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Sunday, May 22, 2011

Cowbirds ~ NAPA Auto Parts ~ Vultures Bluebirds Harley

 
Good 44º cloudy morning.

Sitting on the fence were this pair of cowbirds. Female is gray and the male is black.

They lay their eggs in other bird's nests. As soon as the female nest sitter has left the female cowbird lays her egg or eggs, therein  absolves the cowbird of the burden of feeding and raising the fledgling. Here are some cowbird eggs ...
 

 The cowbird egg is the spotted one in the bluebird nest and in the bottom nest.
Here is what they sound like... sort of like water gurgling... at this link just below the name of the bird there is a speaker icon and arrow on the left. Click on the arrow to hear the cowbird ...
Dave and PJ came up in the afternoon yesterday and found the fuse had gone bad in the sprayer. All fixed. Windy then so didn't spray. Not good in the wind. D also fixed my backpack sprayer. And... he shot a ground squirrel up on the stump that had been waving at me! Little buggers!

No rain yesterday. Was a beautiful day and I even sat on the porch later on with a glass of wine and watched the critters. Harley was very happy in the late afternoon sun, Mr. Bluebird was bringing chow to his kids, and above were turkey vultures circling. I'm sure they had the scent of the ground squirrel that Dave sent to it's reward...
 

 




Ya know, I always find it interesting the comments about my blog that I get. (oh my, that sounded like Yoda, from Star Wars talking...
"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is." LOL) Comments are so welcome, but they sometimes throw me for a loop. My favorite picture yesterday was the deer. Only one comment on her (thanks Erika). But that's what is interesting, everyone has a different perspective and likes and dislikes. Onward and upward........

The other day I stopped in "River's Edge" Napa Auto in Rogue River.
I needed new windshield wiper blades. I complain that being a girl is irritating at times when I can't fix some things, but being a girl has it advantages also. I suppose most men walk into an auto parts store, order what they need, and walk out and have to do the work themselves. On the other hand, at our Napa I told Paul I needed wiper blades.... he took the old ones off the car, put the new ones on the blade contraption, and put them on my car for me! All for under $9. Can't beat that!!
Either Paul or Mike are so very helpful, friendly, and downright nice. So is Paul's wife, Rhea! And the dogs... Harry the Jack Russell (the old guy), Mel (Mellow Yellow) the lab, and Ebony the pup lab. Fun to go in there.

Yesterday I posted the following site in the comments section of my blog, but it's not read by that many, so decided to post it here. A favorite site of mine, introduced to me by Claire Atteberry. Her husband Dave is my roofing guy at Rogue River Roofing. Claire is now my friend. We have this food thing in common!
I put a poached egg on my broccoli yesterday, inspired by Taste Spotting that Claire had shared with me. Then Lydia wrote she was making that for breakfast, but instead of broccoli, she was using spinach. Check the site for many more ideas with poached or fried eggs.  
 



Got dessert made for the Fiesta later, and a few other chores. Warmed to 74º. Dinner was LO mac and cheese.

Historically this date....

1843 – Thousands of people and their cattle head west via wagon train from Independence, Missouri to what would later become the Oregon Territory. It is part of the Great Migration. They follow what is now known as the Oregon Trail.
1856Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas").
Good grief!
1906 – The Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".
1942 – World War II: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox enlists in the United States Marine Corps as a flight instructor.
And births this date include....
1907 – Laurence Olivier, English stage and screen actor (d. 1989)
 
1927 – Michael Constantine, American actor


1942 – Barbara Parkins, Canadian actress
 



Ok, nuff said. Happy Sunday. Will be cooking taquitos and making guacamolé for today's "fiesta" and birthday party for
Deb.......




xo Mom-Soupy-Sue
May 22nd
Vanilla Pudding Day

6 comments:

Lydia said...

LOVED the deer):- Just didn't want to write more in comment section than you did in the inspiring post.

Thank you for the food link above.

Anonymous said...

Still only 56° out there, and still overcast, though the heavy fog has lifted. We had a good walk in blissful silence earlier - except for the cawing of the crows. Spence & I both hate the crows for what they do to other birds' fledglings, but their cawing always brings to my mind the early morning campground sounds :)

Interesting how slick these cowbirds are!
Have a good Sunday and enjoy Deb's birthday party.
Hugs, Erika

Anonymous said...

Sue,
I loved the deer too. Looked so cute peering out at you. My trouble is that by the time I read everything I forget what I had seen earlier. Old age, you know! :(:(
Speaking of crows we have tons of them flying all around our house. Mother used to go outside and throw something at them because they would sit on her bedroom skylight and peck at the rubber gaskets that sealed it! Yikes! I always think of the movie "The Birds" when I see and hear them. Spooky!
Yes, Napa Auto is a nice place. When John first retired he worked for them for the longest time. He drove a little truck with a hat on top delivering auto parts. He enjoys driving so that was a perfect job for him to have to unwind from the stress of LASD.

Have a great day!
XO Trisha
p.s. While I love poached eggs I can't get excited about eating them on fancy creations. I love them on eggs benedict, hash or just toast. Not very creative am I?

Oregon Sue said...

T, if we all liked the same things, we'd be boring!!! xo

Anonymous said...

we had to get new wipers the other day too!! we've had rain for so long it's wearin em out!!p.j

Oregon Sue said...

Yes, but you and PatC cinched more rain by washing your vehicles!! xo