Goldfinches Getting Yellow

Among all the signs of Spring, one of my favorites is the yellowing of our American Goldfinches.  This goldfinch is abundant throughout the United States and is the State Bird of three states, one on the East Coast, one in the Mid-West, and one on the Pacific Coast.  (New Jersey, Iowa, and Washington)

The goldfinch molts all its feathers twice a year; once in late summer and once in late winter.  Their Spring plumage is bright yellow for the males and a duller yellowish/green for the females.  They turn bright yellow long before their breeding season.  Being seed-eaters, they do not breed until much later than most of our birds.  They wait until the thistle and other fibrous seed-bearing plants provide their seeds.  If you haven't planted milkweed for the Monarchs, the goldfinches give you another reason.  If you plant it they will come.

Goldfinches migrate south during the winter.  And lucky us, they stay around here all year long.  Some of our resident birds are joined by migrants while other migrants move on further south.

At this time of year there seems to be great variation in color.  Some of the male goldfinches have turned a brilliant yellow while others are still rather muted.

 You can see the color variation on these birds at the deck water basin.

 We love having these active little birds

It isn't clear what the real lifespan of the goldfinch might be, but one banded goldfinch was monitored for more than ten years.

The single negative thing about American Goldfinches would be the fact that Pine Siskins will flock with them.  So if there is a irruption of Pine Siskins and you have a lot of goldfinches, you will be mobbed by those pesky siskins.

In our state and some others, American Goldfinches have now become infected with House Finch Eye Disease.  So if you see a bird with a diseased eye, it might have this very contagious conjunctivitis.  If you notice any sick finches you should take down all your seed feeders.  Empty them and clean them with a 10% bleach solution (1 part bleach to 9 parts water).  Allow them to dry thoroughly.  It's a good idea to keep the feeders down for several days to discourage congregation of birds who might be infected.  Rake under the feeders or blow away all remaining seeds and bird droppings.

And enjoy these little acrobatic birds that brighten up our days.

We Love Lucy

It's April Fool's Day.  I thought about posting this photograph and suggesting we had gotten another Golden.  But then I decided that would be so wrong.  If Lucy were younger and more adaptable, we would seriously look for another dog.  But given her age and inflexibility, that might not work and might make her happy life miserable.  And if Lucy ain't happy, nobody's happy.

Here is the photograph anyway.  It's a very young Lucy sitting with that puppy pose.

Is this how I'm supposed to sit?

 I'm not one for pranks.  In fact, I hate them.  Doing something or planting some idea for the purpose of making someone else feel or look stupid is a terrible idea in my book.  That said, I do enjoy harmless attempts at fooling people.  Here are a few from this year:


From Pizza Hut, various types of "pizza loaves."

 From Pasante, "Grow Your Own Condoms" kit.  (Rather reminds one of NPR's spaghetti trees, doesn't it?)

 From Firebox, the iDodge.  An app for your iPhone that signals you when you are about to walk into something.  They have some other really neat "April Fool" gadgets HERE.

 From Lyst, typically fashionable chickens that lay pom poms rather than eggs.

 And a big backfire April Fool's joke from Google.  Google always builds something for April Fool's Day and gives users an opportunity to see it, knowing full well that it is a joke.  Not so this year.  Google placed a "Mic Drop" button that users could click to send and archive emails in their gmail accounts.  The users had no knowledge that the button would add the little minion character from "Despicable Me" onto their emails.  Immediately things began to go wrong.  People sending professional communications such as resumes were dismayed to find the minion (below) heading their correspondence.  The little guy appeared on sympathy notes and notes of apology.

Google quickly removed the button.  But not before this seemingly harmless April Fool prank ruined a lot of relationships and cost people self-esteem, if not a job interview.

Mic Drop Minion

So be aware today that what you may hear just might be intended to be an April Fool joke.  Oh, would that that were the case for what you are likely to hear from the Presidential candidates and news "reporters."  No April Fool's there; merely fools.

Today's quote comes from Mark Twain:

April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!

 

Discrimination and Prejudice

Follow this link (HERE) to note the source and view some interesting tweets.

I WANT MY STATE BACK!!!

 

Grimm Characters with Guns

I loved fairy tales when I was a child.  Not the cleaned up Disney versions, the real ones translated from the German in the Brothers Grimm collections.  Some of them were very dark and horrid but I loved the evil and the plot twists.  One never knew who was going to eat the innocents or who was going to turn into a prince.  I never was one for the "happily ever after" ending where the good always wins out.  I was more "all's well that ends well," because sometimes it's all right if good doesn't win.

So I may have enjoyed the newly released re-telling of two famous fairy tales by the National Rifle Association (NRA).  On the other hand I might have thought the revisions of Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood a bit too tame for my taste.  Nobody gets killed or eaten and the children follow all the rules of safety.

One revision is called "Hansel and Gretel (Have Guns)."  Hansel and Gretel leave home not because they were sent away, but because they have guns.  The family is near starving, and they somehow know some areas deep in the forest that have not been hunted.  After killing several animals, including a magnificent 10-point buck, they head toward home but lose their way.  They come upon a witch's gingerbread house but dare not approach since they had been taught not to speak to strangers.  They hear whimpering and find two boys in cages inside the witch's house.  Gretel keeps her gun at the ready while Hansel rescues the boys.  They all go home to the rejoicing parents, delighted with the meat supply the children brought.  The two rescued boys are reunited with their parents and the villagers set off to hunt down the witch.  She is captured without a single shot being fired and the sheriff locks her up in her own cage.  After a very successful hunt, the villagers have a feast, eating the witch's cottage for dessert.

Illustrations taken from the Internet

Hansel and Gretel with their guns.
(note that Gretel has a pistol in addition to her rifle)

The other revision is Little Red Riding Hood, now called "Little Red Riding Hood (Has a Gun)."  Seems that Red has taken lessons and carries her very own rifle.  After all, she is walking alone in the woods.  In this telling, Red sees the wolf as she is carrying the goodies to gramma.  The wolf tries to approach her with his cunning grin, but Red puts her rifle in place and the wolf takes off.  Red decides to take a little rest.

Meanwhile, back at gramma's place, a knock on the door surprises gramma.  She isn't expecting Red quite so soon.  There stands the wolf, not just any wolf, but the Big Bad Wolf.  They proceed through the usual, "My, what big eyes you have" routine as gramma inches toward the shotgun she keeps by the door.  The wolf is dismayed to hear the sound of the click when gramma took off the safety.  Dratted luck.  He WOULD have to run into two family members who know how to protect themselves.  As luck would have it, there are hunters looking for the wolf and they happen on the scene.  While gramma holds the gun pointed at the wolf's face, the hunters tie him up and take him away.  And gramma and Red enjoy some tea and chicken soup.

Gramma aiming at Big Bad

The NRA strongly focuses on gun training for children.  They have an interesting section on their Website in which people can send in stories and photographs of their first guns.

Photographs from the NRA Website

You can link HERE if you wish

This little boy knows all about gun safety.

I'm really not so sure about this little guy's knowledge level.

A disclaimer:  My father was a hunter.  He kept several hunting rifles for various uses.  I learned to shoot at an early age although I never wanted to go hunting.  My brother is a contributing NRA member who owns a very large collection of guns and fears that President Obama in particular and for some reason the Democrats in general, want to take all his guns away.

I believe everyone has a right to own as many reasonable firearms as he or she wishes.  The key words are "own" and "reasonable." There are few reasons for citizens to actually carry guns except for hunting or when their personal safety might be at risk.  And even then, no one outside the military battlefield should even own, much less carry, a high-powered assault rifle.  (Otherwise more gently known as "tactical rifle" or even "modern sporting rifle.")

There are many reasons I do not support the NRA.  My biggest concern is the tremendous power they now have over the legislative branch of our government.  And their steadfast position that loss of ANY control over firearms is a slippery slope ending with taking away all guns.  They want no limitation whatsoever on owning or carrying guns of any kind.  With no attempts to be subtle, the Senate Majority Leader has openly said he will not bring to committee a Supreme Court nominee not supported by the NRA.  Seriously Mr. McConnell?  That is a litmus test for a justice?  They already hold tremendous power over the Congress and Senate and now they should have the same power over the judicial branch of government?

Back to the fairy tales.  I have absolutely no problem with the revision of the fairy tales.  The illustrations show the children to be old enough to handle a gun, although Red may be marginal.  And the tales reinforce the necessity of gun training and safety.  No one is forcing anyone to read them.  No one is putting them in front of your children.  You have to go looking for them.

Would I have read these stories to my own children?  No.  But then again, I also did not read the original Grimm stories to them either.

We Love Lucy

This has been a very busy and frightening week.  The terrorist attacks in Brussels reminded us once again how vulnerable we are to evil people who are willing to die in order to murder innocents if that will generate fear in the hearts and souls of everyone.  Just when we thought politics couldn't get much more disgusting, the candidates proved us wrong by attacking the previously sacrosanct family members of opponents.  And here in North Carolina our General Assembly has given its collective blessing to those who would discriminate against LGBT individuals.

I could write multiple posts on those things, but this is Friday.  And my Friday posts are set aside for dogs and the genuine love and comfort we give and receive from them.

What could be sweeter than a dog sleeping among her pillows?

Actually, it was even sweeter back when Ellie was among us.

We often saw two dogs sleeping in one bed.

When the bed is big...

or when the bed is smaller

While we will always miss our dear Ellie, we do love our Lucy.  She is still young at heart and just as silly as ever.  She brings great joy to our lives.

If you are celebrating Easter, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  If you are not celebrating Easter, I still hope you have a wonderful weekend.  And I hope that Spring will come soon to everyone.

Today's quote is from a great American poet, Edna Dean Proctor:

I think of the garden after the rain;
And hope to my heart comes singing,
'At morn the cherry-blooms will be white,
And the Easter bells be ringing!'

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE

Sometimes You Need Stillness and Calm

Some days I am so filled with the horrors of the world that I just withdraw from it.  I reflect on the things that I am so grateful for and the beauty that surrounds me.  Sometimes it's as simple as watching the bare branches clipped from our Forsythia and brought inside to open.

The Forsythia is rooting in the water.  The buds have fully blossomed.
 I will transplant it when the frost danger is over.

You can fill your yard with this lovely plant in this manner.

The quote on the plaque reads:

The South

The place where...1. Tea is sweet and the accents are sweeter   2. Summer starts in April

3.  Macaroni and cheese is a vegetable  4.  Front porches are wide and long

5.  Pecan pie is a staple  6.  Y'all is the only proper noun  7.  Chicken is fried and

biscuits come with gravy  8.  Everything is Darlin'  9.  Someone's heart is always being blessed.

The carving above the plaque is a dogwood limb.  Our State flower.  And don't try to tell us that the Dogwood is a tree.  Our State tree is the pine. The dogwood blossom is our flower.

I get a great deal of pleasure in watching our birds.  Every now and then we see birds that are common to our area but not commonly seen at our house.  Such is the Yellow-throated Warbler.  Those sightings give me peace of mind.

Yellow-throated Warbler in our tree

Then he actually hopped onto the deck.  What a treat.

Another way I find stillness and calm is with music.  I recently purchased a set of really good wireless headphones.  I've never been fond of earbuds, not even the newer ones.  With the very comfortable earphones I can move around without being tethered to my iPod.  And they are so perfectly noise-reducing, I can listen to music while my husband is watching television.

I find stillness and calm in knitting.  There is something very pleasing about seeing something start from a ball of yarn and turn into something beautiful.  Like this (poorly photographed) yellow baby blanket.  I'm not creative at all, but knitting a complex scarf or a simple blanket makes me feel as if I have created something.  (Never mind that it came from someone else's creative pattern)  I'm sure it must be a fraction of what writers, potters, and other artisans feel when they complete their works.

And I find stillness and calm with books.  They take me totally away from all the troubled times and worries about our Nation and our world.  Right now I am reading the memoir of one of my favorite writers, Lee Smith.

I am loving this book for many reasons.  Smith grew up in a small mountain town much like my own hometown.  She grew up in a time when children's activities were not scheduled all summer but they were allowed to roam freely and make their own fun.  So did I and those times are gone forever.  Her writing is always strong and she tells her story in an interesting manner.  So this book gives me stillness and calm as well.  No suspense, no intrigue, no twisting plots.  Just excellent writing.  My only criticism is that it's over far too soon, leaving me wanting more.

I hope that you can find things that give you stillness and calm.

Our thoughts go out to all those who suffered in any way from the Brussels attacks.  And to the refugees who are dying by the hundreds trying to escape terrorism.  And to all those in need no matter why or where they are.

It's Getting Time Here in the East

The much-anticipated 2016 Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration has begun.  A few birds are already reported as far north as North Carolina and Tennessee.  So despite our brief chilly weather Spring has definitely appeared.

You can click to enlarge

Better yet, click on the link provided below to go to the Website

The tracking and reporting interactive map is posted HERE.  Keep in mind these are not scientific reports, but reports from anyone.  If you see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in your area and it hasn't been reported, you can click on the map and report it.

Watch the map and put out your nectar before the birds have entered your area.  I am not aware that there is any tracking map for other types of hummingbirds.

I am fascinated and frustrated every year by watching the progress of the migration.  Invariably the little buggers are reported to our east and west, to our south and north before we have them.  I think it is because we are only a mile or so from the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment where the mountains rise up sharply above the land on the South Carolina border.

But come they will and we will delight in their presence.  Something about the tiny birds fills us with joy.


And the humming-bird that hung
Like a jewel up among
The tilted honeysuckle horns
They mesmerized and swung
In the palpitating air,
Drowsed with odors strange and rare.
And, with whispered laughter, slipped away
And left him hanging there.
– James Whitcomb Riley

Hummingbirds in our yard

Arguing over the feeder as they are wont to do