Young 'uns

As I often do on my way in to work, I drove by The Rez to check on the Geese living there and this is what I found...

 Goslings! The babies have arrived. I didn't think it would be long since I have only been seeing one hanging out on the water. Still I was a little surprised.

 They were all intersted in finding snacks in the grass...

...not paying any attention to me...

...but someone was.

 When I got to work, I found this little guy singing me a song. Or not. More than likely he was singing to one of those cute little ladies he was trying to woo.

Mr. Sparrow was sitting on a ledge to the right of the rounded part of the window on the far right. My desk is inside the 2nd window from the right, on the ground floor, just behind the air conditioning unit. The old unit was a lot shorter. When we got this new one, I discovered I was sitting in the obstructed view section!

Do you know what the obstructed view section is? A several years ago, my fella at the time and I went on a baseball vacation, seeing games in St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. We didn't have advance tickets, we merely hoped there would be seats available and there were. This was before the demise of all the old stadiums in these cities. In Detroit the scalpers were out in force offering obstructed views. We decided not to try them even though they were really cheap. What we discovered was, basically you watch the game on a TV bolted to the huge support beams that blocked your view of the field. We made a wise choice in avoiding them even though that scalper was pushing them hard.

Linking to Saturday's Critters

Reflections and Clouds

These are more shots from Douglas Hart Nature Center. 

The wind was blowing causing ripples in the water. Makes the trees look crooked.

Linking to Weekend Reflections

Wednesday night we were expecting rain. The clouds came, but no rain fell.

Linking to Skywatch Friday

Happy Friday!

A Fence, A Fence, and a Railing

Now that we have Good Fences, I'm always on the lookout for something out of the ordinary, as fences go. I'm not finding any unusual fences, but I did find these.

This one is along the road leading to The Rez. There were lots of dandelions and tiny purple flowers along this fence.

 I found this fence bordering the pond at the Douglas Hart Nature Center. ..

...along with this walkway which leads to a view of the wetlands. We saw a lot of geese and ducks enjoying their wetland experience, so we were on our way to a closer view. That's Hubs up ahead. I'm always way behind. That darn camera of mine is always stopping to take pictures.

Linking to  Good Fences

Swallow and the Hodge Podge

Sunday, since it was a gorgeous day outside,  Hubs and I went for a walk through Douglas-Hart Nature Center. One trail led up to an area preserved to look like the prairie did when settlers first moved here.

 I took this picture and then saw a bird land on the bird house. 

The swallow perched there, looking around, waiting long enough for me to take a couple of shots.

He wasquite a distance away, but you get the idea.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday


Moving on to today's Hodge Podge questions...

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Are you blooming where you're planted as we begin the month of May?

The most prolific blooms here are from the dandelions. I drove past a field Sunday that was about 50% yellow. I don't have any flowers blooming in the yard yet, but there are blossoms on the flowering trees. 

2. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being no big deal, and 10 being full scale panic, rank your fear of spiders.

10! I once saw a spider about as large as my fist (or so it seemed at the time) crawling across the floor toward my son's bedroom. It was late at night and I was home alone. I was afraid to stomp on it or hit it with something for fear it would jump on me. I ran into the kitchen and searched through a cabinet for some kind of bug or spider killer...nothing! I grabbed a can of oven cleaner and ran back to the spider. I sprayed most of the can on him. He was covered in foam and still crawling. As I watched I saw he was slowing down... slower...slower...and then came to a full stop. His legs gradually curled up under him, signaling his demise. I went outside to get the shovel, scooped him up and deposited him outside in the edge of the woods. I now know it was a harmless Wolf Spider, but at the time I had no idea. In my mind he was a tarantulla and I was afraid it was going to eat my prescious little boy. 

3. May is National Salad Month (who knew???)...besides lettuce, what are two must-have ingredients in your favorite salad?

In the winter - cucumbers and celery. In the summer - fresh garden tomatoes and cucumbers.

4. I mentioned on my blog last week that my Daughter1 will be moving to Washington State after she is married. Of the following sites in the Northwest, which would you most like to see in person-Crater Lake (Oregon), Seattle (Washington), Vancouver (British Columbia), San Juan Islands (Washington),  Mt. Rainer (Washington) Oregon Coast (Oregon), Mt. St. Helens (Washington), or Olympic National Park (Washington)

This is one of the areas I've never visited. I once flew in to Seattle for a job interview, but only saw the area from the ariport to downtown. I didn't take the job. I decided it was too far away from my family. So, I would pick Seattle to explore first and then head out to each of the other areas mentioned. Because if I go that far and spend that much money on air fare, may as well get my money's worth.

5. This coming weekend marks the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby...when did you last race (literally or figuratively) to cross a finish line?

High school track. I like to catch trains when driving down a road beside a railroad track, but there isn't a finish line.

6. What is something little you love?

I have a pocket watch that belonged to my paternal grandmother. My grandfather gave it to her as a wedding gift. It doesn't work, but it is beautiful and the sentimental value is way up in the millions.

7. Would you say you are more of a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner? Elaborate.

Kinesthetic. I can watch someone else do something or be told how to do it, but it will not stay with me unless I do it myself and then practice. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about retirement lately. Some of my friends are retiring or have retired.  I've pretty much decided I'm against it. It sounds nice in theory, but I think I would miss the daily routine. It isn't a decision I have to make today. Perhaps by the time I arrive at that magical age I will be ready.


Linking to Wednesday Hodgepodge

Rubbish Tuesday

I found this old barn on the River Road last spring, I think. I went back to find it last weekend, but didn't see it. Not sure if I was distracted by a bird or something on the opposite side of the road or if it has been torn down. I plan to go look for it again when the leaves are out.

I like that it is nearly  hidden in the trees and saplings growing up around it.

Okay, so I messed up the linkey again. I was using TexWisGirls example from her fence meme and didn't correct the language. It should say post old stuff, not fences and gates. lol  One day I will get this thing right!

Link it up

Monday, Monday

Why is it two days at home are a flash and two days at work drag by? Monday is here again!

I spent a large part of the weekend playing frisbee with our pup.

Have you heard that Border Collies are one of the smartest dog breeds? Actually, not one of, THE smartest breed according to Animal Planet. Poodles and German Shepards are next in line.

Below is our much loved Fergus, yes, you got it, a Border Collie. He is extremely intelligent in every aspect except one. When tossing a ball or a frsibee, he is great at catching them, but it's the release he has trouble with. He refuses to give up the ball or the frisbee. Instead of bringing it back, he lays down to have a chew.

I don't know how to solve this problem. Perhaps I need more frisbees to get him to let go of one and catch the other.

Any suggestions?

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Linking to Mosaic Monday

Tomorrow is Rubbish Tuesday. I hope you will join in and post your old and/or deteriorating i.e. house, barn, outbuilding, something rusty, antiques, interesting junk, or something in pristine condition which just happens to be old. 

Grackle and Geese

Thunderstorms and a high of 76 degrees. Can't complain about the temperature, but Hubs has the day off from his part time gig at Home Depot and we were hoping to actually do some things outside.

 Like mow the lawn and then take a walk through the nature center looking for birds other than sparrows and grackles.

Yesterday Fergus went with me to The Rez to check on Mr. and Mrs. Goose. They were sunning themselves on the bank until we got a little too close.

Then they went for a swim out into the middle where they were safe.

Linking to the Bird D'pot