Birds, birds, birds !

Wake up and get your cup of java- I want to talk birds today !

Wow my yard has became a bird sanctuary !! I have all different kinds this year, some I have no clue what they are. BUT I have got the meanest blackbirds ever !! I have asked Rick to set outside with the BB gun and fire away. ( maybe I'll post that next week as well as my scavenger hunt topic ) They have started tormenting my bluebirds.

I definitely don't want to scare the little blues away. They don't bother a thing. maybe I need to keep my suet feeders full on the other side of our property and that will keep them away. So I feed at least one suet block a week ! Yep, a week. Many thanks to my HUGE red-headed woodpecker. As many of you know when my suet feeder is empty he hangs out at the hummingbird feeder.

Anyway, I decided to make homemade suet. Man did I have a mess in the kitchen and when I washed up the dishes, I like to have never got rid of all that bacon grease ! Recipe follows for homemade suet.

I’m including this recipe from the 10,000 Birds blog. It’s perfect for making cake sized batches that fit nicely in those square suet feeders.
Homemade Peanut Butter Suet
Melt 1 cup shortening (Crisco or bacon fat). Add 16-20 ounces of crunchy peanut butter. Heat and stir until melted.
Add 1 cup of raisins, 1 cup of black oil sunflower seeds, 6 cups of cornmeal and 4 cups of flour.
Spoon into a 13X9 pan. Chill until it is hard. Cut into chunks for suet feeders (or stuff into cracks and crevices in logs).

The birds are going nuts over this suet, who knew it would be such a hit. Bam ! just started saving $5.00 a month.

My flower give-away is approaching and I only have 4 entries, what are ya' waiting for ? I will be drawing on Wednesday the 20th. I picked up the packet of flower seeds, oh wow are you goin' love them. Sorry can't tell you what they are it's a surprise. Some of the entries so far are - iris' ( old-timey ones) , barges on the Mississippi ( this would be fun ! ) blooming apple trees ( a little late for that here Maryann - this ain't NY, we are ahead of you in seasons ) Get some more good ideas in there the clock is ticking !

We are getting ready to go on vacation so a lot of work to be done around home first. Y'all know how that goes. Mow the grass, pull weeds, clean up the house really good, water indoor plants, etc. Well I decided to tackle another major project- clean the attic. After 30 trips up and down the stairs and 15 bags of un-used stuff went to the garage I am ready for a vacation. I had went to tan before my days activity and the lady there said maybe you'll find a treasure and I did $7.00 in a pair of shirts from last year. (tip for the pizza man !! )

This has to be a short post for the day 'cause I'm headed to Nauvoo for some picture takin', who knows as I cross the Mississippi I may see some barges ! ( thanks Julie for the idea, love it )

Oh yeah, I alomst forgot - I won in the Access Energy calendar again !! One of my Eagle pictures will be posted in July !! Yay me, 50 bucks is a nice addition to the vacation funds !

Maggie & more

I started my physical therapy or should I say torture. While waiting for my appointment, I had plenty of time to spare so my brother & his wife brought my photogenic niece over for some "fun with photos". Maggie was such fun to shoot ! She enjoyed sitting on Nannies floor getting all girly ! You can see her whole photo session by clicking on Maggie & more.

Now it's time for me to catch you up on my 365 project.
You have to keep an open mind and remember that I'm still stuck without driving so, some of my shots are from inside my humble abode. Unless it is therapy day and I get out.

This first one was taken while I was at moms waiting on Maggie to arrive. Mom has so many birds all throughout the year.This cardinal was enjoying the corn.
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A gift I received from a very nice lady from work. Helen knows exactly how to lighten someones spirits ! This tin was packed full of goodies !!
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Here's another therapy day. Blowing snow and 65 mph down the road, off we go ! Lori is a pretty good driver but man was I a nervous wreck. Oh yeah and her car has heated seats !! She was nice and turned mine on before she picked me up-needless to say when the control is on the right hand side and for now I have no right hand - I had a warm tush by the time we got to my house !
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Beautiful sunrise shining on the snow. I caught it just as it peeked around the tree.

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A light bulb without electricity? It is called light painting. I set up the tripod, turned my camera to bulb mode, hit the remote switch and started flashing a flashlight on the bulb. Wa-la !

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On the way to the grocery store I snapped this picture. To the eye this house it so empty and cold, but I'm sure it has warm memories.

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Pests! They are still here! I was told they eat fleas, do fleas survive in the winter too??

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Lights, camera, action ! I named this picture "look up".

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Hey, hey, I wanna be a rock star ! After Lori and I got back to the house from therapy- we had some rock star fun. The bad thing was the temperature- 24 !! We might have taken more if it was warmer. I'm already thinking up a plan for next week.

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Change has happened ! Jan.09 history was made.

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OK I always wanted to walk barefoot in the snow......I did ! Well I didn't walk, I only slipped my shoes off for two steps-it was a little cold.

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Now if you can think of any good ideas for me to take pictures of for my 365 project let me know. Here's a list that was compiled on another blog -http://365photosin2009.wordpress.com/theme-list/

It sounds good but being inside some are hard.

Keep your eyes open -I'm going to do "baby belly " photos of my niece soon.