Birds, Birds and More Birds, plus a Squirrel or Two

My backyard has been so full of birds lately I find myself sitting in the chair for an hour or more in the mornings watching them. 

The biggest population of late has been Blue Jays.  They fill the oak tree off the patio and squawk at everything.  They really don't like the squirrel. 

I have two squirrel feeders on the ground. For the last few mornings the Blue Jays have taken a dislike to the squirrel feeding at one of his feeders.  Now the second feeder is full of food and totally open for the taking, but they want Mr. Squirrel out of the other feeder.  One Blue Jay will swoop down and fly at the squirrel and he will shake them off to keep eating. Then the Blue Jay will sit next to him on the ground and make a lot of noise, which he ignores.  That Blue Jay will give up and go back into the tree and send another one down. 

I like that Mr. Squirrel stands his ground.  He knows that feeder is his and he is not going to take any lip off a bird just because it is rather large and loud.  We all could take lessons from Mr. Squirrel.

Mr. Woodpecker has been visiting in the mornings too.  I like looking out and seeing him. 

If Mr. Skunk is around, he hasn't made his presence known lately. 

I love my backyard.

Bird Watering Station

I hate how yucky bird baths get here in Texas in just a day. I fill them up in the morning and before I get home from work they have dried up, are crusty, and full of yuck.

Today I ordered a Bird Watering Station that gets great reviews and I hope will solve my problem.

With the heat we have been having my backyard feathered friends need fresh water daily.

Bruises and More Bruises

I have bruises all over my legs and arms today just because I decided it was time to put my living room into its spring, summer and fall bird watching arrangement.

When I moved it into the winter arrangement in December I had the oldest help me.  Since I don't know when I will see him again, and my youngest won't be home again until next weekend I decided to do it myself around 10:00 P.M. last night.  

I think the long bruise across the front of my thigh is from using my leg to help push a couple of tables around.  The long one across my upper arm is from moving the Mobia.  The small one on my arm is from when I knocked the vacuum cleaner into myself.  The various other ones across my lower arms and legs are probably just from running into things as I was tugging and pushing pieces of furniture from one side of the room to the other.  

Only one bruise actually hurts, and that is the one across my thigh.  I'm sure I won't notice once I start my bird watching for the day.