Red Trucks and Birds

You may recall me saying "All I want for Christmas is a vintage truck..."

Well, my sweet sister-in-law and family got me one for Christmas! Only this red truck is a bird house and feeder! I hung it from the gazebo and filled the bed up with bird seed. Seems as if the birds finally discovered it while I was eating my lunch yesterday! I looked out the window to find a mockingbird perched on the truck, so of course that meant I had to get my camera out! 

I'm not sure what this first little bird is (can anyone help me out?) I knew if I went out the door, it would scare him away, so I shot through the glass door.

I called this one "You looking at me?"

 Our "screen door" is missing its screen. I was able to raise the glass and still stay in the house to get a few more pictures, so I wouldn't scare the birds away. I was able to catch the mockingbird's picture this way.

 I got the stink eye for telling her she was "an over-sized load!"

Love all of the birds expressions! I had fun watching them for a few minutes and capturing a few pictures, before I got back to work. The tree limbs around the yard added to the blurred effects on the pictures.

They just about emptied the truck bed this afternoon, so it looks like I need to load her up again soon! There was several more birds in the yard this afternoon and their was a line to take a turn in the red truck! It'll be fun to see the activity and maybe I'll get a cardinal picture.  Hopefully this spring, we can also get pictures of someone nesting in the cab of the truck.

Do you feed the birds? It's been a while since we've put out seed in a feeder, although judging by the bird population, they have been finding things to eat and shelter in our yard. 

Baby Cardinals

Last Monday, I discovered a nest of baby cardinals in the bushes right beside the gazebo. In fact, as I watered plants, I could look over the gazebo rail and see them. You may remember my Cardinals and Grandmama story from the winter. All year, I've been working on a "For The Birds" theme and found something bird related on every junkin' trip leading up to our show last weekend. Sunday when I came home from the show, there was a different bird sitting on the gazebo rail as he was learning how to fly. Then on Monday, I found this nest. When the cardinals flew out of the bushes, I was able to identify what these ugly little things were! Today, one week after finding the nest, Jeff alerts me that my babies are leaving the nest. I was really surprised it was so soon, but according to my search, they are only in the nest 9-11 days before flying away. They have chirped all day as they cling to tree branches and get brave enough to flutter through the yard. The daddy cardinal has been coaxing them along a lot and give me a few ugly looks as I observed them. Hope you enjoy the pictures of the cardinals!

Monday - the day I discovered the babies.

Monday - wee little babies.

Friday afternoon - yikes!

Saturday evening - big difference in a day! 

Sunday evening - that nest is getting crowded.

Monday morning - Baby number 1 made his way to the Bridal Wreath in the yard. 

Monday morning - bird #2 left the nest

Monday morning baby 3

"What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?" - e.h.

 I finally got a picture of the red bird, although he wasn't too happy with me! (I've tried off and on since December to get his picture.)

 He would coax and call to the babies and bringing them food. I can't tell exactly what he has in his mouth. I left them alone and went back inside to work, expecting that they would be gone this afternoon.

Late this evening, I went outside to photograph some wedding bouquets I had finished today and heard lots of little chirping going on. They were still here! Bird 1 was sitting in the crepe myrtle in the center of the yard, eye height, and I was able to get lots of pictures of him. I could have reached out and grabbed him up easily, instead, I just took lots more pictures and a video of him. 

 I mean, they are so ugly they're cute!

 Those toes, that fuzz! I shot some of these in macro, about a foot away from him!

 Birdy #2 was in another bush in the yard, but I never found the last one. I think he was in the trees beyond the yard fence.

 I'm glad my yard can be a place for the birds to live. I don't buy feed for them, but our yard and surroundings provide for them and I sure like getting to witness their journey as they find their wings and fly away (or maybe they will all stay here!)

Now, I'm an empty nester...

Cardinals and Grandmama

There's the saying that "When a cardinal appears in your yard, it's a visitor from heaven." 

After our last market, I hung my upside down Christmas tree in the gazebo. I'll admit, it's too big for the gazebo, BUT before I had a chance to change it up/take it down, we've discovered the prettiest Cardinal has claimed the tree! Almost every evening late, if you walk out to the gazebo, it flies out of the tree. One night, we just watched each other for a magical few seconds, before it flew away.

So far now, the tree stays in the gazebo...❤️

Now, I must add, from a young child, I stayed at Grandmama's house a lot. I guess she liked red birds too, because I don't think one failed to be in her back yard, that we didn't point it out to each other. We stood at the back sliding glass door and watched the cardinals. So now, I always think of her, when I see a red bird. 

I went to the cemetery this week, to delivery Christmas flowers to my family. It's something I do each spring and December. In Grandmama's old flowers, there was an abandoned bird nest and one little egg. 

I tell myself that the mama bird raised the other 2,3, or 4 babies successfully and from a place marking death, came life. 

Now her and Granddaddy have new Christmas flowers. I do believe my love of flowers, gardening, cooking sweets, and sewing came from Grandmama. I wish I had watched and learned so much more from her and that she was still here for me to share what I'm doing with her. But in a way, I guess she still is...

If I take my camera outside, I either see no cardinal or it flies away quickly. Maybe one night, I'll eventually get a picture of the cardinal and the tree in the gazebo. The pictures with the red birds are from 2011, when we had snow and ice.