DECK CAMERA VIDEOS

Only four short videos for you this time.  I lengthened them a little bit to 10 second segments.  A crow, squirrel, dove and squirrel and a female Cardinal.

I can't guarantee what other films are advertised at the end of each video.  I have no control of that so won't recommend any.

Hopefully you have enjoyed the birds and squirrels I have shared today.  A little microcosm of what goes on in my backyard.

BIRDS FROM THE DECK CAMERA

The Blue Jays visit every day...

The Red-bellied Woodpecker visits but less frequently.

Mourning Doves are here daily.

The Blue Jay and the Red-bellied Woodpecker seem to get along quite well.

The camera caught an incoming Dark-eyed Junco and the Dove doesn't seem to mind.

In this frame there is a White-throated Sparrow in the background, with the Dove and the Dark-eyed Junco a little bit closer.

I find it interesting that I haven't seen a female Cardinal in quite a while, just the male with its bright red plumage. 

And that's it for today's deck camera birds.  My little Dark-eyed Junco with Leucism hasn't been seen since the last time I posted about her/him. I find myself developing attachments to these birds, and hope she/he is okay and off visiting some other bird feeders in another area.

Happy day to you all and thanks for visiting.

THE SNOW BIRDS

Most of the snow has gone now.  These were taken the first day we had it.

We have been getting a lot of Dark-eyed Juncos.  They always arrive in the winter and leave in the spring.

I am surprised to see a Mourning Dove as they usually disappear in the winter.  This one has been visiting every day for a long time.

The snow had been four or five inches high on the rail, but I watched the little juncos, and other birds, slowly shuffle the snow away with their feet to expose the seed.  It was like they were dancing and it was a sight to behold. 

The Blue Jay arrived too late for the show.

The birds started arriving soon after I put the seed out.  The latest bag I bought contained mostly sunflower seeds, and it gets eaten quickly.

We also had an interesting visitor, one bird I had never seen in our garden before.  I didn't get a photo but the closest I came to identifying it was when I looked at a Black and White Warbler here.  It also looked like a junco and at first I was a little confused, thinking maybe its pigmentation had gone awry. I do wish I had my camera ready but the battery had died and I couldn't find my other one.  Hopefully it will come back again.  Otherwise the memory of it will have to do.

The dove looks like it is resting after a good feast, but with the snow coming down I wished it would get some shelter under the eaves.

Slowly these industrious little birds cleared the rail, and all that was left was this 'igloo' of sorts.  One little junco was burrowing into it, I daresay to find another cache of seed.

By the time they had finished, they had built their own igloo.

And after a while they had fashioned a very nice home for themselves.  Okay, so my imagination flew away with the feathers, but a Rembrandt I am not (the two birds on the left were borrowed from Pixabay).

My little friend here looked up and approved.

The sunflower feeder is silent, the birds finally left.

Squirrels have not been seen and must be staying warm in their nests.  If I was a squirrel I would be there too.

I have to say I did enjoy this snow, but then I didn't have to drive anywhere.  I wished all those who had to be out on the road a safe journey back home to their families.  

In winter

all the singing is in

the tops of the trees.

~Mary Oliver~

There is hardly any of this left now, two days of rain cleared most of it away, and there is more rain on the way.

Thanks for stopping by my friends and safe travels.

HOPE, GRACE AND CHARITY TEACH A YOUNG SQUIRREL AN IMPORTANT LESSON

This is from my archives but fits in with the season. I have a friend who enjoys reading my whimsical posts to her children. This is for her and for others who might want to do the same.

Life had confused this little squirrel.  He was trying to take more than he could carry away from his neighbors, and laughed as he hopped along the branch.  His intent was to add to the already large stockpile of acorns he had in his nest, already overflowing. He thought himself very clever, but there were those who were watching. 

 

No one taught him when he was a young squirrel, that it was important to treat every living thing with kindness, that it was wrong to just take. He would reap his own benefits and riches in his heart if he shared with those less fortunate and just as importantly, to never take advantage of them or mock them for being different. No one ever told him that even the poorest little squirrel could share what he had, even if it was one tiny acorn, and that kindness would not be his weakness, it would be his strength. 

Three doves called Hope, Grace and Charity had been the ones watching. They stopped him and taught him how to do the right thing. For once in his life he listened. They did not wag their wings at him, or sharply peck at his fluffy tail, no one nipped at his heels in anger. The difference between right and wrong was being taught gently. They told him that the world can seem a scary place and yes, life at times seemed out of balance. Perhaps when he had his own baby squirrels, he could teach them the lessons he had learned today. It all starts in the very young they told him, love had to be sown instead of fear and hate. At this very precious time of the year, Peace to you dear little squirrel said Hope, Grace and Charity.  Peace and Love to everyone and.... 

Life's lessons in the backyard.

Thank you for stopping by.

A FEW MORE FEATHERED FRIENDS

These are birds I saw on my recent vacation.  I included the rooster because chickens ran wild all over the two islands we visited, with more it seemed on Kauai.  I got the biggest kick out of them. They were very comical, very entertaining.  Like all vacations it is hard to believe we were ever on holiday now, but thank goodness for photographs.

I am posting a day early but I will be linking with Judith's Mosaic Monday.  You can click on the button below if you would like to visit other participants.

9th day of our vacation - 12-24-15

Thursday, December 24th, 2015

It is evening and we are in the hotel. 

The day started with Gregg waking early and he was hungry. He walked down to McDonald's for breakfast. It is right next door to Tropical Tribe and he will bring me the acai bowl, and a latte from the Starbucks across the lobby at our hotel.

9.30 a.m. and NO acai bowl.  

Yes I am kidding.  Gregg just loves to take photos of me, especially when I am saying for the umpteenth time, well maybe not umpteenth times but at least once daily and usually at the end of the day, "Good grief I'm hot and a wee bit tired!  Have I said that before?" I'll ask.  I am a girl of repetition.  No, I'm not really a whiner but I was hot and tired when this photo was taken. Click, click, "Are you hot and tired Denise?"  "How did you guess?" says I not looking up.  "Oh I don't know, the multiple shades of pink and purple is a great weather vane look for you, and your head in your hands is a good clue", says he.

Gregg brought me proof and showed me this photo as he handed me an Apple Danish and a Coffee from downstairs, not that he needed it, the proof I mean.  Tropical tribe is closed for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I should have realized.  No acai bowl but the Danish and the coffee is a nice consolation prize, and thank you Gregg.

So here we are back at the hotel and it has been another perfect day.  

We went to the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden.  This will also be our third visit, another favorite memory.  It is towered by the amazingly breathtaking Ko'olau Mountains above Kaneohe, and is Oahu's largest botanical garden at 400 acres.  

Ho'omaluhia means "Peaceful Refuge", a perfect name to be sure.  Plants are grouped to represent major tropical growing regions which include Polynesia, Melanesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India, Africa and tropical America.  

There are trails and a 32-acre lake which we couldn't get down to this time, as it had rained heavily that morning (the day before and when we were at the visitor center) and was too muddy to traverse safely.  Several of the trails had been blocked off for the same reason.  There was still enough of one trail to capture our interest and we were completely enthralled, surrounded with all this marvelous nature.  

We started off at the visitor center and there were also two large rooms all connected with covered walkways.  In the two rooms were artwork and photography exhibits, also flower arrangements which were lovely.

Even though it poured with rain while looking at the displays, by the time we made our way to the open trail, the rain had stopped. 

We thoroughly enjoyed taking in all the fauna, and it didn't rain for the rest of our walk.  

Ho'omaluhia still remains my most favorite botanical garden on Oahu.

Later we drove to the North Shore. We took the road next to the ocean, and with the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, it was enthralling.  

We head to Haleiwa Joes for a late lunch/early dinner, as we had enjoyed it so much the other day and wanted to repeat the experience.  

I ordered the coconut shrimp again....

but Gregg had to order a fish sandwich as he was told they were out of fish tacos.  He enjoyed it just as much.  

I also ordered a Mango Margarita and in place of the salt on the rim they added a cinnamon-sugar mixture.  It was very good.

We were seated outside this time and the weather had cooled enough to make it very pleasant.  A mesh-type curtain had been drawn down as it was breezy, and this Zebra Dove was enjoying being sheltered and wasn't too far from our table.

There was a man and woman seated on one side of us.  We didn't want to be too nosy but we couldn't help but hear from their conversation, which was a bit loud, that she had lost her cell phone.  Her companion loaned her his phone and she made several calls to places that they had been, presumably.  Her companion left and she stayed to keep their table.  Eventually he returned with her phone.  Gregg and I were very happy for her as I know how we would feel if we had lost ours.

We had another nice waitress.  I asked her if she had been brought up in Hawaii.  She said she had, then went on to say she had moved to Washington State but returned three years ago, and was very happy to be back.  A very nice young lady and was busy but stopped long enough to satisfy this nosy-parker's curiosity.

Too many reflections in the glass but I liked this print of the hula dancer near the exit.

Before leaving we bought another glass with the name of the restaurant on the side, and the sand and shells in the bottom.  I told Gregg they were for the Mai-Tai's I was going to make for us at home, to remember this holiday.  (He is still waiting but one of these days he will get his Mai-Tai.)

I decided to stand outside while Gregg was settling up, and a young lady came out of the restaurant and wished me a Merry Christmas.  I smiled back and wished her the same.  Hard to believe it is going to be Christmas Day tomorrow.  The time is flying by.

Before we got into our car we walked over to the water's edge, near the bridge we had crossed on our way to the restaurant.  

Under the bridge and beyond there was a place to rent kayaks..... 

and the kind of surfboard you stand up on using a paddle like you would a rowing boat.  

There was a steady stream of people floating past us, making their way to the ocean.....

and a few coming back.

They were fun to watch and we took our photos.  I wondered how on earth they could keep their balance on those surfboards.  Isn't it wonderful to have a great sense of balance?

It had been another lovely day having fun and watching people having fun.

Now to more mundane but necessary matters.  Gregg did the laundry tonight.  

One more day left before before the second part of our vacation in Kauai. 

If you missed the previous posts and would like to read them, you can click on the links below.

Part 1

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8