Phlox

The wild phlox have started blooming...

Bird in the Yard

Here's a bird I zoomed in on in the yard the other day.  A search of the bird book leads me to believe it might be a Palm Warbler.

     My apologies to anyone who commented on the previous post which is now not there.  I wasn't happy with the diagonal lines that appeared in the photo in the blogpost.  They weren't visible to me when I edited the photo and I failed to look at a preview of the blogpost before I posted it.  Sorry about that.
     I'm kind of in a crummy mood, anyway, wondering why I do anything.  I'll get over it.  Just experiencing old familiar feelings of not measuring up to anything.  I shouldn't feel that way because I have a lovely family and many other blessings.  I made the mistake of not pursuing a career---many years of being busy raising children kept that error at bay, but now I'm paying for it.

Random Scene

Here's a random drive-by shot from last weekend.  I thought it was kind of pretty with the leaves beginning to display some color.  It also shows what hopefully is the last we'll see of snow for a long time.

Skywatch

Taken a few evenings ago...

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Last Evening's Sky

Here's the lilac bush silhouetted against last evening's sky...

Barn Charm

A drive-by shot from last fall...

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Tulips

We had a very busy weekend.  Amidst it all I managed to get a few quick shots of tulips in Pella.  They looked pretty good considering they were coated with snow the day before.

Skywatch

An early evening sky from a few weeks ago...

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Yesterday the weather was nice enough 

that we were able to get some fieldwork done.  

Now look at what today has brought us, more cold and rain.  

It will be a good day to go get groceries.

Bouquets

 From last evening, 

bouquets of maple leaf buds...

Month's End

     Well, here it is the last day of April.  Another month over and done with.  I searched the April file for a photo to use today.  I chose this one from a week or so ago when I happened to spy some snow geese heading north.  This was the only shot I could get of them and I'm including it as it originally turned out, stray tree branches and all.  Its really hard for me to zero in on small, distant, moving things with a camera that doesn't have a viewfinder.  Hopefully, YOU can see the snow geese.

  

Barn Charm

     Here's a drive-by shot from last summer.  The piece of equipment coming out of the barn is part of the barn cleaner.  Gutters behind the cows catch the manure and then I presume it is pushed by paddles into the auger which you see there (that is how our barn cleaner works).  A manure spreader can be parked underneath to catch the manure which would then be hauled to the field for fertilizer.

Visit Bluff Area Daily for this week's Barn Charm.

Another Look

     Oops, I forgot to make a blogpost yesterday that would post automatically early this morning.  That's what I usually do but was too busy relaxing yesterday to remember.  Here's another look at the crocus that bloomed last week.

     We were able to seed oats on Saturday, but now this morning its raining again. We hope to get corn and soybeans planted someday as do all the farmers around here.  Its a rather discouraging spring season so far.

In Time

In time they will be lilacs and I will love their wonderful fragrance!

Yellow-headed Blackbird

A couple days ago my husband hollered for me to bring the camera.  

He had spied a Yellow-headed Blackbird. 

 I had never seen one before except in bird books.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Here's another bird that's been around here lately.  One of the photos I took of it showed the reddish  coloring on its head.  That helped in identifying it as a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

 

Skywatch

Here's how the sky looked two evenings ago...

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Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yesterday I was stalking this bird in the yard, 

trying to get photos to identify it with.

 Turns out it is a Yellow-rumped warbler, this next shot showing why it was given that name.

I'm guessing it is only passing through our area while on a springtime journey to somewhere else.

Here's one last look, a rather silly pose...

Last Year At This Time

Look what we had by this time a year ago...

 

       Last year we planted oats on March 16 and started planting corn today, April 24. That I know because of photos I took on those days.  Currently, the trees still have no leaves, there are no wildflowers or lilacs yet, and spring fieldwork has not begun. Amazing how the weather can vary from year to year!

Go Away

Rain, rain, please go away so spring fieldwork can begin!