Monday, September 8, 2014

Sunday glorious Sunday

Note: This was written yesterday and I’d forgotten to post it.

I was finally able to turn off the AC units today after having them on for an entire week – something I had not yet done this summer. This summer has been the most pleasant as far as weather goes. But the past week was humid and hot.

Today, it was absolutely lovely.

 

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Morning glories greeted me on the back patio

on this beautiful Sunday morning in Maryland.

 

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I took George for a walk around the property and brought the camera along.

I haven’t been walking nearly enough lately.

 

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When my son got home from his shift, we cleared away the branches that had come down in the two storms that came through this week.

George wanted us to toss him sticks.

 

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Miss Blackie relaxing on the back patio this afternoon. I never call her by her name, preferring to call her something completely embarrassing (to me). Of course, now you’ll want to know what it is. Well, I’ll tell you because it’s silly and I don’t really care anyway. It’s Girlie B’Gurlie.

It’s what I call her when I want her to come inside. B’Gurlie! C’mon Girlie Girlie girl.

My efforts at calling her in are usually futile.

Imagine that.

 

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It used to be so difficult for me to tell the difference between the downy woodpecker (above) and the hairy woodpecker. The look almost exactly the same. The hairy is a little bigger, so when they’re together it’s easy to tell them apart. But when they’re alone, it’s the bill that gives them away.

The downy’s bill is noticeably shorter than the width of its head. Can you see it?

Another giveaway is the outer tail feathers. The hairy’s are pure white while the downy’s will sport a dark spot here and there. There’s a spot on the one above.

My husband would be proud of me. He was always the birder in our family and he loved when I began to take an interest in it.

 

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This is a white-breasted nuthatch. It gets its name from the way it ‘hatches’ nuts, jamming them into the tree bark and then whacking them with their powerful bill to get at the seed. They move quickly, and seem to almost walk down the trunks of trees.

And that’s your lesson for today.

Hopefully I’ll be back later this week. Be prepared for a pop quiz.

Kidding ~

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24 comments:

Country Gal said...

Lovely photos ! Did you know that the nuthatch both white and red breasted are the only birds that can walk head first down a trunk of a tree ?! Cool eh ?! Yes your husband would be proud of you , I am as I am a birder also ! I love spotting new birds and dashing to get photos of them and look through my birding books to identify them .I to love to go for walks around the property and the valley here enjoying the sights and sounds of nature ! Our cat is an indoor cat she was a stray but doesn't like the out doors any more she to has many nick names lol Thanks for sharing have a great week !

jinxxxygirl said...

The names i call my cat....You should not be worried at all..lol.. My cats given name is Jinxy and he's black just like yours with gold eyes...My goodness i have a repertoire of names for him depending on my mood or what springs to mind...are you ready?? 'Sweetypie HoneyBunch, Boo, Booty pie, nee nee, Zinxy, Zinkers, honesty i think i only call him Jinx when he's doing something he's not suppose to and thats usually up somewhere he's not suppose to be ie.... table , counter...chewing on my plants... then its OOOooo JINX i'm gonna get you! and truly i think its become a game...i'll run at him and he takes off and if he could i think he'd laugh all the way.. :) Big Hugs! deb

Cloudia said...

You make learning fun. Cats do tend to acquire many names. Pixie get's called pig-sie and other variations. . . .
Glad to see you in lovely territory. Means a lot



ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
=^..^= . <3

Sabrina Steyling said...

You can call Miss Blackie whatever you want! You should hear how many nicknames my sister, her girlfriend, my parents and I have for my sister's two dogs, especially Lucky. Geez, he's Lucky, Luck, Luke, Lucky Boy, Buddy, Dude, Little Man... :)

Linda Kay said...

Made me chuckle to think of you attempting to call your kitty inside. She looks lovely. My yorkie dog has her nose to the ground sniffing, so she doesn't hear me either until she's ready to come in. Love the bird pictures. Your dog is beautiful.

Winters End Rambler said...

Hi...think your hot weather has hopped over to us on the other side! We do not have an AC unit so open windows and doors letting the flies in has been the way to go...unfortunately everybody with a tractor seems to be muck spreading at the moment so pewwiee!
J. x

The Weaver of Grass said...

We all have daft names for our beloved pets, so don't apologise. I call Tess - Flibberty Gibbet - when no one is around to hear.

Kerri Farley said...

Beautiful images Kate! Glad your weather cooled down for you.....I think Autumn is coming early this year :)

JaneK said...

That's not embarrassing. It's funny how we begin to use nick-names and then can't think of using anything else

Daryl said...

i have learned the fastest way to get a cat's attention to get them to listen (HA!) is to shake a box of dry food/kibble … they all answer to that

alphabet soup said...

Right! Got all that new bird info and laughed at Miss Blackie's other name...

Ms Soup

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

I turned my A/C off too, it's been wonderfully cool. (But rainy. Bah. Humbug.)

Hilary said...

Funny......girlie is something I say a lot.....I call my cats, my chickens, my grand daughters, "girlie"..........My mother's sister, long dead, was named Olive....but her entire life, she was known as "Girlie".

beth said...

i hate air conditioning and will be so glad to be done with it…..according to the weatherman, that starts tomorrow.

i have missed you and i have missed blogging…a lot!

soon, the house will be done and the long drawn out move will be over and then i'll sit and write and play and share and be back with those i adore!!

xoox

Anonymous said...

I love your wildlife lessons. I've taken a few notes actually. and, thank you SO MUCH for the tips you gave me about photographing the birds. I saw hummingbirds this weekend at our new house and am so excited to try and catch them like you do. :)

Unknown said...

beautiful.
smiles.

GailO said...

It is always good to see Blackie/Girlie:) I don't know why but I have always thought of her as a boy:)

I agree with Daryl's method of calling a cat...ad it usually works;0

sharon said...

Oh Honey, your personal cat name is nothing to what I would call my male cat. His name was Buddy. I called him my big poo, poos. Why I called him that is beyond me, yes he gave me that indignant look sometimes but he was always my poo,poos.
What a nice Sunday you had. Beautiful one at that. Aaaahhh Fall is in the air....YES!!

new mexico mtn girl - CheyAnne Sexton said...

I kinda had a feeling you'd be talking birds…. Can't believe I've stayed away this long, but I've been thinking of you the last couple of days and it came to me when I dusted off my blog and wrote about, what else? ….birds., I thought of you.
We have Woodpeckers here in New Mexico, but I really don't get to many chances with them here in the PIñon forrest we live in. They may come through and make a quick rappity-tap-tap, but just as quick they are gone. We do get Flickr's tho and they are quite lovely. Do you get those over on the east coast?
Just wanted to say Hi.
peace n joi,
CheyAnne
http://newmexicomtngirl.com/2014/09/13/this-mornin-september-13-2014-in-northern-new-mexico/

Cloudia said...

Country Girl and Country Gal LOL

I call Pixie Pigsy and Kitty B, among other things.....

Always lovely being here with you George, and your furry little ink spill.

Love, dear pal 💜

mrs mediocrity said...

I love taking these little walks through your photos...

I have so many names for my animals, and none of them are their "actual" names... I call our fiercest hunter "doodlebug" just 'cause I love him. :)

Right now, the morning glories are about the only thing that still look nice in the garden. But it was a glorious summer, weather-wise.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...


ah, such a lovely old place to live :-)

Smalltowngiggles said...

We are bird watchers two. Like the tips you gave in this post. Also, the photos are great.

Jan's camera said...

Wow, the beak on the woodpecker is really shorter. Good eye. My sister has a cat called Grace but I call her Gracie Girl. Her and my sister are the only females in her house.