I have time for just a few words this morning, but I wanted to share with you sights that I found so nourishing this morning on my walk. Isn’t that flower an absolute beauty? The internet tells me it is a dahlia, but please chime in if that’s incorrect.
Along the way I listened to the podcast “On Being with Krista Tippett” – episode 869, “Michael McCarthy – Nature, Joy, and Human Becoming.” It was the perfect accompaniment. I now want to read McCarthy’s book “The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy.” Isn’t that a great name for a book? He apparently also has a new title coming out in October called “The Consolation of Nature: Spring in the Time of Coronavirus.”
Sounds like a must read for a nature-lover like me. And maybe you?
Hello there, friends! I am happy to report that I am healing nicely after last week’s wipe out. My mouth is almost back to normal – lets put it this way, if you saw me without my mask you wouldn’t cringe (I hope). I can now walk on my knee without any pain or need of support. I am taking it very slowly, though. No big walks around the neighborhood for a while yet.
This week I spent a lot of time watching our little hummingbird friends. Unfortunately, we have also had a constant stream of bees and wasps at the feeders. I remember that when I was a teacher this was my least favorite time of year to have outdoor recess duty. The bees do get a bit aggressive at this time of year, which I’ve read is due to a perfect storm of the population being at its peak in late summer, natural food sources running low, and preparing the hive for the winter. The hummingbirds are wary of the bees/wasps – they seem to prefer not feeding at the same time, and tend to fly away if a bee approaches the feeder while they are feeding. However, sometimes a bird’s got to do what a bird’s got to do, and they will put up with the insects in order to get their sugar fix.
Soon the hummingbirds will be migrating south again. Having never experienced this before I don’t know exactly when this will happen, but I’ve read that in late August/early September they will eat even more often to put on some weight for the journey (fun fact – hummingbirds don’t just eat nectar; their diet also consists of small insects like mosquitoes and aphids). Some articles I’ve read have described a sort of feeding frenzy, with many more visits to the feeder, as the migration date nears. So far our hummingbirds don’t like to share the multi-port feeder – if one approaches the feeder, the other zooms off. I wonder if that will change when they start feeding more.
I couldn’t narrow my photos down any further – I am just so fascinated with the different markings of all the birds who visit the feeders. If my photos look like we have very few males – well, we have very few adult males. The juvenile males look like the females (no red throat) until their first winter. However, females have nearly all-white throats and the juvenile males have more gray markings on their throats, so I can sort of guess which ones are which.
This weekend will be low key. No bike rides (ha!) and no walks outside yet. I am re-reading an old favorite book, The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. It’s a very cozy read, perfect for the rainy weather we’re having just now. I’ll spend most of the weekend reading, writing some letters, and keeping an eye on our little hummingbird friends.
Sometimes I think I should just rename my blog “Things That Make Me Happy” because it seems like the only posts I can be counted on making are these weekly odes to happiness (even though today I’m a day late). I do like the self imposed structure of forcing myself at least once a week to let my mind settle on things about life that bring me joy. I find that it’s a practice that is helping to keep me on an even keel these days, and that, as Martha says, is a good thing.
I’ve been trying to get out and take some photos each day, but my 10+ hour days at work (I’m still working from my dining room) have cut into that a bit. I have gotten a few good shots, and I guess I should count a few good shots a week as success.
I’m still fascinated by the hummingbirds. Something that is making me especially happy is that we are now seeing very small hummingbirds at the feeder. Yes, I know all hummingbirds are very small – the ones we have been seeing are about half the size of the others, so we know that somewhere close by there sits a teeny hummingbird nest that these little ones called home not so long ago. That just makes me smile.
Baby animals of all kinds make me happy. This is probably the first year ever that I have paid enough attention to the bird life in my neighborhood to notice the difference between the adult birds flying around and their smaller, more tentative, slightly different colored (the robin young are a little less vibrant, the cardinal young are slightly more vibrant) offspring. I find that I am noticing everything about nature more this year – the budding trees and bushes in the springtime looked more beautiful and miraculous than ever before, but I know for certain they actually looked no different than in previous years. If there are any tiny silver linings of this time of coronavirus-imposed isolation, rediscovering the beauty of nature is one of them for me.
The daisies have been in bloom along the side of our garage for the last couple of weeks. All flowers bring me joy (the topic of another Things That Make Me Happy post), but especially daisies. As I am a hopeless gardener, the fact that daisies are perennials, spread each year, and are no-maintenance (well they might be happier with more maintenance than I give them, but they tolerate my neglect) are all pluses as well.
Working from home has a downside of allowing you the opportunity to work at any and all times. As we are currently in one of our busy seasons at work I could be tempted to work this weekend, but I made the decision yesterday afternoon as I powered down my computer that I will not turn it on until Monday morning. Setting that boundary is making me very happy. My plans for the weekend include sitting in our back yard, reading, taking some photos, writing to friends, and just writing in general. I’ve had some blog post ideas bubbling up in my brain these last few days and I hope to get them out to you soon.
And speaking of the blog, let me just say that knowing you are out there reading these offerings, well, that makes me very happy indeed. Thank you.
I love to learn. If someone would pay me to go to college for the rest of my life, that would be the best gig ever. I love to study and believe it or not I love to take tests. I’ve always been a good test-taker, I have a knack for it, but I must admit I haven’t always been a good studier – is that a word? Yes, apparently it is. In fact, there were times when I was an abysmal studier. But I’ve always loved learning new things.
I have begun working on a new challenge – actually I just started this morning! I’m learning how to use Sam’s camera (pictured above, Canon’s EOS Rebel T7, for those who are interested). I’m working my way through the manual (imagine my relief when I realized that of the many pages in the 3/4-inch-thick instruction manual, only the first 116 are in English! The others are just repeats of the instructions in other languages)!
I had been thinking about learning how to work a real camera and not just the one in my phone for a while now, but something recently brought the idea from the back burner to the front – hummingbirds! I love hummingbirds and we have managed to attract some hummingbirds to our two feeders. I am so thrilled! I tried taking some iPhone photos, but the camera in my iPhone model doesn’t do a great job of zooming in with any decent amount of clarity. Maybe I’m using it wrong, and maybe more fancy models have much better cameras (I’ve heard they do), but this week I decided I would start to take some photos with and learn everything there is to know about the Canon.
I have spent a good portion of the day sitting at the window, or kneeling at the window with the camera propped up on the back of a chair (at some point a tripod might be needed), waiting for the hummingbirds to arrive. Two birds did arrive, and I have nicknamed them Ruby, for his lovely red throat, and Turq, for her gorgeous turquoise feathers. Ruby came first thing in the morning and I haven’t seen him back yet. Turq has been a frequent visitor today.
Friends, I am so happy I could just do a little dance. This is so much fun.
Update: Friends who actually know their birds have informed me that these are both ruby-throated hummingbirds. Ruby is an adult male and Turq is an adult female. 🙂
Good morning, Ruby!Ruby giving us a better look at his lovely neckThat translucent thing protruding from her beak is her tongue!
On Fridays I usually do a “Things That Make Me Happy” post. I just started writing a post about a television show that I am currently in love with. It’s called “The Detectorists” and it is a comedy that ran on BBC 4 from 2014 to 2017 (we’re streaming it on Amazon Prime). Here’s a link to a trailer on YouTube. There are 19 episodes in total and I am savoring each one. The problem is, I can’t write an entire post about the show without it turning into a review. All I really want to say is that it is funny and lovely and will fill you with joy.
The tulips that I bought a week ago (and which were the subject of last week’s “Things That Make Me Happy” post) have opened up and are really quite stunning. When they first started opening up I thought they had a bit of a venus fly trap vibe and were kind of creepy looking, but as they continued to open up I’ve come to appreciate their unique beauty.
The weather here has been schizophrenic – warm and sunny one day, cold enough to wear full winter gear the next. Today it actually snowed. Trees are leafing out, lawns are looking positively lush, and we had the most gorgeous sunset the other night.
This was another full-on work week. I had a personal milestone yesterday – the first day since I started working remotely that I actually wore work clothes instead of yoga pants and sweatshirts while working. It was also the first day since working remotely that I weighed myself.
Yeah – the two milestones are related.
Have a great weekend, friends. I’ll see you back here on Monday.
In the last 48 hours we have had a scary thunderstorm (complete with tornado warning), rain, snow, hail, clouds, and gorgeous sunshine. I’ve gone out for my walks wearing anything from a short sleeved shirt to my winter coat, wool hat, and gloves. But out I go, because I need my daily dose of exercise, fresh air, and beauty. It is sustaining me in this crazy time, keeping the “blahs” from turning into the blues. I know I said I wouldn’t be back here until my Friday “Things That Make Me Happy” post, but I thought I would share this daily dose of beauty with you. See you again tomorrow, dear ones. xoxo
If you’ve read any of my other posts it will come as no surprise to you that the beauty of nature makes me happy and I seek it out as often as I can. Usually I do this by going out for walks in the neighborhood or in the many public parks and trails around here, but I also have gotten many hours of enjoyment just looking at the bird feeder outside of one of our kitchen windows. I’ve been known to spend a good twenty minutes just sitting and staring at the feeder during lunch breaks (back when I worked in an office and came home for lunch – about a million years ago, it seems). I consider watching the birds to be one of my favorite kinds of meditation – I can just feel the stress melting away.
Now, let’s talk squirrels. I don’t mind when the squirrels eat whatever falls to the ground, but when they climb up on the feeder, setting it wildly swinging, knocking huge amounts of seed to the ground and generally making a mess, it pisses me off. I know there are squirrel-proof feeders out there, and one day we will most likely get one. But for now I guess I will continue to bang loudly on the window to scare them off (until they come back two minutes later). Maybe all that banging is good for me, too – a way to vent my coronavirus-induced frustrations instead of being grumpy with my loved ones. Maybe. I do love squirrels – just not at the bird feeder.
The weather is glorious today. I’ve already been out on three walks and will be out for a couple more before the day is over. We are making pizza for dinner tonight, something we haven’t done in easily more than a year. I hope you have a great weekend. I’m sure I’ll be back here at least once before Monday.
Michelle xoxo
Hello, bird friend!I’ve counted as many as five birds at the feeder at one time.“We are NOT pigeons (although scientifically there is no difference between us and pigeons)! We are mourning doves!”Ahem. I’ll just put this here with no comment. Although, REALLY. I think he can easily lay off the seeds for a few days with no ill effects. That’s all I’m gonna say.
Today was a funny old day. I had a doctor’s appointment at 8:45 (no, not coronavirus-related) and an over-the-phone lesson in how to remote into one of the work computers we’ll be sharing. After a late breakfast there was a conference call for our department in which we were told what we need to accomplish in the three hour window we are all being given each day. I must say I’m glad to be getting back to work. It will be a challenge – for one thing, in my cubicle at work I have three computer monitors and could easily use a fourth because we all need to have multiple windows open all the time. For the next few weeks I will be using my laptop. It’s going to get crowded!
Speaking of crowded, Sam and I went for a walk this afternoon, an idea that must have struck half of the neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods at the same time. Definitely an exercise in serpentine evasive maneuvers!
Nature was putting on a lovely albeit quiet show along the way. I tried to really focus on the subtle changes around me. The trees are starting to bud out, crocuses and daffodils are blooming. The forsythia can’t be far behind. I’m finding that when I’m feeling frazzled (which is more often during this pandemic than usual) focusing on the beauty of the world around me helps smooth out the rough edges.
