Feeding the Pileated Fledgling...Kinda, Sorta

We've been watching the Pileated Woodpeckers feeding their one fledgling for several weeks now. Invariably they feed the baby on the other side of a tree, or with the leaves obscuring them. Thus no photographs.

The parents are bringing the little one closer to the suet, perhaps as a step in teaching her to feed herself. Finally, an opportunity to photograph them.

The "little" woodpecker flies to the tree with her mother.

She turns around and opens her mouth in anticipation.

Drat! Mom feeds the baby all right, but positions herself directly behind the fledgling. You must look closely to see that there are in fact two birds.

There are two birds in this photograph as well.

Here they are...mom and baby. We have noticed that the fledglings appear to have completely dark eyes with hardly any sclera visible. The adults appear to have a more clearly defined iris and sclera. We have researched this and haven't been able to find anything at all to confirm this casual observation. If you know anything about this, I'd appreciate the information.

The fledgling clings to the tree waiting for more food. I suspect that this little woodpecker will be feeding herself soon. I hope I can capture her attempts to fly to the suet.

Ellie is Six

Ellie's birthday yesterday was eclipsed by Father's Day so we will pay tribute today.

We had a Springer Spaniel once and I thought she was the perfect dog. We got her when I was pregnant with our first child and not working for the first time in my life. All those raging mothering hormones kicked into gear and I spent a lot of time with this wonderful puppy. When she died at age 14, I vowed never to have another dog. It would be too much like trying to replace a child. It became apparent that ours was a family that couldn't be without a dog, so we got another Springer Spaniel. She was a wonderful dog, very different but far from the perfect dog. She shared our home for 13 years and we grieved once again.

We had always loved Golden Retrievers so we did a lot of research and found Dick and Chris Reents at Dichi Goldens. After visiting them, and completing forms and interviews much like adopting a child, we were given the opportunity to purchase one of their beautiful dogs. And when our turn finally came, we got our Ellie. Dichi brings the dogs into their home for whelping and this little girl somehow crawled under a freezer and sustained some lacerations, one over her eye. We were given the opportunity to "pass" and get the pick of the next litter. We fell in love with her at first sight and decided that was the dog for us. We were given a discount, although we never told Ellie she was "marked down."

We named the little puppy Dichi Sirius Eleanor Rose. The kennel name is the first part of the registered name. Sirius is the dog star, and Ellie's mother was named Star. Eleanor Rose was in honor of Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman I have always admired.

As we drove home with little Ellie asleep on my shoulder, the old love and bonding rekindled and I just knew we once again had the perfect dog. Nothing in these past six years has disputed that. Ellie proved to have the hallmark Golden personality, intelligent and eager to please. Training her was a breeze. She picked up the commands quickly and consistently followed them.

You can still see the darkened scar near her left eye. But hardly anyone notices because they are looking at her beautiful smile.




Ellie's mother, Star, is described by Dichi as "the perfect Golden personality -- intelligent, loving and people-oriented, with great sensitivity to the emotions of the human beings around her." Many of her offspring are companion or therapy dogs, and our Ellie has those same characteristics. She is very sensitive to my moods.

Ellie's father, Kona, received his AKC Championship points at age two, not an easy feat for a breed as popular as Golden Retrievers. Dichi describes him as, "a happy-go-lucky dog who likes nothing more than strutting about the house & carrying his stuffed toys in his mouth---talking to you the whole while! He is so much fun!" The same was true of our Ellie until she learned that she could tear apart the stuffed toys by finding a weak spot. Now she carries tennis balls in her mouth, "talking" the whole time.

She is lovely and graceful running the trails.

Some might criticize us for getting a dog from a breeder when there are so many abandoned pets who need homes. I think it is wonderful for people to adopt from shelters, but I make no apologies for going to a reputable breeder. All Dichi dogs are checked and registered for hip, shoulder, and elbow problems as well as eye examinations. We received a five-generation pedigree and the breeder tracks his dogs carefully. That's no guarantee, but a good indication that the dog will not suffer from those problems common to the breed.

---------------I do so love both of our dogs, but Ellie has a special place in my heart. It's as if she knows me well and understands and accepts me unconditionally. She is everything a dog should be. Just before she goes out for the final time at night, she comes to my chair with two tennis balls and we have a little "chat." My husband gets up early to walk both dogs. After breakfast Ellie lies in the hallway outside the bedroom, waiting for me to get up. As soon as I step out of bed, I can hear the thwack, thwack of her tail on the hardwood floor. When I come out she greets me as if I am the most important person in the world. It gives me the same thrill every day, even before I have had my coffee. I hope that everyone can at one time have a dog like Ellie...one who instinctively knows your moods, who is so easy-going and so loving.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIE! YOU GIVE ME MORE PLEASURE THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE.

Honor Him Today

When God Created Fathers

by Erma Bombeck

When the good Lord was creating fathers, He started with a tall frame. A female angel nearby said, "What kind of father is that? If you're going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high? He won't be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping. And God smiled and said, "Yes, but if I make him childsize, who would children have to look up to?"

And when God made a father's hands, they were large and sinewy. The angel shook her head sadly and said, "Large hands are clumsy. They can't manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on ponytails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats." And God smiled and said, "I know, but they're large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day, yet small enough to cup a child's face."

And then God molded long, slim legs and broad shoulders. The angel nearly had a heart attack. "Boy, this is the end of the week, all right," she clucked. "Do you realize you just made a father without a lap? How is he going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?" And God smiled and said, "A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle or hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus."

God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had ever seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. "That's not fair. Do you honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?" And God smiled and said, "They'll work. You'll see. They'll support a small child who wants to ride a horse to Banbury Cross or scare off mice at the summer cabin or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill."

God worked throughout the night, giving the father few words but a firm, authoritive voice and eyes that saw everything but remained calm and tolerant. Finally, almost as an afterthought, He added tears. Then He turned to the angel and said, "Now, are you satisfied that he can love as much as a mother?"

The angel was quiet.

Fridays are Golden

There are so many wonderful things about living in a small town. The Transylvania Times is our local newspaper, published twice a week. There are no comics in our little paper. Truth be told, we really don't need any. Several laughs can always be found in the "Letters to the Editor" section. Other articles also bring forth chuckles. Here is something in yesterday's paper that caught my eye and made me smile because of its simple truth:

"The Dunn's Creek Baptist Church 'Kiss a Pig Contest' to raise money for a climbing wall for the church playground has been changed to 'Kiss a Goat Contest' because they could not find a pig and Aaron Masters has a goat."

As much fun as we have with the newspaper, it is brief and soon over. The fun we have with the Golden Girls lasts all day, every day. Here they are running down the driveway. They had been outside for less than five minutes, yet when they saw me they ran over as if they hadn't seen me for days. Now where else do you get that kind of loving attention simply for being there?

The girls have a little fracas, but it is very short-lived. It's just too hot to do much wrestling.

Finally they rest, looking like bookends.

We've had some very warm (almost record-setting) temperatures this past week. The air is heavy and quite uncomfortable. Afternoon thunderstorms (some of them severe) have been the order of the day. Fortunately, neither of our dogs is upset by thunder or lightning. In fact, they love to sit with us on the screened porch and watch the storm.

They ultimately get bored with the storm. Ellie plops on the floor looking a bit depressed.

Lucy keeps vigil at the deck door. She loves watching the rain splatter on the wood.

Father's Day occurs this Sunday on the Summer Solstice. In the US we are rapidly approaching the longest day of the year, although we will have plenty of light for several months to come. Summertime will be "official" soon and we will quickly forget our complaining about the cold weather as we complain about the heat.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND. HONOR THE MEN WHO PLAYED SUCH AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN YOUR LIFE, BE THEY YOUR FATHERS OR OTHERS. HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY WEEKEND AND PUT YOUR STRESS ON HOLD FOR AWHILE.

Reluctant Fledgling

Our Red-bellied Woodpecker pair had one fledgling this year. They have been feeding the "little one" for weeks now, although the fledgling is almost the same size as the parents. One or both of the parents try to coax the baby to the suet feeder. Nothing doing. The bird will sit there, sometimes yelling, but making no attempt to fly to the suet.


The parent eventually brings food to the baby. I noticed that recently the parents are beginning to land below the fledgling rather than above. I wonder if this is another step in trying to end the feedings.

The little one eats a lot now, so there are many trips from the suet to feed the baby.

I suspect that in a few days the parents may have to start the "tough love" method of parenting. This fledgling gives no indication of wanting to obtain food for himself.

We'll keep watching, but I will be very surprised if the parents continue to feed this big baby much longer. Heck, I'll bet he doesn't make his bed either.

Laurel and Rhododendron on the Parkway

We have had scattered thunderstorms every day for several days. In between storms, we drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to check on the Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron. We weren't disappointed. The Mountain Laurel, while waning is still lovely as the Rhododendron comes into bloom.

It seemed that every time we stopped for a picture, we would be under a cloud cover shooting at a mountain in the sun. Not good lighting for photographs. Thus the closeups of the plants are not as good as if they were in the sun.


This is primarily Mountain Laurel, with a few Rhododendron behind them.

At a slightly lower elevation the laurel is mostly spent and the rhododendron is in full blossom.

The post is a little late today because I have a new laptop and needed to get the proper passwords for email and to register the spyware and anit-virus programs. The operating system is Vista and I have heard there have been some user problems. When I started to send a test email message, I clicked on the spellcheck icon. The computer informed me it didn't recognize the language. A quick search led me to a screen declaring that there was a "bug" in the email spellcheck that occurs when the first email is sent. I had to go in and list any language OTHER than English. After applying that, I could go back into the tools and change the primary language to English. Doesn't give me a lot of faith in the new system, but I'm willing to give it a try.

Knitter's Group

I learned to knit simply because we have a small neighborhood knitter's group (called Knitwits, of course). The group meets monthly and it soon became obvious that I needed to attend whether I knitted or not. My thought was that joining a knitting group without knitting was similar to joining a book club without reading the selections (although a surprising number of people do just that). So I grabbed a how-to book and some supplies and started knitting. There is an amazing amount of Online information, including videos of exactly how to do some of the stitch combinations.

I was amazed at how calming knitting can be. Now, I knit almost every evening. There are times when it interferes with my reading, but not often. I never set deadlines for finishing a project. There is something very satisfying about starting with rolls of yarn and some needles and creating a beautiful article of clothing.

Here are just a few of the things I have done lately:

This is done in cotton for summer. Its wavy pattern and light weight make it the perfect summer scarf. The color of the yarn is "Emily Dickinson" but I couldn't help calling it rainbow sherbet.

Beads complicate a knitted piece. Before knitting actually begins, the beads must be strung on the yarn and pushed far down the skein. The beads are pulled forward as needed. Periodically the knitting reaches the long string of beads and all of them must be advanced along the skein to make room for more knitting.

This beaded scarf is done with red silk yarn. There were TWO knots in the first skein of yarn. Knots are not often a big problem, but if you have beads on the yarn, they cannot be moved further along the skein. The yarn must be cut, the beads removed and then restrung. Bummer!

A similar pattern in white silk with pearl beads.

The Entralac pattern which looks much like a quilted piece.

The clapotis pattern which looks (and is) simple. But it is tedious with lots of stitches. It is begun on the bias with solid rows of stitches. At a certain point, every nth stitch is deliberately dropped. The dropped stitch runs down the entire piece making a pattern.

The process results in a light-weight scarf that is fun to wear.

Sufficiently wide to wear as a shawl, it can be twisted and worn as a scarf.

You may find it amusing that I wear scarves only when it's cold or I'm dressed up in the winter. However, I am amazed at the scarf lovers out there who wear them year round. My dear daughter-in-law is one of those people. I do so love knitting for people who excitedly wear the items rather than sticking them in a drawer somewhere. After I sent the last scarf to her, my son called me to say that she had worn it around the house since the mail came. That warms a knitter's heart.