Day 311 - 7th November 2014 - Cobweb, Juncos, Indigo Bunting, Goldfinches and Woodpecker

Another wet day, well I'm off to town anyway so I guess it doesn't matter too much.  Have a couple of appointments and time to take a friend to lunch for her birthday, we are only a couple months late but seems we never good quite fit it in there.  Really the day of the event is usually busy so maybe later is better.  Does't sound like a birding day to me.
Thursday was a good day even though it started raining around lunch time. Morning wasn't bad but a bit raw. I was sitting on the deck while Larry feed the birds around 7 am and a female Downy Woodpecker landed on one of the feeders, she was probably less then 4 feet from our back door, he went in and out and she continued to pull sunflower seeds from the feeder and eat. She arrived back in the afternoon and I got some photos. Finally about supper time she discovered the suet and settled on that. Quiet on my morning walk, but the feeders were busy all day. Started with about 5-6 American Goldfinches but my lunch time there were 24 or more. Blue Jays, Grackles, Mourning Doves, White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Song Sparrows and Chickadees. The best visitor was a new one for me - Indigo Bunting. I finished the upstairs, made some good healthy soup (Larry is getting a man cold) and still had time to sit at the kitchen window watching the action.

Cobwebs and raindrops.

 Female Junco.

 Male Junco.

 The American Goldfinches were a busy bunch.

 The Indigo Bunting.

 Red-Breasted Nuthatch trying to break through the Godlfinches to get at the feeder.




Where there's a will there's a way!

Female Downy Woodpecker - not one bit shy either.








Enjoy your day!

Day 310 - 6th November 2014 - Clouds, Roses and a Crow

I see a few stars in the sky this morning, but they are giving a chance of showers later. Temperature is +3.5. Well my plans are to roam the hood some this morning, then I've got to tackle the one last room upstairs - and I've saved the worst for last. My clothes/shoe room. There will be  considerable purging here today! If I've not worn it in the last season - it's going.  This will no doubt use up a good portion of the day.
Beautiful sunrise Wednesday morning but by lunch time it had turned overcast and looked like rain wasn't far off. It held off I got my running around, errands done and remained dry! Wasn't much happening on the waterfront - all I saw in the harbour was one lone Cormorant and a couple of Crows on the grass and of course the usual pigeons hanging out around..  Didn't see anything in bushes or trees either. Home for left over chicken and a lazy evening.

 A rather weird sky with the sun coming through.

 An old rusted piece of machinery.

I was suprised to see Roses still in bloom along the waterfront. This one is showing signs of age.

 My favourite color.

 Several pots of  Impatiens were still flowering as well.

Looking for breakfast!







Enjoy your day!

Day 309 - 5th November 2014 - Berry, Leaves, Hammock and Dill

Off to town this morning - errands, etc. Overcast and cloudy this morning - no stars in sight. Looks like it will be a nice day though they are giving a 30% chance of rain but it is a little warmer. Already it's +6.9 a change from the last few days. More rain coming for Thursday/Friday. It's beginning to get tiresome. I think we have enough!
It was another cool day but the sun felt warm when you were in it. Not as cold as Monday, but I kept a fire going in the furnace. I got out for my morning walk, but it's so quiet these days, didn't even see the ducks, just a lone Chickadee.  Lexi and I were out a couple of times, could hear the White -breasted Nuthatch in the trees, beautiful afternoon for a roam. Spent some time out in the yard picking things up to put away for the winter - butterfly baths, lights, etc. Managed to get the spare room and the bathroom cleaned up. One more room left upstairs - that will get done on Thursday.

 Not many red berries left in the woods, some branches only have 1 or 2.

 An empty hammock - dreams of warm summer afternoons.

 A few red leaves left.

 But most are more like these.

 A lovely afternoon on the lake, with the water up, you can't see the stone walk ways from island to island anymore.

 Believe it or not, this is a pea sprouting in the kitchen garden. Umm... maybe we'll have a winter crop.

 Not particularly an attractive photo but I think it's rather interesting.

Still have some Dill.









Enjoy  your day!

Day 308 - 4th November 2014 - White-Breasted Nuthatch, Blue Jays and Chickadees

Another morning I slept in - I'll take what I can get. Maybe this time change isn't so bad after all. Stars are all out, should be a nice day, temperature is +1.6 right now. Will head out for a walk when it gets light enough, then I'm back cleaning and purging upstairs. Can finally get the spare room done since Larry moved the wardrobe out of there. Now there is space to get around. This week I want to get the upstairs finished off.
Monday rolled in cold and bitter - perhaps the seasons have begun to change again. Parts of the province had snow flurries and saw a bit of short lived spitting snow before supper. Spent a good portion of the day in the kitchen - baking and cleaning. Got some brown bread rolls and cookies made. Managed a couple hours of computer work and Lexi and I got out for a couple of good walks. Exercise class last night. The feeders are getting busier, Chickadees, Red and White Breasted Nuthatches, Junco, Song Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Grackles and way too many greedy Blue Jays.

 The White-breasted Nuthatches are so cute.

 There were two of them around the yard Monday morning.

 Put out this new feeder in hopes that the Blue Jays would invade it less.

 All was working well until they emptied the two other feeders.

 The Chickadees and Nuthatches managed to get something to eat.

 He's looking down wondering when it's his turn.

Enjoy your day!

Day 307 - 3rd November 2014 - Woodpecker, Mushrooms and a Squirrel

Had a glorious good sleep, even staying in bed til just before the alarm went off. Wow I feel good this morning. What a difference a good night makes, hopefully we are off to the start of a great week too. Am planning to tackle another room and do some baking today. Of course if the weather clears I'll be out for my walk to see what's around. It was so quiet last week I don't expect a lot but you never know if something stray came through.
Another very blah, wet Sunday. Well in all fairness it did stop a few times for a very short period of time but I didn't bother going out.Saw a Hawk sitting in a tree in the yard but didn't move fast enough to get a photo. I wasn't feeling up to par all day, think it was something I ate on Saturday, it was almost supper time before my appetite started coming back and I began to feel a tad normal again. I did push on and got the downstairs hallway done and most of the upstairs one. So progress was made, then I curled up with my Kobo and finished reading my book. We had an early supper depending on which clock you looked at in the house and lazy evening.

Way too many of these little guys around.

Mushroom growing on a stump.

Water is everywhere.

A little better day, but the color has left the leaves on the trees across the lake.

Woodpeckers are sometimes like acrobats when they want that suet.








Enjoy your day!

Day 306 - 2nd November 2014 - Reflections, Woodpecker and Blue Jay

A windy morning out there, dark and overcast, hope everyone remembered to set their clocks back an hour. The time change takes a little getting used to.  More rain coming today, sounds like a good inside day but perhaps we'll be lucky and it will break long enough for a walk. Perhaps it will be a good day to make bread and get Larry do some things inside he hasn't had time to do for a while. Who knows what the day will bring.
Went off to Yarmouth yesterday by the time we finished our visiting it started to rain so no photos. Got some shopping and errands done then headed home. Really busy in the stores and I dislike crowds and hanging in line ups, but that's the way most places are on a Saturday. On the way up we say a Bald Eagle and a mink, other than a few juncos and other birds around the roadsides that was about it. Pretty dull but we weren't hunting hard. Larry built a fire in the furnace when we got home, damp and chilly, warms the house up.

It really did look like a layer of ice holding this leave in place a few mornings ago.








Woodpeckers are all around these days.

 The Blue Jays add a punch of color among the branches that hold few leaves.









Birch trees are so interesting with their layers of paper that seem to peel.

An earlier view this week of a peaceful morning.







Enjoy your day!

Day 305 - 1st November 2014 - White Throated Sparrow, Chickadee, Goldfinches and Mist

Welcome another month and another weekend nor'easter, although for us in the form of rain rather than snow. Right now I think we have enough water - swamps and lakes are all full.  Off to Yarmouth this morning, wish it was going to be a fit day for some birding while I'm there but it won't be. Might just take Big B. and her rain jacket anyway, just in case I see something on our travels. Plans are to visit the hospital, a few errands and then home so hopefully it won't be a long day.
Friday was another nice day, weather was great but not quite as warm as Thursday and became kind of overcast in the afternoon. Finished off the bowling alley including cleaning 7 windows inside and out, curtains washed and back up again. I really dislike "Fall Cleaning", but just have to suck it up and get it done. The Blue Jays and Squirrels are over taking the feeders. No Grackles yesterday, but lots of Chickadees, a couple of Goldfinches and a Golden Crown Kinglet hung around in the Lilac and Honeysuckle Bushes.

 A little mist rising across the lake.

 Looked like a little shell ice around these grasses.

 The sunlight makes little bits of bling.

 The neighbour's bear is decked out for Halloween.

 The beaches are gone - layers of leaves covered in water now.

 Goldfinches stopped by to the feeders today.

 White Throated Sparrow - saw two of them.

Lots of Chickadees.

This Golden Crowned Kinglet was hanging around with the Chickadees in the yard all afternoon. Unfortunately this was the best shot I got.






Enjoy your day!