The First Daffodil of the Year

Daffodils
William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Great Backyard Bird Count

Everyone loves to watch birds
even if it is just in your own backyard.
Well, we're in luck
'cause on February 12 through February 15
everyone can help with the bird count!

This year Audubon and the Cornell Lab
welcome Bird Studies Canada
as the first international partner
for the Great Backyard Bird Count!

As you know the G-man & I
are always watching the birds
in our own backyard
so this is right up our alley!

Join us in Counting Birds!
I'll run a post of the birds
we see in our backyard.
Why don't you join in
and post what you have seen
on those dates?

I'll check with all who would like to participate
and list your birds and your blog
for all to see.

Happy birding!!!

Red-breasted Robins and Cedar Waxwings Came Visiting!

Today the beautiful Red-breasted Robins and Cedar Waxwings
came to our Yaupon tree to eat berries.
Is this an indication that spring is near?


The Robin is the One
Emily Dickenson

The Robin is the One
That interrupt the Morn
With hurried -- few -- express Reports
When March is scarcely on --

The Robin is the One
That overflow the Noon
With her cherubic quantity --
An April but begun --


The Robin is the One
That speechless from her Nest
Submit that Home -- and Certainty
And Sanctity, are best

**********************************************

Waxwings
Robert Francis

Four Tao philosophers as cedar waxwings
chat on a February berry bush
in sun, and I am one.

Such merriment and such sobriety--
the small wild fruit on the tall stalk--
was this not always my true style?



Above an elegance of snow, beneath
a silk-blue sky a brotherhood of four
birds. Can you mistake us?

To sun, to feast, and to converse
and all together--for this I have abandoned
all my other lives.

Happy 101

Imagine my surprise when I opened my blog dashboard this morning and found this Happy 101 Award! I have been so remiss in tending my blog and suffering from blog writer's block; therefore I was amazed to receive this award from fickleinpink,the dark side in Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines. It just continues to amaze me how connected we all are! Thank you so much, Miss Fickle!

So my turn to make somebody smile today....

All you have to do is:

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. List who gave the award to you and use a link to her blog (or hyperlink).

3. List 10 things that make you happy.

4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know!

Ten things that make me happy:

1. The color purple (so I shall use purple letters).
2. The G-man (my husband 'though he is not a thing).
3. Gertie Girl, my11 year old rat terrier
   
4. Animals (dogs & horses in particular, seeing wild animals in general), bird watching & feeding the wild ones in our backyard
5. Coffee... the smell & taste especially the first 2 or 3 cups in the morning
   
6. Travel
7. Golf (frustrating though it is)
   
8. Photograph
9. Autumn and early spring
10. Finding a real connection with people I meet.

And now to pass on this sweet award which I hope will make its recipients happy!

Robert Frost's Banjo - music, photos, history
An Explorer's View of Life - always insightful & often funny
What I Should Have Said - great humor & a peek into life of an educator
stuff from ellen's head - art, philosophy, fun
Letters from Usedom - a great look at living in Germany

madtexter - a great hoot of a blog, always funny
the golden fish - beautiful poetry & photos
My castle in Spain - a glimpse at life in Spain
Montanagirl - beautiful wildlife photos
a hazy moon - a peek into life along an Australian river

I hope you will visit each & enjoy your visits as much as I do!

Osprey & Blue Sky - SkyWatch Friday

Osprey in Flight over Colorado River
Under Beautiful Blue Sky
Bastrop, Texas

The Fisherman's Hymn.

The osprey sails above the sound,
The geese are gone, the gulls are flying;
The herring shoals swarm thick around,
The nets are launched, the boats are plying.
Yo ho, my hearts! let's seek the deep,
Raise high the song and cheerly wish her,
Still as the bending net we sweep,
'God bless the fish-hawk and the fisher!'
She brings us fish -she brings us Spring,
Good times, fair weather, warmth, and plenty;
Fine store of shad, trout, herring, ling,
Sheep-head and drum, and old wives' dainty.
Yo ho, my hearts! let's seek the deep,
Ply every oar, and cheerly wish her,
Still as the bending net we sweep,
'God bless the fish-hawk and the fisher!'
She rears her young on yonder tree,
She leaves her faithful mate to mind 'em;
Like us, for fish she sails the sea,
And, plunging, shows us where to find 'em.
Yo ho, my hearts! let's seek the deep,
Ply every oar, and cheerly wish her,
While slow the bending net we sweep,
'God bless the fish-hawk and the fisher!'

THE FISH HAWK, OR OSPREY
by Alexander Wilson (1766-1813)

For more skies from around the blogoshere, check out Skywatch Friday!

Texas State Cemetery - Sunday 160

The Lone Star of Texas
flies high over

the Texas State Cemetery
near downtown Austin

where Stephen F. Austin
Father of Texas

President of the Republic of Texas
sleeps.

The Character 160 Challenge from Monkey Man...

Hunting in the 'Hood

You may laugh at the idea of someone shooting a turkey or a deer in a neighborhood, but a couple of weeks ago a man shot a buck in front of his house. One of the neighbors heard the shot and went to find out what was happening. He was appalled at the sight of a man with a rifle hunting deer in a suburban neighborhood & called the sheriff's department. The sheriff's dept. did not respond, but did send out a game warden to investigate.

The man had a hunting license, shot a buck (not a doe which is fine), and did it during hunting season. The deer was not killed and the game warden had to locate & shoot the buck. He then gave it to the "hunter". Of course there has been a big uproar about this in the very large & wooded subdivision in which we live. It is illegal to discharge a weapon here & I believe the man was ticketed for doing so... but he was rewarded by receiving the deer. Weird!

Today as the G-man and I drove down near the river we came across a meadow and a rather large bob cat was sunning itself by a leafless tree. He looked at us as we gazed through binoculars at him. I had no camera so was unable to take a photograph; he was a bit too far away for me to capture him through my lens. He eventually walked back into the woods and as he did we saw that he had a noticeable limp. We wondered if he could have been shot, hit by a car, or injured in a fight with another animal (deer or perhaps another bob cat). This was the second time I have seen one in this area. They live in the dense undergrowth and roam along the Colorado River.

Ahhh, Texas. I feel so fortunate to experience seeing these animals in our area. I prefer taking shots with a camera to those with a gun. Oh yeah.

Last of the Turkey Saga

When Steven asked if wild turkeys are eaten, I was reminded of a cowboy friend of mine who about 15 years ago rode off on his horse to investigate gobbles on his ranch. Billy Don with shotgun in hand rode his horse, Bugger Red, along the North San Gabriel River. I wish I had a photo of him on his horse. He is over six feet tall and was dressed in his ranch clothes, boots, jeans, shirt & rough jacket and a big felt cowboy hat and was sitting on his beautiful big palomino gelding.

Within the hour the two returned. Billy rode up with a huge grin on his face and a big ole tom turkey hanging from his saddle. He & Bugger searched out the turkeys along the river and Bugger stood stock still as Billy Don aimed & fired. This was the first time he had shot his gun while sitting on his horse and all sorts of bad things could have happened, but that horse was steadfast. The tom was retrieved, tied by its legs to the saddle & brought it back to the ranch house to pluck & cook in time for Thanksgiving. Now that was pretty darn cool!

Turkeys on the Roof - Sunday 160

Turkeys on the roof
Squirrels in the attic
Steven asks:
"Can you eat wild turkey?"
Lizzy answers:
A resounding "Yes!"
But, not sporting
to shoot such precious critters!

I am trying the "Character 160 Sunday Challenge" from Monkey Man. This came to me this morning when I visited Beth at What I Should Have Said - 160 Envy

Tomorrow I'll end up my "Turkey's on the Roof" story. Enjoy this fun little exercise for the mind.

Turkeys on the Roof

At 7 AM it was 12 degrees on the patio at our house. Pretty chilly for central Texas. As I was preparing the coffee the electricity went out... on, off, on, off, on... OFF for about 3 hours.

I left the G-man in bed, manually opened the garage, & drove to the local Starbucks. One of my neighbors was there. He & I drank coffee & visited for a while until he went to pick up his wife at jazz-ercise.

Back home with extra coffee to fortify us we built a nice roaring fire. Fortunately the electricity came back on about 10 or so & the house began to warm up again.

The turkeys reappeared around noon and flew onto the roof when the neighbor's dog, Mo appeared. Mo likes to tree the squirrels and I suppose he wonders what these big birds are doing in the yard.

The backyard has been busy with all sorts of birds this morning. A chickadee was hoping for a drink of water, but alas the water is still frozen. A pileated woodpecker was in the yaupon eating berries, but alas we have not seen either the male or female buff-belly hummingbird today. I hope they made it through the cold night.

Turkeys on the Roof

They are not fearful of me, but zoom when Mo appears.

Sweet ole Mo

Pileated Woodpecker eating berries