AstroGypsies

If you have ever heard a Barred Owl carrying on in the forest, or beside your bedroom window, you will know what I mean!:) Yes, it sounds exactly like “Who cooks for you!” take a listen: Barred Owl vocalization

♫♪♫ Clowns to the left of me…jokers to the right…here I am, stuck in the middle with you;) ♫♪♫ I was starting to hymn that as I watched this beautiful bird, scanning about, looking for lunch no doubt. not a care that I was there. We don’t get to see them, hear them yes, but see them, hardly ever so a real treat!

I had what I thought was a cold a few weeks ago, it was, just a really nasty viral cold that I am just starting to recover from now. It was a doozy. Ten days sleeping in the recliner as I couldn’t lay down without coughing my guts out. I swear my stomach/chest coughing muscles would rival Arnie’s about right now;) Tried all the cold medications, nothing would touch it, but time…halle-f-ing-lujah!

I was bummed as I’d spotted some Snowy Owls the afternoon I got sick and wanted to go back and take a look, two females fighting. They were a ways away but obviously Snowys! My first here! We’ll go look again this week! Fingers crossed they are still there!

We’ve had our cold snap now, -22° C is cold enough thank you. It started to warm up today, a few flurries but we haven’t had but one plow this month, I could have just jinxed us there;) Cats are NOT impressed, other than Groot who is on his squirrel desensitization training. It’s fascinating watching him let the black squirrels come right up to him, a foot away as he stares them down. Gamora chased them all off this morning! “We’ll have NONE of that brother Groot!” then she sat on the wagon wheel out of the snow, disgusted, that white stuff…who ordered all this she wants to know?

Today is the first day I could sit outside, not coughing. Fresh air…birds:) Groot sits under the picnic table and I watch who comes and goes. Our regulars. So far no Northern migrants but it’s still early.

The Red Bellies are busy and the Hairy and Downys are already vying for who is top dog, lot’s of heated conversations going on:)

The LBB’s are always fun to watch. The flocks come in waves, there are none at the feeders, then a tweet starts and they all come flocking in. As if the coast is clear somehow! The ravens tend to scatter them as they are small birdie numnums to them! We had a raven pick a goldfinch right off the feeder last year..0_0…Little brown birds beware!

The Narrows Lock was brimming with Trumpeter swans last time I drove past. I stopped and counted over fifty of them! The adult families were squabbling with the youngsters on the ice! Fun to watch. Putting the young ones in their place no doubt getting too big for their britches, or wings;)

Other than that I haven’t exactly had many outings in the last few weeks:) Bedridden, covered by cats, I was a good heat source there for awhile! I am working on the blue jays again. My beautiful Winter berries are done:( I did enjoy them while they hung onto their branches, so pretty in the snow!

Now the Blue Jays had to endure peanut retrieval with the remains of the Christmas wreath. They were initially NOT impressed at my new trap to someone enslave them. I assured them, as I do, no harm would come to them if they landed on the pretty wreath, be NICE to the photographer or there will be NO PEANUTS! They complied;)

Groot gets very excited when they land to get their snacks and he at times comes out from under the table to marvel at their tail feathers:) It’s almost time to find some Valentines day props! Look out Jays! Time for a trip to the dump and the reuse it store!

I did walk down to check on the #littleredcanoe when it warmed up to only -13°. I decided to move these bones and wander down to check out the tracks and see who else had been visiting:) A few deer prints across the lake and I could finally perform a miracle and walk on water, well, OK, technically ice but hey, it could be a superpower;) I didn’t last long. A quick walk along the edge to check out the cat tails and that was about it for my energy levels…there were stairs to go back up! Ha!

Now to get back to walking. On the plus side spending ten days in a recliner has done wonders for my hip bursitis! No marathons in the future but that mailbox needs checking every now and then, who knows what will arrive;) Spring? I am overly hopeful me thinks! The squirrels were acting like it was, fighting and carrying on among themselves the first warmer day.

We all could use some warmer temperatures please! Other than California and Baja, rain for them por favor! I’m trying not to look at the news much, it’s just too f*cked up. The voters who are taking their country down the drain will realize it later, too late but we can always hope for an “act of God” Ha! In America that might be a automatic firearm. One day at a time my friends South of the border…one day at a time. Saludos amigos, I’ll leave you with our bright red cardinal friend, not the episcopal kind 😉 He’s been shy, but a regular:)