"Did you volunteer for this, or did everyone step back and you were the only one left in front? That happened to me once." He looked bashful and pressed on.
"They heard about those dried mealworms I bought, didn't they? Those are supposed to be for the colder months. There's still plenty of your natural food out there you know." He pressed on.
"That's more like it then. Come back tomorrow and you'll have a nice surprise. I am always willing to compromise, within reason."
And that's how it goes on a Saturday Morning at the Bird Feeder, when Bubbles stops by every day, bless him, but his flock think it's too far to fly to splash in a pool and not get fed tasty dried up meal worms for their hors d'oeuvres! You would think flying from the trees down the road was a journey to the moon.
Mrs. Squirrel also stops by every day, but she has babies to feed. Maybe I should help? I saw her with a whole mouthful of leaves this afternoon, more than I thought it possible to carry. I know her nest way up there in the treetop is being fortified. Life goes on around here and sometimes you need a little help from your friends.
Thank you for reading today's whimsical tale. I hope you are all having a great weekend.
From the photos so that our international blogging friends can translate using my sidebar gadget.
Photo 1:
"I am back with a few proposals."
Photo 2:
"They told me they can't justify a spa day on an empty stomach."
Photo 3:
"We are willing to overlook the fact that your neighbor has a much shinier birdbath if you start feeding us again."
Photo 4:
"We also miss Froggies3, Sophie Squirrel and the Missing Bunnies."
I am writing this the evening of December 29th. It's very windy now and our electricity has been going on and off for the last three hours. I expect a lot of branches have been falling onto power lines. It is 32 degrees F. (2 degrees C). We have more blessed pinecones on the deck. I thought there surely couldn't be any left after all that had dropped off our tree the last couple of months, but there are at least three or four dozen out on the deck, with more falling, and they are even larger than before. We can hear them as they hit the deck. Our pine tree sure is shaking her skirts today. When Gregg picked up the trash bin, it had blown all the way down the street.
On a whim we decided to go out for breakfast, though it was nearer lunch. It was 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius) a nice sunny day and too good to waste being stuck indoors.
The place was hopping but we managed to get a table in the far back. A change of scenery from our usual spot. Wall to wall books, floor to ceiling here.
The tables are tiny and a little more crowded next to each other, but we were happy to get a spot on the end of the wall. The table next to us was vacant but the threesome two tables over might as well have been sitting in our laps. They were squeezed in on the same sized table we had, two sitting at the back having dragged an extra chair over, two ladies and a gentleman. One lady was very animated, and we heard all about her family gathering over the holidays. It didn't sound like it was a happy experience, but at least she was getting things off her chest. Not long afterwards two young ladies sat in between us, giving us a bit of a buffer, and the lady telling her friends all her woes, brought her decibels down a bit. Good to have friends to get the angst out of the way. The conversation returned to normal, not that I was being a nosy parker, but it was difficult not to hear everything that was being said. We can't complain, we knew it would be busy during the lunch hour and took a chance on getting a parking spot (we only had to circle once) and were lucky to get this table. There are a lot of college kids who make use of the cafe, and I see laptops and books on several tables. I think there is a 2-hour limit from the time anyone sits down. Next time we'll go in the off-hours which we usually do.
Above you can see Gregg's choice. He always gets the Cheese Danish and coke. Mine was an individual quiche, which was a change from my usually pastry, quite tasty. Shocked to say I am very tired of sweet things after the holiday. Even my vanilla latte was too sweet. We are going back to our every-once-in-a-while treat. I will be having my one cup of black coffee in the morning and tea for the rest of the day, along with a bowl of oatmeal, dried cranberries and blueberries or a banana for breakfast, or at least my good intentions tell me. Fortunately, it is one of my favorite breakfasts.
I had a chuckle at the next photo as we drove by the house. It's trash day as you can see, a much bigger one after the holidays. Yes, she even takes photos of trash, what can I say? My first thought was I bet somebody's mom is happy the old drum set had been put out to pasture and can give their ears a rest. My second thought was maybe a new, much bigger set had been acquired, maybe he is in a school band. This looked in pretty good shape. I hope somewhere here and between the trash place there will be a lucky child who will get a newish drum set.
The rest of this post will be from Christmas Day.
A lovely ceramic Christmas Tree is a gift from our son and daughter-in-law, with a close-up of the tiny glowing cardinals below.
They also gave me this adorable glass teddy bear.
The snowman is last year's gift from them. You may have something like it as it is on a timer and comes on in the evening and shuts off before going to bed. It gives off a lovely warm glow, with little sparkly things floating around inside.
Son is a fun selfie taker. We usually take a lot more but dinner was ready and waiting and everyone had their appetite, but first....
this is us trying to sort out the Yorkshire Pudding. What can I say, I've been having trouble the last few Christmases and I was keeping my fingers crossed.
Let's just say it wasn’t a complete disaster…
but it didn't rise as nicely as last year when it sprang so high it had a fight with the top heating element. A nice thick pancake anyone? It actually tasted pretty good, but I think I have a mental block about Yorkshire Pudding now. Big mistake this time was my anxiety about burning the dang thing, and I not only lowered the rack - which was a good thing - but also lowered the heat during the process - bad thing - plus we may have opened up the door too early. C'est la vie! I intend to get a lot of practice before next year's Christmas Dinner. Any tips out there will be gratefully appreciated.
The flowers Gregg gave me for our 50th Wedding Anniversary were still hanging in there, so I decided to keep them on display. The empty dishes will soon be filled with our meal. We had Roast Beef and Denise's new-style of flat, thick but tasty and what the heck pancake, Brown Gravy, Roasted Potatoes, asparagus and carrots.
Another of our traditions growing up was the Yule Log but on special occasions we usually serve pumpkin pie and cherry pie with vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream or both.
That taller snowman is in three parts, bottom two contain the salt and pepper shaker, the top hat is a hollow container for mustard. This time he's just there for decoration. The two smaller snowmen to his right are a regular salt and pepper set. A few nibbles beforehand in a dish I found more years ago than I can remember, and in the photo after this one, there is a small dish in the shape of a sunflower that I use for dips. It has a sunflower handle on the spoon. Another gift from my darlings for a birthday last year.
One more shot of the kitchen table which we used buffet style once dishes were filled and sorry to say I forgot to take photos of our meal because well, I was still thinking of the blessed Yorkshire Pud!
Here is the table from the other end.
One more of the table set up in the dining room. I'm glad several of you said that you liked it. I had a hard time finding matching sets. During that good tidy-up session earlier in the year, I had tidied things into oblivion. Moving along, since childhood, I have always had the tradition of Christmas Crackers at each place setting, and I carried this on after marriage. My son loved them as a child and he still indulges me now, as does our sweet daughter-in-law and husband of course. I think they actually enjoy them. So, we sit down, pull the tapes in each end and wear on our heads our paper 'crowns' that fall out of the cracker. Little trinkets scatter on the table, an actual mini grater, spoon, I forget what else, and we read the funny jokes/facts inserted in each one as we start our meal. You can read the history of Christmas Crackers at this link. There is also a website that shows you how to make your own here. Pulling the crackers is a little tame now. When I was young, with each cracker pull, there was a flash and a bang where you felt your fingers singe a little bit. In my memory of it all anyhow but I still remember the heat on my fingers.
The painting on the wall (a closer look can be seen below), is of a Tudor house I used to walk by while in Worcester (UK). My dear other half had put out to sea for six months. I often went home to visit my parents, sister and brother-in-law on these deployments. This is before our son joined us. My niece was born much later when they lived in Scandinavia. I had passed by the house for many years on previous visits, from the age of 18, and it fascinated me, always loving the Tudor style. I noticed a shop had opened across the street on this particular visit, with a painting of the same house in their window. In I went as though drawn by a siren song. The owner of the shop was a very nice gentleman. He was also the artist and very happy to get his painting out of the window display.
This is the last of the rambles and photos from Christmas.
Thanks for being such great friends throughout the past year, and if I am not able to visit before the end of this one, I would like to wish you all...
A few weeks ago, I was enjoying a Gray Catbird visiting the feeder. It was the only one enjoying the seed and came back several days in a row. Smaller and slimmer than an American robin, they measure 8 to 9 inches (20 to 23 centimeters) long.
"It is a medium-sized songbird and is commonly found across the eastern United states and the Midwest. A frequent visitor to backyards, catbirds are often heard before they are seen”, so I was very happy it decided to show itself so that I could take some relatively decent photos of it. I read “they are feisty about defending their territory, or even the occasional bird feeder, from intruders.” I saw none of this in the short time I had it in my sights, there were no other birds around at the time. Perhaps they were staying well away? Who knows!
Here are a few more facts about them: "Gray Catbirds belong to the family Mimidae, an assortment of songbirds known for their mimicry, including mockingbirds, thrashers and tremblers. Like other mimids, Gray Catbirds exhibit impressive vocal prowess, with males able to rattle off an array of phrases featuring chirps, squeaks, whistles, whines and even gurgles. When singing, performances can last more than 10 minutes and incorporate songs from other birds species, tree frog calls and even manmade and mechanical sounds."
"From March to late April, Gray Catbirds begin migrating from Mexico, Central America and the southern United States to their northern U.S. breeding grounds and up into Canada. Summer migrants start returning south in late August”.(perhaps that is what this one was doing?) “While most birds are migratory, year-round catbird populations can be found along the Atlantic seaboard from southern Massachusetts to northern Florida and over to the Gulf States."
"Catbirds are omnivores but they especially love fruit, often targeting commercial crops of blackberries, cherries, grapes and strawberries. Their habit of pecking more fruit than they eat, however, can make them unpopular with gardeners. In spring and summer, orange halves and jelly are a good way to attract catbirds - and maybe an oriole - to your yard or balcony. Of course, you can also plant native plants like elderberry and serviceberry."
"Catbirds' bodies are a uniform soft gray, with black caps and rust-red feathers under their relatively long tails. They often perch with a lowered tail and appear hunchbacked."
There is a YouTube at this link where you can hear its bird calls. And that's about all I have about my little visitor. It's all quiet out in the garden, and will be until I start filling up the bird feeders in the Fall.
I found these sweet, bedraggled birds at pixabay.com, a familiar name as it is my go-to place when I want to find a particular picture or graphic.
The last time we were at Green Spring Gardens was on October 1st, 2023. We were still wearing light clothing with short sleeves. It was a very different story last Friday. Our video will give you an idea of what the weather was like. It was cold! 50 degrees Fahrenheit which we would have thought would be good walking weather, but there was a biting wind that made it seem much colder.
So far this year we have had good days but also heavy rain with flood watches, wind and yesterday our first snow. We didn’t leave the house. The high was 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and the low tonight will be 27. Below it shows you what we are expecting for the next eight days. I just had a pop-up on my iPad. We are now under a winter advisory until 10.a.m. tomorrow. However, on Wednesday it is going to be sunny. We were told before that was going to be a snow day. Weather will always be unpredictable.
We like to take a short video on our outings. It’s fun to look at them years later. Next time I will share a few flowers and plants. Some were still blooming, though looking a bit worn out. A nice splash of color though considering the time of year.
I hope you are staying warm in your part of the world,
I have lost count of how many times in my 73 years I have sung this song. In my family it was a tradition on New Year's Eve. Aunts and Uncles would come on over, as well as close friends of my parents, while listening to Andy Stewart as he hosted Hogmanay on TV.
What is Hogmanay and for those who are unfamiliar to the term, this is what I found online:
"Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration of New Year's Eve and can last for days. No one celebrates the evening quite like the Scots. It is believed the Scots inherited the celebration of Hogmanay from the Vikings and their celebration of the shortest day. Many, however, believed that as Christmas was virtually banned and not celebrated in Scotland from the end of the 17th century until the 1950's, New Year's Eve was an excellent excuse for revelry, to drink whisky and eat good food. To this day Hogmanay involves parties and festivals all across Scotland, with the largest and most famous public party in Edinburgh."
I had an Aunty who was born in Scotland, who used to tell me how she celebrated as a child and I loved those stories.
For us we joined our family circle and crossed arms, held hands and sang Auld Lang Syne as the clock struck midnight and we said goodbye to the Old Year. Then we hugged one another and raised a glass to bring in the New. It was the only night of the year that we kids were allowed to stay up late and party with the adults. There was always a lot of laughter in our house, especially at times such as these.
Auld Lang Syne
by Robert Burnes in 1788
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 dear,
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 take a cup o'kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
Chorus:
For auld lang syne, me dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o'kindness yet,
For auld lang syne
We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,
Sin' auld lang syne.
Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
We twa hae paidl'd in 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 dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o'kindess yet,
For auld lang syne.
And there's a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie's a hand o'thine!
And we'll take a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.
Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o'kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
This week we are returning back to normal after all the fun activity of the holidays. We become reflective and realize we have so much to be thankful for. No day is taken for granted because having family and friends whose lives have changed in the blink of an eye, and with events that have happened in our own lives, we know only too well that we need to count each day as a blessing. For me, if I have made any New Year's Resolutions it is this, to tell those nearest and dearest to me how very much I love them, and how much better I am for having them in my life.
And to those whose lives are affected terribly by world events, our hearts go out to you, we see you and wish you Peace and Joy in 2024.
I have been late getting back to you all over the last few days, but I will be catching up on my visiting very soon.
It is late and I am behind in putting a post together. I am sharing a quick video for a change of pace, with trees, trees and more trees as we drove along Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park. Also, a little bit of a back-and-forth chit-chat. The video lasts 2 minutes and 43 seconds. I tried to keep it short-ish.
It was a beautiful drive but we saw no animals. We were hoping for deer and even bear - none today. Maybe the bear have already hibernated. It was pretty chilly up the mountains. It often seems when we are out looking for them, none appear. I saw a couple of hawks, a turkey vulture and a few small birds, but none were photo ops. Next time I hope!
There aren't too many photos, but I will share what I have eventually. I ended my video with a rather theatrical "byeeeeee", thinking this would be for the two of us, so don't mind me. I think I channeled my dear Mum as that's how she always ended our phone calls back in the day. But Gregg always encourages me to share on my blog, and said I should post it. I did want you to see how pretty all those trees were as we drove by. We always make a short video on our outings, usually only for the two of us, and our son and daughter-in-law. It's a nice record of where we have been and fun to look at when they pop up a few years later.
(I have no clue how to edit these videos and I'll have to look into it sometime. If anyone wants to give a tutorial on how to shorten them on an iPhone, I would love to see it.)
you will see what happened a little way down my post. But first, I am going to share a few photos from the front patch of our garden. It was a bit bare, and we needed some color.
Our garden isn't as large as some but even so, we are no spring chickens and at this stage of our lives we are grateful for extra help. There is a very nice gentleman who takes care of our garden for us. Last year I asked him if he could plant a few flowers in a bare spot at the front of the house. He names flowers that would grow best in a particular spot. I let him know what colors I am interested in, naming those seen in catalogs. The place we needed them is in part shade, and his knowledge about such things has always impressed us, and I appreciate his honesty. If I pick something he will tell me if it works and if it doesn't. I am happy to compromise as he has never failed us...
and has known us long enough now that he has a good idea what we like. We trust him!
I liked everything he planted but my favorite was the Siberian Iris. I love their deep, rich red with darker shades.
So, as pleased as punch with the way they were blooming in their second year, I took photos. But yesterday (6-16-23) this happened (excuse the utterance at the end of the video - I usually keep them out of my vocabulary).
The start of it...
and the middle of it. It hailed for 20 minutes, the rain half an hour afterwards.
Those icy pellets bounced inside the family room with such force, I was picking them up half-way across the carpet, at least a dozen feet inside. (Our son, when he visited on Father's Day, after showing him the videos said, "Why didn't you just shut the door Mom?" "I had to take my photos!" I replied, and he laughed because he knows his mother. (He lives 14 miles away and had no hail.)
This morning as I write (6-17-23) we have had several storm chasers knocking on our door, asking if we wanted them to take a look for damage. Gregg has already taken a walk around the house to see if he could see anything amiss. He also contacted our insurance company requesting an inspector. One of our neighbors had a new roof put on a few days ago. We are keeping our fingers crossed for them. Our next-door neighbor had someone inspecting his roof just now, and there are similar scenes all over the neighborhood.
I picked up a few icy pellets after the storm. They had been much larger and were already melting in my hand. Hundreds of new leaves had been knocked down.
People are saying it is the worst hailstorm we have had in ten years. At least they weren't golf-ball-size like that time. Our whole roof and siding were damaged badly.
Back then we had continuous rain between the inspection and the repair. Many damp ceiling patches appeared in the garage, but only one large patch inside our main bathroom, and we were grateful
There are two large wooden air vents on each side of the house, and one was badly smashed. I kept thinking we were going to have squirrels, raccoons and birds taking up residence in our attic. Fortunately, that wasn't a problem. A few months later our insurance paid for a new roof and all the siding, including the side vents and the frames around the windows. We were amazed no windows had been broken.
In our neighborhood there were contractors fixing dozens of homes for over a year. The cars that had been parked outside had dents. Every square inch looked like someone had taken the round part of a hammer to them. But again, that was several years ago and this lesser storm may have given us a break.
It seemed to me that the hail wasn't quite as large but it was forceful, and because of the damage caused before, we don't want to take any chances.
Gregg was away from home after spending most of the day visiting an old navy buddy 70 miles away. I called him to let him know what was going on, worried that he might be caught out on the freeway as it was around the time he would have started back. He was fine and there had been nothing where he was. He said the closer to our house the worse it looked, but others have been mentioning it in other neighborhoods. It took us all by surprise.
It was misty afterwards, and there was steam rising from the ground. I was curious and found on this page a term called "Hail Fog". If you scroll down you will not only see that title, but others that give you reasons how fog forms. Gregg said it was like a layer of fog rising from the ground when he was coming back into the neighborhood. He had never seen anything quite like that before.
I took photos before it got dark (the two above) and again the next morning when I checked the plants. Most of the petals had gone but there was this one left...
and a few other stalwarts with stems standing tall and petals still hanging on. Resilient!
We have an inspector coming around soon. We are expecting rain for the rest of the week. Fingers crossed!
