SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - SPLISH-SPLASH…

 They are taking a bath! The house finches are having way too much fun to do any chatting, and they are very feisty  The video is noisy fair warning. There was some kind of saw being used. You can tap the sound icon bottom left of the video if it bothers you.

In the meantime, and an hour after the finches left…

“Wendy, are you there?”    

“I have been hiding, are they all gone yet?”

Wendy the Water Nymph took a while to come out of the fountain, and the sun stayed under a cloud to give her a little more time. Her friend the squirrel stayed long enough for her to feel safe. 

She of the House said she is very happy the birds are finally using the bird bath, at least that’s what squirrel told the water nymph.  Wendy the Water Nymph wasn’t so sure. 

She didn’t know what to think after all the chaos she saw, along with the racket. Squirrel told her there were a lot of tree branches being sawn off after the thunderstorms and windy weather from a couple of weeks ago. She stayed inside the fountain until it was all quiet. It took a while! 

That’s how it goes at this week’s 

Saturday Morning at the Bird Feeder/Water Bath(?)

We all hope you are well and thank you for visiting. 

Take good care of yourselves and see you next time.

AROUND AND ABOUT A BIT THIS WEEK, AND ANN’S SEPTEMBER HAPPY MAIL

I am starting off with Ann’s September card. The month is zipping right along and I didn’t want any further time to disappear before I mentioned her Happy Mail. She continues to delight those of us who receive them, with her thoughtfulness and wonderful creativity.

Thanks always Ann, you are such a dear friend.

I hope everyone’s week is going well. It was another glorious week for cloud watching here, a little more drama in those skies today. (We have had ongoing construction work on our roads for the last three years, adding an extra lane or two and working along several miles of road. We are nearing the end of our section. I'm sure they will be moving down to another. That's usually how it goes right?)

"Nature is a mutable cloud, which is always and never the same."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

We thought this looked like a very odd Toyota, but it wasn’t long before the penny dropped. It was no Toyota I had seen before, and yet even from a distance, familiar. It wasn't until we got closer that we saw the owner had a sense of humor, or was it something more?

We followed him for a few miles and then the Tesla Cybertruck turned right. 

I went back to cloud watching.

The skies started brightening up later but not before we had a downpour. This short video was at the beginning. It fell heavily afterwards. It's been all quiet today, apart from Mama Squirrel coming for a drink. (Today it got up to 89 degrees F. - 32 degrees C. The leaves are turning, we see signs everywhere and Fall is definitely around the corner.) 

It seems the appropriate time to share one of the jigsaw puzzles. I completed it a few days ago. I don't know what that red umbrella and those beautiful flowers are doing there on the wet cobbled street. We could write our own scenario. Any takers? No, me neither!

One day we decided a trip to our favorite cafe was in order. Hubby took a photo of me. Seriously, how many of you prefer to be behind the camera instead of in front of it? He, like me, loves to play on those phone apps and he changed me into a sketch and finally got my approval. I told him to take the lines out. My skin looked like the Grand Canyon and it ain't that bad yet. Smile Denise!

They were serving their coffee in Christmas mugs. The one I am holding has a wreathe with two cardinals and the word “love”. I can probably purchase one. If I didn’t have a zillion mugs in the cupboard, it might have come home with me, but we are still in the process of downsizing. It’s taking forever! Yes Ms. Kondo, it still sparks joy. That’s the problem, there are too many things around here that spark joy! I am keeping a few favorites that remind me of places we have visited over the years, and also treasures that family and friends have given. The rest are going to the man who keeps a big bus in one of the large parking lots. It's run by our local church where all donated items will be going to a good home.

A few days later we were at the supermarket and my sweet tooth checked out all the different kinds of fudge and cookies, but our sensible personalities took over, and we concentrated on fruits and veggies, except... 

that we were out extra early, missed breakfast and it was lunchtime. We had a slice of pizza in their restaurant area. We could have bought a whole one for less I know but at $4.00 a slice, in our minds, it prevented us from scoffing the lot during the rest of the day. We are trying the mindset of portion control, and those hiccups/side trips are much less than they used to be. Pat on the back for us, yay! 

We saw a family member this week. Last week too as we looked after his vehicle while he was away. Our airport is only half an hour from here. It was good to see him both times as there was a chance for a good catch-up. 

Bless him, he let us use his vehicle for taking things to our local garbage center as it has a truck bed. Gregg made a big dent in the garage, another yay! (This latest pile of 'goodies' was beyond taking to the man in charge of the donation bus). 

When I went out later I said to my dear man, "Where's the ironing board?" I got a sheepish look and an "Errrr....ironing board?" I had put it out there temporarily when I cleared out the area where I stored it. He said, "I thought you didn't like ironing anymore?" True, not that I ever did like ironing but there are times I need one. Oh well, we saw the funny side and there is a new ironing board in our future. And dear Ms Kondo, my ironing board never exactly sparked joy, but I was sorry to see it go.

We have noticed a lot of seasonal decorations in the stores, and saying it seems much earlier than last year. Merchants are getting a head start. A couple of weeks ago we saw these on our way out of the neighborhood. That skeleton is about as tall as I am. It’s huge!

I am not a skeleton person but I can’t seem to help myself, everything is a photo op. The following snapshots are of my favorite house for decorations. I have admired the effort they have put into it for several years now. They have added new ones this year. I'm going to wait until nearer Halloween before I ask Gregg to drive us through the neighborhood at night, not on Halloween but before, or maybe even afterwards. None are taken down too quickly. 

I'm sure these will all be lit up at night and will look exceptionally scary. Personally, I would like to see a few dragons, smiling yes! 

I realized I didn’t have any Halloween decorations and treated myself to a trio of scarecrows in witch hats. That's about as far as I go, and handing out the candy on the night. It is now 43 days until the 31st.

Thanks for looking and take 

good care of yourselves out there.

Enjoy your day.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - THEY WENT WHERE?

Here's a clue!

The man of the house and his brother drove to Baltimore and had a great time watching the Baltimore Orioles play the Houston Astros. They said it was a fun game and their team won. Here's information on that iconic song, along with the lyrics here, and an actual video of the Sesame Street Gang singing it. If the video disappears you can find it at this link.

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

I hope you enjoy singing along.

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you all

a very happy month of May.

Let’s play ball!

For our international friends to use 

the translation button my sidebar.

Photo 1:

“What went on this week?”

Photo 2:

“Take em out to the ballgame,

Take me out with the crowd.”

“Buy me some peanuts and

Cracker Jack, I don’t care if 

I never get back.”

(Thank you Pinterest for today’s inspiration.)

 

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

I don't have anything new for you this week. We have been eating leftovers from our Christmas Dinner. I made a batch of this soup that we could eat over a few days while getting ready for the 25th. You can find the recipe at this link. Our son gave us a box of noodles to try, Girelle pasta, which is one of his and our daughter-in-law's favorites at the moment.

Girelle refers to two distinct types of Italian pasta: a short, corkscrew-shaped dry pasta, and the type we used for this latest version of chicken noodle soup, and a stuffed, rolled fresh pasta.

Short-cut Girelle (Vesuvio) is a dried, commercial pasta shape, specifically a short, semi-hollow corkscrew, often referred to as Vesuvio. The shape is said to be inspired by the famous Mt. Vesuvius volcano in the Campania region of Italy where it originates. Its curly spring shape is excellent for catching and scooping up hearty sauces and chunky ingredients, or in a soup such as this one. It can be found in Italian food specialty retailers such as DeLallo (their website can be found here if interested) or, in our case, son bought it from a nearby Wegmans Supermarket. It may be sold in other supermarkets also, but I haven’t explored that yet.

The stuffed fresh Girella (Rolled) is a handmade fresh pasta preparation, where sheets of pasta are rolled tightly with a filling to create a spiral effect. It resembles a long, uncut roll of tortellini or a variation of rotolo. The rolled pasta is typically sliced into individual servings after cooking or baking. It is often served with a complimentary sauce, such as a rich tomato sauce, Cacio e Pepe sauce, or a simple butter emulsion. Common fillings inlcude ricotta and spinach, ricotta and parmesan, or more unique combinations like mushrooms and goat cheese, or ricotta and 'nduja', a spicy spreadable sausage. It can be boiled like a large, long ravioli spiral and then plated with sauce, or baked in the oven with ingredients like béchamel and mozzarella for a golden crust. 

We took a quick trip around the neighborhood last night on our way home. I thought I would share an 8 second video and a couple of photos to close off today’s post.

A photo of Santa about to make his way back to the North Pole. He is the biggest Santa I have seen and was almost as tall as the house. Hopefully there were no high winds expected but he looked safely tethered.

Several others were pointing him in the right direction, fortified by a glass of Eggnog perhaps.

Thanks for looking, have a great week and...

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - ROCKIN' WHO?

If you want to hear the original version of Rockin' Robin, there's a great YouTube at this link.

The full lyrics are below, with thanks to all the good little birdies rockin' in the treetops.

Rockin’ Robin lyrics

Our key: Overtones

Other versions to check out: Bobby Day (arr. based on this one), Michael Jackson

Intro

Verse 1

He rocks in the treetops all day long, hoppin' and a-boppin' and singing his song

All the little birds on Jaybird Street love to hear the robin go tweet-tweet-tweet

Chorus

Rockin' robin, Rock-rock-rockin' robin'

Go rockin' robin 'cause we're really gonna rock tonight

Verse 2

Every little swallow, every chick-a-dee, every little bird in the tall oak tree

The wise old owl, the big black crow flappin' their wings singin' "go bird, go"

Chorus

Rockin' robin, Rock-rock-rockin' robin'

Go rockin' robin 'cause we're really gonna rock tonight

Bridge

Well, the pretty little raven at the bird bandstand taught him how to do the bop and it was grand

They started going steady and bless my soul, he out-bopped the buzzard and the oriole

Verse 3 (same as 1)

He rocks in the treetops all day long hoppin' and a-boppin' and singing his song

All the little birds on Jaybird Street love to hear the robin go tweet-tweet-tweet

Chorus

Rockin' robin, Rock-rock-rockin' robin'

Go rockin' robin 'cause we're really gonna rock tonight

Bridge

Well, the pretty little raven at the bird bandstand taught him how to do the bop and it was grand

They started going steady and bless my soul he out-bopped the buzzard and the oriole

KEY CHANGE

He out bopped-the buzzard and the oriole

Verse 4 (same as 1)

He rocks in the treetops all day long hoppin' and a-boppin' and singing his song

All the little birds on Jaybird Street love to hear the robin go tweet-tweet-tweet

Chorus

Rockin' robin, Rock-rock-rockin' robin'

Go rockin' robin 'cause we're really gonna rock tonight

Outro (like intro)

And that's the way it is on a 

Saturday Morning at the Birdfeeder!

Thanks for flying in 

and have a great weekend!

HERE COMES 2025!

 

Literal translation of "Auld Lang Syne" means

"Times long past."

Auld Lang Syne 

by 

Robert Burns 1759 to 1796

(Scottish Version)

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And auld lang syne?

(Chorus)

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o'kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp!

And surely I'll be mine!

And we'll tak a cup o'kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

(Chorus)

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o'kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes

And pu'd the gowans fine

But we've wander'd mony a weary foot

Sin auld lang syne.

(Chorus)

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o'kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl'd i' the burn,

Frae morning' sun till dine,

But seas between us braid hae roar'd

Sin auld lang syne.

(Chorus)

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o'kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!

And gie's a hand o thine!

And we'll tak a right guid willy waught,

For auld lang syne.

(Chorus)

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o'kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

“Let’s take a cup of kindness yet,

 For the sake of auld lang syne.”

(poem is in public domain)