Two Posts in a Week!

I remember when I posted daily!

Ah, the good old days. 

I thought I would share some more pictures, 

as long as I have not gone up the drive today to see whether or not I can get out for a doctor's appointment tomorrow. 

Yes, we had a bit more snow, 2 1/2 inches at least. 

It didn't stop the Duckie Boys!

I left everyone else in, including the sheep, because when I 

got home from an eye appointment yesterday, I found little Cookie shivering next to his mama 

outside in the pen.  Nope, not having that. 

The birds are desperate for feed at this time of the year. 

The starlings, especially, have been bad the last week, and believe me, this is only a portion of the hordes.  However, in the midst of these.... are some red-winged blackbirds, and for those of you 

who don't know, they are the Harbingers of Spring!!! 

YAYYYY. 

My faithful girl did the rounds with me this morning. This is a labor of love for her, as she is increasingly slower and slower. 

You can see that snow blew onto the porch itself 

while it snowed last night, I don't remember that happening very often here. 

Rusty was checking for food early this morning.  However, 

only one lone possum, and two of the other ferals came to eat, 

no raccoons. 

\\

Tiny little footprints leading onto the porch.  There is a water bowl there, it was frozen. However, the heated bowl is at the other end of the porch, and I am worrying that no one is realizing it, they are all 

so used to looking for it on this end.  Both outlets are now taken up, one with the heated bucket in the sheep pen, and the other, running the lights in the sheep barn.  I am about to go turn that off for the day, but the sheep must stay in.  By tomorrow, some of the snow should be melted and I can maybe let them out again. 

I did take some pictures of the goldfinches feeding on the deck, but I believe I have accidentally 

erased them! 

The camera caught this view of me when I laid it down on the

kitchen table. 

Yep, that would be about right for the last three weeks. 

I am going to dress up again and go out and see if I can shovel the front gate open... and no, I'm not complaining, many people got four times as much snow! 

Happy Almost Spring, Everyone! 

More Bird Pictures, Sorry

I know you're getting sick of them, so am I, sort of.  

I took the long lens today. 

Wait, those aren't birds! 

Nor this. 

Or this. 

Love the colors on this little guy. 

Two white rear socks, a white blaze and chest. 

The long lens makes a difference, doesn't it? 

See Mama right in the middle? 

Dad was not happy - and was blurry, too! 

Black animals and black birds are VERY hard to 

get in pictures. 

I was lucky with this crow, right down the road from the nest. 

He landed and went about his business.  Over his head, I saw that the elk cows were 

up against the fence, and I could have gotten their pictures, but the dogs and I were tired. 

Keith called me to the deck to see the rising moon... glorious. 

As the sun was setting to the west. 

I went out to see it again after it got dark... see Jupiter shining to the left of it! 

What a beautiful world we have to be able to see things like this. 

Sad news from Belgium this morning, but I believe people are 

mostly good, if treated right. 

Christmas Eve Post Two, 2015

We are so blessed. 

We are celebrating Christmas Eve quietly, but, 

doing a last minute errand, I saw families pulling up to churches all along 

the way to celebrate Christmas as it should be. 

Our family's tradition was always to go on Christmas morning, 

so at 9 AM, that's where I'll be.  Only once have I missed, 

six years ago when we were snowed into our own 

driveway in the country, and were stuck for 3 days before 

we could get someone to plow us out. 

Our house is quiet, with all the hustle and bustle finished. 

I am watching The Bishop's Wife, 

my favorite Christmas movie.  My mother and I watched it

for many years at Christmas time... and it is still 

one I do not like to miss at the holidays. 

I know my mom is with me tonight. 

She would have liked these two, Jax and Paiton. 

They are celebrating with their mom's family tonight at their 

grandma's.  

They are another blessing, along with all the 9 others. 

We have rain coming in Sunday, and possible snow on Sunday, 

but for tonight... we enjoy the beautiful Christmas full moon, the 

last one, probably, that Keith and I will see. 

How beautiful our world is! 

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

We're Back!

Catching up a week's worth of photos... yes, a week! 

As much as I love the wild birds... I have finished feeding them at the old place. 

Back Yard Blend, the blend I buy from Valley Feed in Bonner Springs, 

has gone to 17.99 for 20 pounds.  Years ago, we paid that for 40 pounds. 

I can't afford to keep feeding at both houses, so I have chosen to 

feed only here at the new house. 

The sad thing is... and it is sad for me... is that the birds all gather 

when they see me get out of the car in the morning and afternoon, and 

chirp and call to each other because they think I am putting feed out. 

They will learn soon enough, I'm sorry to say. 

I AM still leaving the nyger feeders up and the suet... except something... a critter, 

is stealing the suet.  That will be next to go. 

I'll miss them so, I admit it. 

Driving back and forth, I see lots and lots of animals. 

This is a black squirrel Keith and I saw on 171st street.  I have not seen any others, 

only on this one street.  

It's difficult to take pictures of black animals and birds. 

These sheep were so funny.  When I stopped to take their pictures from the car, they heard me talking to the dogs. 

They came all the way to the fence to see what we wanted. 

Their ear tags, prevention against flies and ticks... also bear their names! 

Lilly made a friend at the fence.  She was barking ferociously, but her tail 

was wagging and she did not want the dog to leave. 

With the trees leafed out, it is harder to see the hawks.  This one was 

on the pole and took off, but I had no sun yesterday, at least when I saw him. 

The iris show has started at the old house. 

I have lost the name tags for both of these. 

I also have started bringing plants here to our new bed. 

I'm still seeing a few turkeys, but they are warier, after two weeks of being targets. 

Never. Slows. Down. 

Wears. Himself. Out. 

The big irrigation ditch is getting lower and lower. 

I did find an upland sandpiper in it this morning. 

And this afternoon, a big blue heron.  You see how low the ditch is now. 

It is raining tonight, but not hard. 

And this, is a sad, sad picture, my friends.  This morning, instead of turning east from 

198th street, after doing morning chores, we turned left, to go down towards Tongie. 

Along the highway, 3/4 of a mile past the buffalo "farm"... I saw this girl. 

She was obviously pregnant. 

30 feet beyond her, I saw this: 

Another pregnant cow. 

The people that own these buffalo have left them on a farm with 

no one to care for them.  The farm is overgrown with red cedar now... there is 

little grazing for a herd of 20.  

There are two huge pastures on the west side and two months ago, the herd broke through and was grazing in them... and then was rounded up and sent back across. 

I called the sheriff's office about them several years ago and was 

patronized by an elderly deputy who was assigned to talk to me, 

and was basically told
"Little Lady, those are wild animals and can take care of themselves". 

Obviously not. 

They are laying just out of the westbound lane of 24/40 highway, a very busy roadway. 

They appeared to have been shot... but... I did see manure in the roadway... and one piece of chrome plating from a car or truck.  Tonight, I went by there, and they were gone... and I did 

see a streak in the road near where this girl lay. 

There has been nothing on the news... our neighbors near the old place knew nothing. 

My guess is it happened during the night or wee hours of the morning.  Poor animals... and poor people who struck them or had to put them down. 

I leave you with last night's beautiful moon.  

I'll try to post more regularly this week. 

Lots of Pictures!

My gosh. 

Thank heavens the clouds receded yesterday for a while. 

As it rose last night, the setting sun in the west was reflected in the back wall of 

my cousin Kevin's house, on the corner of our street! 

We took advantage of the glorious COLD day by going out for a little while. 

We don't stay out long when it is 18 or 20 degrees, it's too hard on both dogs. 

Oh... and on ME.  

This beautiful stand of pampas grass is in a cow pasture near our house! 

I am now using the Moultrie game camera.  You see, my original camera was a Moultrie. 

It drained 8 batteries almost daily... I read now in the literature they suggest lithium batteries. 

However.... the camera malfunctioned and I wrote the Moultrie people and got permission to send it in to be fixed.  

Guess what?  They sent me a new one!  I put it away because I had bought the 

Wildgame camera in the meantime.  Two weeks ago, I dropped the Wildgame on the porch, and it broke the plastic tab off the battery compartment door, so it won't stay closed.  I would tape it shut... but... the SD card goes in that same place on the camera. 

So... yesterday I got the Moultrie out and looked at it.  I could not tell if it was 

working or not... so I was very pleased to see this today.  If you look at the buckets, and then 

look down, you will see two blue birds drinking on the porch at the old house. 

There was an additional picture of them drinking from the black fortex, but they were 

so dim in that picture you could hardly see them.  I'll be moving the camera tomorrow so 

that we get a better picture. 

"Oh no, not again". 

"Maybe I can just convince her I don't see her"

"I give up, I'm outa here"

This is the Coopers hawk from our header.  He roosts on a short antenna about 4 miles from our house, just outside of the city of Basehor... where he can look over a couple of big farm fields. 

He is beautiful on his underside, is he not? 

This afternoon, coming home from the old place, I turned a corner and came face to face with the most beautiful red tailed hawk who was roosting about 8 feet from where the car was, on the side of the road... at eye's height! 

I could not get the camera out, there was a car just behind me, who had turned right after I did. 

I'll keep my eye out for this beauty in the next week. 

We are about to dive to under zero temps tomorrow night, and I am 

not looking forward to it... I'll be checking that warmer at the old place for sure. 

So far, if I fill it daily... it is working. 

Back to the Light

We had sun for part of the day today, but it never got above 50... so a chilly St. Patrick's Day. 

How I used to love to go out on St. Patrick's Day... alas, no more. 

Now my going out consists of doing chores. 

Here is the last full moon I'll see while living in our little house. 

I can't hardly believe it. 

The view, looking down on the huge ponds, has been a sight to treasure. 

Lilly is figuring out that Something Is Up.  She sees me carrying boxes to the car constantly.  I went out there today to get ready to go over to the house, and she was waiting for me.  

She did not get to go.  There is no fence yet at the new house... so neither dog can go until it's safe for them. 

We had an estimate for fence made today, and another will be done tomorrow. 

There was a Kafee Klatsch going on in the garden this afternoon, some of the hens were even laying there while they were talking. 

While in the henhouse, there was a group gathered around the salad bowl.  I have the lights on to warm the older birds these last few days again. 

These three HAVE to go with me.  I can't stand it. 

Every night.  Like this. 

Does this dog look guilty? 

She should. 

I had just caught her in the duck house in the old henyard, eating eggs. 

She was sitting there trying to look innocent.  Two minutes later, she went after Fluffernut. 

Of course, she had some competition for Bad.... this one followed behind her, and brought an egg out of the 

duckhouse to eat.  It had frozen and burst... and she carried it around for several minutes. She could barely fit it in her mouth. 

Tomorrow, my last aunt, who passed away Friday, will be buried after visitation and church services in the morning.  

After the funeral, my friends Joani and her Amish farmer friend Chris will come over and 

pick up about 20 of the birds to take home, for several people up in Northwest Missouri. 

I am glad Joani is taking them... and heartbroken to see my beautiful flock beginning to break up. 

Ian, how did you do it? 

I know you had to let your horses go, and it seemed like it went so easily, but I know it could not have. 

It has made feel happy and sad all day, to know what is coming tomorrow.  The birds will be bewildered to be kept inside their houses in the morning as I run through chores... they are used to going right out. 

I have to leave them in, or we will never have a hope of catching them.  Joani will bring 

cages and carriers, she is wise in the ways of doing this. 

I'm not looking forward to going through it, but know it must be done.  Today's scenes of the flock out in the yard will be kept in my heart for always.