Now That's More Like It...UPDATED

11:45 am


3:45 pm

still a few hours left, too.
scroll to the bottom of this post to see our stormy visitor....



The Weather Channel was hesitant to throw out the "B" word this time, but at about midnight, the forecast switched from "Heavy Snow/Wind" to "Blizzard". Our 8 inch "dusting" that they called a blizzard last time had me skeptical, but this storm definitely has bark AND bite. 15 solid inches down already and a call for 5 to 8 additional inches throughout the afternoon.

Too deep to play in.

Too early to shovel.

Guess I'll have another cup of coffee and play cars with the kid.




We also had this little lady brave the snow and wind to visit us for an afternoon snack at the suet cage:

Downy Woodpecker

Possibility of cancellations tomorrow as well...could it be a double whammy double day off? We'll see.

More Birding

Spotted a few new additions to the bird species checklist over the weekend...and even managed to snap a few pics. I snapped a better shot of the Cardinal than the one in the last blog, but I need not post that one, we've all seen a million of them. The only one I missed was some sort of large, dark, water bird, something like a Loon or a Night Heron. It flew over the house and before I could get a good enough look at it, it was gone. Ah well....it's all part of the sport, I guess.

Bird Watching's a "sport", right?

More of an "activity", I suppose.

Perhaps an "event" in very favorable conditions.

Anyhow....without any further adieu:


White-breasted Nuthatch- Male


American Goldfinch- Male


American Pink-Baby- Female: at rest


Future Bird Watcher


In other Leo family news....The garden is coming along nicely...lots of green 'maters and some little peppers. TONS of blossoms on the squash and pumpkins. Harvested a bunch of herbs, beans, spinach, lettuce, a few peppers, and a crown or two of broccoli so far. Strawberry season has wound down, but the red raspberries are just about ready, and the blackberries and blueberries are ripening up like champs.

I ran into an old family friend today who asked me "How's life at 'Quiet Cove'?".
Quiet Cove. I like that.
I think I'll make up a sign.



Have a great week!

Consider The Ravens

"Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse not barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?"
Luke 12:24 (NKJV)



I'm getting old. I know this. I'm fine with that. Honestly. All anyone needs to know about me to know that I'm getting old is what my new favorite hobby is.

Birdwatching.

yup. Love it.

We have a bunch of feeders and bird houses dotted throughout the yard, and I've taken quite a liking to identifying the different species of birds that I spot, either by sight or song. Chrissy and the kids bought me a Birds of Massachusetts Field Guide and a pair of binoculars for Father's Day. It turns out that there have been over 460 different species of birds spotted and recorded in MA. This field guide lists 121 of the most common species. There is a checklist in the index of the book, where you can check off a species that you have spotted. Starting now, I'm checking off birds that I spot, but only ones that I spot in my back yard. I've spotted 24 different species, just since Sunday. I tried to get pictures of some of them, but most took off before I could get to the camera. Here's a few photos I was able to snap of some less shy birds:


American Tree Sparrow- Female



Common Grackle- Male



House Finch- Male



Eastern Bluebird- Male



Eastern Bluebird- Mr. and Mrs.



Great Blue Heron- Gender not known. In flight.



Northern Cardinal- Male. Playing "hard to get".


More to come!

Found Him

Spotted him this morning while taking out the compost. He stuck around just long enough for me to run in and grab the camera.

Fail

Canada Goose Mind Freak

I have a problem.

I have geese.

Canadian Geese... or "Canada" Geese, to be ornithologically correct.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm big into birds, especially water foul. The blog name says it all. There are scores of different types of birds that stroll by our bird feeders every day. And I'm getting better at identifying of them. I love 'em. And I love the Canadian Geese, too. Every year we see 6 or 7 families of geese who live in our pond. I don't have a problem with them.

Just with their poo.

It's everywhere.

It's EVERYWHERE!!

Our lawn is full of clover, the geese love the stuff. They eat it like it's their job and leave these disgusting landmines of goose poo all over the place.


Look at them...looking all smug, trying to act like they didn't just poo all over my lawn

Usually, our best solution is to send the boy down to chase them out of the yard and into the water. But they come back. They always come back.
I'm trying a new solution. A solution that I bought online. A solution that I paid retail price for. For those of you who don't know me well enough...this is very, VERY not my style.

Our philosophy on purchases, for the most part, is "make what we can, fix what we break, and if we have to buy it, get it on sale". This attitude mostly came from my family not having much money when I was growing up.

BUT...for the amazing low price of $21.95 (plus shipping and handling) we have an artificial food chain deterrent singularly manifesting itself in my back yard as we speak. Are you ready to see it?


See it yet? Wait for it....


Waaaaaiiiiittttt fooooorrrr iiiiiiiitttttt..........



That's right, it's a......


2D High-Density Plastic Collapsible Weather and UV Resistant Full Color Coyote Decoy!!!!!

I know, I know...there's no way it's going to work, right? We'll see, but so far....


It scared the snot out of the cat.

We'll see how this one plays out. Stay Tuned.