Thankful for Fathers

Wishing all the Fathers a Happy Day!

I am so thankful and blessed to be celebrating this Father's Day with my Dad.

I am thankful that my Dad was a hard-worker, a provider and source of strength for our family.

I am thankful he's still going strong at the age of 85.

I am thankful for his love for his family.

Happy Father's Day Dad, I love you!

Sharing with Weekly Top Shot, Your Sunday Best

Till next time,

Yup, You Guessed It!

More hummingbird shots!

As I was sitting in my chair on the patio trying to aim my camera between a tree and the shepherd's hook it suddenly dawned on me that if I turned the hook around, the feeder would be a few feet closer AND I wouldn't have to move around so much to get a clear shot.  Hmmmm!

After rearranging the hook and the feeder, it didn't take long before a hummer was on its way down to get a drink.  This one didn't even care that I was MUCH closer now!

There were several times I thought I might get dive-bombed as several of them hummed and buzzed around me while chasing another hummer away.  I just held my camera up to my face and hoped that I wouldn't get pummeled during the chase!

Thankfully, for my sake, they're pretty accurate when flying at such high speeds!

Update on my other feathered friends project...

the duck pond is coming along.  Here is a photo of the end of the last workday with my Dad.

Since then, I have made a ramp at the far end (by the fence) so the ducks can walk in and out and I've dug about a foot more on the right side to make it ten feet across.  I have also dug several more inches to make it deeper.  I am currently about 14 inches deep.  Another four inches to go to make it a foot and a half deep.  Plenty of swimming and diving room for the ducks!

Dad is coming over again today and hopefully we'll be able to get the rest of it dug out, the plumbing done for the drain and possibly get the liner down.  That would be SO exciting!  The tricky part about the pond is the fact that the land slopes.  So, we've got to try and make it somewhat level so that I don't have a lopsided pond when it's filled up.  It's gonna be a full day's work but hopefully we're up to it!

    

Till next time,

Hyperactivity at the Homestead

OK, maybe not hyper, but there was definitely a lot of activity around the ol' homestead yesterday.

What started out to be a rainy day in the early morning hours...

turned into a lovely afternoon.

I filled both hummingbird feeders with fresh sugar water that morning after the rain had stopped.  Which, by the way, we had four lovely days in a row of rain.  My flower and veggie gardens are so happy!

This particular feeder is the one I can see out my office window.  I also have a couple of chairs maybe about four feet from this feeder.  I can sit in the chair and it doesn't bother the hummers one bit that I'm so close.

These were all taken while I was sitting in the chair by the feeder.

 

I also gave the squirrels some food in their feeder.

Only one squirrel is allowed on the feeder at one time.  I don't know who came up with that rule but they all stick by it.  That is, until somebody decides that the one on the feeder has been there long enough!  As they're chasing each other, another squirrel jumps onto the feeder and takes over.  It's quite entertaining to watch.

You lookin' at me?

I also added bird seed to the bird feeders.

I sat in the chair on the patio for maybe thirty minutes and was able to capture all this activity.  It was wonderful!

There's still a lot of activity today but it is extremely windy and cool outside.  I'm opting to stay on the front porch!

Till next time,

Local Residents

We have a nice variety of birds that have permanently taken up residence in our trees.

Among them is the Tufted Titmouse.

I think this one was posing for me.

Make sure you get my good side!

A soggy Titmouse after taking a dip in the birdbath.

This male Cardinal has lived here for several years now and is a year-round resident.

How do I know this?

Well, he loves to look at himself!

He flies from the window of any vehicle to the top of the mirror.

And then back again.

All throughout the day I can hear the tapping sound of him hitting the window.

Such a silly bird!

As I sit at my computer writing this post, there is a
steady stream of our seasonal residents hitting the feeder.

(These shots were taken through my dirty window, sorry!

I guess I'd better get off the computer and do some Spring cleaning, heehee!)

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird


Speaking of Spring cleaning, I find it hard to be indoors during the Spring.
How 'bout you?
Who wants to be Spring cleaning indoors when the weather and scenery is so beautiful outdoors!

Time to get outdoors!

 

Till next time,

 

Sunday Blessings

I have more shots of hummingbirds to share with you.

I hope you won't get tired of them because I have more and more

hummers showing up at the feeders even while I'm sitting

in a chair maybe five feet from one of the feeders and I

can't resist the challenge of capturing them with my camera.

A female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird...

One question I want to ask the Lord when I meet Him one day, is why

He made the male birds so much more colorful than the females.

Inquiring minds would like to know!  (Or at least mine would!)

Silhouette of a male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird...

See the splash of red on his throat?

I posted this one earlier in the week but you can see the ruby throat much better in this photo.

It amazes me how those tiny wings can go so fast literally making a

humming sound letting me know one is approaching the feeder.

My God and Heavenly Father, the creator of heaven and earth, is truly amazing!

20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life,

and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth,

which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind,

and every winged fowl after his kind:  and God saw that it was good.

22And God blessed them, saying,

Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas,

and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.  Genesis 1:20-23

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Sharing with

Till next time,