WBW 32-The Bone Pickers

WORK has really eaten into my blogging time..and I know you guys are probably sick of my wren family so Ill give them a break this week and catch up with them later...I have a bone to pick with the weather man.....Still 100 degrees outside--so....NO birding for me, Yes I am a wimp when it comes to hot humid weather...I DONT like it--

So I've pulled out some other Bone Pickers--The Vulture!  These birds are amazing...First off what would we do without them? Here's 2 black Vultures...chilling in the trees

They have no feathers on the face to help keep them clean.  When I worked as a volunteer at a bird of prey rehab center...we received a flock of 4 at the same time.  THEY are amazingly clean animals and polite and they dont get frantic when you are close by and they're heavier than say... a hawk of the same size!  GUESS what they enjoyed eating?? We fed frozen mice to all of the hawks and owls but (we thawed before serving of course)... for some reason the Fab 4 (as we called them) wouldn't eat our mice popcicles..they preferred RAW HAMBURGER MEAT...so what does that tell you about hamburger meat? YUK --You can dress it up with onions, mustard, and ketchup but in the end its only fit for  buzzards!

They are agile and great fliers capable of landing into the thickest of canopies

... they Glide as beautifully as any Eagle or Osprey they have a magnificent wing span and they have amazing sense of sight and a horrific sense of smell!

I always enjoy watching them..and usually
they dont disappoint me with a fly by are they checking to see if I'm dead...or ... never mind

In this shot I got 4 birds, 2 close to me and 2 more WAY UP HIGH...in the nosebleed section of the sky it looks like the sky is full of B-2 bombers...

This is the turkey vulture with the red on his face...TO me he looks very much like the Golden Eagle--if his face was feathered and his beak a bit more defined, one would be hard put to tell the difference!

A Turkey Vulture in the Air...

and one last Black Vulture shot to finish off the Bone Pickers for World Bird Wednesday!

Aw... what the heck here's ONE MORE!!

And Finally thats my post for WBW this week..Next week Ill have another update on my Carolina Wren family...they are doing great so far!

Check out other birds as seen by these super birders over at WBW-

PEACE



175th day of 2011

IF my math is right..ok, 30 days has sept, apr, jun, and nov-all the rest have 31 except feb which has 4 and 24 (28) till leap yr gives it one day more..SO if you add that up and today is the 24th day of June then 175th day of the yr!

Got through the first week of working again..unscathed and thats good--

I work with some nice ladies and so that makes it easier! My boss strives to do a good job for her clients and I like her--

<---OK this is the problem--the date on my weather station is wrong this was taken 2 days ago..but you get the picture the time is correct..the second set of numbers is the Tempt 103.6 DEGREES!

SO when I get home from work in the afternoons this is what it's like outside SO no hikes, bird watching, or tromps in nature! Im still watching the C-Wrens feed the babies..they are getting BIG...I got one wee photo of them while Mom and Dad were out bringing home the bacon..

I snapped this one really quick and did'nt get focus but look at those 3 yellow open mouths..there is 2 more way in the back...Hope they're getting something when dinner arrives, all the way back in the cheap seats! 

borrowed from SC DNR Web site

WE (Camden, SC) See the arrow head Eastern Piedmont Fault system with the dashed purple line...that county is us

We had a 2.3 on the R.S.-Earthquake today!  We heard it at work we thought it was an explosion..and at the time I thought it might be an earthquake and it was according to the news! We have had earthquakes before...always small ones--Charleston was hit and greatly damaged by a quake in 1886 of about 7.0 - 7.3. When I got home my Mom had heard it too...she went outside to see if a plane had crashed...IT was a loud BOOM!!

So thats my 175th day of 2011 wrap up...in 15 days the yr will be half over!!
Meanwhile look who's
hanging around being lazy on the yard bench
while Im out working---he doesnt know or care what day it is!!

These guys have it made in the shade dont they?

WISH we had a place at the lake
its the only place to be in this weather....Hope you have a good weekend lined up -Ill be kicked back with my feet up and something icy cold nearby!

PEACE n Cool

WBW-31 Everybody in the Pool-

The Gene Pool that is--

ITS been so freakin hot I havent done any birding--unless its right outside my window before or after work... I found this brand spanking new Northern Mockingbird in the parking lot before work one morning -- he was out in the wide open whilst his mother was in a nearby tree screaming at him...and Im sure she was saying, "you're supposed to be flying away from people,"...but he/she didnt move while I circled and *CLICK*
...Love the cute speckled breast on this youngster--

...the Carolina Wrens of my WBW-30 blog post hatched this week (all 5)...The parents are very busy bringing food to the nest...NO Photos of the young yet they are way too small and weak for me to stress..SO these photos of the parents are taken through the kitchen window looking back toward the deck and the french doors, thats why you see curtains BEHIND the plant where the nest is located.  IF I try to shoot through that window directly behind the nesting area they spook...I am going to remove that FOCUS grabbing pine needle first chance I get tho--;O~

Anybody want a Spider 

And here is the other parent coming in with a worm---

And we welcomed a new female ruby throated hummingbird--she's all out on her own learning the ropes--
...a very fresh {off the nest} Carolina Girl!



IF you have bird photos or stories to share come over and join in by clicking the icon and jump over to World Bird Wednesday!



PEACE

TIME FLIES~



eastern kingbird


Wow...this was a whirl wind week for me.  I jumped back into the workforce! My at home job had me on starvation rations so I had to do something--Im back to working in the Upholstery and Interior Dec Industry only this time Im just a worker bee and not the Queen!! WHICH is good cause I dont have to deal with the clients, answer the phone, rub elbows and brown nose--lol

I can happily do my work and leave ON TIME--and I like it-Im working part-time and as needed so when work gets slack I may be back on the bread line--so lets hope the wealthy can continue to live large--and need their homes refreshed when the mood strikes so we peons can have food to eat--(sorry that was not nice was it--But it's the truth so it stays!!)

Meanwhile....this weekend Mom and I plan to make JAM!! Peach and strawberry--Using SC peaches and CA Strawberries! Grown in the USA---YUM  Later in the year when our wild grapes ripen we will make some grape jelly.  We have enjoyed the fruit of our labor from last yr and thats literally!! Last yr about his time we made strawberry, and then grape and later in the fall Persimmon, Jam, jelly and butter! On Mom's hot Vegan biscuits its wonderful...Speaking of her Vegan biscuits all we do is substitute almond milk (unsweetened) for Cow's Milk and Applesauce for eggs! (a spoonful about the size of an egg) She uses vegetable oil also.  THEY are delicious--
WE use Best Life which is a butter substitute made from natural oils and no hydrogenated oils--its very good on hot biscuits!

 this change in my lifestyle means less time for blogs, birds, and all the other things I love to do....After my initiation I hope to move my hours to 3 days a week--I will have to make Mom promise she WILL NOT go into the garden while Im at work...(she is safer in the house) and that will give her and me 4 days together to enjoy being out in the yard, feeding the birds, filling the bird bath and watering her flowers..thats what she likes to do--and keep an eye on her tomato bushes!

...and that will give me time to get my groove on--which means getting out into nature when I can.  Meanwhile--check this out it was so funny I have to share it.

Mom said "Im out of baking powder, so please pick some up for me after you finish work today, sure no problem.  She left the empty can on the counter for recycling..and check this out---I like the can so I decided to keep it to put pins or paperclips in, its small and has a tight lid SO I kept it...BUT Then I turned it over and noticed this on the bottom:

CAN you see that??? THIS baking powder is almost 20 years OLD--
(May 1992?????) omg I hope the biscuits still taste as good with the new baking powder!!

PEACE

WBW 30-Parenthood



SC State Bird the Carolina Wren

The wrens have 5 eggs in a flower pot on my deck--it must be a young mother she is very skittish, she flies off the nest every time I come on the deck...So Im trying not to bother her but I am hoping for some photos when they start feeding the hatchlings if they are successful at incubating them..Since she was already off the nest I grabbed my camera and got this shot of her eggs--I watched the couple build the nest before Memorial day and then one egg appeared then two, three, four and five then she started to sit --

5 Carolina Wren Eggs

IT was fun to see this busy MOM taking some time for herself--at the backyard SPA~

Female Eastern Bluebird

AND lets not forget the DADS they do their part too...This House Male Finch is taking his kid out for fast food!

Share your birding adventure with everyone at World Bird Wednesday!!

Carolina Wren Trivia: it takes about 12-15 days for the eggs to incubate..so hopefully Ill have some wren babies in a few days!!

PEACE

More About TN

Since nothing going right here right now, I wanted to share some landscapes of TN.  We passed through the Smokies on our way to the Cumberland Mountains..

Always fun to travel in this area-- the road is good although it gets steep and curvy in places...This is on I-40 Heading West.

Here's a classic view of the mountains of Eastern TN with "hollers" and "gulfs" separating the peaks, in the west they call these canyons and bluffs,

Its mostly farming in the area  and its not happening as quickly as it is in other areas, but some of the farm land is being eaten up by investors and wealthy developers...Sadly.  I will continue to enjoy these vast open spaces while its here.

The Layers of Green are a tradmark of the Applachian, Blue Ridge, and the Cumberland ranges, and in the valleys the great grasses for grazing animals are abundant. 

Back in the day buildings such as this one were the mainstay of moutain folk, this is an old School building inside the boundaries of Fall Creek Falls Park.

I can imagine my ancestor Elisha Wallen, the Long Hunter, staying in a cabin like this one while he waited for Daniel Boone and his hunting party to arrive...back in 1761 when he built a camp called Wallens Station in Lee Co VA, his descendants eventually settled in White Co, TN, and THUS I came to be!!

The fields always have some sort of wild flower growing!  This bed of wildflowers attracted some butterflies too.

Not all the critters we saw were willing to pose for us! Some thought we were acting like tourists who had never seen a COW before...

and some were just hanging out for our arrival...

I drove up into this farming area to visit a Graveyard!  It happens to be where my Grandfather and all the way back to my Great Great Great Grandfathers are buried..ITs a beautiful cemetery sitting on a breezy hill surrounded by this lovely country side..

I could certainly spend an eternity in this spot If I had to...this is Seitz Cemetery in Piney TN--and this is the view on the western side of the cemetery...

Overhead vireos and black and white warblers were singing away...and it was very peaceful

Couldnt get enough of the beautiful view from our room at the Inn, every room has a view!! Dang I want to go back~~~

Hope you're all having the kind of Weekend that Makes you Want to go Back!!
And have you noticed the new feature on the blog, the Location? Pretty Cool!

PEACE

WBW 29 Yonder Bird



American Goldfinch

 Ode to THE Birder

Oh Bird in the Sky

Flying so High

Dipping, soaring,

Gliding right by

ISO too low
F-stop too high

O-Aperture Priority

Shutter too Slow

OH DANG....

Where did that
Bird Go?

 S Hickman

Eastern Bluebird

Tripod or'e my shoulder
Out to field I go

Spirits er' a'soarin' 

Expectations grow-n

Or'e the stream
Around 'er bend 

Quietly he's waiting
There on yonder limb.

S. Hickman

Chipping Sparrow

Little Brown Bird    
Catching my eye

Sparrow or Wren
Taken to sky

Oh lark of yon' meadow
Take thee a rest

I'll snap a photo
Whilst you look
Your Best.

S. Hickman

Part of World Bird Wednesday...Share your Birds Too

PEACE