A VISITOR ARRIVED YESTERDAY...

...a White-throated Sparrow. This is the first time I have seen one since the beginning of the year. I was delighted.

They are fascinating little birds and there is a wealth of information about them if you do a search. I read that "on average a female lays four pale-blue or greenish-blue eggs that are speckled with purple or chestnut. She incubates her eggs for around 12 days. Both parents feed the young birds, which leave the nest seven to 12 days after hatching. 

After fledging, these 'youngsters' still depend on their parents for an additional two weeks or so. White-throated sparrows occasionally mate with Dark-eyed Juncos, with the resulting offspring resembling extra gray White throated Sparrows. A hybrid's song combines the trill of a junco with the triplet notes of the White-throated Sparrow.

White-throated sparrows measure 6 to 7.5 inches (15 to 19 cm) long.”

You can read all about it at this website.

There is a very interesting article at this link telling us how it developed a new song. I added the following address from YouTube, so that you could hear its call. A word of warning, it sings very high- pitched notes. When I showed it to Gregg to listen to, he said something akin to, "Wow!"

Here is the full address that you can cut and paste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXsiA6wcdSA 

  

More information by asking Google AI Mode which I also found fascinating:

"Unlike many birds where males are bright and females are dull, male and female White-throated Sparrows look nearly identical. Their primary difference is not based on sex, but on a unique genetic trait known as color morphs.

The Two Morphs (White vs Tan):

Both males and females come in two distinct color forms, or "morphs".

White-striped morph: bright white stripes on the head, high contrast black stripes and a very crisp white throat patch.

Tan-striped morph: dull tan or brown head stripes and a less defined white throat.

Key Differences Between Males and Females:

While they share the same color morphs, subtle differences exist in behaviour and minor physical traits:

Subtle Coloration: males may have slightly darker head stripes and brighter yellow "lores" (the spots between the eye and bill) than females.

Singing: males of both morphs sing frequently to defend territory. While white-striped females also sing, tan-striped females rarely do.

Size: females are slightly smaller on average.

Nesting roles: only females build the nest and incubate the eggs. Both parents feed the chicks, though tan-striped birds (regardless of sex) are generally more nurturing and provide more frequent feeding than white-striped individuals.

The "Four Sexes" Phenomenon:

White-throated Sparrows are famous for a "disassortative" mating system. Almost exclusively, white-striped birds mate with tan-striped birds. This creates four distinct reproductive roles:

White-striped Male: highly aggressive, sings often, less parental care.

White-striped Female: more aggressive than tan-striped females, sings occasionally.

Tan-striped Male: less aggressive, focuses more on protecting his mate and feeding chicks.

Tan-striped Female: quiet, nurturing, and dedicated to parental care.”

Thanks for visiting me and I hope your day goes well.

MERRIFIELD GARDEN CENTER - 6-13-25

Our latest trip to the garden center. I have added this link that will take you to all the other times visited. It will include today’s post, but if you keep scrolling you will see the others. Quite lengthy as it is a favorite place to wander around. My photos taken are to make a record, so that I can go back and buy a few things, when I have to think about them for a while.

Sometimes they are still there. Other times I 'snoozed', as in 'you snooze, you lose' just a bit too long. But, doesn't happen very often and though I don't visit as often as I would like, there is always something else that takes my fancy when I go back, if whatever I looked at is gone.

One of the staff was watering the plants and she stopped when she saw that I was interested in them. I can't say enough nice things about those who take care of everything, as they are consistently pleasant. I hesitated about crowding her and told her I didn't want to get in her way. She turned and smiled and started one of those conversational interactions that I find so pleasant when visiting these places. She couldn't have been more helpful. 

I told her what I was interested in, which were two green pots and the addition of the Lantana inside them. They only had one of the size I wanted, and my symmetrical brain had already found the exact spot where I was going to put two, and I wanted identical pots. They would be on each side of the bench on the deck, along with the Lantana. She offered to go into their storage area to find its partner. I had also asked where their succulent plants were, as I had another pot at home, and it has been a long time since I bought cacti. She told me they were in the greenhouse, and she would bring the pots to me as soon as she had found them. So, off she went...off I went...and Gregg joined me soon after as he had been parking the car. I had my eye on those toadstools, not to buy as I couldn't figure how they would fit in and besides, wasn't looking for toadstools to take home with me. They were fun to take a picture of though, as well as other things. Same thing, enjoyed looking at them but wasn't going to buy.

I really loved the yellow Lantana, so sunny and cheerful, and this is the green pot I had my eye on.

I passed by this delightful bird bath.

and the Yarro...

and then found myself heading inside. 

The greenhouse is on the right and I saw these pretty fucia almost immediately...

near this old beauty. I wondered about it as it used to be in the front of the building, but it has a new home. 

I shared it once before at this link in case you need a refresher. I see many of my blogging friends had left a comment there. I checked online at the time and identified it as a 1930 Ford Model A Pickup. 

I never did get as far as the succulents, but I spotted these big pots...

and no I didn't buy as I had committed to the green and had already purchased those, or at least Gregg did. He was putting them and the plants in the car. 

I was searching for a bench to sit on and my eyes wondered to this little creature...

and then I found these, and my whimsical side appeared. My impulse purchases of the day (below).

I resisted the fairies but am still determined to make my own fairy garden, and every now and again I add to it. 

Anyhow, no fairies but the turtle and the rabbit are joining the fairy family today.

They have quite a nice selection that I will be checking out later.

I am still heading to the bench to wait for Gregg, but saw these lovely orchids.

These looked interesting too...

and I stopped myself from looking at every one of these items on the long display bench, top and bottom.

I resisted any further temptations, took one last look...

and headed to the cashier's desk with my impulse buys. Gregg came back to see where I was (I am moving extra slowly lately). He had put all the other purchases in our vehicle. A good job too as I had forgotten that I had given him my wallet (didn't want to bring a purse and wasn't wearing anything with pockets). I would not have been able to buy rabbit or turtle and we all (not Gregg) breathed a sigh of relief (not really but whimsy occasionally takes hold).

Lastly, I had fun playing with my collage app to which I added photos in today’s post.

It was fun and good to get out for a bit. I went home, put my feet up, put my slippers on and had a cup of tea, and maybe a nap, not necessarily in that order.

Thanks for looking! I hope you have a great week ahead.

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - HOW ABOUT THREE DUCK PHOTOS TO GIVE YOU A SMILE?

 

"Be kind to your web-footed friends, for that duck may be someone's mother."

~Mitch Miller~

Thanks for taking time out of your weekend to swim by.

Have a great day!

“Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor and artists and repertoire(A&R) man. Miller was one of the most influential people in American popular music during the 1950s and early 1960s, both as the head of A&R at Columbia Records and as a best-selling recording artist with an NBC television series, Sing Along with Mitch. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in the early 1930s, Miller began his musical career as a player of the oboe and English horn, making numerous highly regarded classical and popular recordings.”  

All this information and much more can be found if you click on his name below his quote.

Here is another interesting page that includes the quote above, about half way down the page.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - NOT AGAIN

 Not again!

Uh-oh!  I think the mirror in the water is going to be very busy today.

Thanks for stopping by, and have 

a fun weekend!

I MEANT TO DO MY WORK TODAY…

“I meant to do my work today,

But a brown bird sang in the apple tree, 

And a butterfly flitted across the field, 

And all the leaves were calling me…

So what could I do but laugh and go?”

~Richard Le Gallienne~

Richard Le Gallienne (20 January 1866 – 15 September 1947) was an English author and poet. The British-American actress Eva Le Gallienne (1899–1991) was his daughter by his second marriage to a Danish journalist, Julie Nørregaard (1863–1942).  Richard Thomas Gallienne was born in West Derby, Liverpool, England, the eldest son of Jean (John) Gallienne (1843-1929], manager of the Birkenhead Brewery, and his wife Jane (1839-1910), née Smith.  He attended the (then) all boys public school, Liverpool College.  After leaving school he changed his name to Le Gallienne and started working in an accountant’s office in London.  In 1883 his father took him to a lecture by Oscar Wilde in Birkenhead.  He soon abandoned his job and became a professional writer, with ambitions of being a poet.  His book, “My Ladies’ Sonnets”, appeared in 1887, and in 1889 he became, for a brief time, literary secretary to Wilson Barrett, who was an English manager, actor and playwright.  You can find more information if you click on his name below the poem.

 

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - OR AT LEAST NEARBY

Shush, don't give him any ideas!

USE THE TALENTS YOU HAVE...

 

"Use those talents you have.  You will make it.  You will give joy to the world.  Take this tip from nature: The woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except those who sang best."

~Bernard Meltzer~

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN…

“There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.

It is not now as it hath been of yore;
Turn wheresoe’er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.

But there’s a tree, of many, one,

A single field which I have look’d upon,

Both of them speak of something that is gone:

The pansy at my feet

Doth the same tale repeat:

Whither is fled the visionary gleam?

Where is it now, the glory and the dream?”

~William Wordsworth ~

April 6th, 1843-April 23rd, 1850

Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood