The Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Like a Box of Bitten Chocolates

You know how annoying it is when someone bites a chocolate from a boxed assortment and doesn't like it and puts it back in the box?

I don't actually know anyone who does that, but it SOUNDS really annoying.

Well, think that kind of annoying, and that's what I discovered when I went to pick the sour cherries from our tree earlier today.

I knew the catbirds and blue jays have been raiding the tree, but the cherries weren't really ripe enough to pick (for us humans), so I figured they could have a few and I'd get the bulk of them in a week or so.

Ha.

Today I decided that the majority of the cherries were ripe enough, and it was time to take back the tree from all the feathered thieves.

Except that those feathered thieves didn't just take a cherry and eat it.  No, they obviously poked their sharp little beaks into a bunch of cherries, sampling as they went along, leaving their leftovers on the tree for me to find.

So about half the fruit that looked ripe had already been partially eaten and was starting to rot where the skin was broken, and it was therefore no good to me.

I harvested all the berries I could reach that weren't ruined, and, after pitting them, I got about two cups.  Two lousy cups.

But it was enough, coupled with the big bag of cherries I happened to get at the grocery store, to go into a cherry cobbler for dessert tonight.  I've got vanilla ice cream to go with it.

Let's see the birds top that.

Baby Cardinal

The other day Bill and I were outside looking at the gardens and cursing whatever creature had the nerve to chomp two baby tomato plants.  Well, Bill was doing the cursing.  I was sipping my coffee like a civilized person and listening to all the different birds chirping in the surrounding trees.

And then I saw a flash of red go by me and into the overgrown hedge that leans into our yard from our neighbor's yard.  I heard movement in there - a busy fluttery sound - and as I stared at the branches, I figured out what was going on.

The flash of red was a father cardinal, and he had brought a snack to the baby cardinal that was hiding amid the branches.

A baby cardinal!  I've never seen one (outside of a book).  I edged away slowly and then ran across they yard toward the house.  Had to get my camera.  (I didn't run with the coffee - I left that next to the garden.)

I ran back and then stopped and crept around to where I'd been standing before.  The baby was still there.

He was, however, a bit camera shy, so I only got a couple of shots before he skittered up into higher branches, jumping and flapping his little wings as he went. 

But anyway, here's what I got:

 

See that little smudge of brown (yeah - amid all the brown branches) in the middle upper third of the picture?  No?  Well maybe this is a better shot...

 

Can you see him?  He's looking at the camera, and you can see the yellow line of his beak.

Here, I'll mess around with the photo a bit...

 

See him?  (or her, of course)  You can even see the beginnings of a crest on top of his little head.

 

Sigh.

Anyway, I snapped one more picture after this one, but he was already turning to leave at that point and there's not much to see.  After that - he was gone.

But still.  I'm so happy I got to see this little guy!

I love spring.

Tuppence a Bag

What follows is a possibly unbearable series of pictures of seagulls.  I just get a kick out of them flocking in my yard and, better yet, landing on the little feeding platforms to gobble up stale bread and broken cookies.

Photos of gulls on the platforms are after the jump.

If Only They'd Perch on My Fingers, I'd Be Just Like a Disney Princess

 

This guy. 

If I don't put peanuts and birdseed out on time, he's sitting out on one of the platforms, staring at me through the kitchen window.  Waiting.  He doesn't tap his foot, but he seems like he might at any moment.

 

We didn't have to go through that this morning, though.  I beat him to it.

 

I know they're greedy rodents.  I know they cause havoc and destruction.

But isn't he cute?  Just a little?

 

 

 

 

 

"What?  Why are you looking at me like that?"

 

"No, really.  Tell me."

 

"Fine.  If you're going to be like that, I'm outta here."

And then Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal arrived. 

First the Mrs.

 

She's a bit timid, but she's also hungry.

 

So she decided to stay, at least for a moment.

 

 

She isn't sure what to make of me. 

 

"What is she doing in there with that black and silver thing stuck to her face?"

 

"And why is she moving closer?  Does she think I can't tell?"

 

She still isn't sure about eating.  I try not to move too much more.

 

 

 

 

She doesn't stay.

 

And then Mr. Cardinal arrived.

 

He sees me, too.  But he's not too bothered about it.

 

He's here for the buffet.

 

 

 

 

 

"Thanks for the seeds, lady."

 

And then he flew away as well.

But they'll be back.

Barely Breathing

 

 

I was thrilled to get this shot (above).  Doesn't he (or she?) look fabulous?

Later on, a pair of cardianals arrived.  The male was gone in a flash, but the female stayed for a while and I got these pictures....

 

 

 

 

 

And then, later this afternoon, I was doing the dishes and Bill had taken the kids out of my hair for a sled ride around the block, a bit of red flashed in front of me, and I realized the cardinals were back.  The female stayed on the platform on the deck rail, but the male landed on the platform closer to the window.  I dried my hands quickly and quietly and edged back sloooowwwwly so the male wouldn't notice.  I got my camera and slowly, slowly crept closer to the window and leaned slowly slowly against the edge of the sink and eased up onto my toes, camera ready, barely breathing, and peeked out the window.

And there he was.  And there he stayed for a little while.  While he ate, I edged to the left a bit,  rose higher on my toes to get a better view, and just snapped picture after picture for as long as he remained.  All too soon, he was gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please, ma'am, I want some more...

 

When I first came down to the kitchen this morning, there was this one, lone junco sitting on the platform you see in the picture above.  Only there was snow on the platform, a couple inches deep, and nary a seed to be found.  The bird just kind of watched me through the window, as if he knew I'd be the one shoving my bare feet into boots and scooping up some fresh seed (and peanuts for the squirrels and blue jays) to bring outside.  I knocked off the overnight snow onto the ground below and spread out the morning's feast.  While I was standing there preparing the birds' breakfast, one other little junco, who apparently hadn't noticed my arrival, swooped in from somewhere and did an abrupt, mid-flight U-turn when he realized there was a human standing there doling out seed.  He dropped down to the snow in the yard, eyed me briefly, his little head cocked to one side, then flew off to wait in the cherry tree while I finished.

It didn't take long for word to spread.  First there was one junco, and then another, then three, five, and so on.  A few sparrows dropped in as well, and eventually a couple of female juncos showed up.

And then, a little later, this guy appeared.

 

He eyed the platform where the smaller birds gathered, and he seemed to really really want to join them.  But for whatever reason, he just couldn't do it.  He'd kind of rise up on his toes, poised for lift-off, but then he'd change his mind and settle back down again.  Once or twice he flew toward the platform - he could see the peanuts there, which the smaller birds weren't touching - but at the last second he'd turn quickly and fly back to the fence.

 

I felt bad for him, so I tugged my boots back on and went back outside to scatter some cookie debris (broken bits, trimmings, etc) on the driveway - the flat, nearly snow-less part where the truck had been. 

My crow friend and his buddies watched from atop the garage and in the tree behind it, but they took too long to DO something, and several seagulls appeared from nowhere and started gobbling up the goodies.

 

 

Eventually one of the crows grew brave enough to join the seagulls, but by that point there really wasn't a whole lot left.

You snooze, you lose, guys.  It's survival of the bravest, when the snow is flying.

 

Splashes of Color

Earlier this week I was talking to my Mom on the phone, and somehow we got on the subject of birds, and which ones had been showing up in our yards lately.  Now, the back of my parents' yard is up against protected land, which is wooded, and so they get LOTS of birds on their feeders.  They also have a LOT of feeders, offering every kind of seed imaginable.  They get lots of woodpeckers and gorgeous goldfinches, besides all the sparrows and finches and blue jays and starlings and so forth.  Mom asked if I'd had any cardinals, and I hadn't, yet.  Neither had she, which is odd, considering the location and the menu available.

And then, later that day, I looked out my kitchen window and saw him:

 

And after he left, she stopped by briefly.

 

 

~~~

I don't expect to see any birds in my yard today - it's far too windy.  The seed won't stay put, and the birds would just get blown off the feeders anyway.  The rain and (I hope) the crazy wind are supposed to end at some point today.  Right now I'm sitting at my living room window...the trees are bending crazily in the gale, and, mysteriously, the Christmas lights that dangle from our roof and are timed to come on at night have just come on.  Weird.  I can hear fire engine sirens wailing in the distance.  I hope people are okay.

New Neighbors...and Pictures of My Kids

I was getting dinner ready last night and Bill was outside when the new neighbors started to move into their house.

Bill called to me from outside, quietly, so as not to be rude.

And behind our house, we could see the Mister surveying the neighborhood from his front window.

A bit later, the Missus came back from curtain-shopping...

Alex, in particular, was very excited about this.  I think I wrote about getting these birdhouses a month or so ago (Julia's is the smaller abode to the left).  To be honest, I thought it was too late in the season; that all the birds had already built their nests and were waiting for their offspring to hatch.

But I was wrong.  So hopefully in the near future we will get to see little baby sparrows poke their heads out that front door/window and learn to fly across our back yard.

~~~~~

While I sat outside snapping distant pictures of birds, Alex looked for bugs and worms and things,

and Julia flung dirt with a shovel for no particular reason other than she is Julia.

 

And while I'm at it, here are more pictures of my kids from last evening.  Just because.

You can just tell where the picture above is going...and you're right.

Below, Alex is telling me the difference between butterfly antennae and moth antennae...

 

 

And here are some of Julia...being Julia.

She's nearly four.  My baby girl.  And nearly ready to rule the world.  She just needs to fix the tag on her shirt, and I think she'll be all set.

Gearing up for Spring Training

Shortly before I left to get Alex from a field trip today, I looked outside and saw 6 crows in the yard.

One in particular caught my eye.

 

Carolina Wren

We had two of them Saturday morning.  One who came to get something to eat on the little platform on our deck, and the other who perched briefly on the tire of our truck and then disappeared. 

 

Wildlife