FM vs AM

I've come to a conclusion about birds this cold and rainy spring. Regular birds, your robins and Bobolinks and all, are FM.

Frequently Moving.

Warblers, gnatcatchers, and vireos are AM

Always Moving.

Usually behind leaves or to the other side of trees just as you point the camera at them or get your binoculars in the right place.

However....we got a Common Loon in our home county today! How cool is that?

Something in the Sky

Do you know what is going on here?

Thanks to building fence with Alan I do but before that I would have been mightily puzzled

Not sure just what. I have this vague memory of days when you didn't need three shirts and you could see where you were going.

Whatever is causing this odd extra light is coming up over the horizon right now, although it is still cold as heck out there...not quite freezing but four degrees of two darned close.
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We went out yesterday, the boss to fence, me to keep him company and look for warblers. He is well on the way through the last line, with some brush to cut, wires to put up, and things to patch and putter on. A couple trees here and there that fell in the winter's high winds and landed, naturally, on the fence.

I saw plenty of warblers...flocks....but all but one Yellow Warbler were on the back side of trees, fluttering behind leaves. Oh, well. 

Big Day is Saturday with all-day drenching rain predicted. Last year Becky, Alan, and I got 42 species right here on the farm, including a Cerulean Warbler, never seen before and only heard thereafter. I don't think we will be that lucky this year....I will prolly be doing it alone anyhow. But, hey, you never know.

Duck, Duck, GOOSE!

I was standing at the bottom of the steps at Weaver Lake counting birds when all heck broke loose.

Sometimes it's Fun

This is fancy doo dah McDonald rhubarb. It is red and pretty and tough and stringy.
It is expensive too or I would not bother with it.

It usually takes me at least two early morning sessions to write the Farm Side....sometimes three. I must research farm topics, many of which I know nothing about. I hate to get things wrong, so sometimes I read five or six articles on some subject, which might only figure in one sentence, and not a particularly important one at that.

This is my grandpa's rhubarb, handed down over who knows how many generations...
It is tender and juicy and delicious. I have moved my plants, lo these many times....

At least I almost always have some idea, each week after Wednesday noon deadline, of what I will write about the next week. I usually start on Monday morning....been doing it for over 19 years, but I guess I must be opinionated or something....

This week I had nuttin. Not a clue or a glimmer. I considered writing about the recent disastrous blizzard, which laid low the winter wheat crop and killed thousands of cows on the Great Plains. I have seen so many heart breaking photos of that nightmare.

However, I didn't want to write about misery. There is so darned much of it around these days.

So I sat down to a sinful breakfast of rhubarb crisp I made this weekend and stared at a blank Google Doc.

Aha. Rhubarb crisp as health food. I was off. Finished in under an hour.

Sometimes it's fun. Try Googling the Rhubarb Triangle. I was imagining vanishing desserts, disappearing like ships in the one in Bermuda, but the actual story is much different. Let's just say I picked mine in the rain, but not by candle light.

Go Fly a Kite

Your "Aww...." fof the Day

Peggy used to have a favorite hen, a Black Hamburg, which she called Hamburglar. It was always out, every day and sometimes even at night. I kept telling Liz it was going to get eaten, as it was always up here at the house rummaging around. 

Last month it went missing. Peggy is smart enough to notice and understands endings. She was pretty sad but accepting.

Liz just went out to do chores and heard anguished peeping coming from somewhere. She went looking.... 

There, in the jogging stroller in the back of the barn, was ol' Hammie and 13 chicks...so far. Maybe we should call her Nestburglar.

No wonder old Laura, our White Cochin bantam and best of all mothers, has been hanging around back there. She had stolen two chickies, but Liz gave them back to their mama. She thinks it may be time for Laura to have some duck eggs to set. Cant you just see a tiny, fluffy, white hen followed by noisy, miniature ducks?

Peggy is at her other gramma's today. I can't even imagine how happy she is going to be when she gets home.

Picking a Derby Winner

You can find this round barn on Round Barn Road.
It has been beautifully painted since we last went that way

Our favorite orchard all decked out for spring

The kids mauled the weeds off the front steps.

The sky is falling...the theme song of guinea fowl everywhere

Fast feet

It's easy. Just find out which horse swims the fastest.

Boom Shakalaka

Construction engineer, also expert in explosive noises

We were down along the Erie Canal at Yankee Hill Lock..... A pretty spot, but as the sun set, it was getting a little gloomy and lonesome. Creepy even.

As we stood next to the old canal, just below the locks, looking for birdies in the bushes locust trees along the other side.

BOOM!!! 

A gigantic splash rang out just a few yards away....the canal is perhaps forty feed wide and it was right across from us. Water flew up in the air as a wide circle of ripples spread out from the spot.

Having been treated to a similar experience one dark and scary night at Silver Lake, far back in the mountains, on a perhaps ill-advised camping trip bitd, I knew just what it was and laughed....after a few seconds of startled panic.

The boss jumped about forty feet though. Good thing he jumped back from the canal...which is nearly flooded perhaps due to the efforts of the creator of the splash.

 "What was that!?!!!"

I told him and pointed to the culprit, swimming rapidly away. He must have been sitting on the bank watching us, but we hadn't seen him....until he called our attention in such a rude fashion.

At least he scared this Green Heron out of the woods for our enjoyment

We walked to the end of the park before heading back to the car and were treated to many more percussive events of a similar nature. By the end the boss was laughing as hard as I was at the great big beaver's antics. 

Birding the Gale

Flying flower, a friendly little Yellow Warbler

It is hard to discipline myself to go birding every single day, but so far I haven't missed a day this year. Fingers crossed for no injuries or illnesses to stop my quest...

Yesterday the wind was howling, wet, wild, and downright cold. I did a quickie count at the feeders (not too shabby these days with Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Northern Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles and the usual plethora of American Goldfinches showing up all at once) and then called it good until mid-afternoon.

Then I sternly told myself 'If a day like this happened in March you would revel in it and run outdoors and play.'

So I did. And I was glad. Our woods were full of warblers, just common ones like Yellow and Yellow-rumped, but they are like flying flowers, so pretty and busy.

Then the apple orchard offered up a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, the first I have ever seen. We later got brave and birded our other two county hot spots and got a first of the season Eastern Kingbird....plus lots of others.

Turned out that even in the howling wind going outdoors is fun. 92 species found so far in our county and 67 on the farm. I need to work on the farm list. I think I am missing some that I actually did see.....

Northern Rough-winged Swallow posing for his shadow

An Important Discussion

I had occasion to sit in the truck with Peggy yesterday while her folks were busy getting hay and loading a garden tractor on the trailer. We talked of birds, her new toy camera, which takes real pictures, and a number of other important topics including lilacs and tulips and cows and her new birthday horse from Miss Amber.

We had a fine time.