Mistaken Identity

I didn't make it to the festival I planned to attend today. Hubs had to work and I didn't think it would be much fun walking around by myself, so I went on a ramble through the countryside instead. I looked for fences, rubbish, birds, and other critters. I found some interesting stuff, but only 2 birds.

I was driving slowly down a country road when I saw what looked like an unusual bird sitting on a wire. I zoomed in, but still couldn't tell what kind it was.

I will say I couldn't wait to get home and upload all my pictures so I could drag out my bird book and find out what he was.

 Sadly, I didn't need to drag out the bird book. Upon closer inspection, it was quite obvious this was a by no means rare bird. Just another European Starling.

 Guess I hadn't seen one from this angle before. I see them all the time out by the feeders, where I'm looking down on them.

Linking to  Saturday's Critters & the Bird D'pot

Reflecting Dusk

It's Friday! Whoop! Whoop!

Linking to Weekend Reflections



Linking to Skywatch Friday

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm getting low on things to post, so Fergus and I are planning a ramble tomorrow. A small town near here has a festival. Maybe I will stop by to see what they have to offer. Plus, I'm always on the lookout for fences and rubbish.  Do you have any weekend plans?

I'm a little behind on commenting. Too much work time and not enough play time! I'll play catch up this weekend.

Remembering Uncle O on this, the 70th Anniversary of D-Day.

Modern and Rustic

Note to self—running low on fences. Looks like it's time for a ramble!

 This is a flowering shrub of some sort that grows next to the fence in our back yard.

This is a terrible shot. Don't you love how that pole planted itself right in the middle of the picture? This is the only section that looked like it was made from limbs found laying around in the woods. Which, of course, is the most interesting part of the fence. The rest looks mostly like a normal old fence.

Linking to Good Fences

Mr. Camouflage

I saw this robin strutting around near a tree at The Rez.

He saw me looking at him...

...and ducked behnd a tree.

It was then I noticed part of him had disappeared.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday


1. I've read several posts and status updates recently describing end of year school field trips. Do you remember taking school field trips as a kid? Where did you go and do you recall a favorite? For any parents responding today, have you ever chaperoned a school field trip, and if so where?

In grade school, we walked to The Rez here in town when we were studying trees and bugs. I loved getting outside and away from school. My favorite was when I was a Sophomore in high school, we went on a field trip to Turkey Run State Park in Indiana. It rained and I broke my glasses, but we had a blast.

2. What's something you're tired of seeing online?

Anything Kardashian!

3. June is the month for roses. Which of the following expressions would you say has most recently applied to your life-'everything's coming up roses', 'there's no rose without a thorn', 'came out smelling like a rose', or 'wearing rose-colored glasses'? 

All would have applied at sometime in my life, but right now I seem to be surraounded by negativity, so I think 'there's no rose without a thorn'.


4. When grilling outdoors do you prefer gas or charcoal? Who does the grilling at your house? What's the last thing you ate that was cooked on a grill?

I prefer charcoal, Hubs gas. Hubs grills and he fixed salmon last night.

5. Are you afraid of the dark?

Not particularly, but I can't stand to be inside with the lights on and the curtains or blinds open. If someone was lurking outside, they could see me but I couldn't see them. That scares me.

6. Share a favorite song with a number in it's title.

500 Miles

7. "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."(C.G. Jung). Do you agree? Why or why not?

I suppose, but I'll leave this question to the psychologists out there.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Daughter just booked the condo for our Floriday trip later this summer. I'm excited to have something fun to look forward to.


Linking to Wednesday Hodgepodge

Rubbish Tuesday #5

Welcome to Rubbish Tuesday #5.

Bro O has retired from farming, which means he doesn't need all those spare parts hanging around. He has been rounding up all the old equipment and sending it off to those who want it. This seems to be the last of it. Looks like old parts of combines or cornpickers to me.

This old wheel is decorating the side of Bro's workshop. I love these old rusty wheels. I don't know where it came from. I should have asked.

These are metal boxes in the courthouse. Wills are housed here. Several are from the late 1800's. The first box is from 1944. My grandmother's will is in the 1958 box.

Come join in the fun!  The idea is to post a photograph of anything old and/or deteriorating i.e. house, barn, outbuilding, something rusty, antiques, interesting junk, or something in pristine condition, but just plain old. 

The One That Almost Was

 Eastern Phoebe...oops! Thanks Tex...Eastern Kingbird. I always get those two mixed up.

 Eastern Kingbird glaring at me.

Baltimore Oriole. I have seen several posts featuring this bird and I have commented that I haven't seen one around here in years. Last night, I saw one. All I could see was a glob of orange in a tree far far away. Even with the camera zoomed to the max, this is all the better I could do. I almost got a shot of him, but at least I have proof I did actually see one. :)

I like finding wildflowers almost as much as birds. So, I'm ending with a common variety around here.

Happy Sunday!!!

Linking to the Bird D'pot

Runaway Bunnies

On the way back from the garden, we always watch for deer and other critters. I rarely get a good shot of these critters, but it is fun to see them and give it a try.

 Two deer were hanging out at the back of a field. Bad thing was, along the road, the fence row is grown up in trees and weeds. There was one little hole and Hubs found it.

 When I raised my camera, these two bunnies were posed perfectly. Not so much when I took the shot.

Linking to Saturday's Critters

Celandine Poppy. I found this little flower while walking through Douglas Hart Nature Center. It wasn't familiar to me, so I dug out my Illinois Wildflowers book, which says it isn't common in this area. It likes the southern most and northen most counties. Well, what is wrong with central most? Guess this one decided to give our area a try. The roots were once used to make yellow dye. Who knew?

Linking to Today's Flowers

Friday!!!

It's Friday! Woo Hoo!

Linking to Skywatch Friday

Linking to Weekend Reflections

As Hubs and I were trekking through the nature reserve, we happened on to this. The Bat Cave! I knocked, but Batman wasn't home.

Happy Friday!

A Blue Fence Post

The Illinois River

I'm not sure what this pavillion is used for, but it provided shade for the grands and daughter while I took massive amounts of duck and geese pictures. They used to complain about my taking so long, but now they merely accept their fate.

Lots of blue fencing.

How about a blue fence with a pigeon behind it.

Blue fencing everywhere.

Linking to Good Fences

Angry Birds and a Little Hodge Podge

It seems like the only birds I can get close enough to take pictuers of are these angry old red-winged blackbirds. 

 Mrs was hanging out showing me her pretty chin.

Mister was yelling at me.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday




1. What news story are you following right now? 

The Oscar Pistorius trial and news about the VA. Hubs is a veteran, thus the interest. I think it is terrible the way our veterans are treated after risking their life for their country. 


2. What's the last thing you wanted but didn't get?

One of those mega expensive cameras. For the price, they surely travel to the location by themselves, scope out the unusual birds, and bring home a magical shot. I'm still dreaming. 


3. May 28th is National Hamburger Day...when did you last have a hamburger? Other than your own kitchen or BBQ grill, where is your favorite place to go for a hamburger? And for all you non-meat eaters out there...when you're invited to a cookout what is the one side dish you hope is on the menu?

Hubs cooked burgers on the grill on Memorial Day. My favorite place to eat a hamburger is Burger King. Not THAT Burger King, but the mom and pop store in Mattoon, IL. Our Burger King has been in business since 1954. A lawsuit was filed over the name. The 1968 court case between this restaurant and the larger Burger King is a well-known case in United States Trademark Law. The court ruled that THE Burger King could not use the name in a 20 mile radius of Our Burger King. So, the little guy won one for a change. 60 Minutes even came to town to do a story. Now they are famous.


4. How have your priorities changed over time?

My house is no longer my priority. I have no problem taking off on Saturday morning to do something I want to do rather than spend the day cleaning. I get to it when I don't have anything better to do, or when I'm expecting visitors. There was a time you could eat off my floors. Now, not so much.


5. What's a favorite memory with your grandparents?

Getting off the bus at Grandma's house every Wednesday after school. Grandma would make dinner for me, with a special dessert, and then we would retire to the living room and watch The Virginian. 


6. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being fantastic!), how good are you at multitasking? Share an example.

Before adult A.D.D. set in, I was very good. Now I seem to be spinning my wheels some days.


7. How would you summarize your highs and lows for the month of May?

High—warm weather and flowers.
Low—I turned yet another year older.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Sorry to end on a downer, but I have a friend who has been battling cancer for a long time. Yesterday, she was taken to the hospital. Worried.

Linking to Wednesday Hodgepodge

Rubbish Tuesday #4

It was off to the garden last evening. We didn't plant anything else, but Hubs finished tilling between the rows. We still have pumpkins to plant. We like to put pumpkins out in our front yard in October—with a FREE sign. They go fast.

On the way down to Bro O's farm where our garden is, we pass this house. It has looked like this for as long as I can remember. It looks like it is painted gray from this shot, but it doesn't have any paint at all. It does have a very good roof. A very nice couple lived there. First he passed away, and then she followed. After that, his brother would drive down from the Peoria area every weekend, in good weather.  They stayed in the house. Now he has passed.

It appears someone else has moved in. Probably a relative. There is a red pickup truck parked in the machine shed.

The yard, and it is a very big yard, is always manicured, in sharp contrast to the deteriorating house.

 This is Bro O's very old back hoe. It still works and he uses it frequently.

An old log chain.

And I found this old weather vane in the implement shed. Only a farmer would have a tractor weather vane, right?

How do you like that fancy dancy door he has put up on his machine shop? It is a leftover from a home rennovation.

Another Crabby Critter

After the squirrel gave me a tongue lashing (see the post below), probably because there were babies in their nest and LL and Fergus were being too noisy, I got another scolding last evening down at the garden.

Not by a squirrel this time, but by a red-winged blackbird. I was minding my own business, putting tomato plants in the garden when this guy kept flying over with his mean bird chirp on. After I finished with the tomatoes, okra, yellow squash and zucchinni, and while I waited for Hubs to finish tilling a row for the hot peppers, I got out my camera. Here he is trying to decide whether or not I dug the 410 out of the gun rack or if the contraption pointed at him was harmless.

Guess he thought he could scare me away with this red shoulders. Little did he know that if I really had a 410 and was of the sort to shoot birds, his goose would have been cooked. Fortunately for him, I don't shoot birds with anything other than my camera.

Since the Mister wasn't having much luck scaring me away, Mrs decided to give it a try.  She wasn't successful either, but Hubs had the garden ready for more plants, so I left them alone. Mister, however, kept flying over with his crabby on.

Linking to  the Bird D'pot

What's in the box?

Back to last Saturday and a visit with Tex and the Grands. (I should explain. Daughter's nickname is Tex but is not related to TexWisGirl. Daughter merely grew up in Texas, so up here in middle-of-nowhere Illinois, she is often referred to as Tex) Anyway, back to my story...

Fergus was in the back yard playing with his best friend and my youngest grandson, LL.

When suddenly Fergus saw a box, slowly moving across the grass toward him. Oh my! What could it be?

Oh, it was only LL trying to confuse the Ferg. LL and Fergus were running, chasing each other, playing catch with the basketball—basically having a ton of fun—when a fierce chattering began high up a tree in the neighbor's back yard.

Seems Mr. Squirrel wasn't happy with all the noisy laughter. He climbed down from the tree and jumped onto the roof over playground equipment in another neighbor's yard. He continued his rant...

...and continued his rant. So I told him a thing or two and got out my camera.

Mr. Squirrel didn't like having his picture taken, so he took his bad self up into the leaves in a poor attempt to escape the camera lens—all the while still giving us a lecture. Ha! I got him anyway.

Linking to Saturday's Critters

Right Side Up and Upside Down

Last Saturday I woke up feeling a bit restless. I didn't feel like dancing with Mrs. Mop, so I loaded Fergus up in the car and headed north to see Daughter and those magnificent grands of mine.

About 10 minutes north of town, I saw this flooded field and the barn. Of course there was a car riding my bumper so I waited until I got to the next intersection, made a u-turn, drove back by the barn, made another u-turn, stopped in the middle of the road and took this picture...

...and this picture. As you can see the farmers have their corn planted before the rain, but the rain was a little too heavy. I suspect this farmer will need to replant part of this field. Hopefully it won't be too late by the time the ground dries.

Linking to Weekend Reflections and Skywatch Friday

A Horse Barn Needs a Good Fence and a Dog

On one of those rambles through the countryside...

...I found this horse barn.

  With a fence...

 ...up on a hill.

Or, how about a boy, a dog, and a trampoline in front of a fence or three?

Linking to Good Fences

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard

Last weekend on the Illinois River.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday