The Last Of The Grosbeaks

The rose-breasted grosbeaks are gone now. The stayed with us a little over a week.

The Peacock Family

I See The Moon And The Moon Sees Me

Small Town Life

I am sure we watch things on our local news that you would never see anywhere else in the world. We are a strange, but fun people.

Last night, the local news profiled this little restaurant in this little country town near here. The restaurant is right next door to an antique shop. The employees of the antique shop will call over to the restaurant and place their order for lunch. One of the employees of the restaurant will kick the wall when their food is ready.

During the segment, they interviewed a little man who was eating kraut and weenies. He told the interviewer that he wanted rolls with his meal, but the waitress refused to bring them. She brought him a piece of cornbread and told him that cornbread went with kraut and weenies, not rolls! She told him he wasn't eating at Burger King! He couldn't have it his way! You can bet that cornbread didn't have sugar in it either.

And that's the way it was...

Mr. and Mrs. Rose-breasted Grosbeak

We have been blessed with a whole flock of these beautiful birds. We last counted five males and several females. These pix were taken through a dirty kitchen window!

Spring Bird Watching

The first hummingbirds of the year came on May 1, my birthday. According to my nature journal, they were almost two weeks later than their first appearance last year. We usually see the first ones in April.

I was very excited to look out the kitchen window and see one male rose-breasted grosbeak with three females. This morning, while making my coffee, I looked out the window and saw two males! I took pix of the first sighting. I am hoping they turn out so I can post them here. We rarely see these birds and the fact that they have hung around the feeder for a couple of days is very exciting.

We have at least one pair of Eastern bluebirds. This is also rare for us. We usually see them once or twice in early spring and then not again. I am hoping they are nesting nearby.

A couple of birds have left. I haven't seen the Carolina wren for a while, and the ruby crowned kinglet is gone.

One cowbird showed up a while back and then left. This was the first cowbird I had seen in years. Cowbirds do not raise their young. They lay their eggs in another bird's nest and then that bird raises the babies.

I haven't seen the mockingbirds in a while. Dear husband saw them in the lane just above our place. I still put out apple halves for them. I heard one last night before dark and tried to count how many calls he ran through, but I couldn't keep up with him.

We have one brown thrasher who is just beautiful! He came after I switched the suet to the kind that is not supposed to melt.

I spotted a pair of house finches at the seed feeder. They appeared to be healthy. We used to participate in a survey that tracked house finch disease by Cornell University. It can affect house finches and gold finches. I have to mention here that I love Cornell Lab of Ornithology's address. It's Sapsucker Woods!

The ducks that were in the creek left and never came back. We do have a one kingfisher.

Then we have all the regulars that we tend to take for granted, but are all really beautiful creatures. We have bluejays, cardinals, downies, red-bellies, titmice, chickadees, song sparrows, mourning doves, and white-breasted nuthatches.

For the past few days I have been watching a pair of cardinals. The male has been feeding the female. I am hoping he will bring his babies to the feeder when they fledge. He will be in charge of feeding them for their first few days out of the nest. They will sit and flap their wings and cry until he breaks off bits of suet and places it in their mouths. He is a good father and never gets ruffled. He will gradually stop feeding them and make them eat on their own.

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention...we have a mourning dove with an injured foot. I don't know what happened to cause the injury. It eats like a pig, so I am pretty sure it will be OK. It comes to the feeders on the pumphouse roof and sits a while and eats a while.

And of course the phoebes. One is still roosting on the front porch at night, but no nesting has started. We hear him during the day calling for a mate. I hope he has better luck this year. My sister already has a pair nesting on her back porch for the third straight year.

Anyone else birdwatching? Please tell me about the birds in your area.

Westerns

I like western movies. I would blame it on living in a house full of men for so long, but I think it goes back beyond that. My dad loved the old Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns. We would all pile in the car and go to the drive-in. We were so young that after the cartoons, we would fall asleep. In those days, cars were big enough to live in. My sister and I would sleep in the back, and my baby brother would lay in Mom's lap. Once we were all down and quiet, Dad was left to enjoy Fist Full of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, Hang Em High, and of course The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which in my opinion has the best theme song and the best ending of almost any western.

Westerns have such great dialogue. You just cannot beat them for quotes. Here are some of my favorites:

Blondie: In this world there's two kinds of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Josey: When I get to likin' someone, they ain't around long.
Lone Watie: I notice when you get to DISlikin' someone they ain't around for long neither! The Outlaw Josie Wales

Lone Watie: I didn't surrender, but they took my horse and made him surrender. They have him pulling a wagon up in Kansas I bet. The Outlaw Josie Wales

Tuco: I'm looking for the owner of that horse. He's tall, blonde, he smokes a cigar, and he's a pig! The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Stranger: Somebody left the door open and the wrong dogs came home. High Plains Drifter

Josey: Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie? The Outlaw Josie Wales

Daggett: You just shot an unarmed man!
Munny: He should have armed himself if he's gonna decorate his saloon with my friend. Unforgiven

Jeremiah: [Jeremiah and Bear Claw hunt elk] Wind's right, but he'll just run soon as we step out of these trees.
Bear Claw Chris Lapp: Trick to it. Walk out on this side of your horse.
Jeremiah Johnson: What if he sees our feet?
Bear Claw Chris Lapp: Elk don't know how many feet a horse has! Jeremiah Johnson

Bear Claw Chris Lapp: Can you skin Griz? Jeremiah Johnson

Bear Claw Chris Lapp: Watch your top knot.
Jeremiah Johnson: Yep, watch your'n. Jeremiah Johnson

Crazy Cora: You know, if we're lost, you can tell me.
Matthew Quigley: We're lost.
Crazy Cora: I can take bad news. Just tell me straight.
Matthew Quigley: I don't know where the h___ we are.
Crazy Cora: No sense takin' time to make it sound better than it is.
Matthew Quigley: I reckon we're goin' in circles.
Crazy Cora: Wire things up and I'll see right through. So, just tell me honestly. Are we lost? Matthew Quigley: Nope. I know exactly where we are.
Crazy Cora: That's good, 'cause, frankly, I was gettin' a little worried. Quigley Down Under

And now to pay homage to my all-time favorite western, Tombstone:

Ike Clanton: What is that, Holliday? Twelve hands in a row? Ain't nobody that lucky.
Doc Holliday: Why Ike, whatever do you mean? Maybe poker's just not your game. I know! Let's have a spelling contest!

Johnny Ringo: Isn't anyone here man enough to play for blood?
Doc Holliday: I'm your huckleberry.

Wyatt Earp: All right, Clanton... you called down the thunder, well now you've got it! You see that? [pulls open his coat, revealing a badge]
Wyatt Earp: It says United States Marshal!
Ike Clanton: [terrified, pleading] Wyatt, please, I...
Wyatt Earp: [referring to Stilwell, laying dead] Take a good look at him, Ike... 'cause that's how you're gonna end up! [shoves Ike down roughly with his boot]
Wyatt Earp: The Cowboys are finished, you understand? I see a red sash, I kill the man wearin' it! [lets Ike up to run for his life]
Wyatt Earp: So run, you cur... RUN! Tell all the other curs the law's comin'! [shouts]
Wyatt Earp: You tell 'em I'M coming... and hell's coming with me, you hear?... [louder]
Wyatt Earp: Hell's coming with me!

Sherman McMasters: Where is he? (Referring to Wyatt Earp)
Doc Holliday: Down by the creek, walking on water.

Billy Clanton: Why, it's the drunk piano player. You're so drunk, you can't hit nothin'. In fact, you're probably seeing double. [Billy Clanton draws a knife]
Doc Holliday: [takes out a second gun] I have two guns, one for each of ya.

Big Nose Kate: I'm a good woman to you, Doc. Don't I always take care of you? Nobody cares for you like me. I'm a good woman.
Doc Holliday: It's true, you are a good woman. Then again, you may be the antichrist.

Wyatt Earp: What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does?
Doc Holliday: A man like Ringo has got a great big hole, right in the middle of himself. And he can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.
Wyatt Earp: What does he want?
Doc Holliday: Revenge.
Wyatt Earp: For what?
Doc Holliday: Bein' born.

Wyatt Earp: You gonna do somethin'? Or are you just gonna stand there and bleed?

I Used To Be A Babe!

I was born 46 years ago today. The hospital where I was born was torn down recently. My great grandmother was still living and decided to come across the mountain to see me. The nurses found out and tried to pretty me up a bit. I didn't have a dab of hair and had a huge pump knot on the side of my head from delivery. They cut off the tail end of my gown, used it to make a large bow, and taped it to the side of my head. I can only imagine what I looked like! Still, it was a thoughtful gesture.

I was almost a year old in this pix. I am playing with a camera box. My mom bought this camera with S & H Green Stamps. This pix was taken with it. Not long ago, she gave the camera to me.

Good Ripples

Good ripples is a quote from Joan of Arcadia, my all-time favorite show. Of course, it only lasted two seasons and isn't on anymore, but both seasons are on DVD. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the show:

Joan - Oh, come on! God, try me! Give me a hint!

God - I leave hints all over the place. I'm all about hints.

~~~~~~~~

God - The thing about fear is it doesn't leave room for anything else, like beauty or purpose.

Joan - So... did you just pop up to stop me from telling Adam about you?

God - I don't pop. I abide. I am eternal. There's no popping.

~~~~~~~~

God - Almost everybody has some light somewhere. And light is always worth fighting for.

~~~~~~~~

God - Do you know the meaning of grace? It's a touch of truth that lets you see the world in a new way. It's a gift that can only be felt when you're open enough to accept it.

~~~~~~~~

Albino Alligator

This fella will be visiting the Knoxville Zoo until Labor Day.

The Dogwood Trails

The flower pix were taken on our Dandridge trip. The street shots were taken on one of the Dogwood Trails in Knoxville, TN. Knoxville hosts the Dogwood Arts Festival every year. The two street shots were taken through dirty car windows. It was raining that day. Pink lines are painted on the road for you to follow through beautifully landscaped neighborhoods. One year, there were vintage cars sitting in front of several houses. I will post those pix soon.

Shortly after these pix were taken, we had several hard frosts and snow. Most of the dogwood blooms are dead. Most of the azaleas hadn't bloomed yet and they are now dead. We had had a beautiful spring up until this point. We are expecting snow again tomorrow.

Pansies

Nothing Lasts Forever

More Dandridge

Dandridge, Tennessee

Romans 1:16-17

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

For Those Tears I Died

You said you'd come and share all my sorrows
You said you'd be there for all my tomorrows
I came so close to sending you away
But just like you promised, you came here to stay
I just had to pray

And Jesus said,
"Come to the water, stand by my side
I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied
I felt every tear drop, when in darkness you cried
And I strove to remind you,
That for those tears I died"

Your goodness so great, I can't understand
And dear Lord I know that all this was planned
I know You're here now and always will be
Your love loosed my chains, and in You I'm free
But Jesus why me?

And Jesus said,
"Come to the water, stand by my side
I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied
I felt every tear drop, when in darkness you cried
And I strove to remind you,
That for those tears I died"

Jesus I give You, my heart and my soul
I know now without God, I'd never be whole
Savior, You opened all the right doors
And I thank You and praise You from earth's humble shores
Take me I'm Yours.

And Jesus said,
"Come to the water, stand by my side
I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied
I felt every tear drop, when in darkness you cried
And I strove to remind you,
That for those tears I died"
Words and music by Marsha Stevens

Fairlight's Dandelion

Homage To Barney Fife

Welcome Sweet Springtime

(a.k.a. "Good ole 14-A")

Welcome sweet springtime,

We greet thee in song,

Mummers of gladness,

Fall on the ear.

Voices long hushed,

Now hear full notes, prolong,

Echoing far and near.

{CHORUS}

Sunshine awaits for,

The flower that's from seed,

Joy giving incense,

Fall on the air.

Snowdrops and primrose,

Both timidly beam,

Hailing the glad new year.

{BARN}

Balmy in life,

Breathing breezes are blowing,

Swiftly to nature,

New vigor's bestowing.

Oh, how my heart beats,

With rapture anew,

Earth's flower in beauty,

Again feeds my view.

{CHORUS}

Sunshine awaits for,

The flower that's from seed,

Joy giving incense,

Fall on the air.

{BARN}

Snowdrops and primrose,

Both timidly beam,

Hailing the glad new year.

My Yard This Spring

Lilac Bush


Forsythia Bush


Carpet Bugles


Bradford Pear


Primrose


Redbud