SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - DO YOU HAVE YOUR GLASSES ON?

Again?

      

Even the doves are a bit uninspired this week but that's how it sometimes goes on a Saturday Morning at the Bird Feeder.

Thanks for looking everyone and 

have a great weekend.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - ANOTHER PARROT JOKE?

 

You don't have to yell in such BIG LETTERS!

Word of the day: polygon (geometry) a plain figure with at least three straight sides and angles and typically five or more. And if you would like a visual, you can go here.

I don't think anyone else will either. 

And that's how it goes on a Saturday Morning at the Birdfeeder. You win some, you lose some, and Poor Polly took the huff and is gone.

If another post popped up today, please ignore. It is something I have in mind to publish later and I accidentally posted it on this blog. I do these things occasionally.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - WHAT'S THIS?

 

The birds are in a bit of a quandary.

Word of the day!

“Quandary”

Meaning, unsure or confused. 

“The backyard birds are a little worried about what’s coming next. They are in a quandary.”

As for Camera Lady, she wants to plant lots of trees, just like Johnny Appleseed did with all his appleseeds.

 

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER AND WORD OF THE DAY

Word of the Day: “mendacious”

Pronounced: men.day.shuhs

  “A mendacious child squirrel says, 

“I will never steal the birds’ food again.”

Squirrel Mom says,

“I can tell that’s a fib.  Your nose always twitches when you tell a fib. Are your pants on fire?”

“Oh Mommy!”

Squirrel Moms always have a way of knowing.

Now this definitely does not apply to our squirrel, as his little white lies are not malicious.  They just relate to his hunger. However, the word "mendacious" means as follows:

“People may tell "white lies" if they forgot your birthday or really don't like your new haircut, but if you catch someone intentionally manipulating you with a falsehood, that person is just plain mendacious. So, think of the most deceptive, insincere, perfidious, duplicitous, false person you've ever met, and then add the word mendacious to that list.”

And now we know.

Thank you, I appreciate you stopping by and appreciate the comments too.  I am frequently late returning visits these days, but I promise I'll get there soon. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

WORD OF THE DAY WITH A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

I noticed each little boy had an endearing twinkle in his eyes, a mischievous look on his face.

UK 1890

“Scallywag”

“A person who behaves badly but in an amusingly mischievous rather than harmful way; often for personal profit.”

There was such a scallywag in one of our old neighborhoods, a darling little boy I was very fond of.  The other children used to pick on him and I would hear him call out my name for help.  All I had to do was open the front door for others to scatter in all directions.  He would run in the house and I would give him milk and cookies, and he stayed with me until his mom got home.  

Times were changing and most all of the moms went out to work on our road.  I had a small cottage industry that allowed me to stay home, so I became the unofficial nanny to several of the neighborhood kids.  I didn’t mind because our son had lots of company.  

My little scallywag, however, had a lot of time on his hands, as his mom worked longer hours than most.  She also traveled on business and had a live-in nanny who was as old as I am now, and he spent most of his non-school time running all hours around the neighborhood.

One time, just before the holidays, I noticed there were paper plates in the gutter in front of my neighbors’ houses, including ours.  As I looked a few doors down, there was my little scallywag sitting on the curb.  He was stuffing his mouth with cookies from one of the plates that had been previously festively wrapped.  

His mother had given those cookies to all the neighbors as a gift, and placed them in the letter boxes for them to find when they came home and checked their mail.  Scallywag said he thought it was okay to take them back, as they were his mother’s cookies, he had helped her bake them and he was hungry.  

We had a little chat about that.  I told him a) he would get into trouble going into people's letter boxes and he shouldn't do that anymore, and b) once his mother had given her cookies away, they were now the neighbors' cookies, not his mothers and not his. 

He was six years’ old and we had our very own artful dodger on the loose.  Not really, but I think you know what I mean.  He's probably chatting to his own kids now, giving them talks like, "I understand, when I was a kid there was this time..."

When his mom remarried and moved out of state a couple of years later, I really missed that little boy, and even now the thought of him makes me smile.

After reading this Gregg said what he remembers is that he was a natural athlete, could kick a soccer ball and run like the wind.

What I remember is that kid sure loved his cookies and milk.

The photo was given to me by Gregg who belongs to an online historical photo group.  Seeing all those little boys sent me on a trip down memory lane.  A great trip for me, thank you Gregg.

A FIRST TIME VISITOR...

to our back deck was an Indigo Bunting.

This little beauty appeared after a hard downpour, and everywhere was wet and soggy.  It seemed a bit timid as he stayed on the edge and quickly flew off back into the trees.  However, we were very happy for its visit.  I have never actually seen one before except for those in nature photos.  Mine are not the best but I am very happy for them, and I hope it revisits.

 I was surprised to find out that they belong to the Cardinal family, and just like the male and female Cardinal, they are easy to tell apart as they are dimorphic.  A fun word and I put the meaning below.  I found the info here. 

"dimorphic"

which means occurring or existing in two different forms.

A breeding male Indigo Bunting is blue all over, with slightly richer blue on his head and a shiny, silver-gray bill. Females are basically brown, with faint streaking on the breast, a whitish throat, and sometimes a touch of blue on the wings, tail, or rump. Immature males are patchy blue and brown.  Our visitor as you can tell, is a male.  

To see beautiful photography and more information, you can click on this website. 

The Indigo Bunting is broadly distributed in North America and all members of its population move south in the winter.  Another surprise for me, migration takes place at night, though they sometimes continue their flight after daylight arrives.  They frequently return to the same breeding area in subsequent years, with males doing so more often than females. 

The oldest known Indigo Bunting in the wild lived over eleven years.

More interesting facts:

Indigo Buntings split their time between North and Central America. Specifically, they spend spring and summer in the eastern and southwestern United States, then fall and winter in Central America and some islands of the Caribbean. 

In the United States, they have traditionally been found from Maine south to Florida and west to Texas and North Dakota. Their range has recently expanded into the Southwest and the Four Corners region. 

One theory is that Indigo Buntings use the stars to navigate during migrations.  Tiny though they may be, these small birds are able to fly hundreds of miles thanks to the help of an internal clock that enables them to determine their location in space. The birds migrate at night so they can see the stars overhead when they fly. To chart a course, they fixate on a specific star. They fly at a specific angle between the star and the earth. Geometrically, this points them in a straight line that allows them to accurately arrive at their destination.

They sometimes breed with the Lazuli Bunting.

In areas of the western Great Plains, the Indigo Bunting can be found alongside another blue bird, the Lazuli Bunting. While they often defend their territories against each other, they also may share songs and even interbreed to form hybrids.  

During the breeding season, males are a bright cobalt blue. Their heads are slightly darker than the rest of them, although some may have darker blue wingtips. They are sometimes referred to as the “blue canary”. 

At other times of the year, the male has more brown feathers. His tail, wings, and part of his neck may be brown. However, the blue feathers of his head and back are still visible. 

After mating, the male Indigo Bunting doesn’t contribute much to his mate’s hefty job of building the nest, incubating the eggs, and feeding the growing chicks. One thing he does do is defend his territory vigorously against intruders. 

In some situations, however, the pair might mate again when their brood is about to fledge the nest. While the female goes to another part of her mate’s territory to build a second nest, the father of the fledging chicks might take over the feeding role. 

They adapt according to what food is available. In the winter, seeds are usually present from the ripening and harvesting of autumn. Since many live near abandoned agricultural land, they take advantage of successional plants that may seed or fruit and leave remnants for the winter.  However, in the spring and summer, Indigo Buntings feast on insects. The first food the mother feeds her chicks after hatching is insects. 

It’s more difficult to attract Indigo Buntings to your bird feeder, because they are more shy than other birds. If you have a large yard with a low, brushy area with grasses and shrubs, consider placing a feeder at the edge. Indigo buntings might make an appearance in such a comfortable location.  (I would say we were very lucky to see ours.)

Some birds are gregarious throughout the year. Not Indigo Buntings! During the summer months, they prefer to forage for insects alone. Wintertime is another story. Flocks of buntings work together to find seeds and locate the most nutrient-dense food sources. 

It may surprise you to learn that the male Indigo Bunting’s vibrant blue feathers are not, in fact, pigmented at all. His feathers appear blue for the same reason that the sky appears blue – the reflection of light. Structures within the feather reflect only the blue light. 

Male buntings love to sing.  Their songs can last for longer than they do – up to 20 years! Males learn their songs from other males in the area. You can tell it’s an Indigo Bunting according to the presence of double notes. 

Watch for males in the middle of summer. They like to perch in plain sight where they are visible to other males, females, and any potential threats. Sometimes, they’ll even fight between each other. These musical commotions involve mid-air tussles where the birds grab at each other’s feet mid-chirp! 

My thanks to this website for the above interesting information.

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER AND WORD OF THE DAY...

 

'

"Example: Waking up on a cozy Sunday morning after a long week of work to the sound of rain? That’s the best drizzlosis for me."

Etymology & Word Origins

The drizzl in drizzlosis represents “drizzle” which means “light rainfall.” “Osis” is a suffix meaning “condition or state of (something).”

How about you?  Do you enjoy the rain, do you get in a state of drizzlosis? 

I don't think Squirrel cares much about words.

WORD OF THE DAY...

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

Whatever your plans I wish you joy!

Word of the day: 

Curlicue

 curl·i·cue

A decorative curl or twist in calligraphy, or in the design of an object, or a squirrel's tail, as in the squirrel's tail has a delightful curlicue.

I know, I'm stretching the meaning a little to fit my picture, but that tail is so darned cute it deserves the name 'curlicue'.  The actual frame is full of  curlicues.

IT WOULD BE REALLY HARD TO CUT INTO THIS...

 and take a slice.  I would not want to spoil perfection.  They are just too perfectly beautiful!  Another form of great art!  Such talented people out there aren't there? 

I found them at the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center at National Harbor in Maryland, in the windows of a bakery inside the hotel.  Gregg and I decided to treat ourselves to a mini road trip before the holidays, our gift to each other for Christmas.  Only 24 miles away and we reveled in the fact that it only took us a short time to drive home.  We have dipped our toes into the waters friends.  It's our first getaway in yonks!

Word of the day: Yonks

Noun: informal - British slang

It means a very long time.

I used to use that expression all the time but it's been years.  It just popped into my head right now.  Next I'll be saying this is the first trip away in a donkey's age (also British slang, and another expression that means the same, and another one I have not used in a very long time) until now.

Anyhow, I would love to look at the names of the customers who order these.  Maybe for a company's party just before everyone breaks up for the Holidays, or who knows?  There wasn't a price showing and I wasn't going to ask.  This old kitty-kat was just a little curious.

Well, my friends, the season is fast moving along.  I took loads of photos to share in future posts, no surprise there.  I will start sharing them the day after Monday's recipe.  Happy Sunday!

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER and WORD OF THE DAY

"Cha-Cha-Cha"

A Latin-American ballroom dance with small steps and swaying hip movements. 

A piece of music composed for this dance.

Verb:

To perform this dance

Word origin:

From American (Cuban) Spanish

WORD OF THE DAY: SCALLYWAG

The Grackles and the Starlings, who remind me of the word ...

"Scallywag"

A person (or in this case, the above) who behaves badly but in an amusingly mischievous, rather than harmful, way.  Another word we could use would be "Rascal".

WORD OF THE DAY

 

From Oxford Languages, "used to encourage or draw attention to the performance of some physical, especially acrobatic, feat."  In this case Mr. Squirrel giving a ten-out-of-ten performance while on the balance beam, after hearing yet another dinner bell in the next garden.  

"Alleyoop Mr. Squirrel, Alleyoop!"

Next word of the day, "Motivation".