Shy Lilly

Lilly has enjoyed the warmer weather and is so glad to be taking walks again, (me too)!


She gets very nervous when I aim my camera at her and she refuses to cooperate.


She is my faithful garden companion. She is usually a very good girl and lays close by while I'm gardening. However she was very naughty Monday and chased a cat across the street, refusing to listen to me or come when I called her. I guess I have some obedience training to do before unleashing her. I think she forgot how to behave outside.



A few weeks ago I saw the male blue jay feed the female, actually it was more like she took it from the very reluctant male. This morning I saw a male cardinal feeding the female. It was so sweet. I hate that I wasn't able to get a picture of it. The birds are singing and looking for nesting locations. I hope I have occupants in my bird houses this year!

I plan to get some more cleaning up done in the yard today, the temperatures will be dropping again for a few days and there is even a chance of snow.

For those of you who are interested in bird watching, here is a link to a barn owl that is nesting. The babies should be hatching any time now. This is fascinating to watch and kind of gross when they eat.

Wordless Wednesday- Sweet Blue Jays

Bad Hair Day

Happy New Year!

Zero Below, Birds and Snow

It is frigid in Noblesville, Indiana today! The temperatures have been zero degrees and below all day. It was eight below zero when I went out to fill the bird feeders this morning. During our snow yesterday and again this morning I tried to keep the feeders full and the snow off of them.


Thankfully it was a light fluffy snow and just required scooping out and brushing off.


We usually remove our swing during the winter months and this year I decided to use the frame for a makeshift bird feeding station. It has worked really well especially during the snow and extremely cold temperatures we're having right now. Having it so close to the house has kept me and my animal children entertained for hours these last two days.



I've been waiting for snow and cold weather to use this wreath idea that I saw on Jake and Ruth's Photo blog. I had been reading about staging outdoor settings to get better bird photographs and thought using the wreath was a great idea. It isn't exactly the way I want it, but I thought I'd put it out today just to see if there was any interest. I was beyond thrilled when I caught this precious little chickadee on the wreath waiting its turn for the feeder.

I'd love to have berries, dried sunflower heads, pine cones with peanut butter and maybe some fruit on this wreath. Next summer I'm planting a lot of sunflowers to use during the winter for this very thing. I'm sure the cardinals and maybe the bluebirds would stop by to pose for me then. Speaking of bluebirds, I wonder if they would visit in the spring if I filled the cup with meal worms. I just might have to give that a try!

Here's a few of the visitors from the last two days:






I also saved the window feeder for a cold snowy day. The cat sat for hours, barely moving a muscle watching this bird show.



I thought this bird looked so funny! What is it? It is the only one I've seen and I can't identify it in the books. It's larger than a sparrow. Is it by any chance a female cowbird? I know what the males look like, they are easy to identify. If it isn't that then I'm clueless.



Sweet little song sparrow. I've only seen one of these also.

I only wish I had just one of these nasty birds. They don't seem to like the bird feeding station and are not eating as much as they did last year. I had read that they don't like to go under things to eat and they also have a difficult time gripping with their feet.



I've only seen one male and one female cardinal for the last couple of years. Apparently there has been another couple that has moved into the neighborhood, because now I'm seeing two females and two males. Either that or I'm seeing double.

Yesterday I was sitting at the kitchen table paying bills and balancing the bank statement, which is not something I normally enjoy, but it is a very distressing thing to do when you're without an income. I glanced up just in time to see a wren at the bird feeder! In the eight years that I've lived in this home, I've never once seen a wren. They were some of my favorite little birds when I lived in Alabama. They would nest each year in an old mailbox that I had in the back of my yard in the shade garden. Once, I took the light fixture down from the carport and realized I didn't have a replacement bulb. I laid the fixture on a shelf and before I could get it back up they had built a nest in it, right on the carport! It was so much fun watching that little wren family. I've missed seeing them! It was such a blessing to see the wren, it immediately lifted my spirit and made me very happy. I only wish I had been able to capture the moment with a picture.

For all of you who are in this deep freeze, stay warm and safe!

Just too Distracting!

The kitty and I sit at the kitchen table, while I have my morning coffee and try to do some reading and studying. Between the cat, who likes to be right in the middle of everything, (literally), and the distracting blue jays, I have had a little difficulty concentrating.



After only a few days the blue jays are beginning to watch for their morning peanuts. Of course they think it should be a never ending supply.


This one was a dud and was promptly tossed to the ground.


These pictures were taken yesterday, while the weather was clear. They still had their peanuts today, but it was too rainy for pictures.


There were several terrible accidents here today just a few miles from my home. The temperatures were hovering right around freezing and it appeared to be just rain; very quickly the roads turned icy and caused eight accidents that took the lives of three people. It's just December and we still have several more months of this.

I fixed some homemade suet today. I used lard and peanut butter for the base and then just threw in whatever I had on hand. Let's see, there were raisins, peanuts, 10 grain flour, cornmeal, dried bread crumbs, cracked corn, sunflower seeds, and oatmeal.

Hopefully it won't attract the starlings like it did last year. They loved this stuff!


This might sound a little cheesy, but I like to think of the birds as flowers for my winter garden. If you provide for their basic needs during the winter months, you will have a beautiful bouquet of winter flowers to cheer you and brighten your days! It looks like we just might need that this year!