark Butter (a product that’s part peanut butter / part suet).  The squirrel LOVED it!  Since the association “took care of” the squirrel (he was naughty — chewed his way into the neighbor’s eaves), this downy woodpecker actually has a chance of getting some.  I like this picture that shows that great foot-hold.

And a cute little goldfinch.  They have become much more plentiful at the feeders.

Yes, spring has finally arrived in Minnesota.  Our crab blossoms have started to open.  The tree should be gorgeous in another couple of days.

That’s it for today.  Hope you have a great Tuesday, and some springtime sneaks into your life today.

–Sue

p.s.  Book Club today.  I finished The Three Weissmanns of Westport, and should have a new selection posted in the upper right-hand corner soon in case you’d like to read along!

White-Throated Sparrow

I love these birds because they clean up a lot of the seed spilled to the ground by the bigger birds.  Everybody loves somebody that cleans up after themselves — and even better, when they clean up after other people!

We’re also seeing some Goldfinches drop by, but the bigger birds (blackbirds and cowbirds) are kind of intimidating.

Goldfinch

The House Finches are so pretty..

House Finch

And we also had a female Cardinal come dine.

Cardinal, Female

–Sue

Doesn’t this red-winged blackbird make you think of Heckle & Jeckle?  Or maybe he reminds me of the Windex commercials.

We’re seeing way too many blackbirds and brown-headed cowbirds at the feeder this spring.  I think it’s my new feeder.  I may have to switch out to a finch feeder when then weather warms up a bit.  Hopefully sometime soon…

This guy makes me think of the State Fair…House Finch on a Stick:

A pretty little chickadee:

Another Red-Winged Blackbird.  They puff out their wings when they sing.  It really makes them look bigger than they are with those big red shoulder pads!

And a female Red-Winged Blackbird.  The blackbirds are really obnoxious diners, scattering seeds all over the ground as they dig for their favorite seeds.

And we see the occasional Cardinal.  They don’t spend much time at the feeder.  They just grab a bite and run.  Just like teenagers.

– Sue

–Sue

Crested Caracara

I knew we hadn’t seen this bird before.  My bird book says the Crested Caracara is often seen on the ground in the company of vultures, and feeds chiefly on carrion.  Fairly common in Texas.  Wish I could have gotten a better picture, but he was a l-o-n-g ways away!  It’s fun to see something new though.

–Sue

The hummingbirds have been very possessive of “their” feeders.  They will spend their days standing guard against intruders.  If they only knew that I keep them filled up and they could share!

This year I have just fallen in love with the damselflies.  Well, at least with photographing them.  They are my new fave.  This one is on a little thicker blade of grass — probably quack grass:

Usually it’s the sunsets that get your attention, but this day it was after sunset.  Doesn’t it seem like the sky is a little bluer in the fall?

Back to sewing!

–Sue

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.

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

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