Feeding Winter Birds - Saturday's Critters

Like many of my fellow bird lovers, 

feeding winter birds is 

part of being good neighbors

to our sweet feathered friends.

Today it's time for
Viewing Nature with Eileen - Saturday's Critters.

Here a Varied Thrush is checking out

the offerings on my deck rail. 

Although this bird is not a seed eater, 

it does eat fruit and insects,

so I put out grapes and other fruits. 

This beautiful orange and black bird nests in 

high elevations in conifer forests, but 

migrates to lower elevations

in small flocks during the winter months. 

I enjoy hearing their reedy one-note calls

and seeing them foraging on the ground

for insects. 

They are sociable birds and congregate

with other species, especially the Spotted Towhees

who scratch and dig in the underbrush, 

uncovering tasty morsels. 

Here a male Towhee scratches for breakfast. 

These birds are known for running away

from danger through thick underbrush, rather than flying. 

The female builds a nest on the ground, well away from 

where the male perches and sings.

A beautiful male Varied Thrush forages nearby. 

A Spotted Towhee and Steller's Jay. 

Towhee's will eat seeds, insects and fruit. 

A Spotted Towhee and two Dark-Eyed Juncos. 

Juncos are usually seen on the ground 

in small flocks and adhere to a rigid social

hierarchy, with dominant birds chasing 

less-dominant birds. 

These are seed and insect eaters and will come

to bird feeders. They have a curious 

way of double scratching for insects with both 

feet at the same time! 

Another view of the Dark-Eyed Junco with a

companion - a common Song Sparrow, 

who spies me taking her/his mug-shot:) 

A Chestnut-Backed Chickadee is a regular

at the feeder, enjoying both seeds and suet. 

This little fellow will cling to branches upside

down looking for insects, and nests in tree cavities

2 to 20 feet up. 

During nesting season it is quiet and secretive, 

but in winter it will join other small birds

in talkative little flocks. 

These little birds are very fearless and friendly! 

As are these little charmers, 

the Red-Breasted Nuthatch.

This one seems to have mussed up his hair! 

They are very impatient as I fill the suet

feeder and practically land on my head! 

These tiny birds are known for 

traveling down tree trunks

in search of insects head first. 

The name 'Nuthatch' comes from 

the Middle English moniker nuthak, 

referring to the bird's habit of wedging

a seed into a crevice and hacking it open. 

It doesn't excavate a nesting cavity, 

as a chickadee might; rather,

it takes over a former woodpecker

or chickadee cavity. 

Our beautiful Washington State Steller's Jays

are one of my favorite birds. 

These are large Jays, highly alert and intelligent,

which mate for life. 

Jays are much maligned, mistakenly, as 

studies have shown they rarely rob

other bird's nests and actually 

serve the purpose of being the watchdogs

of the bird world. 

Steller's Jays will mimic the cries of hawks and eagles

as a warning to residents of the forest 

that danger is nearby, and will mob together 

noisily to drive away these predators. 

Mourning Doves feeding with a Dark-Eyed Junco. 

These gentle birds mate for life, building 

platform nests of twigs, and get 

their name from their mournful cooing. 

Hunted relentlessly by hawks and other 

predators, they have the unfortunate 

affliction of wings that whistle in flight, 

giving away their location. 

These birds appreciate the protection of 

the Jays and will patiently wait 

for them to feed first so the Jays

will stand watch for them. 

Wait a minute! You're not a bird! 

Are you the one who has been digging up my potted bulbs? 

Who me?

Yes, you! It's a good thing that you are so darn cute! 

Last, but not least, we had a rare

visitor, which I was only able to get a 

very quick, blurry shot of....

a Ruffed Grouse. 

The black 'ruffs' around the neck 

give this bird its name. 

He was walking through the front yard

early one morning and I was able to 

grab my camera and get a quick shot 

before he scurried away. 

Actually this bird is a very common 

bird of the deep woods. 

 He was the size of a chicken. 

I hope he likes it here :)

xoxo

Thank you for coming along

as I feed the winter birds, 

here in the foothills of Western 

Washington State. 

What are your favorite winter birds? 

xoxo

Today I am joining with :

Saturday's Critters

Friday Morning - Five on Friday

Hello, Dear Friends, it's time for Five on Friday

once again! Time does fly and the weeks

seem to go by fast, 

although the days can seem 

to drag on slowly sometimes. 

Especially on days like this! 

First to discuss on Friday is 

the change in the weather.

Yes, we have lost our sunny, balmy

weather and now it is cold and rainy

with a biting little wind. 

The clouds are racing by

and every so often there is 

a little break in which the 

sunbeams stream down through 

the skylights as I sit here. 

It lasts but a few moments

and then it is back to dark and dreary

once again. 

The weather is fickle here in the mountains....

Just the day before yesterday, it was clear

and sunny and warm. 

But we are reminded that it is still

Old Man Winter who rules the kingdom. 

Yesterday morning, as this weather system started 

coming in, the sunshine turned to dark clouds

and then we lost our electricity! 

I couldn't figure out why, until a few 

moments later, a strong wind came 

barreling through the valley, 

which gave me my answer. 

I was without power most of the day. 

But while the weather held out for a couple of days 

beforehand, I was able to get some work done outside.

Which brings me to the second subject

for Friday morning - the gardens. 

I trimmed the roses along the arbor, 

tidied up the hydrangea bush, 

and did a bit of weeding in the 

forget-me-not patch. 

This is my parent's commemorative garden. 

I started it for my Mother, and then when my 

father passed a year later, a white rose that I had planted

along the arbor bloomed for the first time that very day. 

The forget-me-not garden has bugle-weed, wild geranium, 

birds-foot trefoil and deciduous lady fern all

mixed in with forget-me-not, which makes for delicate 

weeding sessions. 

I am forever battling the wild buttercup that always 

invades the gardens, but have not been able to eradicate

 it completely, so I have learned to embrace it reluctantly. 

The hellebore are budding and some early narcissus, too. 

These narcissus are many years old - 

planted when my children were young! 

They are fragrant and lovely, but I have to remember

to slug bait next time I go outside,

as they are tasty, too. 

I use non-toxic bait - 'Sluggo' - 

safe for pets and wildlife. 

You can see by the moss, that we have 

very wet winters here, 50 miles south of Seattle. 

I have a few benches sprinkled throughout the property, 

which are too wet to sit on this time of year, 

but provide handy spots to rest my gloves, clippers

and thermos of coffee. 

As you can see, I am behind on my winter clean-up. 

I need another dry spell so I can trim these hydrangeas. 

I will fill my large baskets

 with these bleached-out beauties to 

display on my tall cupboards. 

I'll be very careful to only trim the flower heads

so as not to interfere with this year's blooms. 

As I sit here at my computer, I can look out the window 

over my garden, and the deep forest beyond,

 while enjoying the hummingbirds that 

stop by to visit. Can you see him? He is hovering, just over

the left side of the bench. 

I know that at any time, the winds could change

and instead of moderate temperatures

from the south, we could get hit with a late 

winter blizzard from Alaska or Canada. 

Such is life.....

Which brings me to my third subject; 

Banana Bread. Is there anything more delicious

than a nice, thick slice slathered with butter

on a cold, rainy day? 

I think I over-did it on the butter......

A light lunch is on the menu to balance

this equation! 

I baked it in my newly purchased, vintage, 'Fire-King' 

milk-glass baker from Nana's Things. 

The 'Country Vase' was a gift 

from my sweet Sis-in-law, 

all the way from New Hampshire. 

I have plenty of company this morning, too,

which is my fourth subject - dogs. 

Whitey Bear, Kai, and who is this at the food dish? 

Why, it is Miss Peanut! Or Queen 'P', 

as she is better known as. 

She rules the roost when she is here! 

All 8 inches of her! 

I am pet-sitting her this weekend. 

Along with this sweet girl, Weenie Baby, 

who loves her comfort. 

Here they are together, snuggling on their blankets. 

It's a peaceable kingdom. 

As long as there are no cats around:) 

So the cats stay in the bedroom and loft area

while our visitors are here. 

These are my daughter, Jennie's two mini-dachshunds. 

Here she is on the left with big sister, Heather. 

She not only brought me her two precious pups

to watch for the weekend, 

but she also bought me a present for

'being there for her'....

A new iPhone! 

Yes, I have joined the 21st century! 

My old Blackberry finally kicked the bucket. 

I think it was about 10 years old! 

Very 'state of the art' when it was new! 

She spent the evening downloading all my apps

and showing me how to use it. 

Luckily, Ramblin' Man has one, too, 

so he can help me when I need it. 

Now I can check my 'important messages'

(Pinterest :) whenever and wherever I am! 

Seriously, though, I am very grateful 

and blessed. I even have GPS mapping so that 

I can find my way home whenever I get lost. 

I've been lost a few times :)........

Thank you, Dear Daughter! 

xxoo

So that is my Friday Five. 

I hope you are having a good TGIF

and that your weekend is full 

of happy blessings. 

xoxo

Today I am joining;

Love Made My Home - Five on Friday


Won't you join the fun? 

Primrose Planter

Over the last couple of days, we had some unusually

warm weather here in Western Washington State. 

I couldn't wait to get outside to enjoy 

the beautiful sunshine. 

This El-Nino winter has brought 

warm, tropical air up from 

the Hawaiian Islands. 

I painted some terra-cotta pots a light gray

(latex porch and floor paint - inside and out)

to blend in with my beautiful 

vintage planter that was a gift

from my son at Christmas. 

It was filled with all kinds of wonderful

goodies, including the book

I showed you in the last post, 

'Winter Gardening'. 

I was so surprised when browsing through

the book to find an almost exact replica

of the planter my son gave me! 

Here it is planted with dwarf evergreens 

in the book, which is very pretty, 

but I wanted something cheerful and bright. 

While shopping at my local market, 

there were lovely displays

of primroses in all colors. 

I wanted to take them all home! 

But I settled on four and added

some glacier ivy. 

The metal tray fits perfectly on my little

potting bench and can easily 

be moved when I want to use it. 

I have no idea what the tray could

have been used for originally

and it doesn't explain in the book, either.

Does anyone know? 

I love using unconventional planters. 

Here some Scotch Moss grows 

in a wooden tool box lined with plastic, 

and an enamel cup. 

My Dear Father made the patriotic eagle

when he was a young man, out of molded aluminum.

He was a tool and die maker. 

I've shown you my galvanized tubs before. 

I am very pleased with how the plantings

have held up over the winter. 

So pretty! 

I had some company today! 

Kai and Whitey Bear, my American Eskimo's
 are my little shadows. 

I had some leftover ivy, so I potted

them up and placed them on my pedestal. 

I love ivy in the winter garden. 

Candytuft in a pot is already starting to bud. 

These warm temperatures have everything confused. 

I was so surprised to see this little bee! 

He was flying from bloom to bloom. 

Along with this little fellow. 

Anna's hummingbirds stay here year round.  

Even my old girl, Maggie, came out to 

enjoy the sunshine. 

She is almost 18 years old now. 

She's definitely slowing down....

Me too! 

These winter days go by so fast, 

and as the sun drops low on the horizon

the air chills quickly. 

Shadows get longer....

Kai takes one more romp....

I snip blooms to take inside....

It was a beautiful winter day. 

My work is done. 

Outside anyway......

Time to cook dinner! 

xoxo

Thank you, Dear Friends for your 

sweet visits and kind comments. 

You always make me smile. 

xoxo

A faithful friend is a secure shelter;

whoever finds one has found a treasure. 

The Apocrypha

xoxo

Today I am linking with:

Julie's Lifestyle - Cooking and Crafting with J&J
&
Roses of Inspiration
&
My Salvaged Treasures - Talk of the Town

Won't you join the fun?