I'm Back to Blogging!

After almost 20 months of silence on this blog I have decided I missed it! Two years ago I was overwhelmed with the daily "to-do's" and squeezing every spare minute I had into those 4 beautiful grand babies of mine so I let the blog go dormant. I also found I left my camera go dormant as well and that was not something I intended to do. Taking photos of the beauty around me is something I am striving to get back to but then the question was - what do I do with all these photos? The answer came last night as I sat taking way too many photos of the juncos in the late afternoon light...and it was start the blog back up :) I hope there are still a few followers out there...

This post is about the shy little gray bird called a Junco. They are one of my favorite birds because they never fail to remind me of my dad. He didn't know their real name but called them gray snowbirds and he predicted winter and spring's arrival with them. He always said when they arrived in the fall it was going to snow and winter would be here soon and it wasn't going to stay spring-like weather (no matter what the calendar says) until they finally left. Every day I would see them go about their feeding and getting water at the pond but never more than 10 or so at a time...that is until yesterday. It was 70 degrees and calm yesterday with a forecast of a south wind and 80 today and I literally had dozens in the garden at one time. Usually they took flight at the first sight of me but yesterday they were too busy feeding and drinking so I knew they must be leaving soon and went and grabbed my camera for some late afternoon shots (needed the right light to capture the light in their eyes). I'm glad I did because they seemed to have left overnight, not a one to be spotted today. I hope you enjoy these photos and the blog posts to come.

This last photo is of a hairy woodpecker who along with his family and smaller cousins, the downy woodpeckers, are pecking the death out of my serviceberry tree! Nothing seems to be deterring them but I will keep trying.

Cedar Waxwing takes a bath...

Serviceberry...

After planting a serviceberry shrub when I created my garden in 2000-2001, I couldn't help but awe at how much it was a bird magnet until every last berry was gone. The fact that it has beautiful white spring blossoms and great yellow fall color was the icing on the cake. Soon I added a serviceberry tree, behind the rock fountain for a spot for the birds to roost before going down to drink or bathe and then once again to roost and groom. Planting this tree was a decision I have never regretted, the tree version has the same beautiful white spring blossoms but has awesome red-orange fall foiliage. This week the tree was in full blossom so I always had my camera handy to capture some of the beautiful birds perched amongst the blossoms.

The indigo bunting is so shy I could never crank open my window before he flew away so these last photos are a little hazy taken through my dirty window. Getting them washed this weekend is high priority so I can get some better shots!

A few none serviceberry shots because Mr. and Mrs. Goldfinch are always so cooperative during photo shoots!

Tuesday tidbits…

1. I love migration season, I can spot fun migrators, like this Tennessee Warbler just looking out my window.

2. Making Jeff create a fountain out of this huge boulder we unearthed in our field was one of the best "honey do" projects I've ever thought up. Who would have guessed the number of birds it would attract!
3. I take way too many photos of bathing birds.

4. They are just as fun to watch while grooming.

5. It's hard to tell in these cropped photos but the rock is currently covered in bird p**p brought in by the grackles - a sure sign that the first hatches of the season has begun.

mosaic Monday...

male orchard oriole

female orchard oriole

goldfinches

and a new hobby…painted furniture!

It was a fun seeing the transformation these two old dressers made! I wish I had saved the before photos but have already deleted them off my phone, the pink one was an off white laminated piece and the white & aqua one was pine. I used the same primer and same brand of paints so I'm waiting to see how these two types of wood hold up to paint before trying any more pieces. The pink one has already found a home as a dresser/changing station for our soon to arrive granddaughter. I'm been helping her parents decorate her nursery and will show finished projects of hers as well as Landon's (where I also did lots of sewing) soon. The ombre drawer one is finding a new home in my sewing area downstairs and will be used to store some of my fabric stash that I am running out of room for!

BBB…butter butt bath

Warbler migration is finally happening here and one of my very favorites is the yellow-rumped warbler sometimes casually called the butter butts. There are many in my backyard right now and the rock fountain is a popular place for a daily bath.

Hello...

I've missed you!

Spring happenings...

Spring is finally HERE! Why you ask?
1. migrating birds are coming through including this beautiful blackbird and lots of the various species of sparrows.

2. Today was the first day I have not seen the juncos underneath the feeders - a sure sign according to my dad's wisdom.
3. The fish are back in the pond and had their first meal since late last October.

4. As seen in the above photo, we are actually having raindrops falling today rather than snowflakes!
5. A couple of chickadees have nested in the same birdhouse as last year.
6. Easter has came and went - we were blessed to spend it with Nathan, Tammy & Bailey…

is there anything cuter than watching a precious girl and her puppy opening her Easter gift from the grandparents?

We missed the rest of our family, but were excited to see photos of Brooklyn and Landon dressed in their new Easter outfits…

Jeff calls Landon's hat, his "Grandpa Ben" hat after a tweed one of that style my dad wore in the winter.

Tuesday Tidbits...Joshua Trees and Vermilion Flycatchers

1. One week ago today, I was on vacation in Arizona and came down with a severe case of strep throat, who knew there is a clinic right in Grand Canyon National Park where one can be seen and get meds?
2. Feeling awful on vacation is no fun so to make the best of the situation, I convinced Jeff we should just drive in the desert all day and look for one of the 3 areas in the state where Joshua trees grow.

3. A Joshua tree is not actually a tree but a yucca plant and is related to the lily family.

4. Arizona has 13 varieties of rattlesnakes (more than any other state) so I chose to view the beauty of these trees from the car.

5. Jeff & I love picnics so we did venture out of the car for lunch at a picnic spot in Burro Creek Canyon. While eating lunch we noticed a group of a dozen or so birdwatchers on the ridge above us. Soon a couple of them ventured up out of the canyon and walked by our table. I asked what they were spotting and they had seen some yellow warblers and a blue heron nesting but had really wanted to see the vermilion flycatchers that were supposed to be in the area.

6. After asking them what they looked like, we informed them a pair was in a tree not 20 ft from our table and showed them the following photos.

7. I only wish these photos weren't taken looking into the sun because he really was a striking bird!

Tuesday tidbits...

I've seen post titles that include the word" tidbits" on other blogs. I always thought it was a juicy bit of gossip but  "curious" as I am, I looked it up…

tid·bit noun \ˈtid-ˌbit\
: a small piece of food
: a small piece of news or interesting information

I kind of like the sound of tidbits for a regular blog feature, there are so many days when this blog is silent because I really have nothing blog-worthy to say :)  A Tuesday Tidbit would just be a day to post small little bits of information or random photos (I'll leave you to decide whether they are "interesting" or not).  Some inaugural tidbits…

1. I just got to spend the last 10 days seeing this beautiful little girl! Probably the most days in a row since I helped out in the weeks after she was born over two years ago.

2. After being gone that long we came home yesterday to lots of work to catch up on and I came home to find a box full of fabric I had ordered online. Now, I can start sewing fun baby things for the 5 babies arriving in our circle of family and friends in the next 4 months. Last night the box filled again with this precious cargo!

She had grandpa pushing her all over the house :)

3. This morning I finally got to fill the bird feeders and enjoyed seeing all these visitors while enjoying my morning coffee.