My kinda day....

It's my day off today, only because my Dr is out of town, and then again on Friday I will be off too! I have nothing else to do but sit and take in all the sights around this farm that I miss all those other work days.

Such as this really nice breathe of Spring that my Amaryllis has given me.
It's snowing outside, of course, and this is such a welcome sight inside!
Makes me feel all tropical!!
teehee



I get to sit and watch all my HUNDREDS of birds at my feeders.

I get to watch them drink warm water from their new heated dish.

This is a heated dog waterer but I thought it would be perfect for the birds too.

I think I will need to get out there and place a big rock in the middle of it incase one was to fall in maybe they could scurry to the top of the rock to escape.

Click to enlarge these pictures and you will see only a fraction of the birds that are out there at any given time. Funny how they know when I have the camera on them and they fly.

I have so many American Goldfinches that I fear for my life when I walk outside!

I have a friend who is pertrified of birds and she says "They will peck your eyes out!"

With this many out there I am thinking of her often!

I guess I had better be careful what I ask into my yard!

I finished all the laundry and did a lot of cleaning last night so I could have this "ME" day today!

Pretty smart huh?

This morning while doing my birdwatching with a nice hot cup of Hazelnut coffee in my hand...

I spotted this little girls mate!

The picture above, albeit a horrible picture, is of my female Red Bellied Woodpecker that came here last week.

Then this morning I spotted her mate. A beautiful male!

He likes Danny's newest platform feeder too!

I watched him for a long time with my binoculars so I do know that he is a he!

I am researching a new zoom lens for my camera so I can get some good close-ups of my birds.

I have only had this camera for one year, don't you think it's time I learned how to use it?

I have a book coming today....Nikon D3000 for Dummies.....and yes I am a dummy so I hope it will help me out!

See this is my kinda day!

Birdwatching in my PJ's,

Nice cups of coffee in my clean house,

Learning how to use my camera

and

anything else that I want to do!!!

It's all about me today!

I think I might make a cake today!

Blessings,

Becky

Cabin Fever......

Unlike this beautiful American Goldfish....haha inside joke here....

I don't tolerate the snow and cold very well.

I know you guys think I do cause I am always wanting to be a homebody and do inside things such as sewing, quilting, crocheting, knitting, decorating, painting, crafting, etc etc etc.....but when I HAVE to stay in I do not handle it very well.

It has been soooo nasty here for the past several days. Yes we had a white Christmas, but Bah Humbug on that one!!

I did have a good Christmas and I hope the children did too.

Here you see Emma with her new American Girl doll that I bought her.

Don't they look alike??

Now I have to make her some clothes for her doll, maybe some matchy matchy ones for them both!

Colton only asked for money this year so that he could buy him a really good coon hunting light
he asked everyone for money and he ended up with over $336!

He shouldn't have any trouble seeing his way around the woods now!

Morgan is now 16 and she didn't really ask for anything other than chapstick and hair products!

She got a huge box of make-up and all sorts of other girly girl personals, a foot bath, a jewelry box and hair products! She was happy!

The best gifts...well it was a hit with the kids anyway.....were fleece throws with their names embroidered on them!

I found some really nice throws at Dollar General for $12 and used the new embroidery machine to put their names on them and they were a HUGE hit!!

Colton told his mom that was the best gift that he got this year!!

WOOT WOOT!!! I was just wanting to try out the machine but I guess it was a good item to practice on, Leslie even wants one now!!

I bought myself this feeder for Christmas.....I bought all my own presents this year cause he doesn't do things like that....urgh, why is it so hard to walk into a store and say to yourself.."My wife might like this!" or "This would be something she could use!"

anywhooooo

I have had the best time birdwatching in this storm.

I have had about 35 goldfinches at one time and up to 8 purple finch males.

Many many other birds too.

It really does my heart good to be able to see these from my windows.




So I have done enough whining about the weather, a husband who doesn't love me enough to shop for me and anything else that I can gripe about.
Now I am going to turn over a new leaf.
Another new leaf!
Since I will be starting to work full time next week with my new job, I plan to put that money to some good use.
I am going to hire some things done around my house.
I have been making lists and drawing out the plans.
I will start with getting "the boys".....(the men who put our roof and vinyl siding on a few years ago, and they are needing work in this tough economy)
.......to build the steps back up into the apartment over the garage that Danny tore down 9 years ago, so that I can store things up there out of my way such as Christmas decorations. This room will eventually become a sewing/quilting studio.
They will then close my side porch in and extend my great room for some much needed space.
After that I will hire them to build my glass conservatory on the side of my home.
I have always wanted one and I will have to hire it done myself in order to get it!!
Oh well!

Maybe while Virgil and Paul are building these things, Danny can get to work on my barn?
I also have great big plans for the inside of the house.
You know how I like white, right?
Well I do love my white floors, even though I can't get people to not wear their shoes over them, and I have found that I can clean them easily with a steam mop.
I love the white so much that I will and I say I WILL paint my kitchen cabinets white!!
Watch me!!
Danny doesn't want them white but he did not want the ones at The Fairy's Rest to be painted white either. After I painted them white he loved them!!
Have you heard the old saying "If Mama ain't happy, ain't no body happy!"?
Okay then!! Nuff said?
When he starts being of concern about anything that goes on inside of this house other than a full plate of food and where the TV remote is, I will listen to his wishes, until then my paint brush handle will be warm!
I started today with the bathroom cabinet...it's all white and purty and he hasn't even noticed it yet!!!!
Go figure!!
So each evening after work I will do a dab of painting as stress relief and therapy for my SAD! That's another self diagnoses!!
Then before you know it I will have a lot of painting finished and be all the happier person!
I hope!
Wish me luck on that one!!

A guest for race weekend!

My man's hardworking hand is holding our weekend guest at The Fairy's Rest.

He was in town for the big race at the Martinsville Speedway. I understand he is a big Dale Jr fan. I just really wish he had went to the website and made his reservations instead of just showing up unannounced!

We went down yesterday for me to have a little R&R which was going to include bird watching, I had my bird book and camera in hand. I didn't even have to leave the warm comfortable house to get to see one up close and personal!! Leslie and all the grandpunks were with us. As soon as we arrived, the living room looked exactly as it did in the last picture that I posted with the furniture still in the middle of the floor. The children all plopped down in the middle of all the chaos to play a game of Old Maid. Then it happened. Leslie just happened to spot the little race fan peeping out from under the sofa! Well the race began at that time. There was scurrying around the track like you have never seen before at The Fairy's Rest. Wait a minute here.....what happened to my R&R????? It turned into one of our hilarious bird in the house stories that will definitely go down in history like the great "Bat in the house story", only we got this one on video! Morgan had her video camera in her pocket and captured it all, well right up until he actually resurfaced and then all you can hear are girly screams and the camera is getting footage of anything but the bird capture!! She shows the ceilings then the floors then the ceilings. This was sooooo funny!!!!!! Well I got my birdwatching in anyway!! It was funny up until we found how many rooms he rented. Yep he left us a few souvenirs of his stay instead of him taking the souvenirs back home!!! (I had the washer and dryer pulled away from the wall and left the dryer vent hole wide open for non-paying guest!!) Lesson learned!



The landscaping crew showed up donning their Wellies and were ready to get to work on the problem area! Can you tell which one is the boss and

which one is the grunt man?

They had some great ideas for this area, which includes a red mud slide.
I have always wanted one of those!!

Some underbrush had to be removed.

They are a very photogenic crew tho!

This one is going to be on their business card!!

Question.......

the question is .....are you guys having trouble with blogger doing this? I download my pictures and while I am posting it just shows them as a bunch of letters and scrambled words in one big paragraph and I can't write in between them. This has been happening to me for about a week now. What have I done? What has blogger done? How can I fix it? Help!!!

Well I guess you can read the pictures....afterall it isn't rocket science to understand that I painted a few things and I have posted before and afters. A cute picture of some baby goats!! They look hungry in these pictures but trust me that they are healthy! Then the last picture is of my beautiful snowball bush from last Spring. I was wondering if you guys know whether it should be trimmed/pruned and how much to trim it back if any. I have had it for maybe 4 years now and year before last it got caught in a Spring freeze but then the next year it was gorgeous! I am almost scared to mess it up if I start to trim it back now. It is rather bushy/dense right now. What ya think??

I did get a few things scratched off my list today!!!! woowooo now I am off to take a nice hot bath to soothe these aching muscles.....Spring will kill ya!!!!!

So as not to bore you to pieces......

I started another blog

devoted to my new hobby of backyard birdwatching!!

You can find it here

Becky's Birding Blog

So when you are bored to death with what is going on here on the farm

you can go over there and see

what is really going on down on the farm!!

I told you I have OCD (No the Dr didn't tell me that, I just know)

I got it from my father.

When he gets his mind on something new

that is all he eats sleeps and breathes

until he grows tired of it.

The problem here is

I have Danny hooked too!!!!!

and Robin

and I am sure that Leslie will be hooked too,

she just doesn't know it yet!

I mean it usually doesn't take much to make us old people happy....that's what our kids say about our fishpond!!

Hey I think I'll put a couple bird feeders down by the pond.......hum......

good idea......

I Heart This......

....picture of my John Deere with the same red shovel in front....looks like someone would go move it!! Cool picture, huh??

I thought it was pretty cool too!!

and it came from this camera!!!!

My brand new Nikon D3000!!

Yep that does a heart good!!

I know you are thinking.....but Becky you just got a new camera for Christmas........well I know it but as it turns out that one was a lemon!!

So I boxed it right back up and took it right back to Target and upgraded to this peach!!

This is my first DSLR and I am very overwhelmed so far but I know that I have yet to read the manual......to me manuals are the type of things you read when you are trying to fall asleep.

I could also get this book to help me learn it, maybe!!

When I get really good at attracting birds to my backyard I will have to identify them so I picked up this book today to help me out. Then I have the new camera to take some good pictures of those special birds!!

I wish I would have looked for that book for the camera but I didn't know it was one out there until I was back home and researching the camera......yet again.....I dreamed about cameras last night because I had been studying so much about them.

Hahaha and you guys just thought I was working on taxes all day......

Nope!!

Not all day ;-)

"I need a new drug".....

one that won't make me act like this!

(remember Huey Lewis's song?)

I have a disease...

there I have said it...

I confess..

I am a sick person...

I am completely obsessed with birdwatching!!

Is there a pill for that?

Can't they treat...OCD? (hahaha not the good type of OCD)

Flight of ideas?

ADD?....not ADHD (nothing hyper about me)

how about "procrastination"? Is that a disease?

But....how darned cute is he?

I can't help myself!

I am sure that Danny had no idea what sort of

monster he has made out of me!

When he made this very frugal bird feeder!

Yep that's when it all got started.

I have to have someone to blame it on

and

'everything' is his fault!!!

Always!!

He is such an enabler.

Websters def. ~ enabler ~ to make able or feasible

{wings that enable one to fly}

LOL!!!

Isn't that a great feeder?

PVC pipe can be used for so many things....kinda like duct tape!!

He put them a little tin roof on it to keep the feed dry and keep squirrels and cats away!

He's so smart!

Of course it's hung in the dogwood tree (Bluebirds favorite trees!!)

by a bright shiny yellow rope....urgh...but it keeps it at a distance from the cats!

Looks like a stuffed bird!! hahaha



Now this one is HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!!

The dogwood tree had bluebirds for the first time today.

How many do you count?

It's like 12 I think!

Don't miss the one on the very tip top of the tree!

While I was taking this picture about 25 more bluebirds flew over!!!!!

Do you think they will come back?

Oh don't worry I will be sure and post pictures of them

cause I told you I am obsessed!

Unless Danny finds that drug today and slips it in my sweet tea tonight

wink wink wink

I love this dogwood tree too!

I have had a Wisteria vine for 8 years now. They say that it takes 7 years for them to bloom.

I had to move it from it's original home by the front porch pergola several years ago when we covered the porch, so I was afraid that it would take 7 more years to get a bloom.

We replanted it beside this dogwood tree and it bloomed last year!!!!! It is now all the way at the top of the tree!

It was beautiful and had blooms that were about 15" long.

Do you believe that I never got a picture of it in bloom? At least I don't remember it if I did.

I guess I was on some sort of drug at that time too!!!

~

Now on to reality...yes, there are some "Real" things that happen around here!!

I am on a mission to be a better employee.

My job as a stay at home mom/ housewife is being threatened.

My employer hasn't said anything but I can really read his non verbal body language.....you know the eye rolling, shoulder raises, huffs etc etc etc...... LOL!!!

I am so afraid too, that he will catch me embezzling money to support my habits.

So I am on a mission to try and earn some money to support my own habits.....do I need to mention those habits? No they don't include drugs but if they did I may not have this blog or any of those other bad habits..LOLOLOL!!!!

I may never make any money but at least I will feel better about embezzling money from my employer if I have actually done my part!!

I do not sit on the sofa watching TV all day eating bon bons......couldn't look at me and believe it but I really don't. I almost NEVER turn on the TV unless I am in my sewing studio.

I have started this week .......

locking myself in my office

doing taxes...........do you know how hard it is on my dear husband this time of the year?

Just ask him or the girls!!

Or I am locked in my sewing studio working on quilts....

Or I am cleaning my house in a mad fury while supper is on the stove.......however that multitasking didn't work out too well yesterday when I had supper on the stove and decided to call our accountant with a very much dreaded question that has been haunting me. I was afraid of his answer....afraid for my bank account......but he had good news!!! wooowoooo!!!

But while he was giving me the lowdown

I burnt supper!!!!

I had a pot of macaroni burnt to almost the point of smoking!!

If the smoke alarm would have went off I guess I would have passed out!!!!

This lock down for me includes....

having everything I need with me to be able to concentrate on the task at hand.

It also includes NOT having anything close by that keeps me from concentrating on the task at hand......ie. telephone........I hate to talk on the telephone anyway. Who would of thunk it?

I used to love to talk on the phone for hours and hours every day.

I still have friends and family who love to talk for hours and hours every day.

Those said people all have email and facebook and I check both of those several times each day.

I don't mind emailing at all...facebook is good to send quick messages too.

If any of these peeps need to get in touch with me they can find me. It better be important though, at least until taxes are finished and I sell my first quilt!!!!!!! hahaha!!!

Now if I didn't have the distraction of a big window in my office with a great bird feeder right outside.......!!!!

I was up at 5AM this morning totally rearranging my office so that I could just glance up at the window and see my birds while still working on the books. Of course there were a few Kodak moments in there that kinda sidetracked me temporarily.

So friends and family......if you want me to be able to remain a stay at home mom please bear with me in this time of my absence! I promise I will be back maybe for a month in the late spring when we are experiencing April showers and it is too wet for me to be outside in the garden

;-))))))))

I must be doing something right!!

I have got the Eastern Bluebirds coming in flocks now!!!

I have become obsessed with this new habit. I mean my heart hasn't danced a jig like this since my new quilting machine a couple weeks ago ;-)

The new has almost wore off of it already.......just kidding and don't tell my husband that one......I have just not had any time to sew like I have wanted to.

I have been running errands, shoveling snow, cooking

eating, getting fattened up myself, dreaming of summer

planning to get my plants started indoors

and bird watching!!!

Do you think I could get a contract for photography with John Deere?

I would like to see pictures of a John Deere Gator attracting Eastern Bluebirds maybe in a Country Woman magazine!!....hum???? There's a thought!!

Please click to enlarge these pictures so you can really join in the excitement with me!!

I counted at least 14 outside my window!!!


The gator was shoveled out and moved by my dear farmboy and then he pulled it right back where it was.


I have had an adventure that's for sure to try to get these babies back.....



Danny made me a feeder and hung it on Sunday...of course there has been no one dining there as of yet! I mean it's an alien looking thing to them.

Yesterday I braved the elements and went out there and threw down birdseed on the ground so maybe they would find the feeder sooner.
Remember now I am trying to keep my cats from getting to the birds too.
As I was approaching the feeder with my head down to watch my step in the ice and snow, I heard a fluttering over my head and I looked up and there went 2 bluebirds flying away from the feeder.
I scared them away myself!!

I did see 4 bluebirds in the crabapple tree yesterday morning
so I made a couple suet filled grapefruit halves and hung them up for their breakfast while I was out scareing the ones away from the feeder.


Then............
the dearest farmboy left our big extension ladder propped up on the side of the house and we are experiencing
about 75 mph wind gusts here this morning and the ladder was rocking back and forth so I was afraid it
would fall over and bust a window....a little too chilly for me to have a busted window this morning.............

so I garbed up to brave the elements again and move this ladder.............remember no sightings of a bluebird this morning............
just as I got to the ladder I spotted 2 on the ground eating the seed that I threw out yesterday...............
I am worse than my stupid cats to scare my own bluebirds off!!!!


I came back inside and finished straightening up the house and getting ready to go upstairs and lock myself in my studio for the day

when

I peeped out my window and my little crabapple tree was just coated with blue feathers!!!
Yep my heart sang!!!!!



FYI~ No crows or barn cats have been killed in the making of this backyard habitat for bluebirds!

Eastern Bluebirds outside my window!!

I love having birds come into my yard and garden but my cats also love them to come here too!!!

I have 3 outdoor barn cats and NO THANKS I DO NOT WANT ANYMORE!!!! These have all been fixed and I hope they live forever cause they keep down the mice, moles and squirrels (which I like for squirrels to be around but the cats keep them at bay) and unfortunately an occasional beautiful songbird also falls prey to them.

Then of course we have crows. Lots of crows.

Many big huge noisy crows that love to eat my birdfeed

so I stopped feeding the songbirds several years ago.

Too expensive to feed my chickens that actually give me food back let alone the crows who just take whatever they can from me!

This winter has been so bad here with all the snow and ice and there is nothing out there for any of the wildlife to eat. It has just broke my heart that I did not have a feeder for the birds.

Yesterday Danny looked out my office window and yelled for me to come and look at what was in my crabapple tree......it was 6 bluebirds! I have never had these birds at my feeders, bluejays yes but not these. See the beautiful blue coat he has on? Well this was a horrible picture but in real life he/she was gorgeous!!!!
not the best picture


They were all so dagum pretty!! I cried!!
Danny asked me why I stopped putting feed out for the poor little fellows? When I reminded him he said "Oh well we can put a stop to the crows and the cats getting the feed!" wink wink wink
"Humanely", I said!!!!!

So we went out to the hardware store....cabin fever anyway...and a good trip to the fabric store thrown in too =)))).........and he got the makings for 2 birdfeeders!!! He has one almost finished and I'll post pictures asap.
I can't wait for them to come back and eat outside my window again!!
Darn barn cats beware!!!!!! Danny'll get ya!!

Crows beware!!! Becky's gotta gun!!
The last time I shot a crow out my kitchen window that was eating the garden, I wrecked on the way to work. I was hit by a tractor trailer and I vowed never to kill anything like that again.
I may have to eat those words!!!


Like I said these birds have never been spotted here so I had to look them up online. I think these are in fact Eastern Bluebirds. If they aren't would someone tell me what they really are. I think bird watching could be my new habit/hobby!! I needed another one!! hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!