We like to go out on the porch to watch storms and Rich brought to my attention the beautiful Great Blue Heron at the edge of the pond standing still under a beating of raindrops.
I admired his raincoat.
Good morning Monday, my friends, do you feed the birds?
A thoughtful collection of bird feeders will bring an interesting variety of feathered visitors. Sometimes I even say, “Thank you for coming!”
From where I am sitting on the couch I can look right through the living room window and easily see my feeders on the porch. I have one hanging and three make-shift feeders (which are really copper sifters) sitting in different places; on the porch railing, a plant stand, and a little white table. Because their bottoms are screens I don’t have to worry about the seed staying wet after it rains. There is black sunflower seed in three of them, and dry mealworms in the fourth (wishing, hoping, dreaming…….of bluebird visitors).
I have a camera nearby with my zoomiest zoom lens attached.
And in this simple way, our days are peppered with bird behavior. Sometimes the feeders are empty. But sometimes chicadees fly in, take a seed, and immediately fly out to eat it in the bushes by our driveway. They don’t stay long. As soon as one leaves, another one takes its place, it is well-choreographed and there are never any collisions. Sometimes a pair of cardinals come to visit. Or a beautiful house sparrow and nuthatches, and a titmouse or two. I remember that we need more suet to cater to the local woodpeckers. I haven’t seen any bluejays lately but I saw some at a neighbor’s feeder yesterday. My parents get a whole flock of mourning doves on their front porch!
Sometimes one of the children will notice a bird and tell me to “come look, Mom!” I love that. I tiptoe over as quietly as I can. Sometimes I’m too late and “oops, it flew away.”
“Think of all the animals you know and you will see that there is not another one that is clothed with feathers.” Fields and Fencerows, by Porter and Hansen
“He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.” Psalm 91:4
“A wave of song moves across the continent each morning, east to west, with sunrise. Light–a certain intensity of light–starts birds singing.” Backyard and Beyond, Edward Duensing and AB Millmoss
“He redeemed my soul from going down into the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.” Job 33:24
“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.” Psalm 96:1-2
The more things should learnest to know and enjoy, the more complete and full will be for thee the delight of living.” Phalen
“However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all……” Ecclesiastes 11:8
“Use at least one full page in your notebook for each bird sighting. First, record the day and time. Next, record the place you saw the bird. Was it in a field or near the water? Was it on a grassy lawn or in a woodlot? You might want to add a brief sentence describing the feature by which you identified the bird–it’s color, shape, or field mark. Do a small sketch of the bird and make notes about the bird’s behavior. You can squeeze a lot of information on one page.” Field Trips, by Jim Arnosky
“These birds were probably not drawn, even thus loosely, together by any social instincts, but by a common want; all were hungry, and the activity of one species attracted and drew after it another and another. ‘I will look that way, too,’ the kinglet and creeper probably said, when they saw the other birds busy, and heard their merry voices.” Signs and Seasons by John Burroughs
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“When I’m working in the barn or house I often think of all the errors I’ve made in my life. But then I quickly put that behind me and think of water lilies. They will always eradicate unpleasant thoughts. Or goslings are equally comforting in their own way.” ~Tasha Tudor
Jacob is doing fine in Vermont, he is so busy we don’t hear from him very often but all his texts end in that happy LOL face — yellow circle with a big grin and laughter-tear eyes. He’s very busy with football; conditioning, practices, and meetings. I read the group text this morning in which he confessed that he finally put the sheets on his bed…after three days. He read the blog post I wrote and had to text me and say “great I’m crying right before my meeting, Mom.” oops. He’s coming back home next Sunday to get Ethan but Rich and I will be in PA getting Grace settled so we will miss seeing him. Vermont is an easy state to visit from Connecticut, I honestly LOVE the drive to the college because I pass several very nice antique stores and the Vermont Country Store, which is an amazing place to shop for unique items, including food.
So anyway, back to when I visited Aunt Colleen two weeks ago now. We had an afternoon just the two of us. Her girls babysat Seth and Sarah (they are the best babysitters). I wish I had taken more pictures with Colleen that day. We stopped first at an antique store that was inside of a big huge old house. We had just as much fun seeing the inside of that house as we did searching for treasures.
Then, we found a consignment shop basically in the middle of a very quiet shopping plaza, one of those places that you hesitate going inside because they don’t seem to have much business. However, we entered the store and had a simply delightful time prowling around and I was very excited to find Seth a Derek Jeter tshirt for only 2 dollars AND……..(this is most exciting)…..on a shelf of children’s books I found……
TASHA TUDOR BOOKS! THREE OF THEM!
This was the one I was most amazed by….because when I opened the cover I saw….
….that it was signed!!! (swoon)
My friends, it was ONE DOLLAR. ONE DOLLAR.
The first one was published in 1971, and this one was written in 1997.
“But then Caleb thought his end had come: He tripped over a taunt rope in a clump of hemlocks where he had thought to conceal himself. He fell flat, giving his chin a nasty whack. He just managed to retreat, undiscovered, to the shelter of some rocks that were covered by bushes.”
Naturally, the fact that there is a CALEB in the books makes them even better, as that is the name of my own dear fourth son, who is currently 12 years old.
The third book I bought (they were each one dollar) was a copy of Tasha Tudor’s Fairy Tales, and as it was very similar to the Bedtime Book (already tucked away on a shelf at my house in CT), we promptly left it with Aunt Mary, on her porch, with a note. She loved Tasha before I even did (as did my Mom).
When I got home I pulled all my books out of their various places in the house to take photos of them. It’s been too long since I last READ them (I’m currently reading Harry Potter #3) so I plan on doing that very soon, while wearing a long skirted old fashioned dress, a kerchief on my hair, while turning off the electricity in the house, seated next to a huge dollhouse I made myself, with lit candles, a stuffed owl, and tea that I brewed also myself in old English chinaware! Oh and I cannot forget the big vases of flowers from the garden, using homemade goat fertilizer to make them bloom extra lushly.
(dreams, only dreams)
This book is a treasure for lovers of old fashioned gardening.
“Daffodils are an optimistic flower, and foolproof. You know what Shakespeare said:
“Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty.”
…I plant them in big clumps with a trusty shovel. I make several large holes all around and put quite a few in. That’s why it makes such a spectacular look when they bloom.” ~Tasha Tudor
Mother Goose book (of which I have two copies). . . . .
(all these books have been found in my wanderings through library book sales and second hand shops)
(She passed away in 2008 at 92 years of age)
“You should see my corgis at sunset in the snow. It’s their finest hour. About five o’clock they glow like copper. Then they come in and lie in front of the fire like a string of sausages.” ~Tasha Tudor
Another page of her delightful drawings. I have a print which I really need to get framed one of these days…..its of a small girl holding a chicken.
This newsletter/catalogue was tucked inside one of the books.
Joanna gave me this cookbook for Christmas in 2001, she is also a fan. All the cool girls are. (wink) If you haven’t seen her work, I challenge you to find her books at the local library and enjoy a quiet hour or two turning the pages, you will be whisked away into another world for a time, and come back gently with a soft smile on your face, determined to maybe try a few of the things she loved so much; her pets, cooking, gardening, drawing, creating.
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This huge hawk sat at the top of our old dead pine tree for well over an hour early yesterday morning. As soon as I woke up I found myself down by the pond, in a soft rain, trying to get a good photo.
It’s beautiful.
(Sarah was wearing her sister’s glasses). These three were cute yesterday, visiting on the porch, so I had to get a photo.
They brought me my camera, “We took pictures outside,” they explained, “he’s in the trash can.” ooooookay…….
Apparently they were pretending that he was Bugs Bunny (which explains the teeth) and because they didn’t have a proper rabbit hole, they used the almost-empty garbage bin. Yuck!
“I enjoy doing housework, ironing, washing, cooking, dishwashing. Whenever I get one of those questionnaires and they ask what is your profession, I always put down housewife. It’s an admirable profession, why apologize for it. You aren’t stupid because you’re a housewife. When you’re stirring the jam you can read Shakespeare.” ~Tasha Tudor
One evening this week I went into my room and found a large brown moth playing a rather dangerous game of tag with the ceiling fan spinning over my bed. I quickly turned the fan off but the moth continued to fly around like something crazy so I turned off all but one of the lights in the room. The moth gravitated toward it and settled down on a closet door. I was able to get a photo and then attempted to trap it under a large glass in order to take it outside where it belonged. However, Madame Moth had other ideas and escaped the glass with fluttering wings…..to my shoulder. I did a quick, sly shuffle, while squealing, toward the door but alas, it vanished off my shoulder and disappeared. For the remainder of the night I found myself absentmindedly brushing at my hair and clothes. I hadn’t seen the moth fly away and felt as if it were still on me somewhere.
The next morning……….
I found it on the light pink curtains in the bathroom. The curtain rod was one of those spring loaded kinds that can be adjusted between the window frame so I took another photo and then pulled the entire curtain down and took it and the moth outside….where it belonged. We have a large wrap around porch and I put the curtains on the quiet side, away from doors and activity of people and pets, on a small table. The poor moth was so still and silent that I wondered if it was even alive. I checked on it throughout the day and it never moved. I felt badly that I hadn’t been able to get it outside the night before when it was so obviously full of life.
The next morning…….
It was gone, all but a single leg and 11 chartreuse colored eggs. I think it left it’s leg behind because even I had a hard time removing it from the curtain, it was hooked into the fabric rather tightly.
The eggs look amazingly like green grapes.
Good to be Home 