renewal season during these serious times

post #483
        What I planned to do was to go out today and share new flowers and/or trees in bloom. I was trying to speak to how we have more reason than ever to live in the present. Deal with the day we're in. Pay attention to what are the important things to do and acknowledge our immediate priorities.

        But it has been super windy all day long. This does not make for good photography. So I chose to improvise by choosing photos I have from every year for the end of March -- give or take a day or two from March 29.  I became very curious about what I would discover.

        It so happens that out of the last 10 years, two of them had a lot of snow at this time!  (2018 and 2014)  Two other times I was away, once in Massachusetts with our daughter and her family, and once in England to visit my stepmother there. Also I've gone ahead and included a photo of the extreme wet we experienced in 2015, and some sheep that I loved being with while in Massachusetts.  Part of living well in the present is to go along with the flow, right?

      SO, here's some random photos never necessarily ever meant to be grouped together.

2009  X 2:

earlier photo of the legacy steps

2010   
 

crocus near the house

These used to grow in abundance, close to the house.

Bluets, or Quaker ladies, not out this year yet

 2012:

a good year for daffodils and for growing a granddaughter....

trillium, not yet in bloom but still lovely

2014:

bird feeding evidence

my neighbor, June, on her 80th birthday

big year for turkey visitors -- no dog around the house at this time

 2015:

flood waters at the Forks of the Caney, in Elliott County

very early redbuds

tiny first flowers in the woods -- name to be added as soon as i am absolutely sure of it

        I'll be working more on this post tomorrow, but at this very moment, it's time to call it a day. I'd like to dedicate today's effort to the many members of my Friends Team with whom I talk often, when I can, and who keep me honest and laugh at my jokes. Sometimes I actually forget that I am currently here by myself all the time and trying to do what Andy tells me.  (I guess I should consider our Kentucky Governor as part of my support network!)  May we be a better nation as we become more seasoned, and I hope spring's coming can be a blessing that will nourish each of us. 

bird break, time for spring flowers

post #482
          More visiting birds next week, but today spring is wanting a turn.  I have some photos from this week, and several friends and family have sent me photos as well. So here are some of these. In a truly difficult time of "never before" we can be warmed by the always happening, this year, next year and again.

in my yard

in Tom and Molly's yard

I remember the house that 40 years ago was at the top of these steps. Now, every year,  these beauties are what happens.  My name for this photo, with George Ella Lyon's help, is LEGACY.  It's located on the way to town; it's a tradition.

             Three photos from my daughter, Rebecca:

peonies rushing to push back out of the earth

Maybe every dogwood tree deserves an actual companion dog....

        Friends Leatha and Will took a drive today to go see the blooms in the Lexington Cemetery, and they were kind to share some of its loveliness.

      Now a spring photo from England, by Sarah Fletcher, who shared this photo on Instagram today. I love the front sheep, posing, and the back steeple, with all that munching going on in between!  Always good to see so much blue sky over there,....

Saintbury Church in Willersey

Though these also aren't flowers, this photo continues to intrigue me. It's a drive-by on my way home from the grocery store. I call this the neighborhood deli, with four smart ass diners....

     
          To end today's hiatus, I'd like to give a shout-out to our wet-behind-the-ears governor who has been so impressive as he manages to set a tone of compassion and caring and perseverance to all Kentuckians, regardless of their politics. He is truthful, reliable, sensible, and direct about why he has made decisions that might at first seem daunting to his constituents.  Every day at 5 pm he has been showing what real leadership can be. It has been awhile since we've experienced that, so many of us are particularly grateful for his presence.  Thank you Gov. Andy Beshear!!!

serious times

post #481
           Wonderful "gathering" of our writers group this afternoon, using Face Time on our iPhones. 
          I'm grateful of course for this important part of my life -- monthly meetings, more or less, and twenty some years, more or less, all kinds of writing and wisdom.  So it's nice that today's new way of gathering shows we can still amaze ourselves.
          My Quaker Meeting met today with Zoom, but I didn't get to "go." I can handle only so much new Tech at a time.
          Of course the reason for our trying this out was because of the emergency the world is currently experiencing. I am sorry for all the suffering this new coronavirus is causing. Then I read about people who aren't taking this seriously, and I am stunned. Their denials make it that much harder to slow down the pandemic. Their selfish ignorance can be dangerous. Doesn't the pro-life stance so many people proclaim include our neighbors and friends? To show love for medically trained people, who will be there to help, stay away from groups, wash your hands a lot, and be part of this worldwide effort.  Believe that we have a couple of months ahead of life turned upside down. We all need to do the hard work of staying out of the way and supporting each other as we move through and past this enormous challenge..

Here are some more of my birds -- with my imagined words in their brains.

Alert, everyone, danger ahead!

How do I know which way to go, what needs doing the most?!!!

Stay calm, everybody, take one berry at a time.

I want IN, I want to help, I want to know what's going on!

Is this what they mean by "social distancing"????

 I'm back again to be a lookout for the next grouping coming in for care.

I don't care what happens to any other bird, I just want to do life my way. So there!

Just trying to get an overview of the big picture of the chaos all around.

We robins know how to hang together and help each other out.

We don't always understand what's required of us, but can't we learn to rise to the occasion?

the promised (last week) feeding frenzy session

post #480 -- sunny ALL day!
            Well, birds it still is -- the ones that just happen to stop by when the light is OK for shooting through a window. Again, I am NOT a professional bird photographer, someone who has super fast lenses and who would never deign to shoot through a glass window. But how can I not at least try to do it if it's the only way possible  --  right outside the bathroom window on the second floor of our house.  A very young grandchild was staying with us at the time, so she got to see the whole show while it was happening -- for over 20 minutes. (That includes waiting for the parent to come up with several refills.) I am not posting all the photos, but enough for you to get the idea and to share the wonder of it if you are so inclined.  My thanks to this hard working downy woodpecker family!!

Surely I am not forgotten??

work, work, work

Golly, this food prep wait goes on forever!

I know that you know my turn is next!

 

If it's not one, it's the other!!

 

I felt like I had my very own fledgling teaching me patience.  F, thanks for borrowing my camera!

What are you complaining about??

Am going to miss my mates and my mom and my dad.....

           
          Kids - appreciate those prepared meals before all the work is left up to you....

caught in the act, with birds

post #479
          I started preparing this post around noon, but it turns out there's more to it than I realized.  So I took a break to work on my tax prep since I'm meeting with my great preparer at noon tomorrow, in Grayson (near the favorite lake surrounded by cliffs that have often been in my photo stories.) Now it is the evening, and neither task is completed. BUT I just happen, at least, to have some photos to share.
         Last week's thoughts about seeing lead me to this week's thoughts about the dynamics of relying on seeing things in order to realize the opportunity that comes my way.  In my former house, I often felt like I was in a nest, looking out, seeing what ever came to visit.  Birds were usually willing to alight outside. They were particularly drawn to the black walnut tree whose branches hang over the deck. The bark is great for holding a seed, but also there must be something safe about the spacing between the branches?
         As today I gathered together photos of various bird visits, I was amazed all over again. What a privilege. I don't have a reason to be a bird photographer, and I don't have any special lenses or expertise, but the birds appear anyway. I drop everything to make a photo, if it happens that the light is right. It has to be, or I can't take photos through a window.    
         I start out being disbelieving, and then turn grateful, and throughout feel darn lucky.

bedroom window, with a tripod, trying for "two birds, daylight's words" for Counting on the Woods, thank you mourning doves for being able to hang together long enough for me to make this photo!!

I believe this is a fledgling red-bellied woodpecker, in the walnut tree.

Mama cardinal, from the kitchen window

a molting goldfinch on the artwork on the deck, through the sliding door

Fledgling behavior is a good time to record since there is coming and going from the same spot.  Next week I will show the whole series of photos I made from this dad's efforts to feed two offspring.

         

In my experience, this fledgling feeding behavior doesn't last long. Quick learners.

           I want to end this week's post with two photos I made at a friend's farm nearby. The bird is not particularly Appalachian, but he does add a lively dimension to the farm yard! They are just as noisy here as they were when we visited India many years ago. 
         These photo stories of my bird encounters will take up the next two weeks! I'm not just "winging" it. 

I believe the real action and showing off is behind....

but the way he gets his head to stay still with all that shaking going on behind is far beyond my skill set!!

        Now back to finishing my tax prep, can't wait to do more of this next week.