Change of Attitudes and Thoughts

 

Tweet Tweet -- how we change over the years!

Years ago when Rich and I first lived in our cottage he said feeding the birds was such a waste of money and of course I agreed as we had a very tight budget. Bird feeders felt like a luxury as well as any seed.

Back then having dogs in the house was also a no-no. Pets did not live in the house. Farm dogs lived outside. If a dog came in the house it was confined to one room. 

Fast forward 25 years.
Rich invites Charlie to take naps with him in bed. Charlie has his own chair and 'owns' the love seat couch. 

The birds have a feeder and if I don't feed them, Rich reminds me that he can't see all the birds that visit our yard.

This was some fun on the first day the Orioles showed up. 27 seconds long.

On that first day, the Orioles were maddening! They really went nuts over the feeder. I may add a second feeder just to try and keep the peace.

I love that the birds land close by in the pine tree where we can see them from our table. It means hubby can sit and have coffee or just sit in a chair and watch the birds.

I get a running monologue of who is visiting our feeders and yard.

I get ---- Bluebird! Blue Jay! Cow Bird! Downy Woodpecker! Sometimes he gets so tongue tied he just says a partial word and points. Goldfinch! ... the list goes on and on as long as the birds are feeding.

When the Grosbeaks showed up we both got excited since we don't see them that often.

This year the Purple Finches [????] seem happy to stick around. So far.

The first hummingbird showed up on the 3rd of May which feels like it might be a bit early. However, we did have the feeder set out and we do see one returning often during the day.

When it gets nice enough for hubby to sit on the porch, he watches me work on our little garden around the porch and delights in more birdwatching. If there is a bird he can't identify, he has me get the bird book and look it up with him.

I could get the Merlin Bird app, but I could also just enjoy sitting with Rich and  the both of us page through the book together.

How things have changed.

A little pal dog and a fascination with birds.

Wild Hot Wednesday

Ok. Not Wild, but surely HOT!

As the Caregiver for my husband, I am now taking an online class regarding 'Caregiving' with the Veteran's Administration. I sort of dreaded the first class. Apprehension is pretty common when you aren't sure what you are getting into. 
[It isn't much different than the class called Building Better Caregivers]

I realized that I was not alone. I am not the only person caring for someone. 
I also realized that in some ways I have it much easier than other Caregivers. My husband actually sleeps at night. Imagine caring for someone who wanders 24 hrs a day?

Well. Enough of that.

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The mules are in the woods. They can walk around in the Buckthorn section of the woods and find patches of nice grass. It will be a bit before they can go into the larger section of woods. I want to figure out a way to keep them off the meadow for a while longer. The meadow suffered last year with it being so dry.

To say the least, being in the woods has taught my equine to deal with obstacles. They rarely twitch an ear to large logs or difficult trails.

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Against the other half's wishes I bought another hummingbird feeder and a little thistle feeder for the goldfinches.

Funny that adding a second feeder and attracting the goldfinches has caused someone to watch out the window and give me a running commentary on what kind of birds have come to the feeders!

Truth is, he is enjoying bird watching.

The hummingbird fights are something to see! If our military could build planes as agile as these birds that would be something wouldn't it?

Hummers are very territorial!

The female Grosebeak is also very territorial. -- Not a good shot -- but here she is defending a piece of an orange in the grass from a male Oriole.

I think the goldfinches are incredible in their color too. 

Enough of the birds right? I have yet to upload the photos from today where those golden beauties are hanging out in the Hickory Tree.

When I woke up this morning the fog was incredibly thick and it was muggy out. I fired up the 'Ru and went up to the ridge to see if the sky would provide a colorful sunrise.

I am in love with this area. The land is not flat, and the morning mists roll along on humid mornings creating an incredible landscape. The view never gets boring.

We accomplished some mowing today but won't be doing the rest of it until it cools off a bit.

Tomorrow it is supposed to get to 93 degrees. 

What bizarre weather. From using the heat last week and frosty mornings, too using the AC.

Oh boy! 

Bird alert! We saw Indigo Buntings today! They are so stunning in their bright blue feathers.