I took a walk today around my yard, looking for some sort of a sign that Spring was on it’s way. This is what I found. I have several areas of naturalized daffodils and some are starting to show themselves. This makes me happy.
Here is another group of daffodils. This one is by the back yard woods.
I found these two European Starlings in my front yard last Saturday morning. Most bird enthusiasts consider these guys to be a nuisance because they have a few bad habits. They can be aggressive in nature, they tend to show up in large numbers, and drive other species of birds away.
I took this picture last month. These two actually look quite friendly. I have no problem with the starlings visiting my feeders, as long as they behave.
I love getting extremely close to the birds to take their picture. In order to do so, I have to get them to come near my picture window. So, I sprinkle seed on the top of my porch railing.
IT works pretty well. Here is a junco and a sparrow happily munching away.
The cardinal seems happy with this arrangement, too.
Simone managed to jump to the top of the tallest piece of furniture in the house, and then had trouble figuring out how to get down. I stood on a chair and tried to rescue her, but no, she didn’t like that idea at all and jumped down herself.
Want more of weird object Friday? Follow these links: Margaret’s blog Jessica’s blog Ben’s blog (Margaret’s brother Ben not my son Ben) Jen’s Blog Would you like you like to join us?
These gray and white birds are easily identified by their light brown sides, white breasts, and a tuft on feathers on the top of their heads.
They build their homes in hollow tree cavities, cup shaped nests, or abandoned woodpecker holes. They may also choose to live in your bird house. Attract this cute little bird by offering him sunflower seeds.
Yesterday, the outdoor temperature rose to a balmy 60 degrees. I turned off the heat, and opened the top half of my dutch door. Simone is not declawed, and had a fun time hanging on to the screen.
I took this photo during a snow storm. I’ve noticed that when the weather turns bad, the birds tend to puff themselves up.
Ben came home over the weekend and taught me a new trick. I now understand how to cut a piece out of one photo, size it down, and insert it into another. I needed to keep practising, so I had to try it over and over and over. The result is quite ridiculous. Not only do Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock have their hands full with the tribbles, but they also have Rikki, who is taking a nap and lots of birdies to contend with.
The finches have started visiting me. I think it’s because I filled one of my feeders with thistle. This feeder has small openings at the very bottom, which were getting clogged when I filled it with bigger seeds. This American Goldfinch loses most of his bright gold color in the wintertime.
Here we have a Common House Finch. I think that’s too plain of a name for this pretty bird. If it were up to me I think I’d give him a prettier name. Maybe Raspberry Finch.
It took me a while to figure out that the bird at the bottom left is the female House Finch She doesn’t really look much like her mate, does she?
* Betsy has commented and has corrected my identification. What I thought was a House Finch in the last photo, is in reality a Purple Finch.
This is my cat Rikki’s tail.
Here is a picture of Rikki from a more flattering angle .
* Chris wants you to know that that was not his toupee, as he still has most of his hair!