Bird #101

I was sitting on the patio last week as the sun was starting to set. I saw what I thought was a house finch on the neighbor's fence, but something about it told me it was different. I put the bins on it and realized it was different. It sat on the fence and would fly up to catch bugs over and over. Then it flew to the overhead lines and sat there with its mouth wide open .... guess the bugs were flying right into its mouth! I also noticed the bright yellow lining of its mouth that must be its way of attracting the bugs.

A few months ago I bought the iBird field guide for my iPhone. Actually, it is "WhatBird" for the iPhone. I love it! (Can we say "i Geek") Anyway, I entered a few parameters, came up with several possibilities, but knew right away it was an Eastern Wood Pewee. YaHoo! 101 on my life list.

Photo below is not my own. Photo courtesy of "All About Birds"

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Landscaping at the New House

One of the (many) things I like about my new home is the nice landscaping along the front of the house and side yard. And there are lots of healthy trees, although I paid a nice sum this week to have just three of them trimmed up. Ah, the joys of home ownership. But because of the trees most of the plants are early bloomers. There is very little full or even partial sun throughout most of the yard.

And even though I like what is planted, I doubt any of them are my favored native plants that provide benefits to wildlife such as birds and butterflies. There are a few berry shrubs, but that's about the limit of it.

Another "negative" is the decent slope at the west side of the lot. It doesn't look like much of a slope, but try mowing next to the fence line. It takes a lot to control the mower and keep it from sliding and taking out the fence.



So after struggling a few times, I thought about it. I don't like mowing over here. And this area of the yard gets the best sun. Hmm, this might be the best location for native landscaping! A couple of weeks ago, I placed a 3' wide strip of black plastic over it and pinned it down. In a couple of months, the grass should be killed off.


It will be too late to start planting (I think?) but at least I'll have the garden started. This Fall I can till the soil and perhaps put up a stone border in preparation for Spring planting.

It's so wonderful to be back to home ownership!

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Topaz

My cat Lucy is such a sweetheart. She's not one you can hold for more than about 10 seconds, but she does love people and sticks close by you. So close that she is constantly underfoot when you least expect it. My sister was visiting a few weeks ago and stepped right on her, to which Lucy's reply was to bite her. I felt so bad for MB & Lucy. The next week, I must have stepped on Lucy three times.

And now that I'm at the house, I spend a lot of time outdoors while Lucy sits at the door staring out at me, lonely.

So I get the notion that maybe Lucy needs a friend to run with and keep her occupied. I thought about it a while and finally decided I had to adopt another cat. I wanted a cat about one to two years old since Lucy is 18 months. I didn't want a kitten. As cute as they are, I'm not sure I can deal with the energy level any more.

But when I get to the Humane Society, the only cats they have are older cats or kittens. I knew that an older cat that is less active wouldn't be a good choice. And how can you not look at a kitten and want to take it home. I saw "Teko" and knew she was the one. The other kittens were just too wild while "Teko" seemed a bit more laid back. Plus, I love "blue" furred cats.

After I got her home, I let her explore a while and meet Lucy. Of course, Lucy wasn't too happy at first but by the next morning things were working out great. Lucy finally has a friend she can run with. I wanted to change "Teko" to a name more suitable and to my liking. I saw those golden brown eyes and decided on Topaz, my birthstone.

Nine days later everyone is happy with only a few spats here and there.



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