Monday, April 18, 2016

Puns Intended

Last evening, around 5, it was time to head over to Bill and Roxanne's lovely home for our Sunday evening get together. Loads of our friends are out of town, and for that matter, out of the country, so Bill and Roxanne offered to host. I said to Bruce, "just give me a few more minutes please, I'm almost at the finishing line."
Get it? For this throw I quilted very densely, thus the line reference. Not funny? I didn't think so.

So, I had Bruce take the photo of me to show off how "I have returned to my roots." At the urging of some dear family members, I have, once again, some blonde in my hair, thanks to Monica who spent more than three hours with me on Friday. Unfortunately, the lighting, although great on my throw, is not so great on me. My sisters Nancy and Carol were dying to see it, and as I photograph so horribly, this one, taken on a very windy Saturday, is perfect to show off the color.
Before long I will be having some roots again!

Returning from my hair appointment Friday afternoon, following a belated lunch, I went outside to take something to the squirrel chewed recycling bin. Lo and behold, look what I found!! Baxter went right up to it, and the birdie never moved a muscle, although you can see that it moved its' bowels!
Never having seen a bird that looked like this, I did what everyone does these days, typed in the description on Google. In no time at all I learned that it is a Catbird, named because of the mewing call they make. Apparently they winter here and this one must be a late migrator to more Northerly back yards. Rain began falling softly which did nothing to get it to move, however, about 45 minutes later, after the tail went up and down a few times, off it flew into the blooming Confederate Jasmine hedge. Wondering why it stayed put for so long? I discovered some tiny feathers on one of the big glass windows of the sunroom. I hate it when a bird flies into those windows, however it is not the first time, and sadly, probably won't be the last.

Sunday, following the worship service, on a picture perfect day, the church had a celebration and dedication of the new cupola in their courtyard. You, like us, were probably wondering why they had a cupola in the first place, and I'm here to clear that mystery up for us. In the 1920's, following a gift from Charles Morse to buy the land, the current sanctuary was built and the cupola, rather than a steeple, was a cost saving measure. So, there you go. We knew we were not in Kansas anymore, what with cake and champagne the refreshments.
Thinking about it this morning, I was reminded of a time, more than 10 years ago, during our first visit to London. Walking in Kensington, we came across a church garden party with calypso music playing in their courtyard. Captivated, we stood across the street watching the merriment, before continuing our walk. That was a very good trip.

Meanwhile, just when you thought every blog post for the next month or so would include an owl picture, I have none to show you because I have not seen them now in a week! Very discouraging to say the least. This morning, while scanning the overhead trees, I heard some loud bird calls. Looking outside the tree canopy I saw two large birds in a bare tree over on the next street; so far away, I could not really make them out. Figuring I could crop my photograph to get a closer look, I thought perhaps the brown one was one of the owls. Think again Gail.
On closer inspection the brown one on the upper branches is a big Hawk and I do mean big because those legs are really something. The lower branch, where all the noise came from, looks like an Osprey to me.
Here's cropped version which shows off the size difference. This is not the first time I've seen smaller birds try to drive larger birds away.

Following the no owl sighting, I rode over to the eagle's nest which is just the perfect distance if I want to get at least five miles in during every ride. An eaglet with no parents. Apparently the eaglet is large enough not to need constant supervision as this is at least the second time I've seen it alone.

The Great Blue Herons, on the other hand, are still in the pine tree, and for the most part I see at least two herons every day. From my vantage point it is hard to tell who is who...I watched as the one on the left "flew" from atop the nest.
You may be wondering how it is that we have so many large birds in our area and the answer to that is we have a bunch of lakes. Lake Jennie Jewel is seven doors away, Lake Gem Mary, in the other direction, is three, then there is Lake Conway, Lake Gatlin, and Lake Pineloch nearby. As you can now tell, they are everywhere we turn. Water brings birds sums it up in a nutshell.

Should you be weary of birds, I've taken some flower photographs.
African Irises are blooming in so many yards, they are so pretty they are begging to be photographed!

Not blooming in any yard aside from the one I saw this in, or at least that's been my experience, is this iris, apparently from the same family as the one I use for my blog header. I took this Friday morning and today, not a single bloom is left. THAT is why you must take a photograph of nature when it strikes you because it may be here today, gone tomorrow!
I just love white flowers--tiny water droplets as a bonus.
Every year, a neighbor down the street has the most incredible display of amaryllises, and lest you think that is an easy feat, talk to my dear friend Cheryle who is an amazing gardener. She is currently lamenting the lack of blooms on hers.
The bougainvillea outside my office window is just beginning to bloom, however, the ones adjacent to the lake lot are going mad. So mad, they have grown over the gate opening!
They may be beautiful to look at, but be careful, as their branches are thorn-covered! I ducked under them to walk down to the lake!!

Since Bruce took the photo of me with my current project, I have successfully attached the binding with the machine. Not without a struggle, mind you, but it is on and now I will plop myself into one of the living room chairs and begin the hand sewing which will take probably four hours. Yikes!! I bought a needle threader the other day...let us hope it works because in spite of my new glasses, I still find it a challenge.

Trying to add levity to my blog with limited success,

Gail

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