View this morning:
Today is going to be spent quietly, and every tiny task crossed off the list will be celebrated with a sense of accomplishment out of all proportion to the actual endeavor. It's been a challenging week, and I am not feeling my best. I intend to be as kind to myself as I would be to someone else. It's an experiment.
Meanwhile, here are a few images of visitors to the Wildlife Area,
taken over the past week:
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| A chickadee, the official Commonwealth Bird, about to fly off with a sunflower seed. |
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| A bluebird(!) waiting for a turn at the water basin or a feeder. |
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| Two mourning doves resting in the young maple. |
And three varieties of woodpecker!
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| "Hairy Woodpecker" |
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| "Downy Woodpecker" |
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| "Red-bellied Woodpecker" |
The lack of imagination - and observational skill - and relevance! - involved in the "common naming" of woodpeckers has always baffled me. I am sure we can do better.
Let's think about it, shall we?
And finally, although it IS snowing at the moment and has BEEN snowing for many hours, it has NOT snowed every day this past week. So here is one character who lacks neither observational skills nor imagination:
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| grey squirrel |
I'm so glad the red squirrels and grey squirrels seem to have reached an agreement to coexist here in peace. I have even watched one grey squirrel and one red squirrel play together, and I watched them for quite a while before feeling convinced that's what they were doing. Made me very happy.
I hope you're weekend is shaping nicely!
~~~~~
I'm so sorry you're not feeling great - hopefully whatever is causing it passes soon. In the meantime looks like you have plenty of entertainment outside your window.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned the bluebird waiting a turn at the water basin - am I to assume that the experiment has been a success?
Everybody gets a turn at the water and the feeders, sooner or later. I used to keep more feeders up, but having just two seem to be working very well!
DeleteAlways a good policy to treat yourself as kindly as you treat other people. You're a kind and astute and tactful person, so I'm glad you're giving yourself the advantage. And I hope the ills pass, those that can, that is.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice comment. Thank you very much, Liz.
DeleteSorry to hear you've not been feeling well. Definitely take care of your self and go slow as much as you can. Great photos! And you are so right -- who was tasked with naming the woodpeckers. Surely they could have done a better job. Love watching birds and squirrels. Sadly, some jerk apparently had a squirrel here -- how, I have no clue -- and released it at the park in my neighborhood. I've not seen it myself but someone on IG sent me a picture she had taken. I took nuts with me the next day and had a look around to see if I could find it, but no luck. Don't know that it can last long in this environment. Some people are just real jerks. Take care.
ReplyDeleteOn a Ranger-guided walk on one of the Florida Keys, someone in the group dropped a snail into the hood of the sweatshirt tied around my neck. It was a species with a population restricted to that particular Key. Fortunately I noticed the snail when I was on the boat back, and was able to give it to the Ranger to return. So at least I was not responsible for introducing a species to another Key!
DeleteA day of self- care sounds just like what you need. Enjoy every minute of it
ReplyDeleteI think I need a lot more practice ;)
DeleteGreat photos! Bad squirrel (but clever!). I hope you've had a nice weekend.
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly happy to see the acrobatic grey squirrels again. For a while it really seemed they had disappeared, and I was wondering if there was some new squirrel plague.
DeleteI trust the weekend was restorative after the challenging week. May this be a better week.
ReplyDeleteThat bluebird must be so thankful for the mealworms you provide. I think 'flicker' is a pretty wonderful name...but 'hairy'?!
Chris from Boise
The mealworms are an indulgence (for me, not the birds) but I am SO enjoying the bluebirds! I briefly considered trying to raise the mealworms, but I'm not sure it would be economical in the long run.
DeleteI hope you are feeling better. Spring is near.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I am :)
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