AKQGuy: It's Creeping Closer

The Moving date that is. Next week in fact. We're getting excited! So, you ever have one of those days where you're just kind of blah? That's the day I'm having. That little exclamation point above is in fact the only time I've felt excited today. And no, it's not the rain. I've been enjoying the rain. Even my walks in it have been enjoyable. I've only done three of them today so I better have enjoyed them.

So, I am going to keep this post kind of short and sweet today. Mostly pics, like this one from our walk yesterday as the rain swept towards us.

Look at all those leaves coming out.

And the catkins.

I took the large camera with the big zoom out to try and get shots of the birds. That is why the images are a bit dark looking. The rain had kept things a bit dark but the huge lens didn't help make it look any brighter.

By the way, birds can be hard to get pictures of... Like these dang Bank Swallows. They keep insisting on flying.

Then there was this little bugger. I thought he was a Shrike but now I'n not so sure.

I got him here, but it was a bit far off and fuzzy.

But I got a cousin of his later. And was able to identify him as an Eastern Kingbird. Who knew?

And this little guy just insisted on playing in the branches. These guys showed up about a week and a half ago and I assumed they were some kind of grosbeak.

And I was right. It's a Rose Breasted Grosbeak. They have a very pretty call.

I snapped a quick picture of this bird thinking it was just a common house sparrow. They are spread across the contiguous states and we saw a lot of them in Wyoming. They are an invasive species that was imported from Europe but they have a pleasing voice in the early morning. When I see them here though from a distance some of the birds always have a reddish or purple haze look to them, and while trying to identify the previous two birds I found a Purple Finch that I rather think these guys are. The song is more like what we hear here as well.

Then there's the voracious worm eaters themselves.

And I only ended up with one decent picture of the birds I was actually trying to get a picture of. The Eastern Blue Birds. Oh well. These guys do not let you get very close.

I also snagged a quick shot of one of these little gold ones. No idea what it is since this was the best shot I was able to get. If any of you bird lovers can tell me I would appreciate it greatly.

Now that we no longer have a cat and don't plan on any more we will probably start the bird feeders up again when we get moved in. What's a yard and garden without birds, bees and butterflies?

Speaking of bees. The bumblebees are huge here! I've seen more of them than honey bees to be honest. I liked this shot because you could see his antenna and full pollen sacks.

Just a couple of shots I liked of the ones I snapped.

Oh, let's not forget the moles. They've made an appearance in the absence of the snow. the dogs love eating the muck these guys push out of their holes. I am sure it's full of mole poop. They get in trouble for it...

Thistle and Shamrock anyone? (There's always room for NPR references on this Blog) I guess it's more Thistle among the Clover, but it's as close as I have to shamrock here.

And while trying to get the picture of the thistle and clover, I found some more of these. I think this is a mink frog. It's not big enough to be a leopard frog and it's markings and color are not quite right. These guys are quite the little masters of disguise. When they're not hopping to not be stepped on they are very difficult to see.

The trees are still in bloom despite the storms of the last few days. We actually had some really good thunderstorms here, that have yanked all the blossoms off that Magnolia I was keeping and eye on.

This was what my morning looked like on Monday. The pouring rain and my knitting and pups waiting for some time. Which I happily obliged them with. When it sounded like the storm had moved off and we hadn't heard any thunder in a bit I took them out to potty. And I was wrong. A blast of lightening came down in the apartment complex somewhere and I got knocked on my butt as I tried to get the dogs back to me to go back inside. Luckily, our dogs are well worked and knew to come back, even the old obstinate girl. Probably helped that the lightning itself was close enough she heard not only it but felt the thunder as well. It left me a little jittery. I love a good storm but after that every time the lightening would start I would pack the dogs back up and head home. The last two days have been simply rain, no real storming.

This was just a kind of cool looking leaf structure I had to take a shot of. There were tornados in the Eastern part of the state but none of that here.

Sunday was very pretty and while I was having my morning tea and knit time I heard the blue jays making their little piping calls back and forth.

The first time I head this I thought these guys were mimicking another bird. Since then I have heard several of them do it and looked them up to find they do have a piping call of their own. I find it very pretty. It makes me think of wooden pan pipes. You can hear it several times in the background there. Sorry, someday I'll unpack the real video camera.

Yes that is a pool there in the back area of our building. It is an unheated pool that they let collect snow melt and then a mallard hatched her ducklings and was using it as their private pond. Now that the weather got rainy and cooled down they are working on getting it cleaned up and going (Mama duck headed out to bigger and better digs with her kiddos a few days back while Sullivan kept an eye out for her).