On a Brighter Note...

 

We're having more sunshine and it is most welcome.  Mostly afternoon and evening thunderstorms with more sun during the day.

 

We are really fortunate this year to have at least three pairs of Pileated Woodpeckers who come to our suet feeder with their fledglings.  We can identify one of the adults by his/her bald head.  Yes, bald head down to the neck.  So bald you cannot tell if it's a male or female.  So we see this weird bird feeding a chick.  Yesterday we noticed a red line at the top of its head so we hope the feathers are growing back.  We have another pair who had two fledglings and sometimes we see all four of them in the trees at once.  The third pair had only one fledgling.

 

We can tell when the birds have hatched by the feeding frenzy with the parents grabbing large amounts of suet and rapidly flying off into the deep woods.  Later, we can see the fledglings down in the woods as the parents feed them.  As time passes, the parents bring the fledglings closer and closer to the deck.  There is a tree quite near the suet and this is the usual feeding place.  The parent will eat and then will fly to the tree to feed the youngster.

 

This little one waits for his lunch.

He preens his gorgeous feathers while he waits.

 

 

 

Camera at the ready, I stood silently watching, waiting to capture the moment of feeding.  Wouldn't you know?  The silly little bird scrambled toward the back of the tree and all I got was the parent's back, leaning down to feed.

 

Curses!  Foiled again.

No matter how often we see these wonderful birds, we always stop and look.  And listen to their jungle-like cries in the woods.

And so life is good.  It's always better in the mountains.  Closer to reality than Raleigh.

What Do These Have in Common?

A city playground;

A public park;

A hiking trail in State or National Forests;

A crowded bar*;

A quiet restaurant*;

A public recreation area;

A summer festival;

A carnival or county/State fair;

A funeral procession;

A Fourth of July parade;

A protest rally;

 

What do all these places have in common?  They are some of the places you may legally carry a concealed weapon in North Carolina with the newly passed legislation from our General Assembly.  You may also bring a gun onto public school property or government parking lots, but you must store it in a locked car.

*Bar and restaurant owners can prohibit guns in their establishments with prominently displayed signs.

Schools may use armed volunteers as safety officers to patrol their schools.  There are no specifics for required training.

The new gun legislation is likely to be signed into law by our governor who so far has danced with the ones who bought brought him.

Our General Assembly has been hard at work this session, working late into the night with hastily called votes to ensure passage.  Voice votes in committees have been challenged but over-ruled by the chairs who refused to honor requests for a vote count.  Bills severely limiting women's health services are added to a motorcycle law.  Large contributors have been given plum jobs and the voices of the people are being hushed.  More than 900 people have been arrested for peaceful and lawful protest in Raleigh and the good ol' boys are determined to control their "little ladies" health.

The next time you complain that your congress is doing nothing---take a look at what the NC General Assembly has  done this year.  Sometimes you get what you asked for and it is uglier than you imagined.

Fridays Are Golden

 

 

It's the last week of July as 2013 continues to fly by.  The "scattered" evening thunderstorms seem always to hit our area.  We've had rain every evening and hail on Thursday.  The rivers continue to run high and dangerous.  July has seen seven river rescues in our county with one death from a waterfall and one critically injured eight-year-old whose parents took him tubing on a swollen river.

 

Most mornings and afternoons are sunny however, and we have really enjoyed that.  We had half our deck stained yesterday morning.  With an inch-and-a-half of additional rain last night, the other half is too wet to do today.  Based on the forecast, it may remain wet for a few more days.  The section of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Craggy and Mt. Mitchell is closed with a six-inch crack across the highway.  The crack is several feet deep and is attracting a lot of foot traffic since the road is closed.  Several other roads are closed with landslides and the Department of Transportation is way behind on scheduled maintenance.  Clearing the landslides and repairing those roads obviously take priority to filling potholes.

 

And life for us goes along pretty much as usual.  We have managed most days to get the dog walks in between the showers.

 

 

Ellie stretches almost in a play bow when called downstairs to be groomed.

We have no idea why she does this.

 

 

 

The two dogs enjoy playtime in the den.

 

 

 

And Lucy takes advantage of the sunshine with her nice soft pillow.

The quote for the week comes from one of my favorite columnists, the late Sydney J. Harris:

"When I hear someone sigh, 'Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'

HAVE A WONDERFUL END OF JULY WEEKEND, EVERYONE!!!

 



The Right Feeder

 

 

Confused when they begin to feed themselves, juvenile birds are fun to watch.  They fly all over the deck, pecking at everything.  Eventually they seem to find the right feeder. 

 

 

Sunflower seeds for the little cardinal

 

 

 

He decides to try out a different feeder.

He still has a sunflower seed in his mouth.

 

 

 

He sits there not knowing exactly what to do.

Finally he determines that his beak is not going to work with this feeder.  So he goes back to the sunflower seeds.  This little bird tends to take a seed and fly to the deck railing to crack it.  Perhaps because that's where the parents fed him for a while.  And then, despite his long and noisy protests, the parents ignored him.  And so he learns.  Just like other little ones.

No, Not That Sybil

 

 

A new cat has adopted my son and d-i-l.  They noticed a kitten out in their yard.  Unusual for their neighborhood where cats and dogs do not ordinarily run free.  The kitten seemed young.  When they saw it a second day, they put out food and water.  The kitten would not approach them.  After a couple of days, the kitten sat outside the kitchen door, apparently having made a decision to declare this as home.  They opened the door and the kitten came inside.

 

They took the kitten to a guest bedroom to keep it isolated from their other cat.  The kitten seemed amazingly tame for a feral cat.  They took it to their veterinarian who examined her for a microchip but found none.  He then told them the kitten was not all that young at all; she is simply quite small.  He guessed her age to  be around seven or eight months.  She appeared in good health and the veterinarian sadly said she had likely been "dropped" in the area within the past week or so.

 

So they got her chipped and immunized and arranged to have her spayed.  They decided to name her Sybil.  Why Sybil?  Because they were finally emptying their unwatched DVR and were on the Downton Abbey episode regarding Sybil.

 

Sybil deciding to make her home here.

 

 

My son already has a cat.  You notice I said, "my son" rather than "my son and d-i-l."  That's because the cat belongs only to my son.  She was abandoned as a tiny kitten.  Only the presence of a nursing cat at the shelter kept the kitten alive.  My son adopted her when he was a new graduate, working as a newspaper reporter.  He named the kitten Biko.  Biko is unlike most cats.  She really doesn't care for people other than my son.  When you visit, Biko does not come near you much less climb into your lap.  She was definitely not pleased when my son married.  Biko was not happy to find another princess in the house.

 

It will be interesting to see how Biko and Sybil will get along.  The veterinarian suggests that since both are females they might simply ignore one another.  Time will tell.  Right now Sybil is still in the guest room although both of the cats hang around the door, each aware that there is another cat behind it.

 

My son would have you believe that Biko has perfect manners.  Perhaps she does.  And perhaps this photograph my d-i-l took of the Thanksgiving table was photo-shopped.  But somehow I suspect not. 

 

 

 At least she is on the very edge of the table.

Neither my son nor his wife were eager to have another cat.  But an adorable little calico won their hearts.  So little Sybil has found a home.  Hopefully Queen Biko will be willing to share it peacefully.

Fridays Are Golden

 

 

The dogs go on alert.  They stare out the door to the deck, standing stiff as boards.

 

 

We're on guard duty!

 

 

And what has put them on high alert?  A squirrel sunning on the deck as if we had no defense.  Just lying there taking a sunbath.

 

Dratted squirrel

 

Of course, the squirrel runs away immediately when I open the door to release the dogs.  Ellie doesn't follow the trail, but Lucy stares down to watch the squirrel in the trees.

 

See?  I made him leave all right.

 

 

 

She sniffs and sniffs where the squirrel was sunning.

Both girls prance inside, so proud that they got rid of the squirrel.  They immediately go over to the treat canister for a reward.  We try not to say the word, "squirrel."  If we do, the girls run to the door and then wonder why we don't open it for them.

July is passing by so quickly.  There are only 165 days left in the year 2013!  It has been a strange summer here in the mountains.  While we are seeing more and more sunshine, we are having almost daily afternoon/evening thunderstorms.  I don't think we will dry out for a while.

Today's quote comes from satirist and author Russell Baker:

"Ah, summer; what power you have to make us suffer and like it."

I hope your summer is going well and your 2013 goals are half met.

 

HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!  ENJOY THE SUMMER DAYS.

 

 



The Sun is Out

 

 

The sun is shining and we are finally drying out.  It's warmer than normal, but we won't complain.  Yet.  The birds are out and life is good.

 

Red-bellied Woodpecker parent and child

 

 

 

Juvenile Pileated Woodpecker

 

 

 

Eastern Towhee after taking a drink

 

 

 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird guarding the nectar

American author and poet Maya Angelou once said something that sticks with me in troubled times.  She said:

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."

So in these troubled times, I'm going to sing more even though I have no answers.  Matter of fact, I'm going to sing even though I don't always have a song.  It surely can't hurt.  So after you have written lots of letters, put your iPod on the Bose and sing your heart out.