Friday, November 12, 2010

Guess the Mystery Bird, Sandpiles are Awesome, Jr. D gets Aggressive, Bingo is Bored, and the Hummingbirds are Hyper.

Welcome to the mixed salad of my bloggy pictorial for this week. A little of this, a little of that, for a taste of everything light and mostly fresh.

First I have a little soft calling bird. It's no mystery for me but a challenge for some of you birdy folks out there. This is the female of the species and more subtly colored in comparison to the gaudy males. Or rather brilliantly colored males . . . I predict Joan should know this lady without pause. For the rest of you just look to the end of the post for the answer.


I asked Mike to bring home some sand for our "sand pile" and we got the sand mountain which is only to be expected. This is basically 25 tons of sand, an end dump full, which Daddy Mike brought home for the kids.


The kids really don't like sand very much. They hardly play in it at all . . .


And they never get sand all over their clothes and in their socks and they never bring in shoe loads of sand in the house and never make me yell and scream about their mess. Nope. That never happens.


Wyatt says, "Mom, how could I possibly bring sand in the house? I'm not wearing any shoes or socks. Duh!"


Every child should have a sand pile, no mater how small. Just some little plot of earth covered with sand where they can dig with shovels, wiggle their toes, and get grits under their finger nails.

Now on to "The Chickens." I'm not showing the ladies. They are up to their usual behavior of pecking each other. I've given up on beautiful chickens. BUT Jr. D is taking after his old man and is constantly jumping the fencing around the coop. He likes to perch dominantly on the gate and scream at us in the morning. He's a real charmer.


Additionally, he is beginning to show some aggressive tenancies which are not unlike his father. The added bonus is that he is bigger than his dad. I can't wait to see how his spurs grow in. Maybe he will be meaner than pop. We can only hope.


Smaller more polite hummingbirds have been frequenting our Mexican sage and dominating the mulberry tree next to my house. These little gems flash their colors with the same territorial aggression that the rooster shows, but he's just so small he can't do the same kind of damage. And he knows it. So he keeps his distance from us humans.


But I still captured his attitude and lovely colors.


Bingo the Mighty Adventurer has been on the prowl, meandering across the property in search of something to do. He's been on the job. He knows he has an obligation to provide me with optimal photographic opportunities. He knows I need material for future Bingo books. He knows he can't survive on just rodent meat alone.


But even with his jaded, movie star, super model attitude, he will obligingly and patiently let me take his picture. For the one millionth time . . .


Are those water droplets on Bingo's tongue? Or is it spray? Or just glistening? I could not figure out what that shine was... Even zoomed.

And lastly, the horses have not been forgotten or ignored. They've been doing their jobs. They look nice standing in their fields, they roll in their own manure, they eat lots of hay. It's a rough life.

Their paycheck comes from their real job which I can attest amounts to approximately 2 hrs per week. They seem happy to comply (well for the most part) with being ridden only twice a week. I think they have a pretty good gig.


Once again I am at the tail end of my post with little substantial depth of material to present. But I'm here, and have documented a fragment of our existence on the planet.

p.s. The mystery bird is a female western bluebird.

The End.

15 comments:

theUngourmet said...

So much prettiness (is that a word?) over here! I love that bright pink bird. Amazing color! That photo of Bingo washing is fantastic too! I can't tell what those droplets are either. Fun sand photos. Oh yes, and Jr. D is gorgeous! "I will chase and spur your A**." Ha! So funny!

Mel said...

Sand! It sure gets everywhere, doesn't it?

Unknown said...

National Geographic should get a hold of your beautiful photos! Or maybe you should become a photojournalist! And of course you have beautiful subjects!

Sharkbytes (TM) said...

Well, you may think that it wasn't very substantial, but your friends like the glimpses into your world! Love the sand pile!

Well, I figured bluebird, but I forgot that there is a western one.

Julie Harward said...

Now thats a sand pile to love! The rooster looks scary! Darling pink bird..cute, drooling? cat. and Pretty horses..and I thought it was a robin! You write very well! ;D

Melodie said...

Great pictures! Oh,I agree, all kids need a sand pile!

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

bingo is beautiful! that glitter is strange, sure you didn't photoshop something in? lol, the bird looks like a toohee (my spelling is off) but only if the bird has black on the back area. they look like smaller robins but with white on them. not sure if they are out west...what a clean up job with sand...ugh...wonderful pic of hummingbird!!! love your ponies, perfect lawn ornaments.

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

now why didn't i mention the absolutely gorgeous rooster! silly me, he is simply awesome!

Debbie said...

You are right about the kids and sand. It is such a great activity. Just brimming with creativity.

The Silver Age Sara said...

Where to begin on your fantastic post? I think I'll start with your amazing photos. Wow! I'm envious of your sand pile and your little sandy munchkins. Kind of like being at the beach with all that sand around. I don't envy you a large rooster with enormous spurs. Ouch Julia! And your horses are kind of like my minis. They stand around looking good and eat us out of house and home.
Always love your witty posts. Oh, I forgot your wonderful wild birds.

Doris Sturm said...

Ok, I admit, I'm bird-dumb because I actually thought it was a Robin. I live here in bird country USA and am pretty much clueless...I have to work on that, but since the stray cats have been hanging around, my neighbor's bird feeding station has been pretty deserted and I can't observe them like I used to. I miss that!
Cats love sandboxes too, don't they? LOL I loved playing in the sand as a kid too. I still find it very therapeutic to walk barefoot in the sand.
Your horses are so beautiful - what a life! You guys have a very nice place. You are living some people's dream (including mine)... enjoy your blessings and give the kids a big hug for me ;-)
Enjoy!
p.s. if you want some meatless main dishes for Thanksgiving this year, go to the Peta website and they have tons! Just FYI ;-)

Doris Sturm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Vixen of Vixensden.com said...

Your pictures are fantastic this week! I need lessons. Or more practice. Or a magical photograph fairy to hang out with me. One of those...

San-Dee said...

So nice you're blogging again-I sure have missed the pictures and they are beautiful. It just makes me want to be back in CA, hiking in the hills, hiking in the desert, waving at the ocean.....

happy Thanksgiving and thanks for the beautiful reminders of "home"

Jennifer MacNeill said...

Stunning photos... the hummingbird shots are wonderful!

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