Caution... Feeding birds can be hazardous

I did my usual thing this morning and headed out to feed the birds.  I had an armful of bird suet, bird seed, etc.  I was making my way down the back porch to the back yard.  I was about 2 steps from the bottom and I slipped on the ice.  My legs went every which way and my knee twisted in a way that human knees are not supposed to twist.  I felt a big pop and there I laid on the ground.  I didn't know how I was going to get back into the house.  I started screaming and crying..... because it hurt so much and because I wanted Caleb to come out and help me.  After about 2 minutes I started to get embarrassed that one of the neighbors might hear me and I managed to crawl back into the house.   There sat Caleb.... "Caleb! Why didn't you come out and help me.  I was screaming and crying for you to help me!!".  Then Caleb says... "Well, I did hear you but I thought you were singing".  

I couldn't believe it.... "When do I ever SING outside Caleb!"

Caleb: "I thought you were enjoying your birds so much that you just broke out in song".

OK, now I am no longer crying and I am laughing hysterically.

My knee is still hurting a lot!  I'm giving it the weekend and if I need to go to the Dr. Monday I will.    

Go Cardinals... I think?

It's been a crazy busy week at work.  I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark.  I'm missing my family, my birds and my blogging.....  I have a few hours off of work his morning before I head back in again so I thought I'd do a quick post.  

Here is Mr. Cardinal that I captured at Sarett last weekend.  I could say that this photo was in honor of the Super Bowl this Sunday, that is if anyone in our house watched football.  Are we considered un-American because we don't watch football?  Sue at work was talking about the Super Bowl this week.  Our conversation went something like this:

Sue: The Super Bowl is Sunday

Jessica: Who is playing in the Super Bowl this year?

Sue: The Steelers and The Cardinals.

Jessica: OK, I'll cheer for the Cardinals because they are a bird.

Sue: I should have known!  

Do you do the WOOT?

Do you do the WOOT?  Do you even know what the WOOT is?  I discovered the WOOT a few years ago from watching our local news.  Our local news does a daily segment that mentions websites worth visiting and one day they mentioned WOOT.  WOOT features one item each day for sale, usually at a much reduced rate than you can purchase the same item for elsewhere.  They feature electronic items, small appliances, and many other things.  I don't really know why but I never miss a day without checking to see what the WOOT item of the day is.  I rarely purchase anything but it's fun to see what is offered and for how much.  The few things I have gotten include a Pentax 8mp camera for $80 (retail was $230!), an 8G memory card for $10, an indoor/outdoor thermometer, an i-pod docking system.  I've always been very happy with what I've gotten.  The items that I have purchased are new but occasionally they do offer refurbished items as well.  Go ahead and do the WOOT!       

Winter Sunbathing

Jordan and her good friend Lindsey decided to sunbath last weekend.... in ZERO DEGREES!

A beach towel and sunscreen, she's all set.

I guess the life jacket is in case she starts to drown in the snow.  

How does this load for you?

Hello Friends..... Please comment.

I have had several blogging friends comment that they have a really hard time loading my blog.  Even my husband who has super fast internet at work said that he notices it is slow for him too.  I kept my header but changed to a plain white background.  I sill think it looks nice and I'm hoping that it is easier for my friends to view.  Please comment and let me know if you too have had problems loading my blog and also let me know if it is faster for you now.  

Thanks!!

A day with the birds

Craig was busy today putting accessories on a Jeep for the fire department so I grabbed my camera and headed on over to Sarett Nature Center.  I bought a membership and the director of the facility gave me a tour of the new building and spent some time talking to me about birds... my favorite topic.  He was the nicest man.  He asked me if I had ever seen a Common Redpoll.  No, I hadn't but it was on my list of hopefuls.  He said they had about 4 hanging around.  

Sure enough!  Here is the little beauty.  He's really tiny.  Isn't he adorable?

And I spotted a Carolina Wren.  Some of my southern friends may wonder what's so big about spotting a Carolina Wren?  They rarely stay here in winters and I have never seen one before today.  

It's amazing how many birds you see there.  I guess that comes from years and years of constant feeding.  It's so fun to sit in the observation room and watch out the windows.  

Sarett just finished building a tree top walkway that looks amazing.  I started to make my way over to venture out on it but it was quite a hike away and I wasn't dressed for it.  I only had tennis shoes on and the snow was up to my knees so I changed my mind and headed back.  I'll return when I'm better prepared and check it out.  The director said they are especially excited to have the tree top walkway when springs comes around.  

I'm going to make Sarett one of my more regular stops.  

New Fallen Snow

We woke up to the most beautiful new fallen snow.

Who else but God can create such beauty?

My Kitchen Window

I've tried several times to get those bird feeders that suction to your window to work but I just can't get them to stick.  They always fall off.  So Craig hung a hook right next to the kitchen window so I could hang suet on it.  I love it!  Thank you Craig. And the Downy's thank you too. 

Outside view.

Inside view.

Also I'd like to encourage you to visit Pigeon today.  She has given us a real gift.  Make sure you linger long enough to listen to the whole song too.  

Just playing in the snow

Chicago/Grease

Caleb and I went to Chicago Saturday and saw the Broadway show Grease!  It was awesome!

We went with a group from the school.  I got to hang out with a bunch of "The Mom Friends" and Caleb got to see some of his high school friends.

Of course we had to have "Chicago" pizza for lunch.

Caleb & Lindsey....  

For our cottage friends and family

Jordan and Craig took the snowmobiles out for a ride yesterday to the cottage.

Craig made sure he took the camera so he could get some "winter" photos for our cottage friends and family.  Craig said that Delores had never seen a photo of her cottage in the winter. 

The snow is up to Jordan's knees.

This one is for you Delores.

Looks a lot different from all the summer meals we have on this picnic table. 

Craig says that you will need snowshoes to get back there. 

Look at the way the snow wraps around the roof. 

I think it will be awhile before we head out to the cottage for a swim.

House Finch or Purple Finch?

Can any of my birding friends help me with this?  I've been pretty proud of myself with all that I have taught myself in that last year about birds.  One thing I have trouble with is distinguishing between House and Purple Finches.  I'm confident that I have a LOT of House Finches around but this guy had so much red on him that I was wondering if it might be a Purple Finch.  Or maybe he's a House Finch that ate a lot of cherries.  What do you think?  And how do you tell the difference?  

Hungry Blue Jay

Northern Flicker

I was outside feeding the birds this morning when this beauty caught my eye.

At first I thought it was a Red Bellied but I soon realized it was a Flicker!!  And I just happened to have my camera around my neck.  What luck.  Check out the heart on the back of her head.  Isn't she beautiful?  I was snapping away a good 50 feet from her but then I got greedy and wanted some close ups.  I figured she would fly away but much to my amazement she let me get within 10 feet of her.  For a good 10 minutes she just let me have an amazing photo shoot with her.  

After I came in the house I looked up Flickers on the web and determined that she was a female because she doesn't have a black mustache like the males have.  I saw a Flicker twice this past summer but they were far away in the back yard on the ground where I couldn't get a photo of them.    

I'm so happy she stopped by.  She just made my morning!  

Pileated Woodpecker

Visit Pigeon to view a great photo of a Pileated Woodpecker.  She's posted about him last week when she spotted him in the woods.  Now she has successfully attracted him to her yard with suet.  I've told her how envious I am.  This is the only photo of a Pileated that I have ever gotten.  It was taken about a year ago in Grayling, Michigan.  I'm still hoping that someday I'll see one close to home.  Here birdy birdy.....

A new record

Craig and I drove up to Newaygo Saturday.  We didn't get up there until early evening so we didn't start our riding until Sunday morning.  Our friends, Glen and Sue, drove up Sunday morning and joined us.  

I was worried that the trails would be a mess from all the weekend traffic.  I didn't need to worry at all.  The trails were fantastic.... smooth with plenty of snow.  The most I have ever rode in one day before was 125 miles.  At the end of the day we had rode 165 miles!!!  For me that is a long ride.  We rode from Newaygo to Baldwin and back.  We were on the trails for almost 12 hours.  It was beautiful.  It was lightly snowing for most of the day.  

These were some friends that we met along the trail.  Their house was deep in the woods and they were excited that we stopped for a rest near their house.  The yellow lab chased me down the trail for some way when we left.  

I imagined that I would get some beautiful scenery shots but there wasn't a lot of time for that.  OK, next trip will be to the U.P...., right Honey?  

Finally!

Well, we did get a ton of snow in the last 24 hours but we are still headed up north to the Baldwin area to do some snowmobiling for a few days.  I wanted to do some sledding on different trails so away we go!  Have a good weekend.  I'll post some beautiful photos Monday.....