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Here they are,

belated highlights of the big 3-7:

Oh breakfast crepes, oh breakfast crepes

thy taste is so delicious!

Oh breakfast crepes, oh breakfast crepes

I enjoy thee ev'ry year!

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In the afternoon, we went to the Lab of O.
(aka the Lab of Ornithology.)

I had a lovely encounter through the observatory windows
with a pair of geese, the male in particular.

He had a watchful, soulful eye
set on me and my camera.

 Eventually he either tired or relaxed,
closing his watchful eye,
standing on one foot.
Poor fellow's left wing feathers were a bit ragged.

He looked like he was doing qigong,
which I had done earlier in the morning.

----------------

While the geese were on the shore, the ducks were out on the pond,
having their ducky frivolities, i.e. a fabulous time.

Interesting how two very different emotions can be evoked
from practically right next to each other,
from the sublime to the silly.
You would think they'd be a world apart,
but not at all.

Another lesson from our winged friends.

If you've never been to the Lab of O,

I highly recommend it.

I also recommend going into the sound room,

where you can listen and learn about the sounds of so many birds.

They even have some frogs, insects, and a few mammals.

They also have some gorgeous nests in display cases.

I love this one that was probably made with part of an old blue tarp.

 There's a fantastic new mural that was impossible to capture with my camera.

Everything is life-size, painted to scale.
There is nothing like this.

To say that the scope is grand would be an understatement.
It spans hundreds of millions of years to the modern day.
Every family of bird is represented.
 The magnificent frigatebird above is perched on top of a sprinkler.

If you can't visit it in person (and even if you can!)
Check out the interactive version of the mural online here:


https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/features/wallofbirds/

The entire project is beyond spectacular,
and absolutely breath-taking.

------------



It was a birdy birthday,
but my birthday dessert was most certainly for people,
(though it did have some seed brittle that many a bird may enjoy):

Sasha made an exquisite cheesecake (with goat cheese!)
with seed brittle (sesame seeds and poppy seeds!)
served with a yummmmmmmy blood orange sauce.

Grateful, grateful.

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June Hunter's blog

Hey there Readers,

My apologies for the lapse between posts.  It's been busy-busy-busy here.
I'm aiming to do a belated birthday blog this weekend, but I also have some other writing assignments I really have to tackle, so if I don't get around to it, suffice to say, the big 3-7 was quite lovely.  Thank you to my wonderful family, and to my fantastic niece Kaylee, who "quacked" the birthday song for me.  (I love being her Aunt Ducky!)  

For now, though, I wanted to tell you about a fabulous blog, definitely worth a browse when you have the time.  June Hunter is in Vancouver, BC, and she takes AMAZING photos, makes beautiful nature and bird-inspired jewelry, and my favorite of all -- she's a great observer of crows.

http://www.junehunter.com/blogs/june-hunter-images-1

Grab a cup of something warm and hang out with June.
And Hank.  And his mate Vera.

Enjoy!

shopping mall... bird nests

Sometimes errands can really be a drag.

Especially if it involves going to the mall or a big box store.

I never get excited about that stuff.

Bleck.

But sometimes you just have to look around,
look a little closer,
look with fresh eyes instead of
I-can't-wait-to-be-done-with-this-crap eyes.

You might be surprised with what you find!



 -----------


When I looked up from my discontent, I laughed out loud with delight.
I saw that a whole bunch of house sparrows
had decided to make use of our sprawling concrete shopping jungles
in the best of ways:

 

It's interesting how they built the same sort of spikey reed nest in the curve of the S
in Arts
and in Crafts.

Hmmmmmn.
 Perhaps the same bird artist constructed both?

Maybe this bird thinks
S stands for Sentinel.

Here are some closer shots so you can see how "crafty" those sparrows are:

 It's amazing how they don't mind having such proximity from one nest to the next --
maybe they're good neighbors?!

Look carefully at the stick-things.
They're so similar looking, I wonder if they might be plastic floral "decor" sticks
from one of the outdoor displays or sale racks?

I love their art.


---------

Cornell's Lab of Ornithology sponsors a Funky Nest contest,

you can check it out here and see some interesting submissions from 2015.

Have fun finding nests in unexpected places!

baby robins + an amazing bird moment

Robins have built a nest right in our pool deck again. 

They've been doing it for at least half a dozen years, probably more...

I wonder if it's the same original pair 

or their offspring 

or their grand-birds?

Welcome, little friends!

It's a real treat to get to watch their development day by day,

though we try not to disturb the nest too much.  

They'll be fledglings before we know it.  

Time flies when you're growing feathers.

Speaking of fledglings... 

We had an amazing bird moment today!

You'll have to use your mind's eye to imagine it...

(I knew that if I left to get my camera, it would be gone / over...

and I'm not one of those people who has my cell phone attached to me all the time.)

Boo was near tears because it felt so lucky and so special 

that it happened right in our yard, about 10 feet or so in front of us.

I just stood there with my eyes big and mouth agape in awe,

wanting to take it all in.  

We were just out and about strolling through the gardens 

looking to see what changes the rain had brought...

and then I spotted it -- a pileated woodpecker fledgling!!!

We watched it in silence.  

It was learning so much.

It was learning about its feet 

grasping the side of an old tree branch 

that we had propped next to our fence.

It was learning about its wings

It was learning about its beak,

 tentatively pecking at a garden post.

It was learning about it's vision,

moving its head all around to look at the big world.

After a few moments, the mother swooped in next to it,

and we watched as she put her beak inside the fledgling's beak

and with those undulating movements

passing through her throat, delivering some food,

 which it gratefully gobbled down.

Then we saw the mother fly off and take a watchful stance 

not too close, but not too far. 

The fledgling tested its wings in flight,

landing in one of our garden beds

like a model airplane without enough aerodynamic lift. 

After a brief rest, 

the fledgling made it back to an old maple tree,

and slowly made the ascent up the tree 

with a combination of walking and wing-work.

It's possible that the nest is in the tree we saw it return to,

so we'll keep looking for activity there and really try not to disturb them.

----------

Wow!!!!

 It was a totally magical bucket list moment,

and I didn't even know it was on my bucket list.  

:)

I'm grateful to all of the birds for sharing life with us.

Big Red and Ezra are back!

Big Red and Ezra are back!

Tune in to the Cornell Hawk camera sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

You can enter your "guess" about when the first egg will hatch on their website here.

Consider supporting the great work they do!

Bald Eagle Live Cam

Live bird nest cams are starting to stream again...!

Check out this bald eagle nest in Hanover, PA.

I couldn't figure out a way to embed it here on my blog,

but just click the link and you can watch!

Bald Eagle Live Cam

snow day mitten repair clinic and bird-watching

Well, we definitely can't get back to the garden just yet, folks.

I'm not even going to dream about it today, 

because the garden is buried several feet deep with snow,

and I may as well just enjoy what is.

So, after a long bout of winter chores this morning, 

it was time to kick back, relax, 

and enjoy the snow day off from school / work.   

Snow days mean staying warm by the fire...

and after all of those morning chores,

it was great to warm up wet boots, hats, socks, and mittens.

Upon inspection of my favorite mittens,

it was clear that they had seen better days, 

er, better years..!

Thumbs and fingers were poking out.  

Yarn had worn thin in several spots. 

They were no longer doing their job 

of keeping my hands warm and dry. 

So, what better way to spend a snow day than by the fire

having a mitten repair clinic?

That's what we've been up to today.

Well, not exactly "we" because 

I'm not the "mittie" repair lady, 

but I've been observing the work-in-progress.

 

This winter I've gotten into the habit of doing a read-aloud while she knits away.

It's really fun to do a read-aloud by the fire.  

I highly recommend it.

If you've never read The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, I highly recommend that, too.

There's a sequel that we're onto now, The Rosie Effect.  

Both are great stuff.  Lots and lots of laughs.

Voila!
Now I have some even funkier patched-up mittens!

Warmer than ever before!

It almost would have been easier to knit another pair of mittens!

But I really love the wacky piecemeal patching approach.

One of a kind...

Just like my little lady!

--------------

Another great thing to do on a snowy day is to watch the birds.

They really feed heavily around storms and during cold spells.

Some make it to the feeders...

while others go for seed that has fallen from the feeders above...

This morning I saw a little junco standing at the edge of some ice on the pond,

drinking from a thawed part.

But before I got my camera, he was gone.

It's fun seeing birds dip their faces in the snow to eat / drink it. 

Check out this snowy-faced cardinal:

I love watching birds crack down on sunflower shells!

This female cardinal blends beautifully into the branches of our willow bushes...

What a gorgeous tail feather fan!

and here she is again:

Bigger birds like bluejays and woodpeckers have been eating suet like crazy.

The squirrels have helped out, too!

We've got to get out there and give them some more!

finding chickadees in unexpected places...

I really love chickadees.

They have so many wonderful qualities.

 They're friendly and curious...

and possibly the bravest little songbirds. 

Plus they tough it out in our climate all year long.

They're friends through all kinds of weather...  

And for a birder with not the greatest ear,

I appreciate that I can easily tell their song.

-----------

Chick-a-dee-dee-dee

----------

This summer I have a favorite chickadee.

Such a sweet little friend.

I don't know if it's a he or a she... 

male and female black-capped chickadees look so much like,

birders often rely on their vocalizations to differentiate them.

I'm going to call my friend a he.

Let me introduce you to him.

Every night, he roosts in the Arcosanti Soleri wind bell 

hanging from our oak tree right by the house.

I can see his tail hanging out from under the lip of the bell 

from where I sit with my computer.

I can see that he's there 

and say,

"Goodnight, Chickadee"

before I head up to bed.

If we're out checking on the chickens at night,

I can even walk right next to the bell and he rarely flies away, 

he just peers down at me.

Yes, it's just me again.  

Good night my little chick-a-dee friend.