Seven and Eight

I've never done an Enneagram, but it looks like I've finally hit the year that fits how mine would probably turn out. Sevens and Eights are highly self-assertive, independent, and strong willed. Both types also resist being controlled or limited by authorities. Ha!

The day began by enjoying the soft air coming in through the open deck door, now that I have the screen fixed. The turkeys were gobbbling!

And a number of other birds were calling too. I got the Merlin app to work and it said Field Sparrow, Catbird, Cowbird, and... Brown Thrasher! I haven't seen one yet this year, but I almost always have them around the house. Here is a picture of one from 2010.

I will get to do fun things another day, but I didn't work too hard today. One order of items came for Confidence Camp, so I checked those items in and started the next order.

I worked on some of the never-ending projects, and did some more prep for Confidence Camp. Both the custom patches and bandanas are now ordered. Maybe I'll show you another day.

I'm glad I showed you the white grape hyacinths because something ate them last night :/ But here is the rock garden on my birthday which looks about the same as last year. But that's fine. There are several more things starting to bloom.

I fixed the fence on the front garden yesterday. Guess I should have gotten the rock garden done too! Here is the front garden looking so much cleaner than any of the recent springs. Here is the west end.

Then I sort of goofed off. It wasn't a personal requirement for me to watch this movie before Confidence Camp. I sure hope no one will be faced with this kind of decision, but I watched "127 Hours," about the young man who got his arm caught under a rock in a slot canyon and finally cut it off to save his life. Recommended if you want some heavy drama, but it's pretty realistic. I also own the book, but haven't talked myself into reading it yet. Somehow the movie seemed less gruesome. Won't know if that's valid until I do read the book.

It rained on and off. The world is fresh and green. Thanks to so many for all the birthday wishes on Facebook. Here I go into the next year...

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Birds to Welcome Me Home

 
There was a bird singing a glorious song when we pulled in the driveway yesterday. I thought I knew what it was and finally got the camera to focus on it. It's the brown thrasher. One of my favorites, and there is a nest near our house nearly every year. Brings me joy.



I really like this angle. Doesn't it just look happy?



A little later, farther away, in the top of a tree I saw a bird that didn't look like a robin. Zoomed in, and it's a cowbird.



We came home in wonderful sunshine with a light breeze- t-shirt weather. Today it's been chilly and drizzling again. Well, it's good for the fruit farmers to not have the weather warm too early. Please notice that there is a hint of baby leaves to come soon.

Marie had to leave for home today. We spent some time working on plans for our adventure we hope to take in September. It's always hard to say goodbye, but having a plan for the next time together makes it better. I also listened to all the journal from the next hike to be covered in North Country Quest (four hours of it!), and put a few more things away from this weekend. Did a little research on trailer materials.

	See Bird Talk Cowbird
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Bird Talk

 
I'm really happy about my bird story for the day, but it's not first in the lineup because the picture that goes with it is crappy. So I'll do the stories chronologically.

First is a vireo nest. I found it the other day at Magoon Creek. I had encountered one last year and was stumped. It looks like a tiny oriole nest the way it hangs from a fork in the branches. But much too small for an oriole. So I looked it up then, and this time I knew what I was seeing. I don't think it's this year's, because there was no bird hanging around, but I could be wrong.



Next is a brown thrasher. There is usually one nesting somewhere near our house, but I think this one might be checking out the forsythia bush right in the front yard. It was there yesterday, and again today, so I ran for the camera. This isn't the forsythia (stupid autumn olive), but it didn't go far away. We'll see if it's back again tomorrow.

The baby thrasher that Maggie and I found a few years ago wasn't much farther away, but not right by the driveway.



Now for the best! Remember my lament about the bird bath that the birds never use? Well, I like lost causes and improbabilities, so I put it out again this year. I had added a rock in the middle thinking maybe the birds didn't like the smooth ceramic edge to sit on.

Also, remember the phoebe bookends that would come sit on the two empty bird feeders last year? They came back this spring. Do pheobes mate for life? I have no idea, but I'm guessing at least one of them is the same. So, they've been sitting there, one or two at a time. I suspect the nest is back in the aspen grove.

Last night, when it was still so hot, one of them dipped down to the birdbath and sat on the ceramic bird. I guess that means they aren't scared off by those fakes. Then it took a drink! No chance of a picture.

Today, one of them has gotten a drink five times that I saw. And I've been sitting around with the camera hoping to catch it. I know it's not much of a shot- through the window and screen, and I only caught it sitting on the edge (not the rock- so I guess they don't care), not actually drinking.

But I feel awesome to give the birdies a place to get water on a hot, hot day! I hope others will figure it out. Oddly enough, a few days ago there was a robin on the deck rail, and then a pair of mourning doves. I'd never seen either of those birds on the deck.



In other news: I did book sales accounting, wrote half a chapter in The Bigg Boss, and then wrote my monthly newspaper column. Took a short walk early before it got too hot. Might go out again now. It's cooling a bit- below 80 anyway. Reading another book- about as energetic as I feel at 90 degrees.

	See Bird Bookends See Baby Brown Thrasher
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Top Commenters, and a Strange Coincidence

 
In May there were 44 different people who left messages, and a total of 262 separate comments (not counting my own responses to them).

The top 10 commenters for May are:
Ann's Snap & Edit (Ann- 30 comments)- Ann's in danger of meeting me in person some day on a trip to NY
Carmen's Chronicles (Carmen- 23 comments)- a great photographer- she likes to share her city and flowers
The Joys of Simple Life (Betchai- 17 comments) mountains and zoos and great times outdoors, tied with
Secondary Roads (Chuck- 17 comments)- we really hope to meet him and wife Sylvia this year
The Best Parts (Ferd- 15 comments)- bird lover
My Journey (rainfield61- 14 comments)- rainfield shows us hidden treasures of Cerok Tokun, tied with
Spinning Lovely Days (Ivy- 14 comments)- planning for a baby boy to join them in September
String Too Short to Tie (David (vanilla)- 12 comments)- another midwesterner
Duxbury Ramblers (Carol- 12 comments)- a lover of botany and birds
Be a Lifesaver of Goodness (borris- 11 comments)- a new dad and and EMT

Isn't it odd that 3 of these 10 people live within 300 miles of me? Is there some connection of regionality happening? No matter. Thanks so much friends!

Now for the coincidence. Loretta (SIL) was getting ready to send me a picture to ask what bird was visiting her birdbath. But then she saw my posts about the brown thrasher, and realized that she has one at her home in Alabama!

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The Two-Legged Monster in the Trail

 
As I was walking Maggie this afternoon I was striding down my trail when I was suddenly confronted by a scruffy looking monster standing on two legs, staring at me with its mouth open. The inside was a bright orange and it had hard, sharp dangerous lips!

Oh wait. Maybe I was the two-legged monster since I was definitely the larger beast. Can you find my "monster?"



Did you find the little beak poking out of the grass? I nearly stepped on it- probably would have if it hadn't had its mouth open. The bright orange lining caught my eye. It caught Maggie's eye too. I was afraid that Maggie would think it was a fine plaything.



So I scooped up the little bird, while trying to get my camera turned on with the other hand and keep Maggie away. Meanwhile, of course, someone was making terrific screeches and clucks and squawkings nearby. I was a bit busy and couldn't find the mom, despite the loud protests. Was it a robin? Those babies are kind of spotted like this. The size seemed about right.

Wait! I just got a glimpse of mom!



Do you know what it is? You've seen this bird here before, but never like this.



It's a brown thrasher, that mild-mannered bird of the hedges and edges- but not when distressed over a perceived threat to her baby. I wasn't sure if she would charge me, but she was seriously torn between staying away from me and going to the baby bird.

I got a long series of pictures that show sections of mama- an open beak, a widely spread tail, an "evil" eye, but she always tried to be ferocious and yet protected.

It was an amazing encounter! I love the brown thrashers Toxostoma rufum, and wouldn't hurt one for the world, but she didn't know that. I put the baby down in the grass, off the path, grabbed the dog and headed for home. If no other predator discovers the baby before it can really fly all should be well.

See Brown and Gray, but the Good Kind See Brown Thrasher in My Yard

Brown and Gray, but the Good Kind

 
You've heard me mention that the month(s) between winter and real spring are my least favorite of the year, with everything brown and gray. But today, I'm going out of my way to show you brown and gray, and not even great pictures, at that.

Brown first: this is a regular yearly visitor to my yard, the brown thrasher, Toxostoma rufum. The local bird guru lists it as an occasional visitor to the county, but I'm trying to convince him that I see them almost every year.



The brown thrasher is one of my personal favorites. It usually stays near the ground, fluttering from bush to bush, or walking across the lawn. They seem to particularly like the wooded cemetery. It's a little larger than a robin, with a much longer tail.



It was windy this morning- hence the ruffled feathers. You can also see its yellow eye.

The gray half of this duo showed up later in the morning back by the railroad tracks. I knew in an instant that it wasn't a regular visitor, and I zapped the pics off to Dave Dister, that bird guru I mentioned. I thought maybe it was a mockingbird.



He answered me that it's a cuckoo, an uncommon visitor here. There are two possible kinds, but in the second picture you can see the red eye ring, which identifies it as the black-billed cuckoo Coccyzus erythropthalmus.



I've seen cuckoos in the south, but never here, and I think the ones I've seen were yellow-billed cuckoos. I didn't even think of it as a possibility. I'll keep my eyes open and see if I can spot it again.

See Brown Thrasher in My Yard

Brown Thrasher in My Yard

 


Brown Thrashers have always been one of my favorite birds. I can't even quite explain why. I think it's partly because they are somewhat secretive, usually flitting around in the understory. Probably, partly because it's a bird I learned as a child. Their brown is a rich chestnut, one of my favorite hues.



Early this morning, look who was hunting for bugs in my lawn! Not one, but a pair of them! I wasn't sure I could get their pictures, and indeed, they flew up into an apple tree. But then they came back down to finish their breakfast. I was shooting into the morning sun, so the pictures could be better, but I'm thrilled to even get these.



Note the rather distinctive shape. They are about the size of a robin, but the tail is longer, and so is the beak. Some people mistake them for the Wood Thrush. But the thrush has a spotted breast, while the Brown Thrasher's is streaked.

See Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher

I want you to have something to come and see while I'm gone hiking. I've scheduled a post- at least a picture for most days. That way you can see some of the many wonderful discoveries of the past few days.

I wish the focus was a little better on this, but I was really thrilled to get a picture of the brown thrasher. It's a large bird, slightly bigger than a robin, and usually secretive, hopping along the ground in hiding in the brush. But Ellen and I found this one in a treetop, singing it's head off. It's spring!