...random thoughts, opinions and secrets on children... aging... cooking... crafts... nature...divorce...second chances...
and whatever else I deem curious...
~Copyright 2017. Hootie~

Friday, October 31, 2008

A Visit From Tripod!

It's been just over a month since I last saw this gal! It was a spectacular, Fall/All Hallows Eve day in southern Indiana. In this first photo you need to look really closely and you'll see, just past the big tree, our three-legged deer in the woods.

She actually wandered into the yard and munched on the Serviceberry tree.

I've watched four-legged deer stand on their back legs and get berries. It's nice to know there are no obstacles standing in Tripod's way.

**********She seems to be surviving just fine.

Happy Haunting!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Kitchen Window Eye Candy



When I moved from my old house, I knew I would say goodbye to one of the birds I enjoy the most. Bluebirds are more of a field bird then a woodlands dweller. They do nest in cavities, but they prefer a more open area to live and raise their young. In a similar house setting to mine, my grandmother had hoped and prayed for Bluebirds to come and inhabit her wooded lot. After 10+ years of annual spring sightings, she finally had a pair of Bluebirds nest in the box she provided. It was true joy for her soul.

Within two months of moving into my old house I set up a Bluebird box, a birthday present from my Grams (the BB house) and my FIL (the pole), and was very successful in having Bluebird tenants over the years. My guesstimate would be that I witnesses 80 fledglings and their parents come through my boxes.

As a conscientious Bluebird enthusiast, when I moved a few months ago, I took my boxes with me. Not because they are great boxes, they are very worn and one needed to be thrown away, but because it was my responsibility. There is a certain code of ethics one must have when setting up a house for any bird. Non-native, invasive species need to be managed. Since I was moving, the birds I encouraged to roost all those years would now need to find others close by who would be as diligent in managing the area.

Recently I have put up the one salvageable Bluebird house I still have. Bluebirds can over winter in our area, but they do need boxes to retreat to in case of foul weather. I am hoping to encourage a pair of Bluebirds to reside here next spring! Planting the seed if you will. Since moving into the Burrow, I have heard several singers of the Bluebird song when I am out working in the yard. Last Sunday afternoon, I came home and saw a very familiar site out of my kitchen window. What a treat to actually see a pair of Bluebirds checking out my place!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Mix tapes...then and now...





As times have changed, the idea has not.

One of the nicest things to do for someone is to make them a 'mix tape'. In the olden days, when you liked someone you would take the time and compile enough songs to fill two sides of a cassette tape.
Even the order meant something. It's so easy to make 'tapes'...now CD's... today for certain events; travel, working out, sharing, sleeping, weddings, slide shows, etc.

Maybe my age, and the lack of receiving any mix tapes in the past 30 years, has made me melancholy. I wish the above old tape would play in a player still. As it has warped over the years no one can listen to it anymore. Thank goodness for iTunes. Gotta love the easy of downloading today. Still, I miss those days when I received my very own 'mix tape'.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

an oxymoron...

...working out on a treadmill while watching the FoodNetwork...