Oldest and Newest

I mentioned in the previous blog that there was one group of ducks that we saw first this year that I hadn't been able to get a picture of lately.  I finally got them and also the latest group to show up.  This group has 8 little ones that can't be much more than a day or two old.  There are 14 in the older group along with mom.

This is the old group.  There were 15 when we first saw them, so they have fared well.

This is the new group of 8 with mom.

Patrick

DUCKS

We saw the first group of newly hatched ducks about 3 weeks ago.  There were 15 in that bunch.  They are all feathered out now and haven't been around so that I could get a picture.  The pictures I have for this blog are recent new groups.  I am sure there will be more to come.  Also have a new picture of one of the regular Orioles that enjoys the grape jelly.


This mom has 8.

This is actually two groups.  The one just behind the feeder pole and the one at the far right belong to one of the hens and the rest belong to the other one.  I guess they have decided to work together.

Mom with 9 fairly young ones.

Mr. Oriole

Patrick

Birds

This past week the Bluebirds finally returned and are building a nest in their house.  They were here earlier, but were driven off by the Tree Swallows.  We have since convinced the Swallows to leave the area and now the Bluebirds can raise their family in peace.  The following pictures are of the Bluebirds and also several other birds that use our feeders on a regular basis.  We have Orioles this year that are staying around and I think nesting in the area.  Hope you enjoy the pictures.

This is Mr. Bluebird protecting his house and he may be praying also.

This is Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird sitting just outside their house.  She has been working hard the last few days building a nest and looks a little worse for wear.

Mr. Baltimore Oriole.

Mrs. Baltimore Oriole

Mr. Gold Finch

Mallard Drake.  We have several ducks that come to eat on a daily basis.

Mr. Woodpecker

This is a Robin that likes to set in my new Cherry tree.  We see him out there often.

Patrick

Brrrrr!

They are predicting that the temperature will get down to 29 tonight and down to 32 tomorrow night.  I decided it was time to try and protect the plants in the garden.  I will leave the covers there until sometime on Sunday.  It is suppose to be warmer at night after that, I hope.  The first picture is the before covers and the second is after the covers were installed.  Sure glad we saved the old bed sheets.  They come in handy quite often for various projects.

This is the before picture.

This is the after picture.  The tomatoes are in the square things and the peppers are under the tent on the left.

I also have radishes, carrots and sweet peas planted, but they haven't come up yet as I only planted then 3 days ago.

Patrick

Garden and Tree

Earlier this week I got my garden started for this year.  Planted 6 tomato plants and 4 pepper plants.  There are two different kinds of tomatoes, 3 each and one kind of pepper the green Bell pepper.  So far they are doing okay.  This coming week I will get the radishes and some carrots planted along with the the Cucumbers.  The following pictures are of the garden and our Crab Apple tree that bloomed very nicely this past week.

The long range view of the garden.  Only the posts show of the new fence I put up.  The fence is made of green welded wire.  Hope to keep the rabbits out.

A closer view of the garden.  You can see the plants if you look closely.  The peppers are to the left of the tomatoes and close to the white fence.  The enclosures around the tomatoes are the ones I made.

Crab Apple tree.

 Patrick

EAGLE NEST

On our way to Delano yesterday to have lunch with Dan and Carol, we got the following pictures of an Eagle nest just a few miles from Delano.  It is only about 3 or 4 football fields from where we turned off highway 55.  You have to look closely to see the Eagle.  We took the picture with the Olympus Stylus camera at full zoom.  I would guess that there are either young ones or at least eggs in the nest.

The Eagle is in the center of the nest.

You can see the Eagle's white head in this one.

Patrick

EASTER MORNING 3/27/2016

It really looked more like Christmas time this morning than Easter.  I guess March is going out like a Lion.  It will all be gone by the middle of the coming week as temperatures are suppose to be in the 50's and maybe even 60.  I guess it is pretty for now even though I am not a big fan of snow.

A shot of the backyard with the frosty Maple tree.

Another backyard shot with the frosty trees.

Bird Feeder City.

It doesn't show real well in this picture, but I still get a kick out of how the water turns black from the white snow for a short period of time.  The river was closer to a light brown color yesterday.

Front yard.

My garden spot is in front of the white fence.  Be glad when I can start planting.

No grilling today.

Hope you have a great Easter.

Patrick

LIME TREE

I have been making new support stands for my garden tomatoes this year.  Pat saw them and asked if I could make a new support stand for our Lime tree.  I have now finished that project and the tree is on the new stand.  The following pictures show the old supports I was using to hold the limbs up, three Limes on the tree now and the new stand with the tree.

These were the paper clips and rubber bands that were attached to wooden dowel rods that were stuck in the dirt around the tree.  They did the job, but were about worn out.

More of the supports.

The beginning of this years crop.

This is the new stand.

This is the new stand with the tree installed.  There are more cross supports that I will install after the limbs get settled down some.   

Patrick

ANNIVERSARY

Today, St. Patrick's Day, was our anniversary.  We celebrated by spending last night and half of today at the Treasure Island casino near Welch Minnesota with our friends Dan and Carol.  It was a fun time although not real profitable.  The following pictures were taken today.

A shot this morning, just before sunrise, from our hotel room window on the 6th floor.

Another scenery shot.

Us at breakfast in our green shirts for St. Patrick's day.

This is the new weather vane that Pat got me for our anniversary.  It is in the front yard about half way between the house and the row of trees in front of the house.  Works real well.

These are the new ear rings and ring that I got Pat.  The little balls on the ear rings have the jewel Tourmaline around them and the ring has a large one in the mount.  

This is a close up of the ring in the previous picture.

Patrick

BIRTHDAY BOYS

Today was Jim's birthday and mine is tomorrow.  We met friends for lunch today and got the following pictures.

This is Jim and Joanne (Pat's sister and brother-in-law).  Looking good!

This is me, Jim, Joanne and Pat.  Good looking bunch!

Patrick