He'll learn in time...

Peek-a-boo!

 I see you!

This young robin couldn't resist the sound of the running water, so he paid our deck fountain a visit...

 ...and spent quite a bit of time drinking and bathing!

I think he'll learn, in time, that while the top section may be fine for drinking, the bottom section is the place to "splish splash and take a bath!" Robins are very animated when bathing, and this little guy was running out of room on the top section as evidenced by the short video below:

I hope you all have a wonderful week! 

Donna

Tweeting ...

I don't tweet. Do you? One of my girls Tweets, but thus far I haven't had any desire to delve into this newest form of communication.


I remember when only birds tweeted.


But not these two. They play music rather than tweet. The bluebird plays "It's a Small World" and the robin plays "You Light Up My Life."


But the real birds outside are tweeting very loudly today! I can hear them even through the closed windows (it's a tad on the chilly side today).

I suspect they're trying to attract mates. After all, it's spring and love is in the air!

I don't have much to tweet about today. I did go to Weight Watchers. I've been VERY bad about attending weigh-ins or meetings the past few months, and my lack of commitment has been showing on the scales.

I went to WW last week after a month and a half absence from attending and I was up 1.2 pounds. It was definitely time to recommit to going weekly. Thankfully today's weigh-in was better. Down 2.6 lbs. Still a far cry from where I want to be, but better than a gain.

Wishing you all determination, courage, and stick-to-it-iveness with any challenges you might be battling in your lives!

Donna

The early bird gets the...

... shaft!!! Our first robins arrived over the weekend, just in time for the nastiest weather of the season...


(click to enlarge photos)

"Mr. Robin, what on earth were you thinking, migrating back to New England in January!?!?" (I left this pic very large so you can see Mr. Robin, perched on the heated birdbath, if you click to enlarge the photo... Just follow the arrow!) I seem to remember as a kid that robins were considered one of the first signs of spring, but I've noticed over the past several years that they've been arriving earlier and earlier!


"Oh, no, Little Wren - not you, too!!! You've arrived in the middle of a snowstorm, and spring, with its abundance of insects, is nowhere in sight!"



"So find Mr. Robin and see if you two can cuddle together and keep warm until you find mates!"

Now here's a bird that looks right at home in the New England winter!

"Hello, Mr. Nuthatch!! I see you've spotted the crumbled suet cake I sprinkled over the feeder for you!"

Sweet, gentle mourning doves... They are such timid, beautiful birds. Usually when they spot me with my camera, they're gone... But this little guy must have been hungry because he just kept on eating after he spotted me.

"Hello, little junco! Although I won't miss winter, I will definitely miss you when you're gone... So we'll make the most of the next couple of months, until the longer days and warmer temps tell you it's time to spread your wings and fly away."

This little black-capped chickadee looks camouflaged amongst the seed and suet!

They are such feisty, brave little birds... They come right onto the deck in the summer to drink from the small birdbath we keep there... (ahhhh, summer... what a sweet word!!!)

It seems as though every time I glanced toward the dining room window while getting supper ready, I'd see a different bird at the feeder. So I grabbed my camera and within a short period of time got photos of all these guys. Blue jays and cardinals were also there, but they never came back once I had my camera in hand (Murphy's law)...

This is the first year we've had the screen feeder set up right outside the dining room window and I absolutely love it. Number one, I can fill it right through the window... no more trudging through the snow; and Number two, I get to watch these feathered friends up close and personal!! Another thing to be grateful for!

Donna

More of my Junktique Treasures...

Okay, back to what I bought the other day... I am so drawn to cottage blue and robin's egg blue, so when I spotted this little blue bottle, I scooped it up. The raised lettering says "Mellin's Infant's Food Doliber-Goodale Co. Boston." I just stuck some dried flowers in it to photograph it, but I think it will make a sweet little vase for "fresh from the garden" flowers this summer! I found some just like it on eBay and it looks like the blue ones range between $13 and $15, so I'm very happy with my $4 price tag!

At the same shop, I spotted this GORGEOUS robin's egg blue vase from several aisles over. Now I'm not into collectibles so I really don't know the value of such things. The vase had a raised peacock and flower vine design and I was surprised by the weight of it (quite heavy); it also had an old black & gold Fenton label inside. (I own a white hobnail Fenton candy dish, but had never seen this color... but like I said, I'm not a collector.) I was a little disappointed because the price was more than I wanted to pay ($21.00). I asked the salesperson if the price was firm, and he said he would take 10% off, which brought it down to around $19. He said it's a rare Fenton color and it would sell quickly. I think I must have put it down and picked it up 3 times before finally bringing it up to the register. Again, I could just picture beautiful summer flowers in it... Well, the first thing I did when I got home was to look for the same Fenton vase on-line, and I found several going for $75, $150, and even $225, so now I don't feel quite so bad about what I paid! Of course those are mint condition, and mine has some faint (but stubborn) dirty spots... There's a blue Fenton peacock vase on eBay right now that's only $9 (with 4-1/2 days left on the auction). It's slightly different from mine as it is shiny (mine isn't) and it has the Fenton logo on the bottom (which mine doesn't, just the label inside), but other than that, it's pretty close!

Remember the shop where I got my rose painting and Mary statue? Well, I also found this cute robin wind chime for $1.50. It's hand painted and is just adorable. I have to say that robins are one of my favorite birds. I have multiple bird baths in my yard, and the robins favor the deepest one. They just love to submerge themselves and flap their wings and splash to their heart's content. I can always tell when a robin has been in the bird bath because the water level is way down and the ground is soaking wet all around the bird bath!

And last, but certainly not least, here is the other wind chime I bought. Remember the "white bird" hint I gave you? Isn't this sweet? And St. Francis of Assisi is the clapper of the wind chime. I hung it in the yard to take a photo of it, but I think this will look really cute hanging inside the house in front of a window. It certainly fits in with my decor!

So thanks for letting me share some of my junktique treasures with you. We're back to unseasonably COLD weather here in New England... 40-50 degrees for the next week and lots of rain as well (we desperately need the rain, so I won't complain about that)...

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Donna