A bluebird finally sat still long enough on our deck railing for me to get some pictures through the sliding glass doors! He seemed to be waiting for a pair of goldfinches to finish splashing around in the birdbath.
As my chronic illness is making it harder to plan long walks and spend much time away from my home, the way we spend our days is changing. Most of my walks are now taken on a new treadmill, so I don’t have to worry about the weather or ticks or the location of the nearest restroom. I’ve fallen in love with tai chi and have also started resistance training to strengthen my bones. Tim gets plenty of exercise at cardiac rehab three mornings a week.
None of those activities make for good photo opportunities, though! We still try to visit the botanical garden once a week, as it has bathrooms for me and benches for Tim. But since we have so many birds right outside our windows we have started trying to make our garden even more inviting for them. We now have a birdbath and a suet feeder and a cylinder feeder, all of which are visited often.
We even hung up a little birdhouse. And much to our delight we have both seen a chickadee flying into it, on two separate occasions, but have yet to witness anyone coming out of it, even though we wait patiently.
I so wished I could attend one of the Hands Off! protests on April 5th! I was there with everyone in spirit, but my illness prevented me from being there in person. It was very encouraging to see from news reports and social media posts that a sizable (5.2 million protestors) resistance to tyranny exists and my hope is that we will find a way to prevail.
Freeze warning this morning. I brought my new potted geranium inside.
It is a challenge to adjust our lives to our body’s limitations. Our minds want to go like we are still young! I’m glad you are able to create a natural oasis in your yard. Gardening for wildlife benefits all. 🙂
You might be interested in Doug’s new book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Can-Help-Saving-Nature/dp/1643264710
It sure is a challenge but I am trying to embrace these changes with an open heart. It’s a lot! Thank you so much for the book recommendation, I see Douglas W. Tallamy has several books that all look like they’re right up my alley for this part of my life. 🙂 One thing I love about this place is that there is no lawn!
I like that last photo of the little guy if not shaking, at least showing off, his tail feathers. I’m also encouraged by the number of people who protested on Saturday.
Those goldfinch tail feathers were quite striking, not sure if this was a female or a non-breeding male. There was a bright yellow one nearby but I couldn’t get a decent picture.
Barbara, we do what we can … as long as we can. I’m glad you’re keeping active — that’s so important for keeping our spirits up. What good photos of the birdies you’ve shared with us! I love seeing the “backside” of the bird.
I don’t often see the backside of goldfinches! It was nice to have a chance for a good look at this one. It feels different to be so active inside the house and to be relaxing outside these days but I’m sure I will get used to it.
Hi Barbara, I’m so sorry to hear you’re dealing with a chronic illness. So very sorry. But I’m also so impressed how you managed to take such great photos and do tai chi and walk on the treadmill. You’re an inspiration for us all. Much love.
Thank you so much Rosie for your kind words and well wishes! It’s been a challenge finding a new way to find a balance in my life but I seem to be getting the hang of it. 💙 I hope you are well, my friend.
“Within walking distance of any spot on Earth there’s probably more than enough mystery to investigate in a lifetime.” ~ Alix Kates Shulman
Well, your temps dipped low enough to bring the geranium indoors, but Springtime in North Carolina will be getting warmer as the days roll on, so hopefully by the time the surge of heat and humidity have left and cooler weather prevails, you might be feeling better and can resume more outdoor activities. In the meantime, the botanical gardens is the perfect place to be to capture another photo or two to submit to next year’s photo gallery. You are lucky to have windows that look out to your bird sanctuary Barbara. The bluebird and goldfinch have discovered your home and will be back for many visits and I hope the chickadee decides to make a permanent stop in the birdhouse – they are so very cute.
It dropped into the 30s but didn’t quite make it to freezing. When Tim got the geranium out of the shed it was 55° in there so it looked fine. It was odd to go from the high 80s all weekend to the 30s by midweek. I bundled up to go out yesterday. The botanical garden does feel like a very safe place to enjoy a dose of nature. It’s hit or miss where the birds are concerned but there is always some plant to catch my camera’s eye. I do miss those long walks deeper into the woods but I have my memories and pictures to enjoy. I have high hopes about those chickadees, too. 🙂 Looking forward to seeing what I can learn from the book Eliza recommended, How Can I Help?: Saving Nature with Your Yard, too.
The weather is so erratic anymore. We’ll warm up this weekend, then cool off again next week. We also have a lot of rain the rest of the month (and through June). At least the wildflowers at your botanical garden weren’t damaged since you didn’t get a hard freeze. I hope you get chickadees – they will make for some cute photos and they are friendly too. My friend in New York has said they come and perch on her seed scoop when she is filling up the bird feeder. I just looked at that book – it looks interesting. I read a nature public service announcement today on Facebook for people to leave their yard cleanup a bit longer since we’ve had such cold temps and that will give the pollinators time to fully awaken and find new homes.
We’re seeing the a the chickadees at the feeder but haven’t seen them going in and out of the house again. Hopefully we’re just not looking at the right time to catch them. The weather roller coaster is crazy here, going from 90 to the 30s in two days. Keeps us on our toes — we never know what to wear when we go out the door.
I hope that is the case too – you turn your head or aren’t near the window. I find they like the sunflower seeds and peanut chips at the Park. They are not piggy with either, taking one seed or one chip, only a few times – very polite little birds. There are about a half-dozen of them at the Park. I hope you get a mated pair there. Your weather is worse than ours. We had about 72 degrees yesterday, then 30 degrees colder today. Friday it spikes to 78 and we get potential severe weather, so I’d rather it stays cold and no weather worries.
Now we have out third frost warning this month for tomorrow morning. I love chickadees, and the Carolina chickadees down here are just as cute and polite as the black-capped chickadees up north. 🙂 They sound a little different and are a little smaller but I honestly can’t tell the difference!
I really like the last photo of the goldfinch looking over its shoulder as if to wink at you to say “I see you!”
All we can do, Barbara, is to try different things that we think might help us feel better. I’ve been walking laps , 60 steps, 3 times one way then 3 times the other way inside my house, using my step ladder to practice stair climbing and using a bench for repetitive sit then stand then sit then stand without the assistance of my arms and hands all to build muscle strength throughout this winter. It helped as I was able to walk Yorkie on the bay sea wall 1,000 steps to celebrate her 13th birthday on Tuesday! I hope you and Tim feel better soon with the new routines!! 💙
Thank you, Teri. 💙 I think I know what you mean. If I sit at the table with my laptop for more than half an hour I get up and do laps inside the house, too. The treadmill is great for longer walks and I’m really enjoying listening to audio books while I walk on it. Walking releases those endorphins which lessen the pain, reduce my stress levels, and improve my mood by leaps and bounds. And the tai chi has the same effect. ‘Keep moving’ seems to be my mantra these days. I do that sit and stand exercise, too, as well as other resistance exercises. Congratulations on reaching your goal of 1,000 steps to celebrate with Yorkie! I bet she was over the moon to breathe in the salt air again!
So very nice of that bluebird to pose for you! They are so quick, I’ve long struggled trying to get a nice closeup. I’m sorry to hear that your illness keeps you from adventuring too far, but glad you are able to stay active. As I’m sure you remember winters and early spring in New England, getting outside for exercise is not always pleasant. We were unpleasantly surprised yesterday and today by a coating of snow when we woke up here! Yesterday’s melted by day’s end, so I’m hoping today’s will too.
Thank you, Karma! I have been struggling for a long time to get a bluebird closeup, too. I do remember how frustratingly long it took for spring to arrive in New England, and those occasional April snowstorms. It seems like winter is too long up there and summer is too long down here. Maybe there’s a sweet spot somewhere between here and there where spring and fall are more balanced with the other two seasons! Maybe Maryland or northern Virginia? The things I wonder about…