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dernwyn
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May 3, 11:30pm
Post #26 of 46
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It was funny, one morning there were three of them at the birdbath on our porch railing, acting like office workers at the water cooler. Sip, nudge around as if spreading gossip, sip, nudge some more...
We have the red-wing blackbirds and bluebirds, too, and now the goldfinches are going crazy for the seed. Nesting time! I've only glimpsed a Baltimore oriole once here, what a fantastic color they are!
And today we sighted our first hummingbird at our feeder. Gotta go get a hanging plant for them!
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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dernwyn
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May 3, 11:35pm
Post #27 of 46
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You know you're out in farming country...
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...when a farmer stops by with a stone in a bucket-loader and asks if you'd like it.  What an unusual coloring, have fun creating a little garden for it!
Pickle must be having a blast with all the fresh smells!
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Lissuin
Doriath
May 4, 4:29am
Post #28 of 46
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We do fandom crossovers here, right? 
Speaking of birds:
Because we're having a lovely dry, cool, calm week here, my morning and afternoon bush walks with Pippin Cat sound something like this video that features the native woodpigeon, the kereru. It took me some years to hear one, Ataahua, but those regular walks eventually provided the opportunity for amazement. It was a lucky chance that I heard a weird deep sound while watching the bird at the same time and saw its beak open and close! These days there are few kereru here, but the tui are around, and the piwakawaka are everywhere and get within a metre of us at times. I keep Pip on a short lead when they're about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXDKSxl_i3g
And Kimi, I was very surprised to find wild turkeys and California quail wandering the paddocks in Wairarapa. They made me feel right at home. I won't bore you with my dozens of photos of baby turkeys that look like dinosaurs. Well, maybe just one, eh?  There were ten of the little gobblers!
Oh, and then some kept a'growing!
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Kimi
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May 4, 5:55am
Post #29 of 46
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are endangered to a greater or lesser extent, though more from habitat loss and introduced mammals than from other birds. Some, though, are doing well - I was quite grown up before I ever saw a tui or a kereru in the wild, and Mr Kimi never saw them on his childhood farm, but we have a good population where we are, and they're among the non-endangered species.
Yes, some tomatoes are better suited for paste, as they have more flesh and fewer seeds.
The brickmaking will be fine, I think (/hope). The aspects that are directly relevant to events can go in the main text, and some of the rest will be in sidebars for the extra-keen. The remainder might make it into a blog post, or just get discarded.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Kimi
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May 4, 5:59am
Post #30 of 46
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Including a couple that must have been "planted" by the birds, as they've popped up in flowerbeds - they're attractive enough shrubs that I'm happy to leave them there.
The tamarillo, on the other hand: a total of two fruit this year. I think that tree (which has actually done very well over the years might be reaching the end of its life.
We must get on with our stonefruit pruning soon - not my favourite task, I must admit.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Kimi
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May 4, 6:01am
Post #31 of 46
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Yes, I do go down some rabbit holes - with this book it's been more about legal history than anything. The brickmaking was actually a welcome diversion into something more solid, so to speak.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
May 4, 3:04pm
Post #32 of 46
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I've got to get my feeders out TODAY! Thanks for the reminder :D I have at least 5 that buzz and dive-bomb each other for the feeders. I have one feeder out the back window so Coffey (kitty) can have her very on show.
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
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dernwyn
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May 4, 11:54pm
Post #34 of 46
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little Coffey going crazy watching those hummers buzz around!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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dernwyn
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May 5, 12:00am
Post #35 of 46
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There's something adorable about those little fluffballs as they follow their mama hen around! 
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Greenwood Hobbit
Doriath
May 5, 2:45pm
Post #37 of 46
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Ha ha, definitely! Facebook was full of it -
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Mark Hamill and Barrack Obama shared a fun moment. 'The dad jokes are strong with this one...' I imagined, turkeys being large birds, that they wouldn't have such large clutches of eggs - you live and learn! Unless that's a pic of turkey daycare?
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Greenwood Hobbit
Doriath
May 5, 2:57pm
Post #38 of 46
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How lovely to have your own bit of forest!
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Sounds like your area is a wildlife haven. What a privilege. As for the tomatoes, my friend's husband was (no longer with us, sadly) a wee bit obsessed with growing different varieties, and one year they ended up making a ridiculous amount of passata! Still, it always comes in handy!
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Greenwood Hobbit
Doriath
May 5, 3:02pm
Post #39 of 46
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It's intriguing how some people seem to be more sensitive to it than others.
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Your neighbourhood sounds riotous! And they say the countryside is quiet...Glad you saw your daughter; it's always sad when they leave. I used to have a little cry every time my daughter went back to Uni after a visit. She was a long way away - by English standards, that is!
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Kimi
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May 5, 8:46pm
Post #40 of 46
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What a fine clutch. They're such attentive parents
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(turkeys, that is). They have a lovely gentle call they do around the young ones, completely different from the classic gobble or their various alarm calls.
We often have them nesting along our hedgerow, but one year a turkey mother-to-be nested in the bush just behind our house, and every day she'd walk past us when we were out on the terrace, apparently taking some sort of constitutional. She got quite used to our presence. Then one day I was fortunate enough to be standing in the kitchen just in time to see her lead her clutch of fluffballs past on their way to join the wide group. Such a charming sight.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Lissuin
Doriath
May 6, 10:19pm
Post #41 of 46
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Googling these guys soon brought up their video and dad jokes. Fandom crossovers and inside jokes rule!
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Kimi
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May 7, 4:17am
Post #42 of 46
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We have c. seven acres, of which five acres is in forest; mostly rimu, but with some lovely kauri, too.
When we were looking for a rural property (over thirty years ago now!), one of the things we specified was that we really wanted a nice patch of native forest. The first couple of agents we tried duly took us to sites with maybe half a dozen sad-looking trees (sometimes not even native). Then we tried another agent - the first female one, FWIW - and she actually listened, and showed us the one we ended up buying. I remember marching onto the site, looking around to see what was wrong with it, then turning to look at Mr Kimi and seeing the same "I think this is the one" look in his eyes that I knew must be in mine.
The Passing of Mistress Rose
My historical novels
Do we find happiness so often that we should turn it off the box when it happens to sit there?
- A Room With a View
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Lissuin
Doriath
May 7, 11:31am
Post #43 of 46
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Cool turkey facts:
https://www.forestsociety.org/...-facts-about-turkeys The audio recording is amusing.
Turkeys are full of character. The hens are very attentive mothers, indeed, as they guide the chicks through the grass searching for breakfast. The big boys strut around like they own the place, showing off their spectacular plumage.
I'd heard the oft-repeated myth that Benjamin Franklin wanted the native turkey to be the national bird of the United States rather than the bald eagle. Evidently, that story is a bit of an exaggeration, so if anyone else has heard it too, this seems to be the real story. https://declaration.fas.harvard.edu/blog/turkey
It does make one wonder: if they had been selected as the national bird, would we be eating them for Thanksgiving?
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dernwyn
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May 7, 5:37pm
Post #45 of 46
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That turkeys are full of character!
Thank you for the links, it's been a while since I've heard the story about Ben Franklin. The Cincinnati bird does look like a turkey. What's funniest is how electrocuting turkeys "tenderized" them. 
Hm, I wonder if, in honor of the Pilgrims, we'd be featuring codfish for Thanksgiving!
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Lissuin
Doriath
May 7, 10:04pm
Post #46 of 46
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Codfish and pumpkin pie!
Yeah, nah.
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Thanks for the tip off, GH.
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