A Room With a View

It's that time again and I'm loving my first spring as a resident of the north Georgia mountains. 

View from the front deck/porch

Hubby is suffering from the pollen levels but I'm not having too much trouble with it.  We both agree that its a small price to pay, however, for living in a place we love. 

The azaleas really put on a show.  Too bad the don't last longer. 

The hostas seemed to just burst from the ground. 

Hostas on April 9

Hostas on April 21

With spring comes the migration of little feathered friends, too. 

Flying little pigs 

First Rose Breasted Grosbeak of the season 

We're having a good number of Indigo Buntings but no picture worth sharing yet. 

Yesterday I counted fifteen different species of birds from either my sewing studio or the living room upstairs.  And I wasn't even looking toward the feeders farther out in the yard. 

Y'all take care. 

Fall in the Air

The skies, they are a changin'.  It truly feels like fall is fast approaching here in the hills.  We woke to 50 degrees this morning and it was glorious.  We're being blessed with dry, sunny days with temps in the mid 70's.  I am just so tickled about this wonderful weather. 

Hubby and I took a ride up to Brasstown Bald the other day.  It had been years since we were last there.  There's been some "improvements" made such as a general store, bigger restrooms and more parking areas.   

The Bald is the highest point in Georgia and from up there you can see four states from the 360 degree view.  Supposedly, in the fall and winter when the weather has cleared out the haze, you can actually see the skyline of Atlanta over 80 something miles away.  

Also depending on which direction you look, you can see a couple of small towns and Lake Chatuge and Lake Nottley.   It sure is pretty up there and I figure we'll make the trek back up there in about to a month to take in the colors from that perspective. 

I'm excited to see what the colors look like from our house, since we are surrounded by trees on all sides and we have long range views of mountains in two directions.  

The trees have been home to lots of little birds these days.  Every morning brings a new batch of migrants of some sort.  Some of them I can identify and some I can't.  Where's my Birdlady friend when I need her?  These little guys just don't stay still long enough for me to get a good look, note important markings and then dig out the bird books to identify them!!!   

Any time you have windows you are likely to have bird strikes.  A week or so ago I was sitting here and heard this "whump".  At first, I thought it was upstairs but realized it was too loud.  Went over to the other side of the fireplace and looked out that door and there on the deck was this little guy, totally stunned from his smack into the glass door. 

He sat there at least 10 minutes before he was able to fly away. 

Every day we are treated to hummers jostling for their feeding territory at one of the seven feeders outside.  They are constantly buzzing around out there.  We're enjoying them immensely, knowing that it won't be too long before they're gone for the winter. 

I'll do my best to be back much more regularly.  I do enjoy reading everyone else's blogs, so I guess I need to return the courtesy by posting something for you guys to read, huh? 

Y'all take care. 

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning

Oh, what a beautiful morning!   Oh, what a beautiful day!

Can't you just hear that song now?   And the bluebirds singing??

Its another gorgeous day here in the mountains.  There's lots of foggy mornings, but it usually burns off very quickly.  I just came in from replenishing a hummer feeder.  The little buggers eat voraciously.  

I've been hoping to see critters here and a few nights ago I got my wish. 

We had just finished dinner when I happened to look outside and this is what we saw.  I've seen does with twins before, but this is the first time I've seen triplets.

Pileated Woodpecker 

A week or so ago, I was sitting outside with my coffee and taking in the the morning when I heard pecking.  I got up and looked around the end of the house into the trees and saw a pileated woodpecker.  What a treat.  Then, to my amazement there was movement a few feet away from that bird and there was another one!!!!  Obviously a pair, or at least I hope so.   I've heard them frequently and seen them flying but that's the only time I've seen them so close up.  Just thrills me to know that they're in the neighborhood. 

I feel like I'm living in a tree house.  There's trees all around, except for my wonderful views, and up here on the main level I don't see tree trunks much.  It's all branches and leaves of all kinds.  I haven't unearthed my tree book yet so that I can start identifying the ones I don't know.  Hmmmm....wonder what box that thing is in?

Anyway, I'm one happy camper right now.  Hope all of you are the same. 

Y'all take care. 

Recent Happenings

The very first bird I saw this morning was a Red-Breasted Nuthatch.  There's been an  irruption of them this winter and they are being seen all over the south, even down to southern Florida.    With all the Razorbill sightings, it has made for interesting birding. 

At long last, the mainstream newspapers are paying attention to the effects of climate change on wildlife.  In today's paper there was an article discussing how animals and birds are having to adapt at record pace to keep up with their changing environment.   Birders and other conservation folks have been aware of this for several years. 

Our birds (and squirrels) have been such gluttons lately that I let the feeders get empty and left them for a few days.  It forces the critters to clean up some of the feed that has been slung out onto the ground.  It took less than a half hour for them to find the feeders had been refilled. 

We've had other recent visitors to the yard, too. 

I bought what was supposed to be a squirrel proof feeder but mine was obviously defective.   My friend bought the same brand and hers has a round of mesh on the top that mine doesn't have.  Hers won't let the squirrels in.  

I have since covered the top where he was able to enter with wire mesh and they've been kept out since.  

A couple of weeks after his first visit, the bear returned and although I did not see him that time, there was evidence of his visit next morning. 

That poor birdbath looks awful there.  The crud grows in it so fast in all the warm weather we've had in what is supposed to be winter.  It has been cleaned up and looks much better now and reset.

Y'all take care. 

Midnight Visitor

Oh, I've just gotta tell somebody!!!   I just had a black bear sitting hardly 10 feet from me chomping away on the safflower seeds in the birdfeeder!!!   He was outside and I was inside, but still!   And only a window between us.   

I heard this soft clunking noise several times and it finally occurred to me that there might be a critter on one of the feeders.  I went to the back door (a french door), turned on the patio light and looked out to the feeder I had in mind.  Nothing.  Then, it dawned on me that the feeder next to the patio was much lower to the ground than normal and there was a big black body busily fishing seeds out of it! Because the lid is hinged on, it was the loose side that he kept bumping and it would clunk back into place. 

Black Bear along Alaska Highway, 2008

After watching for a couple of minutes, I wondered if I dared try to get a picture and went for my camera.  Unfortunately (or not), I had also turned on the motion sensor lights in the back and when they flashed on, he got spooked and ran off.  I got back to the door just in time to see his black butt disappearing into the brush.  

So, no pictures here except for those in your mind.  And hubby is so lucky that I didn't go wake him up to see it too!    We've suspected ursine visitors a couple of times before over the years when strange things happened to our birdbath, but had no proof of it.   Until now. 

Y'all take care.