Woodstock?

We didn't band Woodstock at the time because, honestly, we didn't really give him much of a chance and didn't want to find a banded leg hanging out of someone's mouth. We did the best we could to acclimate him to the "wilds", but with our cats... Let's just say, they don't get off the porch much, but when they do, they are most likely going to take out a beloved bird...and let the mice run wild.



I wish we had though because every now and then a solitary dove still shows up under the bird feeder and we find ourselves asking "Woodstock? 'Statue'?"

Making Lemonade

We have been popped by a bad winter storm. Six or so inches of snow yesterday morning and then I don't know how many inches of rain. Everything is flooded and about an inch of it froze on the trees, power lines...



We have two very old friends (white pines) that have once again taken a big hit. I don't know how much more they can withstand and I can't imagine hanging my hammock anywhere else. Now at least the rain has stopped, but it's snowing again.

They are predicting four inches more and we've gotten almost three now, so it looks like they are correct. Sigh. If it weren't for the flooding, lack of power (thankfully we have a generator!), tree damage and animal stress, I'd really be enjoying myself - I LOVE winter most of the time.

We've done what we can to keep everyone comfortable, except the cats, who are wearing Saint Tim down and will probably have their heated beds plugged into the generator by nightfall. It is dropping down into the teens by late evening. The birds are stocking up and look who I caught at the feeder!

(I apologize for the video quality - using the little camera and shooting through a window - so basically the bigger of the bird blobs)



I can't prove it, but who else could it be?

For The Birds

We hit 67 degrees last Friday and it was in the single digits by Sunday. Now we are looking forward to a brown, muddy Christmas. We did have some snow a few days ago and look who I found under the feeder.



I can't say for sure, but one dove all alone feeding with the little birds sure sounds familiar, doesn't it :-). I had thought about tagging Woodstock when he was a baby, but decided not to. Now I wish I had. Hindsight...



Here's a shot of one of the goofy "neighbor kids" - a brief moment when he wasn't fighting with his reflection in the window.

One good thing about severe cold (other than freezing all the mud) is the necessitated building of some new friendships.



Comby and Eli

Saturday Sighting?

As I ate my lunch today, I decided to sit where I could see the bird feeder. The cardinal families are eating with a vengeance and are so fun to watch. As are the woodpeckers and even the common sparrows. Everyone has something to contribute to the entertainment around here. Much better than tv.

One bird in particular caught my eye. A dove. By him or herself. Eating with the little birds. No other doves around........watching........thinking.........isn't that odd?.........wouldn't it be cool?.........could it be?..........Woodstock?!? While I have no way to be certain, I grabbed a quick picture just in case.



As a side note, I am trying to go back and label each post so that if, say, you wanted to read all the Woodstock stories, you could just click that label. I started doing this with all the entries several months ago, but wish I'd been doing that all along. As usual, why do I always have to be the one that everyone else can use to learn from my mistakes. Sigh.

The Buffet

A picture of Woodstock and some of his peeps at the feeder this morning. :-D


Don't forget to put out extra food while it's so cold and think about installing a heater in your bird bath. No trouble at all and the birds will thank you.

Fine Feathered Friends

We spent some time over the weekend prepping the gardens for winter and I took some of the cut sunflower heads out to the bird feeder and Woodstock hosted a bird party! Much like baking cupcakes for your child to take to school I'd imagine.


This guy was not invited, but we enjoyed spying on him from behind the barn...only because we don't think he's big enough to carry off one of the Adventure Chickens...we hope.


This is a test post from the laptop, using the new wireless, but not quite highspeed system, so there may be some text/photo issues to fix.

A Rainy Day Visit With An Old Friend

I can no longer pick Woodstock from a big group of doves, but he did leave me with one special gift. For some reason, early on, he buddied up with a bunch of little sparrows. I could see that he did hang out with the doves as well, but he always made one last trip to the feeder, morning and evening, with the sparrows. Now that he's all grown up and gets completely lost in the dove crowd, it's a comfort to still be able to catch a glimpse of a giant size "sparrow" outside my window, especially on a dreary, rainy morning.

I Have No Excuses

There's been plenty to post, but I just haven't gotten it done. Sigh. For a little (more) catch up, I am thoroughly enjoying my new camera, a Nikon D40x. I missed so many good shots of various birds, and especially Woodstock, with the little camera, that I decided it was time to move up. I got this shot of Woodstock from inside the house, through a glass door.

This shot of Ewenice and the boys I took from WAY up at the barn as the sun was going down. Note to Ewen - I have a big zoom, so I can watch you from afar. Actually, as time goes on, Ewen has become not the worst behaved sheep we have - now that's a designation for you. When something's going down, you can bet Boudreaux (the brown sheep between Ewenice and Buddy) is leading the pack.

And this little flower came up under the bird feeder. Maybe Woodstock planted it just for us :-).

Catching Up

I'm in the middle of several cool projects, but in the meantime:

I made this. This is a big accomplishment - I am not a good knitter. I am so not a good knitter that after starting this several times and being completely frustrated, I decided to weave it, which I did. It was very pretty. However, I felt really guilty because I didn't stick with the original project, so I unwove it, got some bamboo needles and... Whew!

Tim and I installed this (notice how hazy the picture looks - that's from the unbelievable heat and humidity - fogged up my camera).

And Woodstock is doing just fine out in the big world. I usually spot him at least once a day at the feeder and it makes my day. Go Woodstock!

Graduation

After a night resting from his first venture into the big world, Woodstock was up and ready to go. I spent a good part of the day working in the room nearest the feeder so I could monitor the activity out there. Since he'd seemed thirsty the day before, I moved his old water bowl out where he could find it, and he came around several times. Once I was able to catch a picture of him hanging with some of his buds.

I was nervous when I didn't see him in the evening, but hoped that maybe he was so smart that he'd realized that if he came around at that time again, he might get caught and have to spend another night looking geeky in his cage.

Bright and early this morning I thought I saw a familiar face poking around under the grape arbor. He's still darker than the other doves, but it was hard to say for sure since he was in the shade. Then, he ventured over to the water bowl and got a drink. He'd made it!

"Oh, the places you'll go!" (A little good Dr. Seuss karma). Go well, little Woodstock. I'll keep the water bowl out as long as you need it and the feeder will always be full.

A Not Quite As Soft, But Much More Exciting Place To Sit

Today was final exam day for Woodstock. I waited for all the cats to crash out (not a long wait), took a chair, bottle of water, my knitting basket and camera and parked under the coolest shade tree I could find. I opened the door to Woodstock's pen and sat back to watch.

I don't often take time to just sit outside. I should. It is a beautiful place, full of all sorts of interesting sights and sounds - birds, bugs, breezes (thankfully) and blooms. This Praying Mantis was quite charming.

While I'm normally complaining that these characters are not pulling their weight, today their sleep was just what I wanted. Perfect for a young bird taking his first steps into the big world.

Iris is, of course, always watchful.

He waited a bit to start exploring, but you could tell he was intrigued. He then spent an hour or so walking around flexing his muscles and then at 3:15 he took flight. I continued to sit and wait to see if he would find his way back so I could run interference if anyone woke up - no worries there. He did return after about an hour and seemed to have found a buddy. My luck, this is his mother and she will have decided sending her teenager off to boarding school has worked out just fine.

He came back to the feeder a couple more times and by 7:30 he was obviously exhausted, so I decided to put him back in his cage for the night. At first he was happy to be there - got a big drink, ate some special Woodstock food, sat on his favorite perch, but by 9:00 he was agitated and wanted to go back out. I handed down some 'tough love' though and tried to explain that he'd be safer his first night out if he wasn't so tired and that tomorrow he could do what he wished. I'm proud of him, but kind of sad, too.

Flight School

Woodstock has matriculated into bird high school. His new "school" is 6' long and about 4' tall and wide. I set it up with branches from three different trees or shrubs he will find throughout the yard plus his favorite perch from his grade school cage and also a bird bath, if he's so inspired. Graduation day can't be too far away.

Potato Chips

Sheep are like potato chips - you can't stop at just one. We recently traveled to Nistock Farms in New York to pick up a Cotswold lamb. Luckily we didn't bring the truck and trailer and a fat checkbook... and we never even made it to the ewe field. The plan was simple - one lamb, large dog crate, small SUV with air conditioning - everyone travels in safety, comfort and style. In reality? The Beverly Hillbillies.

He was just so pretty. I couldn't help myself. Beside, they travel better in pairs (wink, wink, nod, nod).


The Woodstock update is good. He's definitely a dove and growing up fast. He's been learning all his lessons in bird school and I'm starting to plan for his safe release. Maybe this weekend when we are all here to keep an eye on everyone.

Bird School

This is Woodstock. In our short time together, we've made quite a few memories. Most he (or she) does not appreciate.

I found this bird on Thursday morning in Miss Tilly's mouth - no obvious injuries, but covered in dog saliva - not good for birds. Put him in a bucket and then hid him in some bushes after the cat's nap time began. Hoped for the best, but realistic. Friday evening, I ran over him out in the yard with the lawnmower :-/. Assumed he was (already) dead, but amazingly still hanging on even though he was very cold and surely now scared half to death. Back to the bucket and placed in the sun to warm up. At this point I feel obligated to at least make sure his life ended peacefully and not full of trauma or starvation.

My best guess was that he was a starling (not the sort of bird a rescue organization is going to take in) and looked up food substitutes - luckily they recommended the very kind of dog food we feed. Very messy eater though - not a starling, but something that wants to eat out of his momma's mouth, not by having food placed into his open mouth - possibly a dove? Now, three days later, he is growing like a weed, getting lots of feathers, eating the heck out of the dog food, moved into a bigger cage and having a big time at bird school.

In an effort to get him out of the "nest" a little quicker, I put the cage out under the bird feeder this morning so he could watch the other birds eat. Not only has he practiced hopping/flying up on the branch perch and grooming, but he has at least looked at the water and food bowls. Moving to the head of the class!