Happy Birthday!

 Bill & I host a group birthday party. The invitation read "If you celebrated a birthday in 2014 or expect to celebrate one in 2015 then this party is for you!" This year we welcomed 14 people. Everyone brought a side dish or appetizer and a gift-wrapped birthday present. Bill out did himself making pulled pork and cole slaw.

Donna enjoys everyday - but especially likes ones with good friends, good food and presents!

Why do the women sit at one end and the men at the other? It's like high school all over again! Check out the pile of presents for our Chinese Gift Exchange.

Our Happy Birthday cake

I think Vinny liked his present - one of my aprons.

We finally made it out to Paines Prairie. This has not been a good winter for birding, so when we had a nice warm morning - off we went! This Great Blue Heron was glad to see us.

It's not too often that we see the buffaloes...

or the wild horses.

Back at home, we see our resident coyote nearly every day.

...and this is why they are Red-bellied Woodpeckers!

We've had more Blue Jays than usual.

OK - lousy picture, but good story. This morning we had a huge flock of Robins in the yard - probably 200 or more. I noticed one looked different and grabbed the binoculars. This Robin was part leucistic meaning that he had large white patches with no coloring. By the time I grabbed my camera he had flown too far away for a decent picture - but it's good enough for me to prove I saw it.

Foggy Morning Birds and Beasts

We know we have Armadillos because they poke their pointy noses into the ground looking for grubs, but we rarely see them. It was early on a foggy morning and I was sitting at my sewing machine when his movement caught my eye.

When I got up to investigate (and grab my camera) I also spotted our very regular visitor, Mr. Coyote, heading back home. ...until he spotted the Armadillo! The coyote stopped dead in his tracks and watched the armadillo for a long time - decided he would not be a good meal - and turned and left just as the armadillo disappeared into the woods.

Another furry visitor! Too bad the coyote didn't see him! We have very few grey squirrels at the back feeders as it is too open but this one was brave.

Out in front, I noticed a new bird for the year - a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. You can't see the ruby spot on his head, but I'm sure it's there.

Looking out back again, a Yellow-rumped Warbler had scared the squirrel away.

Coyote, Birds & Quilts

Bill and I watched with amusement while our resident Coyote stalked what he hoped was dinner - Crows!

The birds played his game for a long time - letting him get closer and closer and then jumping ahead just far enough to keep him interested. This went on for about 20 minutes before the Crows tired of the game and moved on.

This was an especially beautiful Blue Jay visiting the feeders on a gorgeous sunny day.

The Goldfinches are eating us out of house and home - but we love them.

Today we went walking near Johnson Pond. Our find of the day was this Eastern Towhee scratching in the leaves looking for insects.

His partner was nearby.

I'm enjoying my new sewing area. I finished my doggy tribute "Tegan's Quilt" New Year's Day and sent it off Tegan's parents.

Continuing my animal theme - this one is a tribute to cats because every little boy needs a cat on his bed.

Sleepy Head

Look who we found sleeping in the back yesterday afternoon!!

Bill first saw him earlier in the day when I was out playing Mah Jongg. I saw him as soon as I got home. He was sleeping way out by the woods.

When I walked out with my camera, he lifted his sleepy head to take a look and then promptly went back to his nap.

Another Coyote came by and he finally decided he had better get up and get started on his evening chores.

More Backyard Creatures

Bright and early this morning - just after sunrise - the two coyotes crossed over our backyard again.

I was so excited to see and photograph the coyotes that I almost missed what was right in front of me!

This beautiful Coopers Hawk was sitting on the bird feeders about 15 feet from where I was standing (inside our partially completed lanai).

A Coopers Hawk has a slightly larger head than a Sharp-shined Hawk. I'm pretty sure this is a Coopers but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Next week is the big push to finish our construction. The windows arrive on Wednesday.

There is a lot happening in our backyard!

Early this morning I looked out the back window and saw two coyotes walking quite near the house. Naturally, I ran for my camera!

They did not seem one bit fazed by my presence and just slowly walked over to the woods and disappeared.

Both animals looked to be healthy with a full, glossy coat of fur.

One last look back at the maintenance crew that stopped to watch.

Our friendly Fox Squirrel has been by almost everyday.

He very carefully checks the yard before crossing to the feeders. Since the Bobcat has been around - we haven't seen a grey squirrel.

Today our contractor added the birdcage over our patio and outdoor kitchen.

The birdcage connects to the new Florida room. Next week, the windows and doors will be installed.

This is the One-block Wonder I just completed. I just love this technique!

This is the back of the quilt showing the original fabric.

Once the new room is complete, I hope to move my sewing so everything will be in one room - but I heard Bill and the builder talking about support beams to hang airplanes. We might have to talk...

Back to Birds

We have lots of birds in the yard - and many of them are yellow. The Pine Warblers are bright yellow and have streaks on their chests with grey and white wings. 

They prefer the peanut butter suet to the sunflower seeds and will also eat the seeds that have dropped on the ground.

This time of year we have hundreds and hundreds of American Goldfinches. We are filling the feeders daily with black-oil sunflower seeds. They fill every available seat at the feeders and blanket the ground underneath. They are gathering and fattening up for their journey north.

Most of the goldfinches do not have all of their bright yellow yet and look mottled with striking black and white wings.

A frequent visitor is this beautiful Yellow-chinned Warbler. This is the first year we've seen them in the yard. I sure hope they stay!

Another regular is this fabulous Red-bellied Woodpecker. People tend to refer to these as Red-headed Woodpeckers for obvious reasons - but they really do have a red blush on their fronts.

Out by the back gate we have several dead snags - home to lots of woodpeckers. We went looking for the real Red-headed Woodpeckers and saw this Piliated Woodpecker first.

But not too far away was Red-headed Woodpecker.

Look what we found in our backyard when we got up early this morning! I took this picture through the lanai window and screen so the quality isn't very good - and the sun wasn't yet up, but you can tell it's a coyote.

Always a favorite visitor is this beautiful male Cardinal.

No, this Brown Pelican wasn't in the backyard. We drove over to the Gulf Coast looking for new hiking & birding trails and he was sunning on the pier at Crystal River Preserve State Park.

There was an interesting drainage ditch on the side of the road that leads back to the Chrystal River power plant. We saw this Yellowlegs and stopped to take a closer look.

This was a real thrill - a Common Snipe! He was at the edge of the puddle - but as soon as we approached, he flew to the other side and sat very still in the brush. His camouflage was amazing. If we hadn't seen him fly - we would never have found him.

And huddled by the bank were these two Mergansers. Lots of good birds in an unlikely spot!

This Eastern Phoebe watched as we drove away.