A Feather and A Song

This weeks Backyard photo, taken by yours truly is of Nathan (doing his best to suppress a smile) and Lindsay wearing my first two attempts at knitting clothing. You can't tell in the photo (or maybe you can), but Nathan's is a hoodie, while Lindsay opted for a more traditional crew neck style.

Looks like today is going to be another classic summery sunshine day. I've decided to take advantage of the solar rays and try making some yogurt, keeping it warm in the sunshine. I have the container, now all I need to do is find a spot where it's not likely to be disturbed, and won't get too warm. I'm thinking the heat regulation will be the most difficult aspect to achieve. Guess there's only one way to find out for sure. That's right. Another grand experiment.

Saturday Night at the Movies

Last nights weekly main event was Shrek The Third. Pa and I are both impressed by the ability of the Shrek folks to continue to put out entertaining sequels. It seems in most cases sequels steadily go downhill, but not Shrek. We've now watched 3 Shrek movies and all 4 of us enjoyed each successive one as much as the one before. I was unsure about obtaining the first one for viewing, as I had seen reviews saying it was inappropriate for children, something about being downgrading to girls and self esteem. We found the opposite to be true. We heartily recommend any and all of the Shrek films for family viewing.

The kids snuggly tucked in bed it was time for Ma and Pa's feature film of the evening. About the best thing I can think of to say about Whithnail and I is it was not disgusting. It also wasn't edifying in any way. Neither did we find it entertaining. Listed under comedies, we found ourselves searching for those laughable moments. We did manage a few chuckles, but those moments were limited. On a brighter note, it was Daniel's computer time, so at least he had something relatively interesting to divert his attention. From the ratings lists I've seen, obviously there are a lot of folks out there who would disagree with us on this one, so perhaps some of you might have a different take on it as well...


Birds of a Feather

This morning Pa was standing by the dining room table, gazing out the window, which is always a pleasant thing to do around here. Ya just never know what might show up in the birdfeeder, or flit by the window. Hummingbirds are usually the biggest thrill. They seem to enjoy the colorful suncatchers the kids have created and hung up in the window. When the hummingbirds check them out it seems almost as if they're coming up to the window to say hello. We always respond with a cheery "Good Morning", or other welcoming greeting.

This morning Pa witnessed something a bit out of the ordinary, one large, solitary feather spiraling straight down out of the sky. There were no trees directly above it's point of descent. Nothing but clear blue sky. It seemed so odd, so unlikely, that, thinking perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him, he ventured outside to investigate. There, laying on the ground, was a beautiful, large wing feather, bearing no signs of mangling. Now the 4 of us are having a fine time playing the guessing game. We know it's not a vulture. Nathan would like to think it is from a Falcon, which is possible as they are around, and have been seen swooping about in the sky above us, but we've pretty much narrowed it down to either a hawk or an eagle, both of which we see playing in the currents above our home this time of year.

We are fortunate to have many feathered visitors to our yard. Along with the hummingbirds, I count the bright yellow Western Tanengier as a favorite. Another colorful visitor is the Varied Thrush. Nathan is especially interested in birds, and has more than one feeder hanging out in the trees, in spots easily viewed from the windows of our home. He keeps those feeders well stocked and the result has been an increasingly varied assortment of birds. The Blue Jays visit the feeders on occasion, but they seem to prefer larger portions of food which are attainable elsewhere, leaving the feeders open for business to others. A side benefit to our increased bird population is the music. What to them I suspect is mere chatter, to my ear is a sensory delight. Just one more reason I love living in the country.