Another sign of spring

While I was out mowing on Wednesday, I scared a couple of birds off their nests. The next morning I went out with the camera... and scared them off again.

Here's a robin's nest:

And a blackbird's nest:

Perfect, aren't they? But goodness... 5 eggs! Do blackbirds usually lay that many (Dale?)? It's gonna be a lot of work when those little beaks appear wanting food!

I hope the parents can keep those eggs warm! High temp is only supposed to be in the mid-40's today, and tonight there's that 's' word in the forecast. Ack! No accumulation, though... hopefully. And for tomorrow night there's a chance of patchy frost. Someone had better go out and put blankets on the corn that's peeking out of the ground!

I stopped to smell the ro...

... er... lilacs! As I was mowing yesterday. I had to mow under and around them, so since they were so close to my nose, I did stop every little bit to take a whiff. Mmmmm!

(Click to enlarge. Wish I could give you the fragrance to go with 'em!)

Yes, I did mow yesterday. I waited till nearly 5:00, hoping the horrific winds would calm down some. They did some, but not much. But looking at the weather forecast, I figured there wasn't going to be a better chance (or a warmer one) in the next few days, because rain was supposed to be on the way. So I bundled up and did it. At least I didn't blow off the mower! And I was glad for every bit of winter clothing I had on, including boots and fleece-lined gloves. I actually didn't start to get cold until the last 10-15 minutes of the 2-hour job. So it was successful. And I'm glad I did it.

Now today I can work on my chicken family! :-)

It's WINDY!

How WINDY is it? Watch this video and see. However, if you're prone to motion sickness, I wouldn't advise it.

Ya gotta be hungry to eat while swinging like that!

Below are some calmer shots. The upper left one was actually taken during a brief (like 2-second) respite from the wind this morning, but the rest were taken yesterday, when it was also windy, but not gale-force like today.

(Click to enlarge.)

I like the bottom left pic, where the bird has a mouthful of seeds.

The males aren't into their full yellow plumage yet, so they're looking kinda scruffy.

I was going to mow today, but I don't know if that's gonna happen. It was bad enough last week when it was in the mid-60's and "only" 40 mph winds. Today it's only going to get into the 50's, and the WIND has already gusted to 47 mph. It's gotta calm down at least a little, or I won't be out there. But there's a chance of rain the next couple days. Hmmm.... now where did I put my snowsuit? Not because it's supposed to snow (I HOPE!), but just because it's gonna be such a cold ride. You should've seen all the layers I had on last week! Brrrr!

(This is not the way I formatted this post, with everything run together. And it won't let me change it. Blogger's being stubborn today.)

How to enjoy string cheese

(Click to enlarge.)

Every color in one

A few of you will 'get' that title. For those of you who don't, don't worry about it. Think of it instead as "Coat of many colors". ;-)

Courtney painted this at daycare (and had to bring it along to Grandma's... that's why the paper is a bit wrinkly). I was so impressed! At 3 years and 3 months old, she's already painting like this! I love it!!