I was checking the backyard this afternoon when I got home from work, and the usual group was here, finishing off the day’s seed. What was different, was a red-winged blackbird, pecking at the ground with an odd spot on top of his head. I got out the binoculars, and realized that it wasn’t what was on top of his head, but what wasn’t. It appeared as if someone had slipped with the clippers, and had given him a bad haircut. There was a good-sized bald spot! It’s a mystery to me.
It was a beautiful morning, and a busy day at the feeders. I saw the first purple finches for the year, a male and female. I used to have great difficulty distinguishing house finches from purple finches, but seen side-by-side, there’s no doubt. One of my bird books describes a purple finch as looking as though it had been dipped in raspberry juice, and that seems about right.
George did the first lawn-mowing of the year, and I hung out the day’s wash. Together we moved the one, unoccupied nest box, to a position on the other side of the yard, away from the bossy house sparrows. We’ll have to see what happens. Around the yard the tulips have started to bloom, the rhubarb is coming up, the hollyhocks that we planted at the side of the house seem to be coming along. Our three little trees have their leaves, and the lilac bush shows many purple clusters, which should open in the next couple of weeks. My miniature rose bush has come back to life, Tina’s lilies are pushing through out front, as are the iris out back. Spring seems well underway.
We headed up to Ithaca after lunch to check out the Friends of the Library used-book sale. We came away with six books, and an unopened puzzle (with a school bus in the picture, making it a must-buy). We stopped at the feed store for more sunflower seeds, and a rawhide bone for Martha, then headed towards home. We made a brief stop at Sullivanville Dam to see if any birds were about, but being midday, there was not much to see.
Evening brought a dark sky, and then thunderstorms. The temperature had gone to 85 degrees mid-afternoon, but it has cooled down considerably with the rain.
We have two nest boxes in the yard, in a spot where I can see both from the kitchen window. Through the winter, a couple of house sparrows seemed to take turns occupying both. A few weeks ago, I checked inside, and both were completely empty. Now there are regular inspections by Eastern bluebirds, European starlings, and tree swallows. The house sparrows never gave up possession, though. They challenge all comers, so its anybody’s guess who will get to move in.
When we first moved to the neighborhood twenty-two years ago, it was obvious that the homes here were built in a rocky field. Over the years, the rocks have remained, but the area has evolved somewhat. There are a few trees here and there, I wish there were more. We have about an acre of land, and there were nine trees when we arrived, three maples around the front of the house, and six poplars out back. When I was growing up, there were always trees in the yard. From the little house on Knight Street, I remember the cherry tree best – the picking, the pitting, the red-stained hands and faces. From the house on West Avenue, I remember the pine trees that lined the yard – climbing up just enough to be hidden from sight, the sticky pine pitch that would stain my hands and my clothes, but in hide-and-seek, it was worth it. From the cottages at the lake, I remember best the willows. Our cottage on the lake had a huge willow with boughs that dipped down into the water. Grandpa and Grandma’s cottage up above had a willow in the side yard, and at night, with the window open, I would love the swishing sound of the wind in the willows – so easy to fall asleep to. At the brick house on Main Street, a huge willow at the back of the house. I don’t remember there being any other tree in the yard, but there didn’t need to be – there was a bench under the tree, and I could sit and shell peas or snip beans there – it was always cool in the summertime.
So, here the trees were few, and the poplars soon died. We planted an ash, given to us by good friends. That has grown taller than the house. Another friend offered us a small maple that was growing by his front steps. That is now towering over the back deck. My dad gave us two willow sprigs from a stump that had been cut down. They thrive in the back yard, and offer both beauty and backdrop for my backyard birdwatching. In the past couple of years, we have planted a white spruce and magnolia.
I am always seeing bare spots where I imagine a tree could grow, so as little saplings appear in the dirt under our deck, we gather them up and place them in the ground. We have three little trees underway – a box elder, and two maples. All three seem to be getting their leaves just now, in time to celebrate. Happy Earth Day!
Today finishes up what has been a very restful vacation. We didn’t do anything remarkable, or go anywhere special, but each day was so nice in its own way. We slept till we were rested, and took each day as it came. We did a lot of birding, some exploring, some reorganizing, some re-prioritizing. It was time well spent.
When I got up this morning, I was thinking that there was one thing I wanted to do over this break, and it was to find a water feature for the backyard. We had checked out several options in the past, but couldn’t decide what would work for our rock-infested yard. Also, everything we looked at, came at a greater cost than I was willing to spend. In all my birding books, there is mention that moving water brings birds. An older guide suggested hanging a metal bucket with a hole in it, fill with water several times a day, and let it drip into a metal garbage can lid. When I mentioned that one to George, he didn’t think it would look too appealing. So, we went out to the home and garden center here, to see what they had to offer. We were looking at the displays, when down popped a sparrow from the rafters, and drank from the little antique fountain. That little guy was an excellent salesman.
George spent the afternoon assembling the fountain, and digging a little trench in the yard, and I helped him bury the electrical cord. We added the water, plugged it in, and the trickling sound immediately drew birds to the yard, even as we stood there. After we headed inside, I saw the first explorer – a robin, followed soon by a redwing, a grackle, some goldfinches, and sparrows.
Again the weather was perfect. I opened up the windows, and we enjoyed a fresh, warm breeze in the house, as though it was summer. Clothes were hung out to dry, George cooked some chicken on the grill, and the tea jar sat out in the sun brewing a nice peppermint tea. Martha spent a good part of the day on the front stoop, her favorite place in warm weather.
I’ve noticed that so much has changed this past week. I’ve watched the willows take on their green, the dandelions are popping up, the rhubarb is poking through, the lilies by the lamppost too. The lilac bush is getting its leaves, and the maple by the deck has the beginnings of green. Back at our nest boxes, there have been tree swallows and bluebirds checking things out, though the ever-present house sparrows seem to protest.
The little chipping sparrows have returned.
We took our barbecued chicken, with some orange-zucchini bread I made yesterday, and headed up to Harris Hill Park for a picnic. The place was quite busy between the little amusement park and the picnic area. We could see the sailplanes being towed up from the field from our spot in the park.
We headed back to Spencer Crest to finish our day. The birds to be seen were few today, but we spotted several deer walking in the woods quite near to us, and not fearful. This one seemed to pose for the picture.
We were making a run to Ithaca today to meet Dad and Evelyn for a late lunch, so we headed up early, and walked through Sapsucker Woods. The weather was perfect for the outing (I picked a great week for vacation), and we had a good couple of hours of birding – 17 species. Seven Canada geese, two song sparrows, twelve redwing blackbirds, a chickadee, three crows, a goldfinch, a couple of common mergansers, a couple of hooded mergansers, a junco, two tufted titmouse, a white-breasted nuthatch, a great blue heron, a single grackle, three belted kingfisher, one downy woodpecker, three mourning dove, and one chipping sparrow. The walk was so pretty along the path, and I couldn’t think of anywhere else I would rather be. I didn’t want the outing to end, so I spent our last bit of time there, sitting on the bench, watching birds fly into the feeder garden and onto the water.
We have been keeping close to home this week, not wanting to travel much with gas between 3.49 and 3.61 a gallon. It’s okay, because there are many places close by that we’ve never explored, like Spencer Crest Nature Center. We headed over there after lunch. It was the perfect day, temperatures in the 60’s, sunny, and no wind. We set off on a trail, and at first the birding was rather slow, and I was thinking it would not amount to much. After noisy children and dogs passed by, we had the quiet again, and that is when George spotted an Eastern towhee in the brush. That is a new bird for our list, as was the brown creeper we saw further down the path, and the two ruby-crowned kinglets. We saw a total of 15 species, and had a chance to sit by the pond and watch the Canada geese and mallards swim along. A couple came by with their collies, and let them jump in the water, and it was comical to see and hear the geese come down the pond squawking a warning to them to get out.
It was another day of vacation. I slept in till sunrise, then up to see the birds. I’ve been filling the feeders just before sunset each night, and that means there will be plenty of visitors by the time I get up in the morning. I worked around the house, doing odd jobs that needed tending to. There were a lot of papers to go through. I’d saved up mail for the past few weeks to sort through this week, so the shredder was busy, and the wastebasket was full by the time I finished. I’ve been trying to tackle a different room each day this week, to organize, declutter, and generally see what needs to be fixed or replaced. So far I have finished in the kitchen, the dining room, and the livingroom. We do tend to accumulate a lot of stuff.
I ran errands after lunch – to the bank, the pharmacy, and the grocery store. We didn’t need much, but I bought several items that were on sale, and tucked them away in my closet stockpile. By summer time, when our income is less, we should have a supply of goods to chose from, that will save us from expensive shopping trips.
I spent a good part of the afternoon entering bird counts on ebird. I’m almost caught up. That was another assignment I had put off till this week.
We had pot roast, potatoes, carrots and onions for dinner, then a little more time on the computer. I figured out how to work Google Reader.
The evening was sunny and pretty, though not terribly warm, but I asked George how he felt about a trip out to Lowe’s Pond for some birding. We packed up the camera and binoculars, and headed out for our first visit there this year. It was rather chilly, but we spent almost an hour, finding redwing blackbirds, robins, Canada geese, cardinals, tree swallows, mockingbirds, song sparrows, and a killdeer.
That reminds me, there were three tree swallows here at one of the nest boxes today, checking it out. The box they first tried has been taken over by house sparrows, so I hope they won’t give up, but return to use the other one.
Upon invitation from Little Jenny Wren, I have taken up the task of writing about my day.
It starts about 6 a.m, with Martha whining to go out. Since George is already up and in the shower, I get up to let her out, and then back in. I give her two biscuits first thing in the morning, and if I don’t ask her to sit for them, she will just drop them on the floor and walk off. So, I say “sit” twice, she takes both biscuits, and then we can start our day. I turn on the radio to NPR, and that sets the rhythm for the morning. I listen to the news, commentary, and weather as I work around the kitchen. I put out fresh water and dog food, fill the cat’s bowl with just a bit of milk, put on a small pot of coffee, then wash and dress for the day. I make the bed, tidy up the bedroom and bathroom, and have my breakfast – a bowl of cereal and a small glass of orange juice. George and I are then off to Binghamton at 7 a.m. Our car is due at the shop there at 8 a.m. It’s an hour drive, but a pretty morning, and a lot of traffic. We check the car in, I find the waiting area, listen to the televised news – I can’t see it from where I found a seat. I balance my checkbook, clean out my purse, and call my dad. George convinces me to go out and look around the lot at the new cars with him. We both take note that gas mileage ratings are still not very high for most cars being offered, and the annual fuel cost is calculated using $2.80 per gallon (that was a long time ago). The check-up of the car takes just over an hour, then another 15 minutes or so to calculate our bill. We end up owing nothing, as nothing was found to be wrong. The engine light just tends to come on now and then – a quirk of the car.
I had spotted a JoAnn’s Fabric store in passing, so we stop there on the way back. I spend some time looking at patterns and fabric, but can’t make a decision, so just pick up four spools of thread that I’ve needed. We find several route options for our return home, so chose one that is different from the way we came, that takes us through the countryside. We stop for a bite to eat, and head back home. Garrett has spent the weekend at home, and is preparing to leave when we return. I see him off, then check through the house to make sure he left nothing behind that would require a quick turnaround.
I wash the morning’s dishes, keeping my eyes on the bird feeders, doing a listing to record later.
There are clothes hanging on a wooden rack that have dried, so I fold those and put them away. George mentions that he would like to use up yesterday’s leftovers to make a beef barley soup, so I start working on a loaf of bread, something I don’t often have time to do. I mix, and knead, and leave it to rise for ten minutes, then punch it down, and another 20 minutes under a towel, then it goes into the oven.
My public radio station is asking for pledges, and since it has been a year since my last offering, I go online and offer my financial support for another year. I check my email, instant-message briefly with Rebecca, and spend some time checking the blogs. I water my plants, watch some news, and record some of my birdwatching data online. George brings in the mail, and I sort through that – nothing exciting, junk mail and bills. My cell phone chimes and it is a text-message from Garrett, saying he has arrived back at the apartment.
While George works on one of his card-paper airplanes, I go into the computer room to check the dresser where I keep my stash of fabric, patterns, and supplies. I find a patchwork I had assembled years ago, bits and pieces of pajamas, tops and dresses for the girls when they were little. I always had intentions of doing something with it, but never got very far. I notice that a couple of the patches are stained, so I do a gentle handwash, and hang the piece on the rack to dry. I will look at it again tomorrow. 
We have our homemade soup and fresh-baked bread for dinner. Martha sits beside me while I eat, and drools. She follows me into the kitchen while I wash the dishes, hoping for a lick of the bowl. I straighten the kitchen, sweep the floors. Back to check my email again, and notice that my sent messages are all out of order, so I ask George to help straighten things out. He knows what to do quicker than I can think it out, and soon I find that I really did send an email last night. George mentions that we could watch our Netflix movie tonight, so I decide to go out and fill the bird feeders while it is still light. I fill the tube feeder with sunflower seed, then spread a mix in the two tray feeders, around the brushpile, and at the base of our recycled Christmas tree. I notice that our box elder has new growth. It had started growing under the deck and we had transplanted it last year.
We sit down to watch our movie, Martha falls asleep on her blanket in front of us.
It is dark by the time the movie finishes. George goes back to work on his card-paper model, I set to work on documenting my day. Mustard, the cat, brings to my attention the fact that the water dish is about empty, so I give it a refill. Martha goes out one last time for the day. It’s just past 10 p.m. and I am soon headed off to bed.
This has been my day – a bit out of the ordinary, as I am on vacation from my work this week.