Shooting the Birds

Ok, so yesterday afternoon I was prowling around the yard with the camera, trying to locate an elusive cardinal which I could hear, but never see. Sneaking around the corner of the house, I suddenly spied him way up in the tip top of a big soft maple tree.

Drum roll, please.......here he is.......my very FIRST cardinal photo ever! Not the clearest shot, I know, and his crest is unfortunately covered up, but this photo is exciting to me because, like I said, I've never taken one of a cardinal before, and the fact is, we rarely see cardinals here at our farm. This one showed up on Good Friday........who knows if he'll stay around very long.

I certainly didn't have to do any sneaking around in order to snag the following photo of a common, ordinary house sparrow couple. Sorry...... the male's pose isn't the greatest, but I liked the way the female looked, so that tipped the scale in favor of posting this particular photo of the pair. We girls need a break once in while in the appearance department.

Why bother photographing sparrows? Well.....His Eye is On the Sparrow.......right? So why not have a camera eye on them, too, once in while. Its not their fault we consider them common and ordinary.

Last, but not least, below is a Baltimore oriole's nest left over from last season. When the photo was cropped and zoomed on the computer screen, the colorful threads in the nest became visible. Sometimes, when making hay bales, we use plastic baling twine that is orange or blue, and obviously, the orioles make use of those threads to weave their nests, along with cow tail hairs, and fibers from regular sisal baling twine. Quite intricate work the orioles do, lashing the threads to the tree branches, and using their own version of knitting, crocheting, or macrame`.........whatever you want to call it.......to create their sack-like nest. Fascinating!!

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It was fun babysitting the two little girls yesterday. One is almost two years old, and the other is four. The four-year-old likes to play with my daughter's old Polly Pockets.......the ones that are very tiny and have correspondingly tiny houses and cars. Polly Pockets aren't made that miniscule anymore, probably to prevent the risk of children choking on them. The two-year-old opened the toy drawer and tossed everything out, and then wandered around the house finding teddy bears to hug. She acted very frightened of Miss Kitty.......running to me, pointing at the door, trying to tell me to put the cat outside.

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They enjoy looking at books, too, and being read to, of course. After a lunch of mac-and-cheese, we sat on the sofa and read "Snow White", "Cinderella", and "Heidi". The younger one fell asleep right away, and I almost followed suit. Then we watched an old VHS tape, "Madeline in London". Anyone remember Madeline?........."In an old house in Paris, all covered with vines......Lived twelve little girls, in two straight lines"........or something like that. And......."To the lion in the zoo, Madeline just said 'pooh, pooh' ". Its a story that's in my memory bank from way back in childhood------my mom must have read it to me.

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Its great having the girls here, but impossible to get much of anything done (like I ever do, anyway). They constantly want me with them, and if I leave their vicinity for a moment, they come looking for me right away. Ah, yes, faintly do I remember being a mother to small children, and never getting anything done but taking care of them. How well I recall looking forward to their afternoon nap time, so I could accomplish some task.......or, better yet.......take a nap, too!!!

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Here's wishing a relaxing Saturday to you!!