Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving!

This snapshot of Marie is very old, but I'm bringing it back because tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. I got her to show off some of her artwork.

For Wild Bird Wednesday, I have some pictures from a month ago.

Oh, those gray geese marching toward me look like the ones that used to attack me when I lived by the lake. I did not stick around to find out.

Two Birds and a Walk in the Park

The black-capped chickadee was sharing a feeder with a house finch. At least, I think she's a house finch. The female finches are not very showy and have not made a big impression on me. She looks sweet though. 

Somehow it is the middle of the month already, and I was reminded that the 15th is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I saw pansies blooming in a park in town so I’ll show a few pictures from a short walk I took there. Pansies tolerate cold weather better than most of our flowers here.

Charlie was with me and he was interested in sniffing everything. He is now two years old and is doing well in many ways, but still has a way to go on some things that I thought were basic. Apparently his stint in the Envigo breeding factory left him with some deep fears. Many dogs from the same place have similar issues. They were bred to be lab animals, not house pets, and they were treated so poorly that the place got closed down. Add to that the beagles’ inherited tendency to run and hunt, and no wonder he struggles. 

Lately, we have been trying to adjust to the time change and shorter daylight hours. Charlie has started getting up well before dawn, and I really don’t want to go outside when it’s dark and cold. I’d rather sleep until dawn, so I hope we can work this out quickly

Autumn Day in the Valley

Although I am not an early bird, my dog likes to get up at dawn, and sometimes before. He does not understand that daylight savings time ended and most folks are sleeping a little later.

After we take a walk first thing in the morning, I like to spend some time at home, checking messages, catching up on tasks, and so on. I like to get out in the afternoon, even if it’s just to ride out to the dog park. Sometimes I vary the route to to look at the scenery.

Water Thursday / Skywatch / All Seasons

The fall colors are bright, even though we are still in a drought. There’s been just enough rain to keep the grass green.

 

A Wren and East of Edinburg

The carolina wrens have returned to my yard. I heard one singing and there it was!

 I'd also like to show you a couple of scenes from Edinburg last week. The first is a view from the bridge on Edinburg Gap Road. 

Just east of there is Lost Bottoms Farm. This was before the recent hard frost that nipped the pretty flowers. 

Birding Trail at Sweet Run

My post yesterday neglected the variety of trails at Sweet Run State Park. One of my birding friends asked about the birding opportunities there, and indeed there is a birding trail.

The sign is actually next to a chimney-style tower that was built for chimney swifts. Another sign tells about chimney swifts, which come here in the spring to nest. I did not see any, but they may have already migrated southward.

I believe these are Audubon style towers, and there are a number of them in Pennsylvania with a similar sign.

I heard birds in the nearby trees, but only saw one in the sky, which may have been a vulture.

Since I don’t have any pictures of swifts, I asked the StarryAI app to create some. Results were varied.

(LOL. Forgive my wordplay, please.)

Ducks and a Heron

The Wild Bird Wednesday linkup features from some enjoyable bird photos, so I continue to participate even though my bird pictures are ordinary compared to many of the others. I’ve just started feeding birds for this season by putting out some suet. I hope to get some close-up shots before long. (I don’t have much luck getting close to birds in the wild, so I bribe them to come to my deck.)

In the meantime, here are some mallard ducks on a pond, followed by a heron that I just happened to spot as I crossed a bridge.

Stony Creek, Edinburg Mill

Shenandoah County, Virginia 

The mill parking lot is a reliable spot for seeing mallard ducks. You can walk down to the creek to take a closer look. It’s an enchanting spot.

I recall being impressed the first time I saw this mill over 30 years ago. It did not have the flood wall then.

The mill was built by George Grandstaff in 1848 in to grind wheat and corn into flour.

Exhibit Birds

Sky Meadows State Park

It isn't often that I see ducks on a bookshelf, but here they are in a nature center.

The turkey has been stuffed, but not in a Thanksgiving way. This is a wild turkey, and they have become fairly common in Virginia. I rarely saw them when I was a child, but now they have adapted to a suburban lifestyle.

The owl looks a bit worn. It’s fooled the Info feature on my phone, which said it was a bug, and then, when I clicked through, identified as a tawny owl. It isn’t though.

A sign said this is a barred owl. Both are members of the wood-owl genus Strix.

I also have a computer-generated bird picture, a dove of peace. 

"Perhaps then, if we listen attentively, we shall hear amid the uproar of empires and nations, a faint flutter of wings, the gentle stirring of life and hope.” – Albert Camus

Roads, River, Birds

After I took Charlie to the dog park this afternoon, I decided to drive down to the river. I was surprised to find that Lupton Road has been paved! It's one of two narrow roads that go down to Seven Bends State Park, which is located along the North Fork of the Shenandoah. The rough condition of the roads has been a concern.

The afternoon light was pretty. I thought I might photograph some birds for Wild Bird Wednesday, but I didn’t get close to any.

I decided to go down the other road to the park to take a look. But first I passed a sign that appeared to have two crows standing on it. Oh, they’re decorations.

I found a bird in the park, but it was a wandering guinea fowl from a nearby home. It wandered back to its driveway as I left the park. The geese live there too. Oh, who is that coming up the driveway!

It’s the peacock and his kitty friend. It’s interesting how such different species can get along when they live together.

We live in a beautiful world. Why can’t we all get along?

Not Many Birds but the Views are Great!

Natural areas call to me. I’m addicted to scenic views and looking for wildlife. So I used an errand in Harrisonburg is an excuse to go by way of Skyline Drive. It takes quite a bit longer, several hours if you stop as often as I do.

I reasoned that I could take some pictures of birds. The only wild bird I saw was a vulture soaring on the wind currents. I could hear other birds, but they did not come out of the trees.

It was a cloudy day and Stony Man’s profile and was hidden in the fog. 

I stopped at the visitor center at Big Meadows. Look at this model owl! What a face!

There were chairs where visitors can sit and watch the meadow. Often you can see deer.

Silhouettes of birds are on the glass to alert birds that there is a barrier there.

Photo Frustration

It doesn’t look like I’m going to get a good hummingbird picture this season. I thought I got some the other day but the light was fading and I just didn’t get the focus right. Before I show you the better of the disappointing shots that I got, I’ll show you my hummingbird window hanging, taken with my kaleidoscopic attachment that I demonstrated on July 20th.

So here's the bird, overexposed and not quite sharp.

Today I made a couple of computer generated hummingbird pictures using Picsart.