Thursday's Things

 I was spaced off as I had not noticed that the earth wa tilting back. I can see the sun now rises between the blue spruce and the house now half way. I get so involved in trying to capture the color of the sunrise and the clouds that I hadn't noticed where the sun's position actually was locate  Can you see the jet trails in the sky. They were out early today. 

 Having been in a blizzard just a few days ago it didn't dawn on me the spring is almost here. I had seen them popping through but just didn't think much about it. The new neighbor's next door will have the first red blooms in another week. Mine will follow in a couple of weeks. 

 When I want to be funny I call this my sculpture garden. These tulips go shifted around last year so it will be interesting to see what actually blooms. The variety has dozens of small bulbs and they just keep multiplying. I expect a larger bulb but they are not. I need to clean up some of the lily trash in the back as you can see. That rock is a granite rock from my dad's farm in southern Iowa. He had at his house in the city and I rescued it for my old place and now at the new place. I guess you could say it has a lot of miles on it. 

 

 I usually get grape hyacinths showing now and also other spring flowers before the tulips bloom. I guess I placed that light there knowing it was close to the tulips but not in the tulips. 

 Peperomia is the name of the plant. Fifty years ago we use to have these kinds of plants in terrariums. I bought it on a whim a couple of years ago not knowing really what it was as a small four or five leafed plant. Now it is a huge house plant and once in a while it will put out variegated leaves. 

It is warmer today. I turned on the air as the sun is warming up the house a lot. I will have to turn the heat by late evening. Thanks for stopping by today. 

 

Middle of the Week

 The morning is a positive start with the temps starting to warm. Light clouds are not a problem as lone as the sun shines through. 

 Yesterday's visitor was stern looking, rotating its head back and forth, looking for prey. It was at first by some of my readers of what kind of bird that it is. We have a lot of cooper's hawks in the area but they are browner. This is a sharp shinned hawk. It is a pretty gray blue and is a large bird. 

 It amazed me as I watched it turn its head from side to side. It continually turned its head from side to side as well as to the back to see all that was going on in the area. I am sure my feeders brought it down to the maple tree. 

 I at first saw this fish as a dead on on the rock in my aquarium. Then I looked closely and saw it was my fish the clears algae. It is just resting there and will get back to work soon.

 Going to eat out today at the Chinese Cafe. It will be fun to get out on a warm day and eat. We always have such good service and feel welcomed each time.

Thanks for stopping by today.  

Blizzard

 

 

The robins had to go into hiding as we had blizzard like weather. The winds blew hard continually. The snow didn't accumulate much but by morning it was all frozen to the ground with a coating of ice crust to walk on. By afternoon the wind and sun melted a lot of it but the wind chill temps were bone chilling. I had to get out to the pharmacy and picked up a few groceries. By Friday we will warm up again.

Thanks for stopping in today.  

 

Sunday

 The weather is crazy with strong winds. We are at the bottom of the blizzard zone and we don't really have much snow. 

 The wind does cool down the house but we are staying warm. We went to early church this morning and it was raining. It could develop into a bad storm for us but it doesn't seem to be much right now. 

 The deer is peaceful as it stands at the feet of Saint Francis of Assisi. The light glows through from the window's light. We will have a quiet afternoon and evening with no plans to venture out. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  

Saturday's Stuff

 It isn't a bird but a welcomed squirrel. We rarely see them any more so it is fun to see them crawl around and feed, stuffing in birdseed as fast as it can. I have whole kernel corn that no bird wants to eat but this guy will pick them all up off the deck floor. 

 The house finch travels in pairs to where ever they go. The male has the red head and the one with all the patterns is the female. 

 If one of them shows up to the feeder one can count on the mate to follow pretty soon. I don't see this in many birds but this house finch are tightly bonded. 

 We have new neighbors and they have three different dogs. This one poodle mix is the leader of the pack and he can be seen tearing around the back yard chasing and barking. The owners have a vertical dog door that fits in their sliding glass door so the three can come and go as they please. The photo is shot through a screen wire so it has special textuers distorting the focus. 

We are suppose to have blizzard like weather tomorrow and the warnings are everywhere. Today we are cool but the wind is blowing strongly from the east.  It is a wait and see situation to see if we can get out for church. Thanks for stopping by today. 

Blowing Through

 It is cold and very windy. I didn't expect to get a good shot as I ventured out onto the deck. 

 I refilled the feeders yesterday and all kinds of birds showed up. There were a couple of grackles ot there with their shiny blue or green reflect head sheen. 

 I don't understand why a couple of crows also showed up too. They must have been really hungry. I rarely see them out there. The grackle above was even trying to get seed out of a hanging tube feeder. 

 A pair of mourning doves showed up and had a sit-in at the top of our stairs.  There common behavior is one of roosting out there and just looking around. 

 

I guess it was just the right weather for them to be out there and hungry.  The feeders are empty again as all the birds finished it all.

We are hunkered in and are told that we have severe weather is coming.  I think it all went north and also south missing us all together. Thanks for checking in today. 

A Red Visitor.

 One looks out the window on a gray day and this flash of red shows up. It takes a few seconds to realize that the cardinal has landed.

 He comes for sunflower seeds. Lots of times he flys off to a tree to open in and eat it. The tray seems to work well for him and stays right there to consume his seed.

 The bird keeps looking around at all times to watch for intruders.  He eventually eats it and looks for another seed. 

 Thanks to the cardinal for stopping by today and you too!