Monday, March 31, 2014

Spring has finally arrived in central Oklahoma!!  Along with it, all of the little underground critters have become active.  Maggie was outside Saturday having a wonderful time digging holes trying to get to the moles.  She was particularly aggressive digging a hole in the back yard while Dan was trimming some dead limbs on the trees. 

 
Here is the photograph of a happy dog face:
 
 
Here is a photograph of Maggie sitting guard beside her freshly-dug hole:
 
 

Friday, March 21, 2014

Another new friend!!

Here is another new friend!!  This is a photograph I found on allaboutbirds.org.
 
A red-winged blackbird visited our bird feeder this afternoon -- a sure sign that spring has arrived!!  He munched on the new blend of bird food I have been buying that is for woodpeckers, but do not tell him.  He was quite excited about it!!
 
 
 


Saturday, March 15, 2014

New visitors!!

We had new visitors to our bird bath today -- cedar waxwings!!  What a wonderful surprise!!  Here is what one looks like: 


© Ben Thomas/GBBC
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/cedar_waxwing/lifehistory
 
I was filling one of the bird feeders with the new blend of bird seeds. I noticed a flock of birds in the top of the maple tree.  I could not tell what they were, only that they were NOT the many goldfinches we have had the last few weeks or so.  They looked a little like female cardinals from that distance, but I knew that many females would not all be together.  After I filled the feeder, I stepped back up on the front porch and stood very still for a while and waited.  After a few minutes, a couple of the birds flew down to the bird bath.  The moment I saw them I thought -- cedar waxwings!!  I waited for a few minutes to enjoy watching them.  Finally, they flew back up to the tree and I went inside to quickly check my bird book.  Sure enough, they were cedar waxwings!!  I was so excited!!  I have never seen them in real life before -- a first for me!!  I stood inside looking out the front door with my binoculars and I could even see the red tips of their wings and the yellow tips of their tails.  They are absolutely beautiful!!

I took a few photographs but could not zoom in close enough so you cannot really tell any detail.  I will not bore you with them.   But, for a while there was quite the activity with several downy woodpeckers, dozens (and I do mean dozens) of goldfinches, a nuthatch, several cardinals, several purple finches, an unknown blackbird, the cedar waxwings, a couple of chickadees, and a couple of titmice.  After a while, the rain set in and most of the birds found other places to go.  The goldfinches stayed around for a while, as did the cardinals.  Even though the weather turned lousy, the birding was great!!

 



Rain is on its way . . .

Rain is forecasted for most of today and the temperature is supposed to drop.  I am okay with this -- we need the rain really bad.  I have plenty to do indoors -- I am reading a good book now, have plenty others for backup, and have some writing to do.  Over the past couple of weeks, grassfires have been breaking out all over Oklahoma.  The closest one to us was about two miles southeast of us on Wednesday.  All of Oklahoma is once again in a drought.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Blog makeover, etc.

I just redesigned the blog with a new background and layout.  Hopefully, this will breathe a new life into it.  Any and all comments are welcome.
 
I will be adding book reviews to the blog, as well as announcements of upcoming releases of new books by some of my favorite authors.
 
Our weather is still lousy with more "wintry mix" coming in tomorrow.  I will be so glad when spring arrives.  We still have snow on the ground from the last "wintry mix" on Sunday and a dusting Thursday night.
 
Last Saturday, I put a new blend of bird food (for woodpeckers) in one of the bird feeders. The goldfinches have gone nuts over it.  I do not have the heart to tell them it is for woodpeckers -- they would be devastated!!  With only four perches on the feeder, there are sometimes 10-15 goldfinches sitting in the tree waiting for their turn on the perch to get some of the treats.  Peanuts have now dropped to being the second favorite treat.  I also offer black oil sunflower seeds and safflower seeds.
 
Daylight Savings Time goes into effect this coming Sunday at 2:00 a.m. -- what a nightmare the next 2 weeks will be!!  It is amazing what a difference 1 hour can make in my life.  Everything will be off kilter for a while.
 
Today I received an advanced reader's copy of "The Catch," the new book by Taylor Stevens scheduled to be released in July 2014.  It is the fourth book in the Michael Munroe series.  I know it will be another excellent book.  The first three were great and I am ready to jump in and read this one.  So, with that being said, I will close this post and dive on in the book.  Stay tuned for an update.
 
More later . . . .