Okay... Let's see what we've got...

• Woman attacks with a sledgehammer...
• Sex workers have a shootout...
• A naked unicyclist...
• Alien abduction...

• The role of union influence in government...
• The validity of Bill Gates' assertion that we are destined to have a robot in every home...
• The rise of radical Islam in Northern Africa...
• An explanation of what/who 'derivatives', 'bundlers', 'venture capitalists', and 'speculators' are...

Sooo... In keeping with a lower blood pressure and an acid-free stomach, here are a couple of hummingbird pics...

I promise I'll give you a more 'wordy' post next time, but for now...

Om by the feeders...

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Live eBirdseed.com streaming cam

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

By Location, Birds and Natural History Books (a global reference)

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First... news on the oriole front -- they're here, and they're here hungry! Like zombies lurching around craving brainnnsssss, these guys are insane about the grape jelly and the oranges, and will stop at nothing, including squabbling with siblings, to get some.

And speaking of the grape jelly, our local crows are not above doing an occasional air raid on the oriole feeder to get some for themselves. They perch on top of the trellis, scoping out the area to make sure no humans are watching, then zoom up to the feeder, wings flailing wildly, grab at the jelly, and return to the trellis. We can now see purple stains from blobs of jelly on the top span where the crows retire to eat their gleanings.

Beyond those guys, our hummingbirds have finally arrived. And once again, they've come en masse. As we reported last week, they've been at the feeders almost non-stop, so be sure to tune in to the streaming cam--you're pretty much guaranteed to see someone show up every five minutes or so... Like this guy: (See link to cam below...)

Perhaps the strangest appearance though, has been the little birds (titmice and such) who seem absolutely possessed with the notion of getting into the house. They flutter at the windows and create quite the distraction. I've read that they may be males seeing their reflection and trying to fight off a perceived rival suitor, but then again, they might in fact simply be looking for bugs... Who really knows? All we know is it drives the cat absolutely bonkers--what fun!

By the feeders...

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Live eBirdseed.com streaming cam

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

By Location, Birds and Natural History Books (a global reference)

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take a look at the pic below...

There... Does that look so tough??? Those walkie talkies always work... period.

Here's the backdrop to this post...

Yesterday, there was a beautiful oriole just splashing in our front birdbath -- it would have made for a fantastic photo. I grabbed my monopod/Kodak and set up what would have been a remarkable image... except that the batteries (or electricals on the camera) were deader than Julius Caesar... (It turns out it was the batteries...)

So why can't we in America make good stuff like we used to? Motorola (note the name on the walkie talkies) has long been known as a fine American product. Henry rifles are simply superb. Case, Kershaw, Buck, Leatherman, and Ka-Bar are all excellent and reliable as well. So putting aside cheap cost, why are we continuing to buy cheap junk from China when we can make (or at least assemble) quality stuff right here? All the savings in the world will never bring back the lost oriole...

Anyway, the photograph is gone, and we're stuck with a manufacturing society who doesn't even know who it is anymore... Oh, for a camera I can grab as reliably as I do my Motorola...

By those senselessly frustrating feeders...

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Live eBirdseed.com streaming cam

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

By Location, Birds and Natural History Books (a global reference)

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is a rule of thumb on Cape Cod, as iron-clad as these rules get, that one should NEVER plant before May 15. While I am aware of this rule, and usually abide by it, I'm hoping that Mother Nature will not penalize me by sending a killing frost within the next nine days!

You see, after a few weeks of rain and chilly weather (I'm not complaining too much, we definitely need the rain!), we finally are blessed with a beautiful Sunday in May. Sunny and about 65° with clear blue skies and a soft breeze off the ocean, it's a perfect day to do a little gardening. Earlier in the week I had purchased some geraniums and petunias from the garden center at our local Shaw's market, and as always, having a myriad of useful pots in which to occupy said plants, I set out on this beautiful day to create some colorful planters to add to the ambiance of the garden which already abounds with blossoms.

The lily of the valley is in full bloom, and this year we have a few shy stems of blue snowdrops mingled with them.

I have always loved the combination of red geraniums and deep velvety purple petunias. The sharp scent of the geraniums cuts a bit of the sweetness of the petunias, and the combined aromas have always meant Spring to me. And for me, there's not much better than red geraniums and purple petunias in a big cobalt blue planter. This is nature in all her glory, in miniature, my friends.

As CapeCodAlan had mentioned in previous posts, we now have our hummingbirds back for the year, and they are so active around the feeders! If you keep the streaming cam open, you'll likely see at least one female and two males visiting the main feeder every five minutes or so. And the oriole feeder is up and full of jelly and oranges... if the hummingbirds are here, we know that the orioles aren't far behind! And the butterflies are starting to show up as well. Alan snapped a quick photo of one of my favorites, a Mourning Cloak, sunning itself on our deck railing a few days ago.

All in all, it's been a beautiful Spring so far, and a lovely Sunday in particular.

Oh, and by the way, I bought a gun...

See you by those feeders in Paradise on Cape Cod.

Mrs. CCA

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Live eBirdseed.com streaming cam

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

By Location, Birds and Natural History Books (a global reference)

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out the following...

You know, there are times when bird watching takes on its own certain snippiness -- its own distinct 'ticked off' attitude... The last couple of days have been like that... All I wanted was to snap a couple of cute shots of the countless hummingbirds (you really should be watching our streaming cam) and post them here. That's all I wanted. But would they sit still and let me take a lousy photograph or two? Absolutely not. (There are times... especially in the afternoon... when those ruby-throated little buggers will land on the deck railing and break out their tiny unicycles and tiny tubas. They're partial to riding to the beat of Polish beer polkas... And they ride and play and have a great old party until I try to unleash a camera, and then, "Poof!", they're gone... I'm just one photo away from a PhD in animal science... But nooo...)

Speaking of beer, the new beer closet is running at capacity... That's kind of cool.I don't know what I'm going to do come the summer months... (Most brew recipes aren't exactly designed for heat...) But still, it's nice on a rainy day to opt for closet beer vs. no beer..

What else is new here?

• Well, it looks like we need a new toilet. (I should actually document that process because because sooner or later we all need to fix the loo...)
• The yard chugs along most happily... The rabbits are out there, the birds are singing and playing the tuba (arghhh!) And in general we just keep on keeping on...
• The shop is fine except that I accidentally sanded one of my knuckles off...

By the frustrating and boring feeders...

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Live eBirdseed.com streaming cam

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

By Location, Birds and Natural History Books (a global reference)

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just a quick post to let you know that the hummingbirds have arrived on Cape Cod...

Is that little dude cool or what? Obviously, that isn't the greatest photo of all time, but there he is... Actually that's a screen shot from our eBirdseed.com streaming Web cam, so you can watch too...

Enjoy!

Prepping the sugar water...

CapeCodAlan

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Live eBirdseed.com streaming cam

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

By Location, Birds and Natural History Books (a global reference)

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alrighty then... For some time I've been piling up pics for you, and of course not publishing them... Rather than responsibly and dutifully issuing them one at a time along with its own post, I decided to empty the SD and dump them in your lap... Ain't I a stinker??? (If you 'Google' on any of the subjects below along with 'ebirdseed and blog', you'll be able to find more info...)

First up... The 'Great Bird Hunt...' I'd been trying to photograph this flicker for far longer than I should have, and finally in a fit of frustration, abandoned the Canon for the monopod and a cheap Kodak... We're talking foul language and flying pixels, but I won!

I wasn't sure what the next bird was (told you I'm no ornithologist!) I recognized the female cardinal, but not the female red-wing... D'oh!

There! Now take a look at the feast below!!! Home brew, 'snausage', and crackers... Somewhere there's a cardiologist smiling...

Ah... The new bird house in action...

For you woodworkers, you might want to pay special attention to the shot below... If you need to round stock (for stuff like spars, masts, or walking sticks), use Dynamite Payson's technique (I don't know where he got it from) and make your own rubber covered drum that will chuck in a power drill... Then just turn a belt sander belt inside out and use your common sense... Sweet!

Have some Turk's Heads knots...

Lastly is the wife's trail kit... And yes that is a real pistol, and yes, she has a license to carry that concealed, and yes, she knows how to and will use it if there's no other way.

Phew! My memory card feels so much lighter!

By the feeders...

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding

Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding

Live eBirdseed.com streaming cam

eBirdseed.com photo library

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

By Location, Birds and Natural History Books (a global reference)

Posted by CapeCodAlan at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)