SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - SPIKE IS BACK

One spoiled little bird said "Nuh-uh!"

Unlike my little friend here who loves his birdseed.

and true to her word...

You never know birdies!

Not sure how long the snow is going to last. There will be 60 mile per hour winds so I hear, sometime in the middle of the night. Stay safe everyone!

Of course, putting the kettle on right now. And the mixing bowl is out. Just put the oven on to bake those cookies you like. Come on in, pull up a chair!

on a Saturday Morning at the Bird Feeder.

Thanks for visiting and 

I wish you all a great weekend.

For our international friends to translate using the widget on my side bar.

Photo 1:

"I am a happy little bird. The snow melted a bit and there is fresh birdseed. No more frosty birdseed frappes."

Photo 2:

"No more frosty frapes?  Disappointing!"

Photo 3:

I am not hanging out for just birdseed. I am out of here."

Photo 4:

"Hello! I am Spike. The black box lady worries about me because I have no fur on my tail."

Photo 5:

"I am going to make sure you are taken care of my little friend."

Photo 6:

"I am a little embarrassed but she means well."

Photo 7:

"Will she get an outfit for us or are we safe?"

Photo 8:

"It has started to snow again and it is going to get very windy. I think we ought to get back to our nests."

Photo 9:

"We will be okay."

"Yes we know, you've got your love to keep you warm. Cue role of eyes"

Photo 10:
"All I need is a hot cup of tea, and can you make me some acorn cookies? You can have this one. I will share."

Photo 11:

"That's how it goes..."

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - SNOW DAY AND UP IN THE SKY...

 The geese were fed up with all the snow and decided to pack up and fly further south. You can just about see their suitcases tucked under their wings. No? Well, I'm sure they're there!

Meanwhile, far down below them....

The squirrel has very sharp claws and has dug down to one of the flat feeders. I asked him if he could bring five hundred family members over to do the same to our driveway. I told him I would pay them peanuts, but the kind of peanuts they would like.

I think you are getting your classic lines mixed up there buddy! Oh, and the American Beaver came on by. 

Buck the Beaver also said he could chew his way through the ice. If he can fell trees with his teeth, I know he can help us with our ice problem. We have lived in this house 30 plus years, and we have never had it like this before. The snow shovel that has dug us out of many feet of snow in the past, threw its metal hands up in disgust.

In the meantime, the Dark-eyed Junco is digging down to parts unknown, while ducking pinecones. They are still falling off that tree and then there are those Kissing Bunnies again. Missy Mourning Dove is expressing herself today.

Sophie Squirrel finally let go of her acorn after being offered a nice cup of hot coffee with a few flowers. She's feeling much warmer now.

For our international friends to translate:

1st Photo:

"Keep up back there. No slacking!"

2nd Photo:

"I have struck oil. I mean birdseed!"

3rd Photo:

"Oil or birdseed, that is the question. Be it nobler to leave the seed? Or should I let them eat cake?
"If it were me I would take the cake!"

4th Photo:

"Do you want some help? I am very good at digging and building. I come with my own tools too!"

"How are you with heavy snow and ice on driveways? The man of the house could really do with your help."

5th Photo:

No words.

6: Photo:

"Tsk! Don't they ever quit? They are so embarrassing! I wonder what their kids think?"

7th Photo:

"How very kind. Thank you!"

8th Photo:

"And that's how it goes on a Saturday Morning at the Bird Feeder. Thanks for the visit. Have a great day!"

DANGLY EARRINGS

 In a mad moment on a sleepless night (at around 3.00 a.m.), I ordered these.

The lady who makes them had a going-out-of-business sale, and they arrived in the mail a few days ago.

They were for pierced ears (my ears aren't), but I remembered I had converters in a box somewhere, along with a pair of small needle-nosed pliers. I found them and got to work, getting rid of the wires and attaching the converters. They are prettier than the photo shows, but it will give you an idea and this old girl still loves her dangly earrings, says I smiling.

We didn't get as much snow as we were expecting, but hubs found it impossible to clear what we did have off the driveway. There is a thick sheet of ice on top. No melting as it's going to remain bitter for several days, and supposedly more snow next Saturday. We have a steep driveway that can be treacherous -we have a history. Fortunately, we stocked up beforehand.

The sun is shining outside at least, and Sophie Squirrel is doing okay, though she's a wee bit cold! 

The Kissing Bunnies, as you well know, have their love to keep them warm.

I couldn't help but put in a word of the day in the photo above. Son and daughter-in-law sent these.

My grateful thanks to the person who plowed our road early this morning, and for that matter to all who go out in this weather to take care of us and keep us safe. Bless your hearts, you deserve our never-ending gratitude. When we eventually can dig our way down to the road, we'll be ready to get out of here.

What did we do on our snow-bound day? We read, I put this post together and we made our dinner, Creamy Beef with Butterfly Pasta. It was very good and we added a veggie salad on the side. I will share it next Monday.

Take good care of yourselves out there and I hope all is well where you are. Stay safe and warm.

For our international friends, to translate the words on the 5th photo down.

Chionophile.

A person who loves, enjoys or thrives in the snow and cold weather is called a chionophile. From Greek, this term refers to someone who finds joy and peace during winter, particularly when the landscape is covered in snow.

Pronunciation: kye-ON-uh-file.

HAPPY SUNDAY, HAPPY NOVEMBER EVERYONE - FALL LEAVES AND PINECONES

"As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see."

~Vincent van Gogh~

"Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go."

~Author Unknown~

"It's the first day of Autumn! A time of hot chocolate mornings, and toasty marshmallow evenings and, best of all, leaping into leaves!"

~Winnie the Pooh~

"Fall leaves are not lifeless but rather appear to dance in the wind."

~Author Unknown~

"Meet me under the falling leaves."

~Author Unknown~

"Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year."

~Author Unknown~

"For anyone who lives in the oak-and-maple area of New England, there is a perennial temptation to plunge into a purple sea of adjectives about October."

~Hal Borland~

And last one.

"If only Alexa could rake the leaves."

~Author unknown~

Those of you who have followed me for a while, will recognize the back deck with our regular kissing bunnies and the blue stone birds on the water dish. The crows are really going to have something to complain about today as it is filled to the brim with leaves. 

The deck had not long been swept clean and that night I woke up to a lot of scratching on our bedroom window. Coming out of a deep sleep it scared the dickens out of me. Too much talk of Halloween? Probably! 

As I peeked outside between the blinds, the wind had picked up, and the branches just like the sound spindly little fingers would make, were crawling along the glass. It took me a while to go back to sleep. The scratching continued for another hour (mental note to get the branches trimmed again as soon as we can).

The next morning when I looked outside, I was greeted by a deck strewn with crepe myrtle leaves, pine needles and pinecones. We have both of these trees growing on the side of the house. The fir tree in particular is reaching up to the sky.

It seems a shame to throw away all those pinecones. Do any of you have any ideas as to what I could do with them? I am sure some of you out there might have an answer. 

I had a friend who years ago decided to 'cook' them for a while in her oven, or was it the microwave? She had wanted to get rid of any larvae that might be inside them as she was going to make Christmas Wreathes. I found this out afterwards. Her oven/microwave was never the same. All the food that came out of it had a pine taste that could not be gotten rid of and no amount of cleaning helped. Needless to say, she never did that again. 

I was also given a 'pinecone' Christmas tree by another good friend one year. It was very pretty but as soon as the heating warmed it up, I had literally hundreds of strange looking tiny bugs crawling out of it. Needless to say, it didn't last long after that. One of those big trash bags was thrown over it and it made its way into the trashcan. I was so sorry to do that to a friend's gift, but I seem to remember her telling me a while later after she asked me about it, that the one she made for her family did the same thing and had ended up in their trashcan too.

So, what would you do with all these pinecones? Maybe I should pop them in an outside container so that the birds and squirrels can nibble away and find the seeds inside. I've heard they like those.

Thanks for reading and 

I hope your day is a great one.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - SORT OF!

After discussing this with their 100 other family members on the roof, they all flew off and visited their raven cousins in the southwest. It was a bit of a surprise but who wouldn't be with 100 family members suddenly turning up? Crows don't have cell phones! In the meantime, a few days later...

Oh Sofie Squirrel, you look like you are auditioning for a new Conehead movie. 

They are also getting ready for the Conehead audition, at least their umbrella is. It all depends if it freezes or if the snow melts.

We're all glad it stopped snowing. Sofie is still clutching her pearls, I mean acorn, the Froggies3 are still watching the Kissing Bunnies. The audition was cancelled because the snow melted a few hours later. The old wise crow who foresaw the snow coming, is now warming his feathers in the sunshine and warmth of the southwest, and... 

that's how it goes on a Saturday Morning at the Bird Feeder.

Have a great weekend everyone 

and thanks for flying in.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - ANNOYING PARROT?

There was one bird who decided to stay home.

Yes, I will tell the story. I heard this straight from a birdy's mouth. Here goes!

There was a resident magician on the cruise ship who does the same act every night. The captain of the ship has a parrot who started attending the shows.

The parrot starts to work out the tricks and shouts out each trick's solution to the audience, "the rabbit is under the hat", "he's using a mirror". The audience loves the parrot but the magician is furious. The magician comes up with new and increasingly elaborate tricks, but eventually the parrot always works it out.

One night there was a terrible storm, the ship sinks and the magician and parrot end up sharing a lifeboat together. For days they sit in silence on the little lifeboat, until the parrot turns to the magician and says...

"Alright then, I give up. Where did you hide the ship?"

And there you go, the magician went very red in the face, the parrot had to unexpectedly vacate the lifeboat and flew north for a visit. Everyone else reached their destination safe and sound.