Some drivers are real turkeys!

 Okay, I know I live in California, which is an unusual place, and in Northern California at that---which is the more edgy part of the Golden State. But when I saw this sight in the Safeway parking lot in Fort Bragg, I was mystified . . . and charmed!

As you can see, many folks got out their photographic devices, and Mr. Turkey just watched with a slightly bored air. It was awesome, and made me remember why I love living here.

STILL the birdhaus . . . .

Our conure, Dede, has developed a taste for cheese puffs. It's a trip to watch her eat them:

 

 

Don't worry---these are organic cheese puffs we give her!

Still the birdhaus

Birds will be birds, and Boomer, who is our oldest bird at 22, doesn't take kindly to Dede, the more recent conure interloper, trying to get above him on Davey's cage. While he expresses his displeasure, she appears nonplussed. 

After a few seconds of angry chatter, Boomer flew back to the top of his cage, which is taller than Davey's. Thus ends the territorial skirmish. 

Things are never dull at the birdhaus . . . . 

Scenes from September

We had some substantial rain this week (finally!) and I went out afterwards to catch some of late September's scenes in our backyard:

The jays will take any opportunity for a wee bit of seed . . . .

 

Mother and child reunion . . . .

 

Past its prime, but still pretty . . . .

"You lookin' at me?"

A man and his bird

A selfie of me and my cockatiel Boomer. He doesn't like to have his picture taken, I guess.

Still the birdhaus . . . .

I call this "Breakfast With Boomer":

My cockatiel Boomer and I are enjoying some rice cereal this morning.

Still the birdhaus . . . .

My cockatiel, Boomer, likes to hang out on top of my iMac to keep his feet warm. Aside from the poop down the back of my display, there's no downside to this activity.

Here he stretches and "hangs five".

Time and the Maiden . . . and a raven!

As I went to do some banking at our local financial institution, I noticed that there was a raven perched on the scythe held by one of the figures in the statue on top of the building. The bank is housed in the old Mason's lodge, and the statue was carved from a single chunk of redwood by Erick Albertson in the 1800s. Called "Time and the Maiden", it is rich in secretive Masonic imagery and has been seen in such films  as "Dying Young" and TV shows such as "Murder, She Wrote".

None of that matters to this raven who sits placidly on Father Time's implement. I almost missed this shot, thinking I'd do my business first and then get my camera, but I was wise enough to know that animals do not sit still for long, and got my camera and these photos first.

Ravens are a special breed of bird for me, and I love this one's calm bearing.

Wood for the fire . . . .

Our wood stove

He who cuts his own wood, warms himself twice.

That quote, which is more than likely on old proverb, has been attributed to folks as disparate as Henry David Thoreau and Henry Ford, two gentlemen who shared little but a first name. Since our household depends on wood for the heat we get during the winter months (our sole exception being an oil-filled electric space heater in the room where our birds reside), we can attest to the truth of that statement. 

Though we do buy loads of wood from a couple of local sources, we always have tried to  save a bit of money by searching the forest around us for fuel for our fires. I'm not a woodsman by any stretch of the imagination, though I can handle a chain saw fairly well---enough to get the job done. I'm not about to start falling trees (I leave that to the experts), but I look for the odd "leaners"; trees that have another tree or brush holding them up so they are not on the ground and full of rot. They provide dry and mostly seasoned wood for our needs.

There is more than the financial savings involved here, however. By taking this effort, I have a more direct connection to my source of warmth than those who depend on a thermostat to regulate their comfort. I know where my heat comes from because I am part of the process. There is a sense of gratitude and awareness that I never had when I depended on an electric or gas furnace for heat. It also requires a constant vigilance to keep the fire going, adding large chunks of hard wood and shutting down the stove before going to bed so there will be coals to rev it up again in the morning, watching for sparks when the doors are open, and of course maintaining a wood supply to feed the flames.

I think of recent studies I've read where young people who have never seen a farm---except maybe on TV or at the movies (if anyone even goes to movies anymore)---think the source of food is a grocery store or the refrigerator. There is such a tragic disconnect in that perception. Food, heat, clothing, and other essentials become things manufactured in factories, rather than harvested on farms or created by crafts people. This is not just a nostalgic thing which is quickly going the way of the dodo and buffalo; it is a recipe for dysfunction and ignorance as we forget the natural world we are still a part of and dependent on.

I really love our wood stove. It is a center of our home during the darkest months of the year. And I am happy my grand daughter likes to feed and poke at the fire. She at least will have some memories of the place that warmth comes from.

The Raven's Thanksgiving 2013

The Raven's Thanksgiving 2013, a set on Flickr.

We make a point of putting the debris from our feast---bones, fat, and skin----on our stump as an offering to the ravens who populate our forest. They seem quite appreciative, though they are mostly shy about having there pictures taken. Here are some shots I managed to capture of these hungry corvids.

Click on any of the small photos to see larger versions from my Flickr account.

Our Thanksgiving

Well, our Thanksgiving went splendidly. Our Daughter and Grand Daughter joined us, and we had a wonderful (and early) dinner with all the fix-ins.

A 16 pound bird, cage and hormone free.

My Grand Daughter is a wee bit leery of the flutes we used for the sparkling grape juice.

The groaning board.

I am quite conscious that on this day we commemorate a time when our ancestors were saved from starvation by the indigenous people who they then proceeded to wipe of the face of the Earth, and that seems a stupid thing to give thanks for. But my family's presence is a blessing, and for that I am grateful.

And now, the jays

We recycle the uneaten seeds from our indoor birds, and the jays seem to like them just fine, thanks . . . .

They are not real camera shy, either.

Still the WILD birdhaus:

While our cockatiels and conure are definitely our favorites, we do love ALL the birds here at the birdhaus. As I wandered the yard recently, this little sparrow was keeping an eye on me . . .

. . . but when I appeared to be no threat, he wandered off to continue his quest.

It's my nature . . . .

I guess some people get tired of pictures of our natural surroundings, but I'm not one of them. Over the years I've put up many photos I've gotten of our backyard, so I have some pretty comprehensive documentation of the passage of time here in our Northern California neighborhood. I see no reason to stop now.

Mama and baby keeping an eye on me.

This fawn looks ready for a show!

Coming in for a landing . . . .

. . . . and taking a quick break.

After some redoing of our backyard earlier this year, this rose is doing great!

In fact, all the roses are.

Our California poppies are thriving this year as well. They grow unbidden, but are much appreciated.