Saucer magnolia

This is a fine old saucer magnolia that's been in the yard for a long time. Blooms like crazy in the spring, as you can see.

A few birds

A few more backyard birds

Carolina wren

American goldfinch photobombed by a Northern cardinal

You can't see me! Oh, yes we can, Northern cardinal.

Male Eastern towhee

Female Eastern towhee, in the rain

And the male again

Pretty pair

These are Eastern towhees (if you're my age, you may still think of them as Rufous-sided towhees), a large and striking sparrow. The male is black on top, his mate deep brown where he is black.

Bracing...

Kathie, my friend, better brace yourself this evening:

Photobombed

I didn't even notice the Red-bellied woodpecker when I took this photo of a pair of Mourning doves!

In the back yard

Some backyard visitors

Male Eastern towhee

American crow in the rain

Carolina chickadee

Male Red-bellied woodpecker

White-throated sparrow, bright morph (see here for a look into the fascinating sex life of these little birds) - this one's probable mate, a tan morph, is around, too

Blue jay

American goldfinch, probably a male but in non-breeding plumage

Alviiiiin!

i ♥ my readers

It's still true! Happy Valentine's Day!

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New bird - lifer!

This male Myrtle Yellow-rumped warbler dropped by this afternoon. Life bird, whoo-hoo!

synchronicity strikes again

I just finished David Crystal's "The Story of Be", and Chapter 6 is "Visitational Be". He notes 

"During the twentieth century, it was increasingly common to see the verb used without the prepositional phrase. Usually, the visit is related to an occupation: the person has come and gone professionally. The location is taken for granted." 

The examples in the book (Has the doctor been? The gardeners have been. You can tell me daughter and her dogs have been.) seemed odd to my American ear.

So does this (See if Father Pancake has been). But it's clearly what he's talking about.

Caws for concern?

An American crow this afternoon, sounding off about something. Gorgeous bird.

Disbelief will not be suspended

Okay. That's it. 

Look, I can deal with Dunham's inability to draw. I can handle all the animals who wear clothes and speak English. I can deal with the girl mice having one pair of perky breasts. I can accept that there's a generator somewhere on board this ship to power their refrigerator and lights. I can even buy that they have a freaking charcoal grill. 

But a open, apparently brick, log-burning fireplace on a wooden sailing ship?

A bridge too far, my friend.

An Olympic observation

See, I understand that they want to reward the attempt but I just don't like that a quad where they fall on their butt is worth exactly as much as a perfect triple.


(photo of Nathan Chen in team short program Feb 8, 2018, from Washington Post)

Clearly

This cracks me up.

Nope, not an ugly cat at all

As I turned into the driveway in the dusk I saw something gray trotting across the road.

 "That's a fat cat," I thought. Then I thought, "That's an ugly cat." Then I thought, "That's not a cat at all!" 

And when I got inside, guess who had gone around back to the tray feeder. After a few minutes noshing on peanuts, he trundled off down the ridge into the woods.

Backyard (and Frontyard) Birds

A few from the past few days.

Tufted titmouse

Carolina chickadees

Eastern towhees (once called "Rufous-sided towhees"), first the male

And the female

Two male House finches

Male Northern cardinal

A pair of Carolina wrens

And a Brown thrasher