Picture of the Day

We were in the right place at the right time today.  We had heard rumours of them.  And today when my folks and i went out to lunch, we saw them.

This is the roaming herd of Roosevelt Elk in our town.  They are beautiful, but very destructive at times.  They were in a pasture, near Newalkum Creek, just a few miles away from our new house.  Hopefully we won't see them up close in our yard, but it's nice to know they are here. 

Me First. No Me First.

We've been encouraging tip top behaviour around the birdhouse the last few weeks and Cookie Monster's been witnessing some of the coolest happenings in our yard, right off our deck. 

 Could school get any better than this??

 

I grabbed my camera tonight, with the little light we had left and the zoom maxed out, and captured some of these videos and pictures of the neighbirds.  The humming/roaring sound you hear is the traffic on The 5.  Hoping you can hear the babies over that ruckus.

Aren't they sweet??

Thanks to Ed over at Sunday Stills for his perfectly timed "Potluck" theme so i can share this with all the awesome photographers there too.  Go check 'em out.  I can hardly wait to see what inspired people this week!

Tuesday = Garden Tour

Here at the ol' suburban homestead, we're seeing tulips

Don't you just love the  fuzzy-headed alpine tulips when they've gone to seed??

and fruit tree blossoms give way to

the first poppies of the season.

This, seriously, has to be my favourite part of the yard right now.

The German chamomile is blossoming...

I can almost taste our first cups of fresh tea from these little guys.

The berries are finally starting to flower in full force. 

Thankfully the razzie's now resemble a beehive

Saw a few bees on the blueberries this weekend

Moose's mouth is watering just counting all these potential strawberries

Dainty little alpine strawberries--you're so sweet.

The spuds are emerging from their fox holes,

Same goes for the weeds in the peas and the onions...grr!

And here's the pictures of the stinky ol' *big idea* of mine that landed Moose with a bum thumb.  (Sorry again, my Moose!!)

Also, there's new developments in the new neighbird's bungalow.  Mommy and Daddy Sparrow are busy caring for a little nest full of birds that i am too afraid to try to get a picture of.  They aren't in the easiest of spots, nor eager for their moment in the spotlight such as Mrs. Oodles adorable nest of birds.  Our WA sparrows must be recluses compared to those sweet little cousins of theirs in back east. :)  Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow have been very tolerant of our comings and goings when needing to tend to the chickens, and i don't want to push our luck.  Like the Grosbeaks have been doing.  Ei yi ei!  Poor little daddy bird has been having to defend his babes from the wild pack of Grosbeaks morning, noon, and noony night it seems.  Which lead to the redeployment of an old feeder out in our paperbark maple.  Which coincidentally the gold finches seem to prefer as well!

It's been great sharing the miracles of Spring with Cookie Monster this year.  She seems to have a little more interest in playing in dirt, watching birds, helping weed the garden, and finding worms--granted, she needs her garden gloves for that last one!  We sat out on the deck numerous times in the last week listening to the cacophony of peeps, screeches, and general chatter of our fine feathered friends.  All the while, Cookie cheers on Daddy and Mommy Sparrow:  "Keep up the good work, Daddy Sparrow."  "Mommy Sparrow, you're such a good mommy.  I bet your babies love you lots."  (and when the birds fly away) "Where you goin'?  Don't leave you're babies too long, Momma."

I will try to get a video, even just for the sound, of the babies. 

As soon as i charge up those pesky camera batteries.  :)

Happy Mother's Day

We have new neighbours in the yard.

They look like they may be newlyweds, however i can't confirm that.

They've been so busy building a nest, they haven't really had time to stop by

for coffee cake and a chat.

Not only do they make a cute couple, but they are a good team too.  They'd race off at the same time and in about 2 minutes time, they'd meet back at their new casita with provisions to swankify their new pad.  Patiently they'd wait for each other to enter and exit.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this little lady is going to enter into the world of motherhood soon.

Hoping mothers reading this today have a joyous day, and not just today!

A New Visitour

During the snow, we had a new little visitour to our trees out back. He made me remember that photographing birds like like trying to photograph a 3 year old.

Come on you....show your little face!

Ha ha, gotcha!

He has the most beautiful steel blue eyes.

If my bird book wasn't packed, i'd be able to figure out what kind of winged creature he is. :(