Ordinary

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you're aware that my husband and I moved in October of this past year.  Since we live about eight miles from town, we're surrounded by country roads in all directions and I've yet to explore some of them.

A few weeks after moving, I took a short drive north to check things out.  As expected, there were the usual things one would see on a drive in the country- cows, pastures, ponds, cows, barns, hay rolls, cows...you get the picture ;).  Nothing fancy as far as fences, either- just ordinary barbed wire fences to keep the cows in.  

I attracted the interest of a couple of them- 

they probably wondered who the crazy woman with the camera is.  

Simple and ordinary, yet refreshing.  That's why I love the country side of life.  

Linked with Tex for Good Fences

Northern Flicker

It was a nice surprise to see this infrequent visitor in our back yard...

He "poked" around for a little while, then moved on to another tree, out of sight.  

Male Northern Flicker

12/24/14

Linked with Stewart on Wild Bird Wednesday

Purple & Gold Finches

Good evening all...I hope your weekend is going well.  I've been kind of under the weather the past two days, but feeling somewhat better today.  It seems I've slept away my weekend off, but I probably needed the extra rest.

These photos were shot about a week ago.  I was happy to see that some of the Purple Finches are still around.  They're not purple at all, however- more like a combination of Raspberry and Rose.  I love to see them at the feeders along with the goldfinches- they make a lovely combination!

Wishing you all a peaceful Sunday!  

Of Leaving Pieces

Understand this: that love is a religion
of birds, of restlessness, of flight.
Of moving somewhere warmer 
when the cold sets in,
of longing, of leaving, of being
the one left behind, of feathers,
of an empty nest in the heart of winter,
nestled in some firm elbow of brittle branches
that stopped reaching for the sky when the last
leaf fell, bleak against a landscape of
blacks and whites and greys save for one
little piece of red string,
tucked lovingly among the twigs,
so dutifully gathered, piece by piece,
by a creature who had seen winters before,
but made a home for himself here anyway.

~ this-epiphany, deviantart.com

I decided to share something "different" with you today. I saved this poem from deviantart.com several years ago. It's one of my "winter favorites". There's something about an empty nest in winter that stirs feelings of loneliness, of longing; but also of anticipation, of new things to come, of downy feathers and heads bobbing in a full nest, of restoration...

More Sock Wars

A few more shots of our back yard birdies on their socks...

and some on their dirty socks...

Messy little birds!

I purchased a pair of clean socks yesterday and took the dirty ones down. Now I'll always have a pair of clean socks on hand when they need to be changed out. Who'd ever thought I'd be doing laundry for the birds?  

Sock Wars

Pine Siskins flood our back yard each morning for breakfast.  They're aggressive little birds, particularly at the feeders and thistle socks...

However, by mid-morning the siskins have usually cleared out and others, like the goldfinches and sparrows, can finally feed in peace.  

Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday :)  

Backyard Chippers

Chipping Sparrows are the second most common birds in my back yard these days...

but I don't mind.  I enjoy their company and love their "trilling" calls.

Sometimes, it sounds as if there's a couple hundred of them in the trees around me. During early morning hours, they're everywhere- in the trees, the feeders and on the ground below the feeders. They compete with Pink Siskins (now the MOST common bird in my back yard) and often the siskins outnumber them at the feeders. The siskins are also little meanies and are willing to fight to maintain their feeder spot.  More about them later....

I hope your week has started off well.  After working the past two nights, I'm going to catch up on some zzzzzzzzzzzz's today.  Have a great day and thanks a bunch for dropping in :)

18th Annual GBBC

Good Evening Everyone!  It's that time of the year- the annual Great (Global) Backyard Bird Count has begun!  I'm sure most of my birding friends are aware of this event, but for those of you who aren't, you may visit gbbc.birdcount.org  to get started.  Simply tally the numbers and kinds of birds you see for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count, February 13-16, 2015. You can count from any location, anywhere in the world!

In 2014, Great Backyard Bird Count participants in 135 countries counted nearly 4,300 species of birds on more than 144,000 checklists.  Scientists use information from the Great Backyard Bird Count, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, such as the Christmas Bird Count, Project FeederWatch, and eBird, to get the “big picture” about what is happening to bird populations. Your count matters!

Because I have to work Saturday and Sunday, I did my backyard bird count this afternoon and turned in my checklist this evening- here's the screenshots of the birds I observed this first day of the count...

I hope you decide to join this important event.  Have a great weekend and Happy Counting!

Anticipating the Return of Spring & Hummingbirds

Anticipating the return of Spring soon,

and the arrival of these tiny jewels...

The Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds should begin arriving in my area about mid-March.

Some will simply stop to rest and drink up, then continue their journey north.

A few will linger a little longer, perhaps up to a couple of weeks before heading north.

If I'm lucky, I'll have a couple of summer residents.

Photos taken August - September 2014

Sweet Dawn

I love the sweet smell of dawn-

our unique daily opportunity to smell time, to smell opportunity-

each morning, a new beginning.

~ Emme Woodhull-Bache

Have a beautiful day Friends :)

Mississippi Gulf Coast: Brown Pelicans, Terns & Plovers

These are my last few photos of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, for now.  There's a few more areas I want to visit along the coast, but I'll wait until the weather warms a little.  Picking up from where I left off with the last post, my hubby and I passed through Gulfport on our way home.  As usual, my eyes scanned the beach and shoreline for anything with wings interesting.  Soon, I spotted several Brown Pelicans gathered along the wood pilings of an old pier and decided to join them for a short visit.  

The pelicans appeared quite comfortable where they were- some preened and stretched while others napped.  

A few Royal Terns claimed their spots on the old wood pilings...

Sanderlings searched the shore for tidbits of food...

And a Black-bellied Plover stood silently still for several moments...

With Spring just around the corner, my mind has been busy with thoughts of how I want to landscape my shady back yard.  I see a lot of land clearing and hard work in my near future.  Out with the old piles of dead limbs, pine straw and a couple Mimosa trees I want to get rid of.  In with new plants like Oyster ferns, Hosta varieties, Bleeding hearts and Ornamental grasses.  Spring fever grabs a hold of me in late February and I can barely wait to get my hands in the dirt.  

I hope your week is going well.  I've worked the past two nights so I'm ready for some good, deep sleep.  Have a good evening Peeps :)