Gone

Most of the birds have headed to the land of warmer airs, I guess. Only one blue scrub jay hands out here and a few sparrows. The group of robins seem to have gleaned everything they found delicious in the garden and about. No hawks, either, flying by the windows. I did get a glimpse of a lone magpie this morning, that's about it. Now, I don't know if I am slow or what, but I just moved the cactus over to the west so I could see the birds feeding in the bowls on it's tips and now they are all mostly gone. Cheez! Maybe some new ones will find us and I will have a new model for another painting, like the Flicker above.

Sticky Flies!

The flies get obnoxious this time of year! I keep a fly swatter glued to my hand as I cannot bear to have them flying around me or landing on me! I have done this like forever! This year I have run into a problem, grrrrrrrrr. I seem to have lost a bit of my coordination... I don't know what it is but I have been quarreling with the same fly for two days! I keep the flyswatter where can grab it easily, and when he lands, SLAM, I swat him a good one. But, unfortunately I miss him. I am really getting agravated-with him and my self! At least he is not as big as the fly I took a picture of last summer when I was walking along the rock wall, lol. That one was an inch long!

More Bird Art

This is mostly just a doodle... but it was fun. One of those things I do while watching boring TV!

Birds

Today, first thing this morning, a flicker, or what I have always called a wood pecker, was hanging around (this is not the first time either) the house. All at once it lit on the bar of the big window and stayed there for me to view him for a minute. He has an orangy undertail, but the rest of him is black and white. Then he flew to the other side of the house and lit on the bird feeder hanger and pecked at the metal bird there. Later, I saw him, and one of the scrub jays out by the pines have a few cross words with each other. Evidently, what he had to say won, as the scrub jay left. We also have had a flock of young robins here for a week or so. They are pretty busy. We always have the sparrows too. And the big mouthed blue jays have a big mouthed friend, a magpie, that hangs with them. I see and hear him almost daily.

I have been doing some wood batiks of the birds I see here, I like the batiking and the bird theme. Funny, the little hawk lit on the bird feeder and pecked at the metal bird too a while back. How odd is that? Perhaps the shape of the bird entices them?

Sunday Morning Breakfasts

In thinking about breakfast Sundays, DH and I were talking about pancakes. I bought a package of pancake mix to take to camp but that did not happen so now we have to use it for Sundays which is the only day we ever cook breakfast. We delightfully remembered the applesauce pancakes and the corn pancakes we used to make when our kids were small. They liked them! We thought we should try that again this winter. I spent some time looking for the corn pancake recipe in Granny's old cook book. The applesauce pancake recipe just came about through evolution. Some one gave me some apples, I made applesauce that no one wanted to eat, so I started using it in the pancake batter one time when I was a bit short on milk and the batter needed a bit more moisture. We all liked the pancakes and it was a great way to use the applesauce.

We like to have Sunday breakfast with any of the willing to eat family members. Jack's family, for instance, just comes up whenever they can and we all pitch in and help-the men cooking, the women waiting patiently, lol. The menu is usually whatever we have on hand. I think the idea is not so much what we eat, as it is a way of getting together as an extended family.

Anniversary Time

This time of year I really think lots about anniversaries. J&D in July, D&M Oct 1 (TODAY and Happy Happy One I hope) mine and DH Nov 1, and my Mom and Dad's was Nov 2. I remember how we had a big combination anniversary and pheasant hunt years ago. All the families would group at Granny's house and the men would go pheasant hunting and the women would play and cook. Usually after dinner we would play cards. The kids would play underfoot somewhere. Those were fun times for the most part and good memories. Sometimes I would go pheasant hunting with the guys. I used to like to do that, hunt. And doves too. Now, that I have learned that doves mate for life, I couldn't shoot one. And pheasants I think are pretty much a thing of the past as far as public lands go. But it is nice to have sweet memories, don't you think? Maybe I should stick a pheasant in my drawing above... just for old times sake!

Hawk Bath

On Monday, I went to the door to let Bubs out. As I glanced out the door, I saw one of the little hawks sitting on the edge of a big flat bowl we have sitting by the BarBQ for the animals to drink out of. I immediately froze and stood there to watch him. He was about the size of a pigeon but chunkier. Suddenly, he hopped right into the middle of the bowl and began an entertaining ritual of bathing! I fluffed out his feathers and wings and splashed and wallered in the water for several awe inspiring moments. I noticed the feathers on the back of his head actually give the impression of two big owl looking eyeballs. He was kind of a grey and white almost checkered over all. He also had a friendly magpie with him that strutted around cawing and generally watching him too. Finally, he and his friend magpie flew off into the sky. I felt lucky to have the chance to view this guy from about seven feet, as he bathed and enjoyed himself! I believe he is the same young and inexperienced hawk that has sat on the humming bird brackets in the kitchen window, in the ash tree, and on the bird house just off the deck. I hope this is not the last I will see of him!