Unexpected in common hours

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau

Brown Thrashers are ground feeders, and I had never seen one in a bird feeder before until recently. They literally thrash around on the ground, mostly under trees and bushes, to uncover insects and grubs. But during our recent snow I spied this one in the feeder just outside my kitchen window…

Red-bellied woodpeckers in the snow

Red-bellied woodpeckers are commonly seen in the eastern U.S. in woodland and forest areas. I see them year-round, and they usually come to the feeders in the mornings. Even though the brightest red coloration is on their heads, they are not known as Red-headed woodpeckers but instead as Red-bellied because of the red that also…

Cardinals in the snow

I know so many people who say that they’ve never seen a cardinal in their garden or in the feeder and others who say it is very rare to see one. I see cardinals year round, and they sometimes come in great numbers to my bird feeders. They usually come in pairs. And they’re very…

A little snow

Here in the Deep South we get snow, but we also get ice, and often it’s layers of ice and snow. It makes travel treacherous and causes trees to fall on power lines and homes. Last weekend, Winter Storm Izzy moved into the area where I live and brought a layer of ice, topped by…

WordPress problems

I have been having a terrible time with WordPress. After much research and trying several solutions, I decided the problem might be within the theme itself. So I changed the theme and spent forever getting the widgets the way I wanted them. Then I found the answer to my problem and changed the theme back…

After the winter storm

The Flowering Quince (which for reasons unknown has bloomed in the dead of winter these past few years) made it through Winter Storm Izzy. The blooms that were already open are drooping and lifeless, but the buds look as if they may open up soon. Linked to Cee’s Flower of the Day

In the dead of winter…

Once again this year my Flowering Quince bushes are blooming in the dead of winter. The buds and blooms have survived many nights of below freezing temperatures. We have what may prove to be a severe winter storm coming this weekend. I hope the Quince survive the ice and snow that are predicted to be…

Flower of the Day: African Violet

My African Violet is in bloom Linked to Cee’s FOTD

Learning German

Sometimes I develop an intense interest in something, pursue it and then either drop it outright or let it fade away. I stopped trying to learn Spanish (I have Spanish ancestry), although I still enjoy listening to music in Spanish. I also stopped trying to improve my French, which I did study in high school…