Could it really be nine says since I last posted? I’ve certainly thought about posting, but my days have been full, so the ideas haven’t made it to the page.
The egrets and herons returned around the seventh of May. We don’t have huge numbers of them yet, but I have the pleasure of seeing at least one of them each time I go out. I have seen the big gray herons in flight several times, and they always remind me of pterodactyls.
Up until this week we had a long run of gray weather without the rain. This week we have finally gotten the rain. I made a trip to Morris, Illinois last Tuesday, and was pleasantly surprised to see that about 90% of the fields between Yorkville and Morris were planted, and many even had corn 4-6 inches tall. I know that many of the Midwestern states have had so much rain that the farmers haven’t been able to get into the fields. We seem to have been a little area short on precipitation, so I’m not complaining. What I don’t care for is being drop-kicked from the 60s to 90 degrees overnight!
Despite my post on being frugal, I bought a sewing machine! I have been concerned that my beloved Singer 301A would eventually go kaput, and not be repairable. I’ve sewed on that machine for more than fifty years, and adore it! I thought that it might be wise to have a newer machine as a back up, before Dear Husband and I retire. The new machine couldn’t be more different. The Singer is a straight stitch portable machine made of iron. While I can drop the feed dogs to stipple quilt, it was never really intended for that purpose. The new machine is computerized, has a built-in dual feed system and an 11 inch opening through which I can feed quilts. There is a built-in needle threader. It has more than 100 stitches, an alphabet and numbers, and pattern memory. I can arrange for the needle to stop in the down position and there is a knee lever for lifting the presser foot. It’s possible to run the machine without using the foot pedal. Most women who sew today take a lot of this for granted, but it’s all new to me! I hope the learning curve won’t be too steep.
I’ve planted all but two of the plants I picked up in my first garden shopping trip. The last two to go in were purple fountain grass, along the back of the bed next to the garage wall. If I had planted them a month ago, it would have been a lot easier, but this week I had to work around iris that were ready to open, and the last of the tulips. I asked DH to bring a chair and sit where he could keep an eye on me as I planted. I was afraid that I would get into a position I couldn’t get out of. Luckily, the plants went in well, and with the use of the shovel handle, I was able to maneuver myself out of a tight spot and back onto my feet. I’m sure that his presence was what made that work. Had he not been there, I’d still be waiting for a hand out of the garden! *G*
I believe that eight to ten iris were blooming yesterday. One was open for a couple of days, and then it was a domino effect. It must have been just warm enough, and sunny enough to move them along on Tuesday. I have a lot of dark colored iris: navy, purple, burgundy, bronze, contrasted with yellow and peach. There’s no rhyme or reason. If I see one I like, I try it, and they almost always multiply for me. They are at the top of the list for my favorite flowers.
We are going to celebrate my oldest granddaughter’s seventh birthday today. Her birthday was last week, and they did a party for the kids, but the adults are gathering this weekend to celebrate. Last weekend was so popular there wasn’t enough time to fit everything in. I was tickled to hear that GD1 wanted to be the Cake Boss. To further this goal, I bought her a Nordic pan that lets you create filled cup cakes that resemble a soft serve ice cream cone in shape when they are assembled. The top and bottom are baked separately, and then pudding or frosting or even ice cream can be spooned into the indentation in the bottom half. I doubt her mother has the time to cook with her, but I thought it might be something that GD1 and I could do this summer. It interests me that it’s not the eating of the cupcakes, but the baking of them, that appeals to her.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I hope that those of you who have been around for our wars will help our younger generation understand why we choose to remember those who have fought on our behalf.
Category Archives: Birds
Egrets!
I’ve seen egrets this week! Or, maybe I’ve seen the same egret more than once. He/She must be the scout to see if our weather is ready for the migration! lol Now, I’m watching for the herons. They are harder to see because of their smoky gray color, and how thin they are. If you are not seeing a side view of those birds, you might miss them!
Spring is FINALLY showing up!
I asked the man who has helped with some of our landscaping to fill my veggie beds with a mix of compost and dirt. I thought it would be delivered about three weeks ago, and was getting ready to call to find out what had happened. Dear Husband pointed out that it had been delivered yesterday. I have seeds to plant! I’ll have to pass on the spinach until this fall, but I can get other things in, soon!
Tomorrow the Arr!! goes into Lake Michigan. Dear Husband is going to come home tomorrow night. He says that it’s a bit too cool to sleep over on an unheated boat. He’ll go back Sunday to get things squared away, and I’ll spend the day piecing quilts!
Egrets, the Arr!!, seeds and quilting. It’s Spring.
That Blasted Bird!
We have a young robin that thinks he has to defend his turf from another bird in the window of my office. While it’s cute to watch, he is the messiest bird I’ve ever known! While he’s busy making faces at the “Other” bird, he’s pooping on the limestone sill. Do you suppose he’s scaring himself, or is this just the nature of the bird?
I hope he gets the idea soon that the reflection is no threat, and gets on with his life!
Birds Galore!
Dear Husband took me out to lunch today. We visited a Cooper Hawk’s Winery and Restaurant and had a lovely meal. I tried tiny tastes of four wines and settled on a red wine that neither of us can name at the moment…..a red with “Bolla” or “Bolo” in the title, very smooth, with a nice body to it. I didn’t care for the Petite Syrah, or the Chardonnay. I did like the spiced wine they served as you walked in the door!
Those of you who know me are probably astounded to hear that I was actually drinking wine, at noon yet! But it went so nicely with the meal that I decided to enjoy myself.
Fortunately for me, Dear Husband took the role of designated driver. We arrived home, and I realized that I had announced that “WE” needed to dig a path to the farthest bird feeder, which is clearly empty following our blizzard. The drifts are so high near the feeder that you can’t see the raised herb garden next to it. I decided that I would be happy with a path one shovel wide, and went at it, happy head and all.
It was like shoveling three times the length of that short path. For each foot of snow, it took three scoops to clear it out: the top layer, the middle scoop, and a final push that took me near, but not to the grass. When I had the path finished, I had to walk back around the garage to get the seed. The drift is so high that we can’t get in and out of the back door of the garage.
I put out three gallons of mixed bird seed in the feeders and on a ground feeding platform that is sitting on top of the snow. I filled the nyger feeder, added a suet for the woodpeckers, and put out three ears of corn. I don’t know if the squirrels will give the deer a break and leave the corn. Thursday I looked out the kitchen window and saw a squirrel dragging an entire ear of corn toward the woods. I wish I had been there to see him carry it up the tree!
So, I’m full, the feeders are full, and I hope that shortly the birds will be full, too. The local grapevine must have ratted me out, because the air and feeders were filled with birds as soon as I made it inside. Yea….birdies! We’re glad to have been able to help!
Feathered Friends
We have a large number of retention ponds in this area. Every subdivision has one, and so do the industrial complexes. Where there’s been a lot of growth, there are a lot of these ponds, and the birds love them.
I’ve noticed that the geese snooze on the north slopes of the bigger ponds in late morning. Some of the geese stand on one foot and some nestle into the grass, but they all bend their necks to put their heads under their wings while they sleep. We don’t see this type of behavior much at all during the summer, but we see it a lot in the fall.
Herons and egrets are still with us. We’ve been having incredible fall weather here the past few weeks. Mostly, it’s been in the upper sixties and lower seventies, with a lot of sun and no rain. The past few days it’s been in the upper seventies into the eighties, quite warm for October in the Chicago area. The weather forecast for this week has very little rain in it. We could use the precipitation to be getting ready for winter. I worry about our trees not having enough water.
Sightings
Each year I keep a watch for the return of the herons and egrets. This year, I saw one of each on April 14th. I’ve seen the heron once more and also what we think may be a cormorant. The cormorant fishes at the same curve of a retention pond each day. I think this might be a returning bird rather than a new visitor, because he’s chosen the same spot as last year to fish.
I was reading “Birds and Blooms” with Elegante Mother last month and learned that when you empty bird houses out for the new nesting season, you should also spray the interior with a 10% bleach/90% water solution to prevent carryover of infection. Dear Husband repaired one of the houses for me and then helped me to reposition the houses in the apple tree and pin oak.
I made a “nesting wreath” this year. I bought a straw wreath form and wrapped five inch cuts of yarn, ribbon, and raffia around it, along with lint from the drier. I thought it was a cute idea, but I haven’t seen a lot of takers yet. Perhaps those who build their nests later in the season will be interested.
Silly Bird!
I have an office with two windows. Under the windows there are two lateral files, and siting on the file cabinets is a Wheelwriter typewriter. Edward Scissorhands, my old cat, has taken to sleeping on the typewriter. It’s covered with a quilted cover, and sits in a sunny spot in the morning. I can kinda understand his choice.
This spring, we have had a rufous sided towhee visiting at the window. This little bird thinks he can see his competition in the window, so there’s lots of posturing, and pecking at the glass, and flying up parallel to the window pane.
When the cat discovers the bird is there, he goes into instant hunting mode. I’ve been worried that he’s going to hurt his nose on the screen, and yesterday I had to move a geranium that has been grown in that window, lest he break off the branches.
My brother has a cardinal that is in love with his own image in the right rear-view mirror of one of his trucks. I’ve heard of other birds who couldn’t be persuaded that it was just a reflection.
If this little bird isn’t careful, Ed will find him one day, and that will be the end of the posturing.
Travels
Over the last week of February and the first week of March, Dear Husband and I spent ten days in Florida. We had really looked forward to getting away. DH needs to be spared from the Chicago area hard winters, given that he works construction, and each year he has the opportunity to play in the memorial golf tourney which is named for his son. This year, we flew in and spent the first four days in the Orlando area. We went to Disney with our granddaughters and their parents, and then, Sunday, we headed for the Florida Keys.
I’d never been further south than Cape Canaveral, or Siesta Key. It was roughly a five to six hour drive from Orlando to Key Largo, and we stopped halfway to refill the gas tank. DH must have felt we needed to refill our tanks too, because he stopped at a McDonald’s for lunch. We were getting ready to order when I realized that three sand hill cranes were walking across the lawn at the front of the building. Perhaps they needed to top off their tanks before beginning the trek north. I’m sure these birds were very clear that they could get hand outs at Mickey D’s.
We weren’t giving the handouts. In fact, we did not feed ANY wildlife while we were there, despite a lot of opportunity.
P.S. I didn’t get my bird book out to make sure I have the species right. If I’m wrong, I hope Bogie or Cop Car will set me straight.
Birds!
I was astonished and delighted to see our first heron yesterday, standing in the icy waters of a retention pond near our home. Then, today, I passed by a preserve that has been devoted to herons. I don’t know if it could be called a “rookery” or not, but this is a major breeding site in the Chicago suburbs, and the trees and man-made “masts” were covered with birds. YEA!!!!
While we were in Florida, we visited a bird refuge, and saw many of the heron and egret varieties that come to this area for the summer. They are simply beautiful birds! And, on our trip south I was able to get within twelve feet of three sandhill cranes. Dear Husband said that he saw some of them flying north today.
Yesterday, I looked out our kitchen window, toward the bird feeder a short while before dusk, and counted TWELVE male cardinals feeding. Of course, there were most likely twelve females, too, but it takes a little more careful searching to see them, since they blend in so very well.
My friend Cop Car, and her daughter Bogie, are much more informed birdwatchers than I am, but one day I may catch up to them. It’s a lovely hobby.
More Firsts
It was in the upper sixties today. It might have even hit 70. As I went out to call in Edward Scissorhands, I noticed that the daffodils along the east wall of the house have begun to bloom, and I can see the heads of the lily plants poking out of the earth.
Somewhere back in my archives there is an entry or twelve on Scilla, a tiny blue flowered bulb that blooms early in the season. Last week I noticed a sea of thin green leaves around the base of one of the trees in the grove, and today the flowers had opened. Here’s a good picture of scilla thanks to the University of Illinois.
I went back through my archives, and was interested to see that the squill bloomed much earlier in some years than others. This must have been a tough winter, with all the snow and cold.
And, we have at least one Rufous-Sided Towhee! Welcome back little bird!
