A Day At The Farm

Thanks again everyone!! I was born and raised in inner city Los Angeles and the first time I ever saw the country was on an outing with the Girl Scouts. I was ten year old and we camped out in an old farm house...when I woke up in the country I was in love with it. They even had an old cow there and I vowed that one day I would live on a farm with cows. It took me another 26 years to get here and another 26 years to really discover it! It ain't so bad having old eyes when you can finally see!!

I am a member of Mo Birds and get emails all day about all the birds being spotted...it is an exciting time of the year and of my life! I am glad I can share a little bit of it here with all of you! You have all been so kind in your comments and help since I started birding and your influence is certainly appreciated and welcomed.

Today is cold and overcast and the birds are eating in a manic frenzy! I keep checking the feeders to see if any new ones have shown up but nothing so far...I will go out to the brush piles and the pond and check that in a while. I do know that Mr. Blue is watching the nestbox and Mrs. Blue is nowhere to be seen...and I ain't gonna check the box!!

Wow thats a huge jump from inner city Los Angeles to where you are now Rose!

Thats great you ended up where you enjoy it so much! Your very lucky!

Such a nice pic!

So nice......... there is so much to see out in the country. Just love that life, when I was growing up. I'd go back to that kind of life anytime. thanks for sharing with us.

What a lovely presentation of your birds Rose! It gave me a much needed laugh!

So good to see you enjoying nature, I think a lot of us are only now really discovering what's around us. Thanks to Dave's, digi camera and computers!

I grew up on a farm with dairy cows, and funnily enough I went on a camp in an old house on a nearby farm with the girl guides too! But I didn't end up on a farm as you did, that dream of yours came true, how wonderful! Did you marry a farmer, or did you drag your man to a farm, lol.

Thanks Pelle and Burn...it was overcast all day but I still enjoy the "fragile Ozarks" whatever the weather!

That is too funny Wallaby!! DH is actually from our tiny village and he always dreamed of being a farmer when he grew up!! He took early retirement when he was 47 and we loaded all our belongings into a 26 foot cattle trailer and headed for Mo.!! LOL!! My dream came true! It has been a real adventure and I agree that all the technology has given us all "new eyes" to see the rest of the world (like the Blue Tits in the United Kingdom)!

Nanny really said it well - "It is amazing what is often right infront of us, if we take the time to see it." I've wanted to move for nearly 20 years, but have just recently begun to enjoy my home and the abundance of nature all around me. It's even better now that your bird pictures are entertaining me! Thank you.

That picture with the barn feeder is a riot of color! Great thread!

Wonderful thread Rose. The pictures are fantastic (putting that new camera to good use) and the accompanying commentaries are so enjoyable.

It is true, we often do not take the time to enjoy what is right in front of our noses! We can learn so much from the wildlife that inhabits our natural surroundings. It took me a long time to get there, but now I always take the time to "stop and smell the roses", so to speak.

The birding forum and the patience of its members has opened a whole new world to me.

I live in the country and love it.

Rose, I hope you are planning a Second Edition of "A Day on the Farm".

GG

Rose,

I had a wonderful visit to the farm, thanks to you!

Beautiful pics!

Thanks for sharing!

Marilyn

Thank you OP, GP, GG & Marilyn! I hope to have another open house as soon as our weather clears up and the sun shines again. Today is tornado warning day and the birds are going nuts!!

Thank you all for visiting!!

Sorry to hear about the tornado warnings, Rose. Here's wishing you folks, the farm, and the little Blue Bird family are okay.

Look forward to your next open house.

GG

Rose, just discovered this thread. What a wonderful visit I had. Thank you for your hospitality. The red bird feeder is just lovely.

Thanks Margaret...It is amazing how many birds have come and gone since that day on the farm. I had a real surprise today...was watching the Goldfinches and lo and behold a Pine Siskin showed up and spent the day! It is very unusual for them to be here at this time of the year! I don't know if it will stay or not but I'll sure be watching. Here is a bad pic I took through the window (just to confirm for the record)!

What a nice picture - especially with the green background.

One of the gals in the PNW forum just posted pictures of a baby robin she rescued. Thought you all might like it. It's near the bottom of this thread:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/829842/

That was cute katie; thanks for the link!

Thanks for the tour and pics, dellrose. I've lived in the country all my live and have often wondered what caused me to suddenly begin noticing the birds around me. I missed a lot. Now, I'm hooked

Rose - Your "bad" pics are way better than my "good" ones! Thanks for showing the pine siskin. I've only seen them in bird books. I'll be on the look out. They're supposed to be in Western NY.

Katie thanks for the above link...very cool story!

Crazybirdlady...I know it is amazing all that is around us isn't it? At least we finally discovered birds so better late than never!

OP...That Pine Siskin showed up again this morning..geez I was so excited and poor DH thinks I have lost my mind! LOL!

Sad news to report tonight. A couple of weeks ago I was clearing some elderberry that was encroaching from the woods onto my yard and discovered a robin's nest with three beatiful eggs. I immediately stopped work right around the nest, but it's only about 4 feet high and was definitely more exposed than it should have been.

The eggs hatched and I've been watching the little guys grow all week. Came home and checked on them first thing tonight. Apparently somebody got them. The edges of the nest are destroyed and there's not even evidence of feathers or anything. Feeling bummed . . . a not a little bit guilty. I was looking forward to watching them learn to fly.

Any advice on what I might have done differently when I found them that might have improved their chances?

Mother Nature can be cruel....doubt if there is much you could have done differently other than not being in the ara to begin with. And I doubt that would have really made any difference, so don't feel guilty. So sorry you lost your babies.

Thanks, nanny. I think it was harder for me because they'd made it so far. There aren't many cats around because of the coyotes, so I'm guessing it was raccoons. They are incredibly active and have figured out that my front yard is "safe" if my back yard isn't. Grrrrr.

Sad story, Katie.

Rose, the Pine Siskin has beautiful feather markings. It immediately reminded me of the markings on our Red Wattlebirds. I'll see what I can dig up to show you.

Katie - You did nothing wrong, but I feel your sorrow, and hear your kind of stories about robins frequently. They seem to nest in the worst, least protected places in the suburbs. Shrubs, etc. very close to the ground. Raccoons, opposums, etc. - noctural mammals - prey on them mercilessly. Then, their babies don't always stay in the nest long enough to be able to fly to safety in the trees. The parents have to follow them all over the place teaching them survival skills for days. They seem to be increasing in numbers though.

Really?? Poor things. They do make beautiful nests, though.

If I find another that low I may try to make some kind of a baffle on the tree to see if I can't help.

Beautiful pictures of your birds...thoroughly enjoyed seeing them...I spend countless hours through out the year taking shots of birds,gators, deer, on and on...what camera were you using?
Keep up the good work

Katie...sorry to hear about the nest...birds do sometimes make themselves very vunerable.

JWLW...Thank you...I use a Canon 40D with a 100mm-400mm telephoto lens. I am still learning....

Thanks, guys. I keep looking over there to see if maybe they just didn't fly away . . .

dellrose,

I was just checking out this thread (and THOUROUGHLY enjoyed the 'picture story' that you started out with) and thought I'd say 'Hey there!' before heading off to bed. What camera did you use or are all your feeders right at the window? The photos are all really good, very sharp and clean. I was looking at the White Throats and White Crowns and thinking 'How the heck did you get photos of them THIS time of the year?' Then I realized that you'd started the thread way back in March and it made sense! Mine always take off to breed in late Spring and I just couldn't figure out why you had them this time of the year. ;o)

Of course even though you're in Missouri I don't know what part of the state that is. I live in Illinois; right across the Mississippi from St. Louis and for the most part (where my home is) those two breeds have disappeared from my yard till the Fall.

Anyway, your story was sooooooo cute. I'll be checking back to the forum again to see what's shakin. Nite!

Hi Grammy Jo...goodness this is an old thread! I can see where it would be confusing if you didn't notice the date they were taken...LOL!

These were taken with a Canon 40D and a 100-400mm telephoto lens (way back in 2008)!! The camera and lens were new at the time and I was hand holding for all of the shots. As far as I can tell they were all taken outside while I was hiding behind something to get as close as possible. I now realize that I must use my tripod whenever possible.

We are located in SW Mo...less that 3 hours drive from your area and I'm sure our bird population is very similar to yours.

Glad you enjoyed this thread and thanks!!

Great post.

Rose --
I just discovered this bird watchers corner of davesgarden and yours was the first thread I viewed. Really wonderful images! I have a few pictures to post, I suppose in a new thread. Once I figure it out. One series is of an unknown goose (I think) I found along the road. Maybe someone can identify it...

-- Andy

Hi Andy...Welcome to the Bird Watchers forum! If you would like to post some pictures you can post them on the Daily Pics or if you have several (over 5 or 6) you can start your own thread. There is also a Bird ID forum for your unknown ID's and here is a link http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/birdid/all/ . Welcome again and let us know if you need any help!

Looking forward to seeing your pictures!

Whew....I thought I had missed a new day on the farm! :)

Me too Nanny! I enjoyed seeing the photos again anyway!!

Nice shots! First time to see this thread, very large variety you have dellrose. Would you believe Ive only had Downy's and Brown Creeper's for the last 2 week's. lol