This Red-winged Blackbird arrived on February 19th.That's the earliest date in our garden for him!
Hi. You can call me "Mr. Negative." I find it really difficult to post anything when the world is going to hell in a hand-basket (to put it nicely.) My Fatbirder rating went from about 215 to 312, oops...I better keep up with the posting!
Anyway...here's some of the birds that have been as confused as me about whether spring is nigh in our gardens. Looking through these pics, I would see snow, then no snow, then snow...then LOTS of snow...the past few weeks have been a little crazy...weather wise.
I am in desperate need for WARBLYS!!! Stay tuned...
Anyway...here's some of the birds that have been as confused as me about whether spring is nigh in our gardens. Looking through these pics, I would see snow, then no snow, then snow...then LOTS of snow...the past few weeks have been a little crazy...weather wise.
I am in desperate need for WARBLYS!!! Stay tuned...
Can you tell I just finished clearing the driveway...for the second time?!This was during Fridays "little snow event"...
Guess who didn't make it to work?
Believe it or not, this was taken after midnight in the dark.It's amazing how many species we get here with a freeway, train tracks and a storage facility in our backyard!
"How's a Blue Jay supposed to eat with all you House Sparrows flitting about?!"
The ever present Dark-eyed Juncos, always playing in the snow...
You've heard of "Groundhog's Day"?We have "Chipmunk's Day" here...spring is on the way!
Oh no...that means Bobb will be back!
The Doodles spotted this Eastern Towhee tonight!It's been awhile since we've seen him.
The House Finches wait ever so patiently for the feeders to clear out so they can have a turn.
The Red-bellied Woodpecker was cleaning up the suet...and pecking the brains out of the Starlings!
Yep, I feed the stoopid squirrels too.As you can tell I tripped in the snow...and over the feeder and broke the warning sign...
Graceful.
The White-throated Sparrows love those evergreens!A great little get-away to eat seed in private.
This is a new White-throated Sparrow in the garden.He was much whiter than the normal gang.
By the way, this shot was taken on the day the snow melted, before the big storm came...again...
Speaking of butts...So, trying to be the good citizen and wanting my voice heard...I send a letter to Senator Rob Portman of Ohio. This letter was very clear on my feelings of support of the EPA and what it does for us and my extreme dislike for mountain top coal mining. Apparently, Senator Portman, being a good Republican and listening closely to his corporate sponsors, got a little confused about what exactly I said.
The following is copied directly from the response he, or someone working for him, sent to me:
"I share your concern that the federal government, including the EPA, has been headed in the wrong direction on energy policy. I was concerned with the recent retroactive veto of an existing permit for the West Virginia mine mentioned in your letter. This kind of regulatory overstep has characterized the current EPA and is part of what prompted me to recently introduce the Jobs Creation Act of 2011(S. 12) which would, among other things, institute a one-year regulatory freeze for the EPA, with an exception for cases impacting health or safety."
So, Rob, what you're saying is, pollution and destruction of our one and ONLY planet is good, as long as there are a few temporary jobs, big profits for "clean coal" and a little cash in your campaign fund...great.
Thanks...a lot.
We must all be in the same mood. I also ranted about the long winter on my post tonight.
ReplyDeleteThe more important issue is the callous disregard our govts. have for the planet.
Great winter pictures! We only see the white throats in the summer when they are very pleasant and common.
Your snow melts between storms...sigh. I'm terribly disgusted with Winter, the state of the world and pretty well everything else as well. There Is No Planet B! (a sign I saw at a climate change rally)
ReplyDeleteGreat photos, by the way
Fine collection of wintry images!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant ranting. I agree with you. Lots of birdies too.
ReplyDeleteRed and Kathy, I am at least a little happy that I don't have as much snow as you...sorry...maybe by June.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pat!
Bob, I think we're both in the boat, politically speaking. They're all crazy with greed.
What an unbelievable response. A perfect example of .......hmm, I'd better be good and not say it!!
ReplyDeletePardon my french but wtf was Portman talking about? Good golly miss molly.
ReplyDeleteAnd spring? Spring? This year? At our house it looks like that's not gunna happen. None of the usual spring subjects have made it to the Oaks. Not even the buzzards, who have a ginormous roost over here.
My rating went from 248 to 348 and I post everyday. Think it just might be that we don't have much variety during the winter months.
ReplyDeleteLove the rants..Love the pics...
ReplyDeleteNow as far as politics goes try wrapping your opinions in thousand dollar bills and I think your replies will be slightly more personal and pointed.
Hang in there, it only seems like an ice age.
Dave, You reminded me how nice those sub adult and female Red-winged Blackbirds are, almost neater than the red, yellow and black things. Yes, you do need to keep up the posts, those Fartbirders soon demote you if you miss a post or two as i found when I went to Egypt and came back to find myself in the second division. And politicians? - KMA
ReplyDeleteKaren, I wish I would have posted the whole letter...very scary folks, those Repuglicans!
ReplyDeleteMarianne...soon...sorta soon anyway.
Yep Richard, it's kinda slow out there...
Thanks Sarah!
Springman...got any thousands you could loan me?
Thanks Phil, it's so nice to hear I'm not alone in my opinion of our "elected" officials...
Great photos Dave! I like your area all covered in snow. Like night shots. Love all your birdies and the squirrel..Ha! I haven't spotted the Chipmunk this week. But he came out on Valentine's Day for a bit. The weather sure is weird. Below zero here this morning and rain again by Saturday. But at least we know that spring isn't far away now. Take care.
ReplyDeleteWow!! What an active backyard. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images. Spring has started to arrive here but we still get the odd frosty morning.
ReplyDeleteYikes...That is quite unusual behavior from a Red-bellied woodpecker ..they usually dont peck out the eyes of Starlings...its usually house sparrows :)
ReplyDeleteSorry that your rating is going down..Hope its not because of my feature..hee hee..
Most likely its because you arent blogging...
You need to go out and shoot more ButtZ!
Oh and i heard from Bobb and he is on his way...
Thanks Ginny! Chipmunks will be out soon, beware!
ReplyDeleteGary, imagine if Boomer was here!
Thanks Andrew, I get more odd mornings than frosty ones...
Dawn, you've done wonders for my blog, thank you so much! The Woodpecker attacked the Starlings as they tried to get to his favorite suet feeder. I like him.
And yes, Bobb IS back...nutz.