Saturday, May 07, 2011

A FIGHT BREAKS OUT IN OUR DRIVEWAY

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A MALE BALTIMORE ORIOLE TAKES FLIGHT IN OUR FRONT YARD THIS MORNING 

I could see a partial crescent moon low on the horizon peeking through the Pine trees late Friday night & that gave me hope for a sunny Saturday morning.   And a sunny morning it was for a couple hours.  Just long enough for Cora (Motormouse) & I to get out for a walk around our morning trail.
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Been walking that same trail for eight & half years now so there are lots of pleasant doggy memories along the way.  Trillium flowers carpet the forest floor & the trees are alive with a chorus of song birds.   It is the first time I have been out for a morning walk in a couple weeks & it was so nice to have the little Mouse trotting along beside me.

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MORNING WALK IN THE TRILLIUM FOREST

Needed a few groceries & had planned on taking the bike to Goderich.  Before I could get started a bank of clouds rolled in blocking the sun & that dropped the temperature.  Lathering on layers of clothing to stay warm on a motorcycle just doesn’t cut it for me anymore so the Kid & I jumped in the toasty warm Jeep & headed for town.   First stop was McDonalds for a coffee & a snack for us guys.
DSC_3700-1Gas gauge in the Jeep wasn’t even down to a quarter & it still cost me $62 to fill it up.  Hate to think what it would take to fill up the Motor Home these days.  It sure hangs a gray cloud over many of us here in the RV world for current & future travels.
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Made it through the first 24 hours without so much as one squirrel on the new feeding station.   However, I’m sure I saw two black Squirrels carrying my step ladder out of the carport a few minutes ago.
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NOW, THESE KINDS OF SQUIRRELS I DON'T MIND:))

The Bayfield Bunch extends a warm welcome to our newest blog Follower, TEXAS YELLOW ROSE.  Thanks for dropping by:))
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After going to bed Friday night Cora came in to my room, jumped up on my bed & snuggled up on my pillow with her little face ever so softly touching mine.  And that is how we both fell asleep.  She is a very precious little girl.
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KELLY SENT THESE PICS FROM OUR OTHER LAPTOP TODAY
Following is a series of photos I took this morning in our driveway.  Two male Baltimore Orioles were having themselves quite a scrap.  Because of the poor lighting & fast action of the birds the photos are a bit blurred & I didn’t have time to make any adjustments to the camera settings.  This 17 picture sequence lasted about 30 seconds & I am happy to say both Orioles kissed & made up before flying off up into the tall Pine trees.  I suspect they were fighting over a lady friend because after all, it is Spring you know:))  Click on 'VIEW ALBUM' & then look for & click on 'SLIDE SHOW.'  Scroll your mouse to the bottom to bring up the slide show control bar & click on the > to start the slide show rolling.  Wished Live Writer would come up with a better way of doing this.  (I'm using the older version on XP right now.)

 
Our sunshine returned early this afternoon & the skies are totally clear now.  So clear in fact that the 6 o’clock weather report has just issued a frost warning over night.  This Spring weather with it’s cold air & warm sunshine sure reminds me of the high desert winters in southeastern Arizona.  On the sunny side of the rig most days we could tan in the warming rays of the sun but on the shady side of the rig we had to bundle up against wintery cold air.
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I have all the bins on the passenger side of the Motor home emptied, vacuumed & washed so will maybe start on the driver’s side tomorrow if the weather holds up.  If we have some warmer air present I’ll likely take the bike for a ride too.  For some reason I like touring around with the Motorcycle on quiet Sunday mornings.  And speaking of Motorcycles, here’s something odd I have noticed over the last 4 or 5 years.  Seems every time we come home in the Spring & I go to put my Motorcycle jacket on……it has shrunk again.  Now, how can a leather jacket shrink every winter?  How does that happen anyway!!  
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TRILLIUM
GROANER’S CORNER:))   How well I remember the time I fell over in the sand and rocked myself to sleep trying to get up.  And then to add insult to injury I was eventually awakened by a lifeguard who asked me to move back because the tide was waiting to come in.  Sometimes I have to stay off sidewalks because I leave footprints in the concrete & one time last summer when I went swimming at Bayfield’s Beach the water level in Grand Bend rose two feet & swamped 9 boats!!!!
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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL

12 comments:

  1. Motormouse sure looks like she had a great time on her walk. And I am so glad you told us the birds made up because the slide show made it look like a fight to the death. And all over a woman. Geez. Jim always tells me it's my fault that his pants have shrunk so maybe you can blame Kelly.

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  2. There's so much going on in this post that it's hard to decide what to comment on! I'm so glad Cora and you are giving each other comfort.

    What a burst of male testosterone in your driveway!

    Triliums are a special treat of spring. Enjoyed all the picks tonight. :)

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  3. WOW, your pics are incredible...were you a professional photographer in a former life?? And you have such a way with words! Great post!

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  4. Great coverage of the fight. You would think looking at them, it was a fight to the death. Glad they kissed and made up :)

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  5. Al, I don't comment much but just want you to know I enjoy reading your blog everyday - your pics are amazing! Cora Motormouse is so cute. Glad she's getting lots of loving! Hope Kelly's mom keeps improving so she can soon get back home. You do sound better - take care now!
    Connie in PA

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  6. sorry to hear about your 'shrinking leather jacket'?..darn material anyway!!
    have a great Sunday, Al!..nice bird shots today!!

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  7. Lovely pics of those B. orioles and spring flowers. Hope to see 1 or 2 B. orioles this spring myself. Gas prices are prohibitive. In the UK, they pay $9/gal so relatively speaking ....

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  8. I love the Trilliums. Bring back a lot of memories for me. We grew up on 40 acres, and the wild flowers were abundant. Thanks for the memories... :)

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  9. Loved Groaners Corner this morning... Great photos and that Motormouse is so darn cute!
    Have fun & Keep safe
    Donna

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  10. Hi, my husband talks about your blog every day, so I had to come over and check it out!
    Gorgeous pics, especially the fighting Orioles and flowers!
    So sorry you've lost 2 fur-friends recently, they are like family I know!
    I think a lot of people will be vacationing "local" this summer due to high gas prices! So glad we did our big trip last year!
    May the sun return to your beautiful part of Ontario soon!
    Kathy
    aka Birdingrvers.com

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  11. I love watching the hummingbirds and their fights. A lot of buzzing and acrobatics, but they never even seem to touch. All show! You got some amazing pictures of the orioles.

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  12. If you didn't have the squirrels and the birds, you'd really pine for Arizona! Just to let you know, we're at 7700 ft in the Sierra (near Lee Vining) and it is snowing a little bit, wind is blowing, and it's cold outside. Lovin' it!

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