Three more chin ups.......

..and I can have another nut. ...

... Oh, yeh.......

                         

Linking to Paying Ready Attention Gallery..just click on the photo below to be transported there.

Wild Bird Wednesday

Well, sure ...it isn't Wednesday any more..but, I'm here ..

So were all the birds we usually see about this time of year.  In the space of 20 minutes...I took 84 photos... not all of them good enough to use... so there was a lot of deleting.  Normal for bird photos ... Dave will attest to that.  He has a blog totally devoted to bird butts... I'm serious..check it out. He has the cutest photos.

We had nuthatches, black capped chickadees, sparrows, Northern Flickers, Downy woodpeckers, ... Even a robin came to see what they were all up to, but robins don't do bird feeders so he just had a bath instead in the birdie bath and carried on his merry way, looking for Mayday berries.

Black Capped Chickadee

Red Breasted Nuthatch

Male Downy Woodpecker

Female Northern Flicker

Male Northern Flicker

American Robin (but, he lives in Canada)

My lovely half hour sitting near the window watching the patio feeders.... what fun.

Have some fun going to Stewart's blog too....lots more birds to see over there.. click on the badge below to be immediately transported there.

Little furry caterpillar.... soft and slow......

Little furry caterpillar soft and slow
Being sleepy thought that he to sleep would go
So, in blanket closely wrapped
On a twig he lay
Little furry caterpillar dozed away.
But, one day he wakened when the sun was bright
Stepped out of his blanket feeling gay and light
Then unfolded wings of gauze
Bearing him on high
Little caterpillar was a butterfly.

Who knows this rhyme?  Anybody?  I have no idea if it is totally correct...but, it is more or less what I remember from way back in about Grade 2 or 3 or somewhere like that.

I've tried to look for it online..and there are some that are sort of similar ...but not this particular little one.  I wonder who it was that taught it to us?  Hmm...

Anyway, last night while I was watering I saw this guy crawling around on the sidewalk (and, he isn't actually all that slow either) ... near the grass and it reminded me of my little singsong from way back.

He is black with an orang-y brown band around his middle ..and, long white spikes of fur or hair ..on either end.  I also can't find one that looks exactly like him.  Looks like some of my needle felted bears that I have "hair" to by needling it into their heads.

There are some sort of similar and they say they are Tiger Moth Caterpillars... called Woolly Bears .... however, they also say there are plenty of variations..so it could be the one.

I tried gently to put him into the garden, but he hung on mightily to the cement sidewalk...and, I didn't want to injure him, so let him go his way.  I don't know if his way was the safest way.

If I see him today I will offer him a leaf or something to crawl onto and then move him into safety of the garden... he is probably long gone somewhere by now though.... darn it.

On the orange band there are spots on the top that are diamond shaped and some stripes down the sides.

The white spikes of "hair" are quite long...about half an inch they stick out.

Overall, he was about an inch and a half long.... and pretty fuzzy and fat.... you couldn't tell which was head and which was bottom til he moved... I should have gotten my macro lens I guess...but, I just wanted to get his picture and let him go his way.

Wild Bird Wednesday

I think it is a Sparrow Hawk.

This guy flew onto the patio wall the other day... looking for snacks I guess.  Little birds that is.... they hang out in the lilac and on the wall too.... begging for treats.  'Somebody' must have noticed.

And, besides ..there is a new little fountain in the patio with burbling water...maybe that enticed him.

All I know is..I saw him swoop in....mostly just a shadow, and jumped up, grabbed my camera and managed to get a few shots through the window before he flew away.  He took a quick peek into the lilacs..but I'm sure the little guys had fled by then... thank goodness.  Didn't need to witness any of that nonsense...

He/she... looks pretty fierce.... hide little birdies !!

Linking up to Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday (on Wednesday) ...

Click on the photo of this crazy bird to go there..

Wild Bird Wednesday

Hey!  It's Wednesday.... and, I will actually be posting on the correct day.

It's a bit cooler today but only because the sun can't even penetrate the smoke layer.  Golfing was kind of weird.. almost like a thick mist all the time we were out there.  Luckily, I don't seem to be bothered by it .. some of our group seemed to be having a bit of difficulty.

The birds have been around the new little fountain we got for the patio... but, so far I've only seen a brave little chickadee and one Flicker and one crazy crow land on it... this little guy had several sips from one portion of it.  The Flicker was gone before I grabbed my camera.  They all look at it and several fly down and up again without landing...but, this little guy...or gal.... loved it.  Sat there quite a long while and then...turned to look straight at me.

It almost looks like he is drinking from the little waterfall... nope.... just the angle...

Did ya get enough photos yet lady??

Linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday... have a look at other people's birdies.........

Golfing and Gardening

and, sweating big time with both!

We, like many parts of the world, are having plenty of heat.  Today is supposed to be +37C... great.

It is too hot to bother with anything physical in those temperatures.  As a matter of fact... my ideal temperature for golfing is probably about +15C... some sun and some cloud.  Not the stinking heat of +30C days.... that's downright ridiculous.  Luckily, I don't have to work in it.  I did that for 7 years working in a plywood plant in my youth.  I'm not sure what 112F equates to nowadays ...but, that was usually the temperature in there in the summertime with all the ovens running full tilt.  And, you had to work faster as they had to set the rollers to super fast to get the sheets of veneer out of the ovens quicker when it was that hot.  Or...they caught fire!  Then, it was even hotter ..hhahahah...and, horrible and messy and we used to be totally black with soot and drenched with water and well, it was not a pretty sight...

I feel sorry for anybody who has to be outside in the burning sun on days like this.  And, I feel really bad about any animals... those poor things.  Such suffering ... I cried right out loud upon seeing a picture of cattle swarming a water truck.. couldn't even read the article.  Awful. Absolutely awful.  The poor, poor things.

The birdie bath is kept topped up and I water the gardens and grass almost daily in order to help the little birds... they come to hide out in the shrubs and have a bath or a sip of water all during the day ... the crows seem to have gone away somewhere.  Maybe over near the river in some of the big trees...it is pretty quiet crow and magpie wise these days.  The little chickadees, nuthatches, house finches and sparrows are all still around...

Haven't been taking many photos and certainly haven't bothered with this blog... oh, well... the minus numbers will soon be upon us and with 2 feet of snow and -30C ... there definitely won't be any golfing, gardening or anything like that for many months...so I'll get back to it .... maybe......if I am not snowed in and doing too much shovelling.

I already purchased a small Danielle Donaldson art class which begins in September ... painting Bonsai trees... that could be fun.  It was only $38 U.S. .... but that comes out to be over $50 Canadian... damn exchange rates... and our stupid dollar.  Along with our stupid Prime Minister and a few other stupid things.  Honestly, it all makes me not want to read any news at all...just go along in my own little bubble and try to ignore all things stupid, cruel and horrible.  Can only be done for so long though... have to have my head out of the sand every once in awhile.  Bummer.

The flowers are suffering after some major hailstones last week....and now ...a week of extreme heat... but this guy...wow... he was in one of the patio pots... and was so big and beautiful I had to take his picture.

A full 3 1/4 inches across....I measured.  And look at the colours!

This is the golf ball sized hail we had the week previous..... luckily there was also a howling wind...it took the stones sideways from north to south and they somehow missed the patio pots that were closest to the house.  Thankfully, the skylight survived as well.... several in nearby neighbourhoods did not.  Apparently it was soooo loud on the houses you couldn't believe it.  I happened to be out of town at the time and didn't even know we got hit til I drove into the neighbourhood... what a mess!!
A branch got smashed on a Dogwood and the backyard pots got whacked...but overall...not too bad really...considering the size of them.  The whole lawn looked like it had dimples too.... big ones.... for hours after the storm.

Wild Bird Wednesday

You just never know with birds.

What are they doing?  What are they thinking?  Why do they do that?  Are they nuts?

Every year some little sparrows work diligently ... dragging leaves, long stems of grass, and twigs and bits of string and all sorts of things up inside the top boards of a privacy fence in the yard.

I can't decide if it is several nests in there or if it is just one looooong one... the fence is 8 feet wide and they go all along the full length of it.  Maybe a communal  nest? Who knows.  All I know is... they work at it...then, work stops...and all of a sudden there seems to be no interest in it anymore.  Nobody comes and goes...no babies show up or anything.... hmmmm... what the heck is happening?

I pull out handfuls of stuff later in the season..or sometimes I try to do it as they are dragging in "stuff" to dissuade them..... nothing works.  We always say we are going to put in some blocks between each upright but, we never seem to get around to doing it and it begins again mid summer each year.  They are at the stage where they have sort of slowed down and are not so excited about dragging in any more material now.....

Look at this little guy...his leaf is bigger than he is.

He noticed me moving in the window...and took a running start with his prize, whatever it is ... ...you can almost see the soles of his little feet...hahahhaha...

See the tail feathers?  They jump and climb up inside there .... it's crazy... they come out looking all wonky and their feathers are standing up on end...it is a pretty tight fit.  A throttled " 'and brush" as my Mum used to say.

Missus Limpy sits on the patio wall...just watching,.. wondering what they are up to.
Oh, and that's another myth bashed.... crows do not keep the little birds from your yard.  As a matter of fact... the sparrows and others steal the seeds or crumbs right off the garden stone that is the "crow platter"... every time the crows step more than 2 feet away from it.  Crows don't scare anybody......

Linking to Stewart's blog and other bird pics and stories about birds.

Wild Bird Wednesday

Red Polls.

It's been awhile now since these photos were taken...but, I didn't want to just archive them and forget about them...

These little guys are so cute with their little red caps.  They only come around in the wintery days... and, come in little groups and hang out for some hours.. or even days.  Flitting in and out to get some seeds.

It says they are members of the Finch family...but they have tiny "seed eating" beaks.

Here is a Male House Finch sitting on the feeder with the little polls...you can see a huge beak in comparison.

These two are a different type ...   Hoary Red Polls I think because they are more white overall... especially whitish rumps ... smaller chin patch...

I like this one with the little guy coning in for a landing with his "wheels" up....

I'm thinking mainly Common Red Polls in this photo....but, I am not altogether sure.  Some females and some males...

I'm calling this a Mister....

and this is the Missus.....

Linking up with Stewart on Wild Bird Wednesday... pop on over to his blog to check out the other birding goodies...

just click on the badge below to be transported directly there....

Wild Bird Wednesday

Finally I am almost back in the land of the living... coughing and blowing and my head still feels like a giant puffball... can't hear properly and can't smell a darn thing.  It's so easy not to bother eating when you can't smell anything interesting ...  lost several pounds.

That could be weight loss suggestion # 347... put a clothes peg on your nose.... if you can't smell it you can't taste it..so don't bother.  Perfect solution.

Haven't done much of anything ... zero energy and zero desire.... you know if I'm not baking or taking photos I am damn good and sick.

Today was the first day in two full weeks that I even wondered where my camera was.  Found it.

Managed to clean out the birdie bath... my crippled crow Mr. Limpy was the first to have a bath.  Then, a cute little Mr. Chirpy..aka House Finch showed up.  I didn't have time or inclination to take off the window screen..but, managed to click a few good ones of him splashing about.  I intentionally tried for the "action" shots.  Forget the ones where he was just standing there...although I did take a few for identification purposes later... and, missed the last one altogether as he flew straight off out of the water instead of the usual jump onto the rim to check things out.  The frame was empty.

Love the little 'stop action' looks at him and his bathing antics .... and such a sweet, dripping wet little guy he was too.

Any suggestions as to how I can get larger photos in my blog?
You will have to click on to enlarge until I can figure out if it is possible.


Thanks to Betty Crow ...these are now larger...yaaaayyyy    silly me...so simple too.  However I did also have to make the page wider and somehow I managed to do that....yaaay me again.!   Somehow got my head around it all.

Linking up to Paying Ready Attention for Wild Bird Wednesday...check out lots of fun birds there.

Click on the image to be transported directly.

Mary Berry's Jaffa Cakes

It is so annoying when you can't find out for certain how some of the recipes are actually done.  Yes, you can always find out some of it...but, the fine details....not always.

Like, ..... how on earth do you get the chocolate on the top to look like Mary's?  It doesn't tell you other than to say you can spoon it on if you don't want to go to the trouble of getting it perfect.  Huh? Why the heck doesn't she say how she does it and let me make up my mind later as to whether I will do it her way or not?

Here is a pic of hers.... from the Great British Bake Off show... see how lovely the chocolate line is all around the little cake.  Note the great criss cross pattern they say should be there ... I've never seen a store bought version so don't really know what one should look like.    

To me, they almost look like they have been dipped in the chocolate...but, it hardly seems possible as the cake is quite flat and how would you grab the bottom and keep your fingers out of the chocolate? ..maybe a couple of skewers through the bottom of the cake? .. some other method? .. who knows?......  ...... anybody got any suggestions?                                                                  

Then, there are dozens of folks who have made them and put them out there ... and, most of them look like this.  I would probably be too embarrassed to show mine if they looked like this... but, I might.... just to let you know how difficult they were to get right.  There has to be a better way to get the chocolate on there and make it look tidy at the very least. 

I want to try Jaffa cakes some day soon... and want them to look nice.  

Stitching again...

This little pincushion has been sitting around (everywhere in the house really) for months to over a year ...well, it must be over a year now...

Totally lost any creative mojo during the main basement area reno.. then we had water damage go from upstairs into the basement and ruin all the renovations we had just completed... then, got that repaired and refurbished and then...the stupid stove went on the fritz causing yet another renovation.  WE discovered that "no built in ovens are to be placed within 12 inches of the cooktop or damage can occur to wiring inside the built in oven"..  ...   so had to opt for a complete range, as we call them in this country ...  which meant we then had to have the granite counter top re-cut to accept a total stove instead of just a cooktop...

The granite cutting was a disaster, and the opening is not the size we need, it is slightly larger and still not square, but you can't make a hole smaller once it is cut.  The guy who installed the range finally managed to make it sit as squarely in the opening as he could and it looks okay.  Not perfect, as it could have been if the granite guys had known their stuff ...but, okay.  Oh, and, the first range had Convection fans that were not working, so we had to order a second stove... which has now been installed and is working great.

This is the type of thing that goes on all the time around here.... or so it would seem.  Thirty plus years of renovations have taken their toll methinks.... if I never have to lift a finger to do or even to oversee anybody else "doing" things round here.... it won't be too soon for me.  I'm so done with renovating.

So, there you have it... and, now ...

Got the last embroidery stitches done on it finally ..or thought I had.. stitched it up around almost the whole thing leaving a small opening to turn it through..I am used to small turning openings from doing the little bears...and, got it turned with no difficulty.  However, I don't like how that corner doily bit opens up so deep under it after all...so now I need to do some little stitches to hold it down at almost halfway into it.  That will be a bit tricky as I need to begin and end and, also stitch, on the inside and outside the already turned pillow.  Darn it.  Oh, well, it must be done.

Here it is so far...  this is the part of the little corner of doily that I don't want to lift quite so deep into it if you know what I mean.  Part way will be enough for me.

Here it is next to a completed one from ages ago when I took Karen's class.

Wild Bird Wednesday

I have no idea what she is really... but, she seemed to be hanging out with a little Red Poll who I think was injured or sick.  He sat on the same branch for ages one day ... and, she seemed to come and go to check on him.

She looks to me like she could be a finch...perhaps a House Finch... but, she is definitely not a Red Poll.... that is a finch beak, not the tiny one of a poll...

What do you think?  Anything about her give you a perfect read?  Click to see her even "closer up"...

Here is a photo of a male House Finch in the foreground on the feeder .... with some Red Polls in the background... not the same beak shape at all.  

And, if you have never been to Stewart's blog, Paying Ready Attention  ... please do go sometime just to have a look.  This week he is celebrating his 300th week of hosting the link for people to share their stories and photos of birds from all over the world.  How about sharing one of your birdie photos? 

Just click on this link photo below to be magically transported to Stewart's blog  ...