If this is Tuesday, this must be............

Now, where was I?   And what day is this?  There have been times lately when those questions were forefront in my mind and the answers were hard to come by!!

Virginia Rail

A thrush - hermit, I think 

I spent six days in and around High Island, Texas birding with a couple of friends.  We had a fabulous time and totaled 165 species for the trip.   Our days were long but fun. 

A small fraction of the birdwatchers!

male Scarlet Tanager 

Indigo and Painted Buntings 

Splish Splash -- Painted Bunting 

Willet on a fence post 

We'd pick a location and then devote the whole day, or a big part of it, to finding the birds that were present.   I added several new birds to my life list, including a White-tailed Kite and Mottled Ducks.

We spent a considerable amount of time at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.  I love that place.  On the surface it looks desolate and deserted, but if you look for the details you can see all kinds of critters and birds.  

It was mostly cloudy the whole time we were there, with only brief periods of sunshine.  And the wind!!!!   A cold front was coming through and our house (which was on pilings) was rocking and rolling all night.  We also went from air conditioning to heat within a twenty-four hour period.   And did I mention the ever present threat of rain?  

There's more to tell.  I'll be back. 

Y'all take care.  

Here and There

Hello my dear friends.  I'm going to be all over the place here, so hold on. 

I have always accepted comments from anyone since I do comment moderation.  However, I'm getting very frustrated here of late with someone attempting to comment anonymously and it is very obviously spam.  I've marked it as spam, I've just deleted them as they come in and yet it continues.  I don't want to change my settings to block legitimate readers from commenting but if this doesn't end I may be left with no other choice.

Previously there have been a few instances where someone did not want to post a name and commented anonymously.  I allowed those because the content told me who they were from.  So be forewarned that henceforth I will not publish any anonymous comments.  

Being spring time, that means strawberries are ripe.  My hubby would be appalled at the thought of eating anything but my homemade jam.  How in the world did I ever  wind up creating that monster?   Anyway, 27 pints of jam were made and now he's a happy boy. 

Strawberry Jam 

He's already wondering about the blueberries.  He eats those EVERY day on his breakfast cereal.

My squirrel population has increased since the neighbors behind me moved away.  There's no one there now to feed the squirrels --  uh, the birds -- so they've simply decamped to my yard.  They can be a pest for sure, but I've rearranged feeders so that they can't bother them so much and are reduced to ground feeding, which is fine.  They help the doves clean up the leavings from the other birds on the feeders. 

Five furry friends 

We've also had a ton of birds visiting our yard this spring.  The chipping sparrows are still here, as are goldfinches.  I'm surprised that goldfinches sticking around this long, but I'm sure they'll be out of here any day now. 

The normal backyard birds are busy picking nesting sites and defending territories.   They include Carolina wrens, blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, doves, titmice, mockingbirds and brown thrashers.  Oh, we also have bluebirds.  And who knows what else stops by on any given day.

My poor yard has been neglected for years but  I decided it was time to get started on it.  We called on the muscles of our lawn/yard guy last fall to remove these really overgrown plants. 

Overgrown monsters 

We wanted lower growing plants that would not hide the 4 foot hydrangea that's behind that sago! 

All planted

I got all the plants in the afternoon before we got some really good rain, so they should be settled nicely.  With the warm temperatures, they should be happy.  We'll see how they look in a week. 

The quilt top for my granddaughter's quilt is finished and now needs to be sandwiched and quilted.  That is my least favorite thing to do. I guess that's because I'm still intimidated by machine quilting.  But it must be done and I need to just suck it up and get on with it!! 

Under construction

Y'all take care.  

A Giveaway

I've never been inclined to do a giveaway, but I think the time might be right. 

Anybody want some squirrels?

Pot # 1

Pot # 2 

Pot # 3

And Pot # 4 now looks like 1 & 2. 

Not only did they break these off, THEY ATE THE PLANTS!!  I have never seen squirrels so much as bother my geraniums over the past 14 years and suddenly they decide they're gourmet fare.   I'd had some of these plants for close to ten years.  

I can only count 10 of them at one time some days. 

Y'all take care. 

Follow Up on Pandora

NO, that's NOT me!!

I've been asked about Pandora Radio.  It is an Internet radio program, not over the air as usual radio.   You can do a search on "what is Pandora radio" and can get an explanation of what it is.   Go to  www.pandora.com and follow the instructions to set up your own radio lineup.  You start by entering a list of your favorite artists and then the program picks songs from those folks, plus others that are similar.  If one comes on that you don't like, you can click the "thumbs down" button and it immediately stops and is removed.

I have only the one station with all kinds of artists, but you can have more than one station if you like.  

It will play for quite a while and if you have not clicked on something to indicate you're still listening, it will stop playing and the screen will ask "Are you still there?"   If you click yes, it'll resume playing.  Otherwise, it stops.  Since it is a free program, they don't want to be "playing to empty rooms". 

Take a look.  I think you'll like it.   And, NO, I don't have any affiliation with them, just really like it.  

Y'all take care

Visting Stephen Foster

Don't you just love Pandora Radio?   It's wonderful.  I'm here in my cave alternately working on a quilt and putzing on the computer, all the while listening to the likes of Journey and Adele and George Strait.  If you don't know about Pandora Radio, you owe it to yourself to check it out.  No, I don't have any connection to them. 

Hubby and I spent last week at Stephen Foster State Park.  It was our first trip there and it is a lovely park.  Unfortunately, the weather was quite nippy and the furnace in the RV got a good workout.

Bell tower 

Museum 

One of the primary reasons for our visit was to meet up with friends we met in Vermont last summer who are dulcimer players.  On the first Saturday of each month, a Coffee House is held at the park where anyone can perform.  The host last week was Michael Vickey who is a master on both the hammered dulcimer and the mountain dulcimer. 

Michael Vickey on the hammered dulcimer

Michael Vickey on mountain dulcimer 

There were a few other performers as well.  We're told that there can sometimes be 10 to 15 performers.  It's just the luck of the night as to how many there are.  In addition to the performances, there's coffee and refreshments to be had.  The hot coffee was a very welcome treat last week. 

This young man played original compositions on the guitar and piano with only his left hand.

I don't know how I missed pictures of the beautiful trees with the spanish moss hanging from them, but I did. 

In the tiny town of White Springs, there is an old hardware/ mercantile store and I would absolutely love to see the inside of it.  I left noseprints on the windows as it was. 

During the wild azalea festival which is coming up soon, they will be holding activities in the building.  I'm bummed that we won't be there for that weekend. 

Off to my other chores for now.  Y'all take care. 

Wonderful Waxwings

I had a wonderful treat the other morning on the way to water aerobics.  There are mature holly trees lining a walkway to the recreation center and there are other trees in the lawn that are now budding.  I heard the high pitched squeaks and chirps immediately.  I looked up and there in the trees was a flock of probably 75 Cedar Waxwings.  A friend and I stood there admiring them for a while before going on to the pool. 

When I was leaving, I heard an even greater chirping uproar and discovered that the flock had grown exponentially and there were HUNDREDS of waxwings in those trees.  I watched, just mesmerized, wishing I had my camera.  Then I thought, what the heck, I'll go home and get it and maybe they'll still be here when I return.  Home to change clothes and grab the camera and run back. I lively only a couple of miles from the rec center, so it doesn't take long. 

Cedar Waxwings 

There was no way to begin to capture all the birds in the trees and flying around. 

I've never seen a flock like this and will be lucky to ever see it again. Waxwings winter here in the south in small flocks but migrate northward for nesting and disperse throughout the countryside. 

Hubby and I noted our seventeenth wedding anniversary this week. No great celebration but amazement as to where the time has gone. It's also time to figure out where our summer travels will take us.  Such a dilemma!  

Y'all take care. 

Sneak Peek

Where does the time go?  Seems like its only a blink and another week or month has gone by. 

Winter is hanging on here.  We are expecting temps well below freezing tonight, so I'll be hauling the plants inside a bit later today. I'm letting them enjoy the sunshine for now.  And it is wonderful to have sunshine at last.  We've had lots of dreary, gray skies this winter. 

I'm finally back to my quilting.  I'm working on a Double Slice Layer Cake pattern making a new coverlet for the bed in our RV.  It won't be finished before our next trip, though. 

It's always interesting to see your own home through the lens of a camera.  At least it is for me.    I wander around the house thinking how I want to change this, or move that and pictures seem to be the best points of reference. 

Y'all take care.