The Call of the Wild...

This morning after two different trips to the school I sat at my kitchen table enjoying my 1st cup of coffee.  I make a pot of coffee everyday the same way but some days it tastes so much better than other days.  Today was one of the those better days.  It's slightly dark and overcast outside as it is still drizzling with remnants from an overnight storm.  I watched this visitor for a while happily munching on our dandelions.

 I realized it was so noisy outside and this time it wasn't the sounds of renovations or pool pumps on overdrive as neighbours open their pools for the season. No it was noisy with birds.  They seemed to be happily singing at the top of the their lungs.  There was one lone voice though that could be heard above all others.  Distinctive but for my untrained bird call ears I have no way of knowing what type of bird it was.  It really reminded me of my childhood though. Instead of commercials for pop and fast food (well, of course we had those as well) but in addition to those we had these commercials from the National Film Board of Canada. One minute informational vignetttes on our wildlife.  There was a distinctive opening which the bird call reminded me of.

I'm not sure exactly sure what programs I would have been watching to see these - Mr. Dress Up and the Friendly Giant would have been commercial free.  I doubt very much it was being picked up by the american affiliates while I was watching episode after epidsode of The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch (those were good years!).  I definitely saw them all though...the beaver, the chipmunk....over and over.

Some pretty anemones in the garden.  One of my favourite flowers.

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I'm quite pleased with the new template in terms of picture size.  My old template was quite narrow but I am now able to increase the size of my pictures.  Which I love!

Also, thanks so much for the comments on my new banner.  I think I'll keep it for a while.

Summer Fades to Autumn

It is feeling much more like fall today.  It's still a decent 18 degrees but it's cloudy and raining on and off.  Within a couple of days leaves have fallen and you can hear them crunch underfoot.  We've quickly gone from summer weather to more of what you would expect for fall.  We still haven't had the heat on yet although I'm sure that's just around the corner and I'm still wearing sandals and capris.  Quite quickly I'm going to look out of place, not to mention chilly.

Last weekend we were still enjoying our garden in sunshine and t-shirts.  I loved having a moment to watch the birds and I love the unexpected fall blooms.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

I found my new addiction!

My name is Nancy and I'm becoming a stamp addict.  I made this bird after lunch today and the flower and heart yesterday.  My mind is busy thinking of images, drawing and carving out these beautiful stamps.  Playing with the ink is equally as fun.  The best part though is lifting up the stamp and seeing what printed underneath.  It's like opening a present.  

In My Backyard

I do enjoy the birds in the garden and I love that we can enjoy them through all the seasons. It's especially nice to see them in the winter when the rest of the garden is just twigs and bare branches and snow.  This year, along with the sparrows and occasional visit by a cardinal or bluejay I've been enjoying juncos.  Maybe they've always been around and I haven't paid enough attention to realize what they were but I've never really noticed them before.  In fact, I'd never even heard of the name junco before even though they are quite common. These little ones often come in groups and share the seeds that have fallen to the ground.  I love them with their dark grey body and puffy white belly.  They are pretty camera shy though so any time I try to snap a picture they are long gone.  Today I had a bit of luck while some perched in our tree.

As I was watching these guys a friendly visitor came by and I couldn't help but wonder, could this be one of the Mourning Dove babies from the spring?  I hope so. I like to think they will always think of our backyard as home.