Another Mother Has Been Lost...

..but this is a mother of a different kind...

I have been following the Eagle Nest at Norfolk Botanical Garden for a few seasons now.  This nest has brought me much joy and many friendships along the way - so I am saddened to inform some of you that the "Norfolk Mom" has joined my own Mom in the heavens exactly 10 days after my Mom's death.   You can read the news story here.  


This pair of Bald Eagle Parents have successfully had multiple seasons with 3 eaglets...
 
    ..and this year started out in similar fashion.  The eaglets were removed on Wednesday with some controversy.  Ed Clark of WCV conducted an online discussion today providing information that should help calm many. You can read a transcript here.  Please read it if you have any doubts about the eaglets being removed.


I would now like to recommend that many of us should donate to WCV to help raise and support the "2011 Garden of Eagle Nest Kids"  This is definitely a "family" in need.


Both photos are copyrighted and are the property of JRDeal. You may not copy or otherwise reproduce either without written permission from JR Deal

In Loving Memory...

Mom -You were right - You do have a hummingbird nest in your front tree...





 I have named the Hummingbird who is building the nest after you.
I miss you so much...but I know you are enjoying Daddy's kisses...
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Lil' Miss Princess

There is a Princess amongst us - and I don't have to go to the United Kingdom to see her!
Princess Grace enjoyed showing off her "Princess Room" when I took her home after our day together last week.  You can see how much she enjoys it when you look at the photos below.

I Must Have a Twin....

...because there could be no other reason that I could get a close-up like this...

This fella followed me around the lake today.  I met up with him three different times...and it would have been more if the dog that I went past had not been along the lake edge which kept my new beau away.

One of my "Eagle Chat Friends" thinks that someone who looks like me feeds him -so I must have a twin!

The only other explanation is that he has a crush on me...

Amazing Grace

I have named used this title for my blog because I am still amazed at how many smiles she gives me each hour we spend together! 
 I have  a short slide show of our time last week - (Please notice the lettering just above the first picture!)

New Blog Postponed

I am having issues with my keyboard and mouse - so it is too much work to attempt my post ...stay tuned...

Things I Have Learned This Last Week...

I recently started another new project -scanning all my old photograph negatives.  This picture represents what I have left to do. (I have already scanned in over 2,500 negatives.)

 Here are a  few things I have realized this past week...



I actually did document my first bald eagle sighting in September of 1994.



You need to keep your negatives clean - otherwise you will get white specks showing.


Puppies are cute-even when they catch moths...


Trains will always draw a crowd....


 You would never actually believe just how blue Paul Newman's eyes were- unless you met him in person.

The above photos were taken with a 35MM film camera.  I have always enjoyed photography and I have decent equipment for being just a "run of the mill" home photographer.  I have been using a DSLR camera for about 8 years now but Canon makes their cameras last way too long - how can I justify a new camera when my old one still works as well as it does!  GRRRRRRRRR

Those "Darling Cobras"

We have seen a few different things in our travels -but this is one of the more unique...

This is the Darlingtonia californica - also known as the Cobra lily.  It is a carnivorous plant that is considered rare so you really should stop by the Darlingtonia Wayside Park if you are ever near Florence, Oregon.
  (It is also just across the street from the Elks Campground  on Mercer Lake Road.)

The Sock o' Seeds

The other day I happened to find one of the "Socks" on sale in the grocery store. I am all about "sale items" so I decided to buy it since the seed date was good until December and once I saw that I could re-use the sock if the birds used it.


Well - the birds like it... as you can see from the slideshow below!


This slideshow is over a three day period - one of the days photos you can see the rain drops. All photos have been taken through windows at the house.

One Of Life's Little Annoyances....

Chain Letters...you know them -we used to spend time on them when we were younger...you know...back when you had to hand-write 5 of them so you could get $5.00 sent back to you after you reached the top of the list. They were fun because you would run to the mail box each day looking for a piece of mail with your name on it...

never mind that it never came - you had something to look forward to each day for weeks on end!

There is now a new form of Chain Letter..the Electronic chain letter - you know.. the one that warns you of immanent bad luck if you do not send it out immediately to everyone  in your address book.

These letters come from supposed friends.  Why would a friend send something that is going to give another friend bad luck?  I have decided that I will stop any emails that will possibly give another person bad luck- or for that matter any luck or anything else from here on out.  

I think I will go one step further - I will send out a polite email telling the sender that I will remove them from my email list the next time I get any type of  "You must forward this..." email from them... you may think "a bit harsh"? ... well I don't need any more of  bad luck...

The Great Backyard Bird Count

 Today I participated in the GBBC. The "Great Backyard Bird Count" is a 4 day event where people from all over take time to count the many different birds they see and also report what bird species they saw.
  I decided I have too many feeders out because there was no way I could count the birds as they flew back and forth to the 4 backyard feeders. (This is very difficult with only two eyes!)
 I did not leave the yard so I did not see that many species  but I do have a slideshow of some of the different birds I saw.  I do have a few of the same bird...he was very territorial of the feeder until he was finished - 


There is one more day to participate so why don't you grab a partner and have fun! You can find the instructions at this link.
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The Finches Are Back...

These small birds are what started me taking photos of birds last year - so I thought I would dedicate a blog for their return this past week...


Lesser Goldfinches:
The Lesser Goldfinch is a small, seed-eating finch of the Southwest. It comes in two forms: a dark-backed one in Texas, and a greenish-backed one farther westward.

Brainwashing Of Our Youth?

Today I witnessed what I am sure must be some sort of secret brainwashing of our young children.
Please take a look at these photos and tell me if it does not look like this wee one is in some sort of trance...

You will also witness these innocent children following the directions given to them...

...and these small children always answer back the responses that are wanted...




...and this is what is causing this trance...





Be aware of  "Dora the Explorer" -it has to be a brainwashing program because no child ever responds as well as they do to Dora!!
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Colusa National Wildlife Refuge Birds

I decided to add a few photos from my trip to the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge. The only complaint I had is that the  "Auto Tour" road is not wide enough to pull over so others can pass you if they are in a bigger hurry than you are.


It looks like I saw over 20 different birds this time out.  I enjoyed watching the Stilts dance gracefully in the sky, the Geese gander around in the water and the Hawk hunter for lunch. 
You can actually double-click on a photo to find the bird type if you are interested.
I hope you enjoy the recap of my drive...

Colusa NWR..

A trip was made to the Colusa Natural Wildlife Refuge today. It was fun discovering many different birds that I had not see in person before.  Here are just a few...

Birds of February First.

I was able to take a few photos through the living room window of some of my local birds yesterday so I thought I would share them with you today.







These last two were taken in the backyard.



You can see more of these birds and others on my Bird Blog.
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The Other Meaning of Quartzsite

I have had people ask me why I enjoy going to Quartzsite. I tell them it is more than just the comraderie that the gathering provides....

but it is also about helping each other.

You will always find someone teaching or assisting another with something when you are with this gathering...


...I am sorry to have missed all the new tricks and talents that were shared this year!



The photos used in this post are from previous QZ gatherings...owned by MM