Spring flower pots

I was headed to pick up Sam from school, when sitting at a stoplight, I glanced
over towards the BigK on the corner. They were unloading a palate full of pretty
flower pots, so I just had to zip into the parking lot to check out the new pickins!

When I saw these pretty creations, I simply had to bring some home.
I had yet to find some flowers for the back deck pots, and these fit the bill nicely!
The best part? Took them up to the register in the garden shop, and they
rung up to only $12.74 each! A pretty bargain... can't beat it!

Trip to the Big Easy

My trip to New Orleans was really enjoyable. Not only had I not flown since 9/11, but I had never been there before. We stayed in Metairie, just off the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. My nurse manager, one of the clinical educators, and I went to a VHA conference on creating blue prints to evoke change in institutions. We were focusing on the prevention of pressure ulcers in our facility. In a nutshell, the thrust of the conference was that "culture change" does not occur from the top down, but rather from the bottom up. In other words, if the people who are responsible for owning the change do not embrace the policy, it does not matter really. So many times, institutions appoint committees who come up with a protocol. That is then relayed from on high to those below with the edict, "OK, so here is the plan. Now, this is what you need to do." People fall back into familiar routines and then months later, management is scratching its head wondering why the "plan" is not working. It's an entirely different way to look at institutional change, and it was fully worth the trip.


The first night we were there, we went to Bourbon Street. It is world famous, is it not? Images of the debauchery during Fat Tuesday celebrations fill the mind when the name is mentioned. I will say this... it's wide open. You can find anything and everything there. You know you are in New Orleans when your waiter says, "Do you want a to-go cup for your Margarita?" We laughed. He was serious. Indeed, there are few inhibitions in New Orleans. And few rules. Be nice, don't be an obnoxious drunk. That's about it. But the people were so charming and welcoming.

We went to Harrah's Casino on Canal Street and made a donation. Ahem. We mainly just played the penny and nickel slots, but it is such an interesting place. I'd been in a small casino on a cruise ship, but never in a full sized one such as this. I marveled at the number of people there willingly feeding money into machines that were singing and whirring noises in a loud symphony throughout the place. (Mental note: NO place for persons with autism.) The atmosphere was so ambient and relaxing and pleasant. Meant to keep you there for hours, with no thought to what time it is, or how long you'd been there. Nice wait staff bringing free drinks as long as you are gambling. A bad recipe for those sure their next big break is one bet away from the one they just made.


The last afternoon we were there, we visited the French Quarter and the French Market, along with Jackson Square. So quaint. So many lovely shops and so many restaurants. Purchased coffee from Cafe Du Monde and some other souvenirs for home. It amazed me how many street performers there were, and how many wonderful artists displaying their talents. All the while, with a joyful sound of jazz playing in the background. Sadly, we were leaving just as Jazz Fest was beginning. It's a wonderful city, which has recovered gracefully from the devastation of Katrina, and I hope to revisit it someday.

* All photos found on the Web as I did not pack a camera... drats!

Suet eating Summer Tanager

On Sunday evening, I was looking out towards the feeders and saw him!
Glory be! He's back! I first had a Summer Tanager in April of 2008, and could
not believe he was coming to my feeder to eat sunflower hearts. Well... he'd come
when he could as long as the male bluebird was not in the vicinity to run him off.

But Sunday when he came, he headed straight for the Bark Butter feeder!
He would fly towards it, grab a beak full, and then light on the feeder pole.

A Goldfinch flew in to watch the show, and together, they made a beautiful photo.

The ornamental house

A few years back, my sister got a small stone ornamental type bird house shaped like an acorn. It hung outside in a tree, and due to its lack of drainage and shallow cavity, no one ever chose it as a nesting place. Of course, since it was mainly just for decoration, that was fine. When she moved here, she put in in the tree beside her driveway where other feeders hang and forgot all about it. That is, until this past Tuesday. She was doing some trimming, when she looked up and saw... pine straw sticking out of it... uh-oh... and when she peered inside, four perfect little blue eggs. Her heart sunk. She went to the porch and waited. Sure enough, look who came flying in...

A mom bluebird! Now, you know how picky bluebirds are about their nesting boxes. I've seen a male and female go in and out of a box a blue million times calculating the distance from the opening to the bottom, making sure it's just right. What on earth this little girl was thinking is anybody's guess. When my sister called me, she was so distressed. She said that it was so small that her tail feathers were crammed up against the back of the "house" and that her head was all but sticking out the front. She lamented that she'd even put the dang house in the tree as now, if these eggs were to hatch, the babies would most certainly either fall out, drown from a good rain, or be out in the open for predation. What do do? What to do?

I told her I'd email The Science Chimp and ask for advice, and I did. But before I could relay to her that Julie suggested leaving the nest alone, that evening she and her neighbor decided to try and move the makeshift nest into one of their gourds with pine straw, and put it back in the same place. When I spoke with her the next day, she was happy with relief. They took a spoon to remove the eggs, and then put the rather scant nest the mom had constructed on top of the pine straw in the gourd, then carefully put the eggs right back in the center. Within minutes of their placing the house back to the same spot and moving to the porch to watch what happened, the mom flew back in and went right into the gourd. Whew. Who knows why she chose this place to nest. Maybe she was a first year mom, or maybe she just could not find another suitable house. Hopefully, all's well that ends well, and I'd venture to guess the ornamental house will be in the garage next season.

Eagle Nest Cam

I've seen many nest cam shots, but this one, shared with me by Small Glimpses
is one that makes me spend inordinate amounts of time just smiling and gazing.
It's an American Eagle nest cam in OK, which initially had three eggs.
Only one hatched on March 21st, and you can watch as mom and dad tend
this precious eaglet. They bring all sorts of things into the nest for him/her to eat.
Warning: It's addictive!

Ms Hummer

The males came first, but now the females are here
in full force too. Won't be long that they'll be busy nesting.
I love how soft her feathers look in the photo below.

Hoo hoo could not use one of these?

I love the Signals Catalog, and smiled with delight when I saw
these sweet, sweet boxes in the form of so many different owls!
I was even more happy to see that a portion of the sales is donated
to raptor rescue organizations. And, they're on sale!
How on earth can I pick just one? :c)

Only a week or so...

I saw this travel weary moth in the Arbor Vitae and upon
investigating, found it is a male Luna Moth.
As an adult, its only goal is to reproduce,
and its life span is only one week.
This poor guy must be on the way out from the looks of him.

Fishing companions

There were so many Blue Herons along the banks
of the river, and they did not seem to mind us
getting really close to them for some photos.

It was really something to see them simply standing
alongside the fishermen as if they had been companions forever.

Oh, so beautiful...

The Cedar Waxwings were all over the park.
They've planted all sorts of berry bearing shrubs
to make these beauties so very happy.

~~~~~~~~
Post Edit:

On a fully unrelated note, it struck me the other day as I was looking back
at some very old posts that I used to share so much more in terms of my
thoughts and feelings about things, even more about the photos I posted.
This blog started as more of a personal journey, morphed into an occasional
birdy blog, and Sam blog, but was never just about one thing.

Maybe after almost three and a half years, I've run out of things to share, or maybe
it's just that lately too many other things have been in the forefront of my mind.
Regardless, I miss posting with substance, and hate that all I can manage
these days is to just throw up a bird photo every day. It sort of makes me sad really.
It makes me wonder if it is time to take a long blog break, but then the thought
of that makes me even more sad. Just know that I miss sharing more of myself with you.

Tomorrow, I am leaving for a conference in New Orleans with two co-workers.
It will be nice to get away for a few days and be somewhere I've never been.
Of course, I've already got a bird photo scheduled to throw up here in this space.
Bless you all for still stopping by each day... really.
Maybe soon, I can refocus and resume what I wanted this blog to be.

Gangly Teenager

This juvenile Blue Heron was watching the
adults fish and I caught him with his
tongue out... being a typical teen!

At times, so regal...

I know they are such pests to many, as their numbers have
increased exponentially, but every now and again, when you
see only one or two on the water, you can't help but marvel
in the beauty and regal carriage of the Canada Goose.
Oops, looks like he forgot to use his napkin!

A woman's work...

...is never done!
We watched this mama Robin busily collecting nesting material...

While her man snacked on worms nearby! :c)

Homestead sweet homestead

While we were at the Riverpark again, I couldn't help
but snap a few more photos of the nesting Tree Swallows
at another nest box along the river.
They are just so very beautiful.

Yellow frumpy rumpy!

It was cool and the wind was whipping this
Yellow-rumped Warbler making his feathers
fly in every direction. So happy he sat still
for a quick photo op!

Blue Heron Babies!!

We went back to check out the heronry that we visited back
on April 1st, and were surprised to see that the trees had
leafed out so much. We could not see some of the nests much
at all, but were lucky enough to see a couple of them and got
some fairly good views of some of the new baby herons.

These two were in a nest together, and you could tell
it had become quite crowded! I know mom is probably
ready for them to be off on their own.
Funny how they are both awake and active and
she is snoozing with her head buried in her wing.

A lovely couple

He was taking a leisurely morning swim,
while the Mrs. was tending a nest on a shrub.
The babies won't have to go far to learn to follow dad.

Blue Heron Fisherman

On Saturday, my sister and I went back to the river to check out the heronry
again. Before heading over there, we went by the dam off the river and were amazed
to see so many Blue Herons fishing alongside all the fishermen on the banks of the river.
This one had just caught a huge fish, and I snapped away in amazement
as he made short order of it!

Gulp.
Buuuurp!

Alleluia! Sing away!

Learn something new every day!

I've always enjoyed watching the Eastern Towhee forage for food
and now that I've put some feeders closer to the kitchen window,
I get to have some close up views!
But, had no clue until I read it on All About Birds...
..."one of the largest sparrows..."
Well now!
Who knew? The Towhee is considered a sparrow.

~~~~~~~~
P.S. For those who wrote concerned (thank you), we are fine.
The huge line of storms that came through N. GA yesterday went mostly
north and south of us, and we are feeling grateful.
Prayers ascend for those whose lives were impacted.

Love your rusty cap!

I looked out the other day and saw one of my favorite sweet birdies is back!
I love the Chipping Sparrows and their sweet disposition.
Can't wait to see where they will nest this year. Last year, they loved
the arbor vitae by the pool. It's good to hear their Chip-chip-chipping again!

Mr. Mimic

On our morning walk at the Riverpark, we heard what we thought
was a mockingbird up in a tree. As we got closer however, we
saw another of the great song mimics, just singing away!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If anyone is so inclined...
would you please say some prayers for some friends of mine?
The entire Planning and Construction Department at our hospital
was eliminated yesterday. They were simply called into their conference
room, told they no longer have a job, and their pagers, blackberries, etc.
were all collected. Then, they were all sent home. For good. Unemployed.
One of my very best friends is/was the director of the department.
She's been at our hospital for 18 years.
Another dear friend working for her as a facility planner helped us finish our
basement and do our deck here on Chickadee. He is a golden soul in my life.
I am just so saddened for them and all those who now find themselves
among the unemployed. Forty-five people. Send good thoughts their way if you would.

Hot diggity... whaaaat?

And the saga continues...

Let's see... when we left off, our happy blogger was thrilled because Wonderful Credit Union had worked to help the deal for the purchase of the new car go through. The amount for my first payment was debited on the payment due date, and all seemed as if it was smooth sailing. The only thing left was to wait for the dealership to send WCU the paperwork I would need to get the car registered and get my tag transferred. Imagine my glee when they called on Friday the 3rd to say it had arrived! I made plans to run by there after work on Monday and pick it up so that I could finally have all this behind me.

I hugged the neck of the kind, lovely woman who had worked so diligently to make all this happen and told her I fully intended to write a nice letter to the credit union president singing their praises. She smiled and told me she was so happy it had all worked out. I left there almost skipping, headed straight to the county tag office.

When I arrived at the tag office, I smiled when I handed one of the girls my "official paperwork" and said, "My nightmare ends today!" The clerk, who was not a warm fuzzy gal, went through it all to make sure everything she needed was there, then got out her calculator. I was poised with checkbook in hand, prepared to pay for my tag/title fees. When she looked up at me and said, "That'll be $2,331.74," I almost dropped my checkbook. "Uh, that can't be correct, " I said. "Well, yes it is. That is the tax amount plus your MSO fee, and your tag transfer fee." I gulped. "The taxes have already been collected, and are included in the loan amount," I informed her. "That may well be," said she of little warmth, "but we've not received any tax payment on this vehicle, and you must pay the taxes to register it, ma'am."

Holy Hannah... the dealership NEVER paid the taxes to the county. It was then, that the sinking feeling of realization hit me. I would have to pay the taxes again, even though it is in my loan amount, and file a claim against the bankruptcy to try and reclaim it. I seriously could not decide if I wanted to just throw up right there (preferably on her unsympathetic shoes) or at the very least, start crying. I swallowed hard, and handed her my credit card. The loan has already been funded. Too late to change anything there. Nope, I will just have to take a number and get in line behind everyone else who is filing a claim to try and recoup their loses.

Bottom line though is that the car *is* now mine and it does have a valid tag. I can finally see out my back window without peering around a drive out tag that has been on there for the past nine weeks. I am trying to be thankful for small blessings. The view in the rear view mirror is broad and rather nice.

Tree Swallows

As we continued our walk in the Riverpark, we noticed lots of
swallows swooping along a field. They were so fast that we initially
could not tell what species they were, but as we came back down the
walk, we saw a nest box, and our ID was confirmed.
Tree Swallows!
They were so beautiful and so numerous.
I wondered what kind of battles ensued for the claiming of the nestbox.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AS AN ASIDE: Because I've had several comments from people who said they were
looking for the "Followers" gadget on my sidebar in order to follow my blog,
I've now added it to make it easier for those who want to add my blog to their reading list.

I've been using Bloglines for a while now for RSS feed updates, but may have to just
check out this new little widget to see how it works as well! :c)

The Ruby-throats are back!

At my feeder yesterday! Yay, hooray! They're back!
Now, if only I can whisper to him about a neat place to
have one of his girlfriends nest.... hmmm....