The Robin Report......

Yes, it is the same old robin sitting at the staging site for the birds in the backyard. He continues to hang around in the front next to the old nest and I see him in the backyard as he waits.

The birds seem to all land in this tree before they head to the feeders.  I guess it is easier to perch in rather than use the blue spruce. The robin did have company today of another robin.  I am waiting to see if it is a female or another male hanging around.  I will check each time when I go out with Barney to see how things are going with the male robin.

The house finches are now using the feeder sock to get thistle seed.  One other female is on the feeder too.  I couldn’t see if she was with a male finch but I know there are about three pair of them.

A new bird for me at the deck yesterday is this gray headed black eyed junco.  I didn’t know that there were different colors of them as I have never seen them before. As I looked through the variety of shots of them, they still call them all dare eyed juncos.  I learned that they can migrate as far north as to the arctic zone.  The whole variety is  new to us in the last ten years as I really did not see them  Iowa when I was younger. I did learn while researching them that they actually fit in the sparrow family.

This is a photo of junk that I moved from the old place.  I have plans for the windows. If I think the plan is a loser one, I will just disassemble the windows and send the to the dump.  I will share plans in the future if I do think things will work out. The old granary door may become a painting support for a farm scene.  I have painted a lot of barn boards in the past thirsty years as commissions. When I was teaching last year, a young seventh grader said she had seen one of my barn board painting but I could not imagine what it was.  I think 25 years ago I painted it for a person who hung it in her house in Beaverdale, Iowa.  Later they  bought a cabin at a small Iowa lake and it was hung there. The girl was at the cabin with the lady’s granddaughter. That painting was on a big bard door and was of an imaginary farm scene with a barn, windmill, International Harvester tractor, fences and farm animals. I may have an image of it buried in 45 years of photos.

While researching the junco, I found the identity of three different kinds of tree sparrows. When I get the there kinds photographed I will share what names that I found. Normally in Iowa we just call them all sparrows and a majority of people really don’t like them.  They don’t bother me much but I can see there can be too many of them.

Our imaginary spring break, which we don’t qualify to have, is going to include a visit to a cafe where they offer free pie on Wednesdays.  We have another place, Perkin’s that is less that is three miles away from us that also offers free pie on Mondays.  We have only taken advantage of that once at that place.  The pic isn’t as good there.

We are having a true spring day today. We are going to be warm hitting 61 degrees F. for the high.  It won’t last but it will be nice to get out into that temperature.  I hope everyone to have a good day today. Thanks for checking in.....