For the last week or so, a few of the ladies from my favorite blogs have been posting about their avian (bird) guests and I have been jealous. Candace of
http://www.squashhousequilts.blogspot.com/ has been hosting Cedar Waxwings.
Kaaren of
http://thepaintedquilt.blogspot.com/ has entertained Tree Swallows and Wanda of
http://exuberantcolor.blogspot.com/ has enjoyed Cardinals.
The jealousy has made me think. While we don't have the grand Cardinals, Cedar Waxwings and Tree Swallows, we do have a lot of wonderful birds in our area. Living in the Southern Idaho desert has its perks. I get to see birds of prey on a regular basis.
Turkey Vultures live on our
Snake River Canyon rim. On any given day, I get to see
Red-Tailed Hawks, smaller hawks, various falcons and
Barn Owls.
On Easter Sunday, we went out to our daughter-in-law Becky's parents' house and we were privileged to see a young
Bald Eagle learning to soar. It was the second one Rick had seen this year! A little over two weeks ago, I saw a
Golden Eagle fly up over the pine tree in our pasture. Then about 5 days ago, we saw a pair of
Goldens circling. They caught a thermal, shot miles up and then out of sight.
We have an abundance of
Robins, and this year is no exception. We have
Red-wing Blackbirds. Their call is hauntingly beautiful. We have red-headed
House Finches,
Chickadees,
Sparrows,
Pigeons, and
Morning Doves. I see a pair of
Quail crossing the country road I take to work each morning. We have a
Killdeer nesting in or near our pasture. They lay their eggs on the ground. The eggs look like rocks. She chases us when we mow it. We have
Meadowlarks on our canal banks. They are one of my favorites. There is nothing like the
male's song.
This year we have a
Starling that chastises Rick because she wants to nest in his BBQ grill and he won't let her. Her song is shrill and unpleasant. We have to leave the lid up or the BBQ is filled with nesting materials and an occasional egg. We have tried plugging the holes and she just pushes her way in. At least she isn't stealing someone
else's nest. Starlings are famous for that.
Last year, we had a pair of
Bullock Orioles. They are nectar feeders. It is comical to see such a big bird hanging upside down on a hummingbird feeder. They are Giants compared to hummingbirds. We have around 5 or so species of hummingbirds that migrate through our area at any given time. We have a fairly aggressive species that calls our desert home during the summer. I think it is the
Calliope Hummingbird. This leads me to why I am blogging today.
We have an extra special guest at our house this summer. Wednesday, while I was at work, Rick and Hannah decided to take down the Christmas lights. (Hello, Christmas lights in June ????)They were pulling them down when Rick came to a plug-in. Rick sees what he thinks is a Cat Spider nest. After consulting Hannah, they decide that is exactly what it is.
All of a sudden a mama hummingbird shows up. She is VERY AGITATED to say the least. She starts dive-bombing them. Have you ever been buzzed by a hummingbird? Their wings sound like hornets buzzing. Hummingbirds also scold you while they are coming at you; a high-pitched fast chatter.
Rick and Hannah figured out that they had found a hummingbird nest! Right by our front door! Rick sent Hannah to find the wire cutters and the staple gun. They cut the excess wires and stapled the loose wires to the eaves of the house to stabilize the nest. After the trauma of almost having her nest pulled down, mama hummer settled down. She is still with us. She tolerates me checking on her from time to time. She also tolerates me watering my flowers. If I get too close, she will buzz me and scold me!
Hummingbirds make a golf ball-sized nest out of natural materials and spider webs. They lay between 1 and 3 jellybean-sized eggs. It eggs take about 16 days to hatch. After about 40 days the babies are on their own. I think ours are still eggs because I have yet to see her do anything but set on them.
I was wondering why we didn't have as many hummers this year as we have had in the past. It makes sense now that I know she is on the porch and protecting her territory. Hannah chose a name for her. She wants to call her Gloria (because she is glorious)!
Have a great day.
Donnelly
Being a vanity, it had to have a chair. I redid the bottom of an old chair that I had gotten for free years ago. I used a Soiree honey bun. Soiree is designed by Lila Tueller. The colors in the honey bun were the inspiration colors for my vanity. I used Jen Duncan's "Sweet n Shabby Woven Pillow Cover" for my inspiration in covering the chair bottom. You can find the tutorial on http://modabakeshop.com/ or on Jen Duncan's blog http://jenduncan.typepad.com/
I will be making a queen-sized quilt with the same fabrics and another Lila Tueller line called "Woodland Flowers". Both lines have a lot of the same colors in them, so I think they would match pretty well. I have yet to get started on that but I have lots of ideas and inspirations that I have found in blog land that I want to try. As soon as I get the quilt done, I will post what the whole room looks like. I have yet to rearrange the photos and art or anything like that. I am also on the hunt for a smallish book shelf for a little nook by the door.
