Sunday, November 9, 2014

Hello, hello, hello!

These photos have all graced my desktop this past week. We have a leftover from Halloween. See the skeleton?

Next is a morning photo of the dam. I really liked how the sun was reflecting on the window glass and the surface of the water, but I don’t think my photo does it justice.

The last and current desktop photo is a bird. I don’t know what kind of bird he is, but he was really scolding me!

“Google it!” I hear you say and I did. I spent a good half hour trying to find out what kind of bird it is, but I didn’t have any luck. I know what he is not. He is not a sparrow. The beak is all wrong to be any kind of sparrow.

But I did find out that the black faced vultures that I showed you a couple of times now are just that, Black Vultures. The ones with the red faces are Turkey Vultures and are more common than the Black Vultures. At least that is what the Missouri Department of Conservation says on their website.

And I also found out that the woodpecker I had been calling a Northern Flicker is identified as a Red Bellied Woodpecker on the mdc.mo.gov website, so my search wasn’t entirely fruitless.



I haven’t been walking Itsy and Ginger as much lately. Partly because we have been working on our painting job on the nice days and who wants to go walking when it’s not nice out? That and the days are getting shorter so after supper is cleared away and washed up, the light is fading and if I do go out, it’s too dark to leave the Strip.

We did have an early day of it on one particularly nice day this past week and that was when I took the pictures of the bird scolding us. Itsy and Ginger were so good. They didn’t bark or fuss or anything the whole time the bird was yelling at us. I wish they were that way all the time, but they’re not.

 Like when they heard this little doe go through the underbrush, they barked. First one starts then the other joins in. “STOP!” I admonish. “You’re scaring her!” They quieted down but the only shot I got of the doe was as she watched from behind the tree, her hind quarters catching a few rays of the setting sun.

Speaking of shots I didn’t get....

They barked at this squirrel too. By the time I got him in my frame he was in his nest and all you can see is the top of his fuzzy tail. LOL!

The Bittersweet is pretty this time of year.

And the wild grapes...

I smiled when I saw the smiley face on the grape in the middle of the frame. See him? Two little white eyes, a black speck for a nose and a great big smile?

I’ll make it bigger for Momma. Can you see it now?

The next photo is for that beautiful neighbor lady of mine in Pennsylvania. Stephanie, how long has it been since I’ve written a poop story?

Too long?
Well, you’re in for a real treat then!

Here’s the thing. I don’t know what kind of animal pooped this out right there on the road like that but look at those seeds, would ya! They are easily three quarters of an inch long! I can’t think of what was eaten that has seeds that large.

You know something?

The vegetation along the roadsides here can be so thick that you can’t see very far into at all. Now that summer has passed into fall all of the litter is visible again.

Sometimes I think I’ll pick it up, but then the urge passes. I have enough to juggle with two dogs and a camera, let alone trying to carry a garbage bag and pick up the trash to boot. Not to mention poison ivy. I can spot it when it has leaves on it, but even without leaves you can still get poison ivy. I don’t want poison ivy.

I started taking pictures of what was left of that McDonalds bag of a couple of weeks ago and I snapped a photo of this cup. Isn’t it funny that we can recognize the logo just from the little bit that is showing?

We have two new construction projects going on on our block. All of the feral cats around here make the construction guys mad. The cats mess on their lumber and use the dirt in the construction area as a litter box.

A couple of days ago I was out back with Itsy and Ginger and on the other side of the fence was Dale talking on his cell phone. Dale is the boss and as he entered his construction trailer (the door was wide open) I heard him yell and either stomp his foot or slapped something down. “GIT OUTTA HERE!” I heard him yell so I turned to look.

“Damn cats!” he says coming back out with the phone still stuck to his head.

“What?” I asked.

“That cat was up on the counter eating our meat!” he said.

“In our house we don’t leave food unattended,” I told him.

“Dam cat! We had half a rotisserie chicken left!”

“You expected the cats to resist that?” I asked, but Dale was already headed over to the job site and I heard him yell at one of his guys. “I hope you didn’t want any of that chicken...”

I just smiled and walked away. Heck! I’m not sure I could have resisted it if I had known it was there! I love rotisserie chicken!

This handsome guy is Mike. His building site is still in the early stages but I have seen him out there working by himself several times.

The first time I saw him I thought his crew had the day off because it started off rainy and he was working by himself during the clear patches.

Another time I saw him working by himself it was late at night. After six. I thought it was too late for his crew to be working.

Then a couple of days ago, he’s again working by himself. It’s not raining. It’s not late. Where was his crew?

“You’re working by yourself?” I called as I approached.

“Yeah, I get more done that way,” he said.

“I’m going to send my Mike down and can you show him how that’s done? He thinks everything is a two-man job!”

He just laughed and went back to work.

Guys, you are all in my heart.

Let’s call this one done!

Lots and lots of love,

Peg and Mike