Cardinal and a sparow

We keep fresh water in 2 places.  This ground one is deeper and most birds, even doves prefer to bathe in it.
Click on picture for larger.

Female cardinal ignoring the visitor.

Okay, so darned bird starts spraying water.

Looks as if she is wetter than the sparrow.
She must have splashed as well.

One disgusted looking, wet bird.

Chasing Depression Era Murals

Travel ought to combine amusement with instruction; but most travelers are so much amused that they refuse to be instructed. ~G.K. Chesterton, "What Is America?", What I Saw in America, 1922

I have been thinking of a trip I took last year and still haven't finished blogging about that adventure and am eager to head out again.

I want to follow highway 83 from Texas to Wyoming. The highway actually (I think) starts in South Texas and goes all the way to Canada.  It is a "boring" drive if you need sightseeing and wonderful food.... It is more of a get there without a lot of traffic highway.

Rather than sit back and stare out the window while my companion does the driving, I hope to get pictures of places or subjects that the last year's trip made me interested in.
Of course, this means stopping here and there along the way.

I have become obsessed in the history and stories of the "Depression Era" arts project.  What started out as a "simple" quest of a few murals into a full blown history lesson.

I catch myself bringing up the topic to complete strangers and love to see the "what an interesting idea" in their eyes.

It just so happens that this year's new postage stamps include a sheet with pictures of these murals. Hence standing in line at the post office gives me a chance to spread the word.

I hope to include web site links for the curious.

Waxwing follow up

“I don't feed the birds because they need me; I feed the birds because I need them.”

― Kathi Hutton

I wrote of the waxwing arrival and did get a few pictures.
Unfortunately, they had been around longer than I thought.

I am grateful for the pictures I captured because that was the only day to see them.
The following day, it was very windy and none of my regular birds were flying either.

The sun was not cooperating either and that made colors deeper.  Did a little editing and have to be satisfied with what I have.                                                   Click on picture for larger

Sun made this difficult to get real color. This is close.

Thanks to a continuous shot button, caught this bird on the wing.

This shot looks as if the bird has a feather sticking out the back of head. It is a leaf.

Following the birds from the kitchen window and fretting over the hawks that are always hunting takes my mind off of the aches and pains of "old age".
I can fill hours of looking at my pictures, choosing the best (which is difficult) and preparing for a blog.
I am eternally grateful for being able to do this, even with the frustrating mistakes.

Cedar Waxwings

“You could do worse than to spend your days staring at blue jays.”
― Julie Zickefoose, Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard-Luck 

The long awaited day is here!  Waxwings!
They are a little later this year, but they are HERE.

This is from 2 years ago. I sort of tweaked it.

Finally, finally will be able to clean off the flagstone walk of Yaupon berries!  They are so messy when ripe.
We have been tracking black over ripe berries in the house for a week or more.

I don't know if I wrote this tale before...
We have a friend in the Austin area who is an animal rescuer and one day, about this time of year, several moms brought their children with sick birds in little boxes.
He checked them over and told the worried kids and moms that they were not sick.
They were DRUNK.
It seems that when berries from various Yaupon and other bushes ripen and fall, they can ferment.
Our friend "drenched" ....(flushed their bellies with water)
and they staggered around for a bit and when they were more active, he returned the birds in their boxes to the happy moms and kids.

I will follow up with pictures if I can catch them.  The Waxwings are furtive.  They will come in, perch high in the tallest, leafless trees.
I have "felt" their arrival at times when I was gardening.

They will start on the berries on the "outside" of the bushes that are in our courtyard.  This will go on for days and when they have gleaned all there were, they will attack the berries on the window side of the house.
Finally, they will begin "clean up".  Gathering all the ones that were missed.
They have been here for several days and we never spied them as we are  not out in the garden area much anymore.

They will sit on the top branches of the trees, and then, as if told by the leader bird to go get em.  They come in in groups of about 10.  It is a feeding frenzy for a few minutes and they leave.  Soon, another group will fly in and go at the berries.  This will go on until every berry is gone from the 3 yaupon bushes

Last year, they even went to our bird baths for water and a quick dunk.

Now to wait to,hopefully,capture this year's visitors!

A short visit to Oklahoma /murals

Most of us don't need a psychiatric therapist as much as a friend to be silly with. Robert Brault

While visiting my sister in law (hence the  quote) we visited Chickasha I started searching for murals.  Not hard to find.
She said she visited here a lot and never really "saw" them.
Click on picture for larger

Large painting of cattle drive on the side of building

On the side of a bank building

BUFFALO IN FRONT OF BANK WITH BUFFALO MURAL ON THE SIDE OF BUILDING

I WAS RIDING ((WHICH MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER TO "SEE") WITH MY SISTER IN LAW AND SPOTTED A "PIECE"  OF THIS MURAL OVER A BLOCK AWAY.  SHE MANAGED TO LOCATE IT. THERE WAS NO ONE AROUND TO ASK THE STORY BEHIND THIS.

SPECIAL MURAL AS MY  GRANDSON IS NAMED RYAN

MUST VISIT THIS USED BOOK STORE EVERY TIME I VISIT. IT IS IN AN OLD DEPARTMENT STORE.  QUITE LARGE AND  PACKED WITH BOOKS!

ROUND PORCH SEARCH REPORT

There is a tv show titled Salvage Dawgs. They have a lead in that starts "Every day in America.... "  and that is what I think of when looking at beautiful homes that are to be torn down or left to fall down, or become rental property and not really cared for properly.

I had driven past this tiny house numerous times when tree was full of leaves.  It was difficult to tell if there were 2 doors and was the roof behind all the foliage was round as well. After leaves had all fallen, it is clear this house only one outside door and a full porch with 2 round corners.

Ah Ha! Same neighbor house! Reminds me of the Children's books I Spy.

I actually drove past once or twice before I realized what I was seeing.  Helps to have a "driver" when meandering and searching for porches.

I made sure I was looking at the same house. It was a nice surprise to find someone had cleaned up the yard  has been working on it.

The Moon, January 2018

I came across these pictures and cannot decide which to leave out.  I can remember so well, the cold night and worrying that the batteries in the camera would die because of the cold.

click on picture 
to see larger.