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Friday 19 May 2017

Birds and Squirrels and Little Jimmy Dickens

Between continuing to check on my mom, whose recent illness has caused cognitive issues and make me cautious about leaving her on her own, and deadlines at work, I've found myself without a plan for this Friday post.

There isn't much in the way of bird-y news, but you can be sure that what little there is will be captured in blurry photos and captioned to death.

First, the finches, demonstrating how they blend into the trees (no wonder we never see them once the leaves come out):

Mr. Finch is on the right. The leaves belong to a tree that grew up beside the deck steps and was half lopped off by my husband last fall, with the intention of finishing the job this spring. Well, those plans have been scuppered by the birds, for whom the remains of the tree provide a good waiting area when lining up at the feeder. This is why we can't have a nice yard. Do I care? Not really. Anyway, this little half-a-tree is the same kind as the trees that line the back edge of our property. Ergo, invisible finches after the leaves make an appearance.

And here are the pigeons who came a-calling (because I flung (flinged? flang?) handfuls of seeds over the yard in an attempt to feed the birds who like to eat from the ground):

You would be correct if you were thinking our grass isn't grass. Two years ago we had a record dry and hot summer and it killed our lawn. We are still repairing it, in pieces. This is not one of those pieces. This is WEED HEAVEN.


Here's one of the doves who coo at dawn and dusk, a most gentle and calming serenade to the beginning and end of the day:

More weeds. And sticks. Donkey hasn't gotten around to picking up the yard yet. Work deadlines and Mom-Duty, have I mentioned those already? I think this is a dove. For all I know, it could be another pigeon. We'll say it's a dove for now. My research is not going well.

Last, but certainly not least, our visiting squirrel (who I hope doesn't become our house squirrel):

He knew I was LOOKING at him from the deck, but he was hoping I wasn't SEEING him. He stayed as still as a rock until I started to turn away. Then he high-tailed it away through the trees, leaping from slender branch to slender branch, about 8 to 10 feet off the ground. I had an "aha" moment as I realized where the word "high-tailed" probably came from. His tail was straight up as he scurried along.

So, that's the report from Donkey-land, where the temperature and humidity have taken a giant step into "uncomfortably warm" the last two days, and neither of them even said "Mother May I" ... so if I'm not around on Monday you'll know I've melted into a puddle of goo until the weather moderates.

Just kidding. It would take more than that to keep me from blogging. I'm having far too much fun.

Have a good weekend, everyone. As the old song by Little Jimmy Dickens goes, "May the bird of paradise fly up your nose."

Well, maybe not up your nose. But close enough for you to enjoy its plumage :)




 


28 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend. Full of feathered enchantment and purrs. And love and laughter.
And I hear you on garden work being never done. Never ever.

baili said...

i can understand how much stress you been facing regarding the health of you mother and work Jenny .
i pray for your mom may she be bless with perfect consciousness and physical fitness ,amen.
i adore your positive stability and humor that shines within your writings.
It show your inner strength and self reliance .
enjoyed you interesting words along with cute photos,loved the dove most .
squirrel tale made me smile .
you too take great care and have blessed day

LL Cool Joe said...

Well that has to be the strangest song I've heard for a long time.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom, it's worrying when our parents get to the stage where we are scared to leave them on their own. I hope she improves.

Love the bird shots. Have a great weekend!

Steve Reed said...

Ah yes, suburban wildlife! My mom used to sing that bird-of-paradise song. Lord.

Red said...

Sometimes it's tough to come up with post topics. My blog doesn't have a theme. It's all over the map so sometimes the idea well dries up. Little Jimmy Dickens...I only remember him being old!

Little Red Hen said...

It is a dove, a mourning dove. So called because they sound so mournful. But I like the sound of the mourning doves; they're nice and peaceful after the squeaky finches and squawky blue jays. Have a cooler long week-end.

Lovenicky said...

Our weather here was hot and humid for 2 days and then today - 10Celsius with chilly winds! I hope your mother will get better soon. My mom is also starting to have cognitive issue but would not agree to go and have an assessment with me. It sure is worrying.

Mr. Shife said...

Looks like you did alright for not having a plan. Hope your mom feels better soon and all of your work deadlines don't keep you too busy. Have a good weekend too.

dinthebeast said...

I think they call the larger species pigeons and the smaller ones doves. Or something like that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbidae
Anyway, we have some finches now, but still no little brown bird brigade, so perhaps they found a better bunch of yards this year...

-Doug in Oakland

The Happy Whisk said...

Sorry to read about your mom. Is she living with you right now? They really do blend in. Wow.

Sorry it’s already uncomfortably warm near you. Blogging is fun, though I’ve also taken and needed breaks from it too. But overall, I’m with you on it being fun.

e said...

Entertaining post...It was roasting weather here 90 plus...Have a good weekend!

jenny_o said...

It's particularly hard to finish the garden work when I haven't even begun it yet. Soon, soon! Thank you for your weekend Rx. I hope I can get it filled somewhere :)

jenny_o said...

Thank you for the kind words, baili. My mom is 87 and usually in very good health, so it is a worry.

jenny_o said...

Oh, Joey, you're such a youngster if you hadn't heard that song before :D

And thank you - I hope she gets back to herself soon, too.

jenny_o said...

Yep. Lord. Yep :)

jenny_o said...

I love that there's so much old stuff on YouTube! I doubt I ever saw him sing this until now, but I certainly heard it!

jenny_o said...

Thank you, LRH! I am second-guessing myself on nearly every bird, since I started looking at bird identification sites! I never find what it was that I saw :)

jenny_o said...

I think we are getting your weather - today it was hot and muggy again, then it clouded over, poured, and now it's cold and windy! It's hard to know what clothes to put on in the morning!

Ah, I understand her point of view, but I probably understand yours better. It is such a worry, yes.

jenny_o said...

If you don't have a plan, it helps to have a big mouth and a busy brain, Mr. S :) Hope your weather is behaving more spring-like these days.

jenny_o said...

Well, will you look at that? Not much wonder they look so much alike - they're relatives! I feel much better about my uncertainty now.

I hope the LBBB finds you. They might just be late. I didn't know we had so many birds until I put that feeder out. It surprised me.

jenny_o said...

No, my mom lives on her own. And is very independent. That's mostly a good thing, but sometimes it makes it hard to take care of her :) The temperature has dropped like a stone and now I'm back in long pants and two layers on top. Gah!

jenny_o said...

I don't know how you handle the extreme heat so much of the year, e! I'm such a wuss during our summer. To tell you the truth, I'm not crazy about winter, either, but at least I can put more clothes on if I'm cold ...

Martha said...

I actually had to search for Mr. Finch even after you pointed out where he is. The little stinker really blends in. The squirrel...not so much :) That is indeed a mourning dove. They are such gently birds. I just love them.

jenny_o said...

Some people don't like their call but I do!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Is Donkeyland the new name for Canada? Did you know that there are 185 different breeds of donkey in the world and that only 0.1% of the world's donkeys live in North America? Perhaps rebranding Canada as Donkeyland will help to address this obvious donkey deficiency.

Sorry to hear that your mother is gradually spiralling downwards. It must be a constant worry.

Chicken said...

Hi Jenny, I've been absent for awhile-I'll have to read back a bit to catch up but I'm sorry to hear your mom has not been well.

jenny_o said...

A donkey deficiency is the number one little known fact about Donkeyland, YP. Other little known facts are: a lack of donkeys, an insufficiency of donkeys, and a shortage of donkeys. It's a rough situation.

I think my mother is improving a little every day, but she isn't used to being ill and doesn't think so!

jenny_o said...

I'm so glad to see you re-surface, Chicken! I was THIS close to emailing you to touch base, but it's been nuts here (as I mentioned). My mom is getting better every day, but she's anxious about her health and that adds a whole other layer to the problem.