I have returned!

Hi Peeps!

I'm finally back from my summer break and I do have a lot to share.  As you know, we spent our summer in Maine.  (Have I told you how much I love Maine?)   Well, I do love it.  It feels like coming home.  I think I was always meant to be a Mainer.

My summer was filled with so much activity that it will take more than this blog to cover all that was accomplished.  Let me just summarize briefly ...
~landscaping project that involved big boulders ~
~kitchen renovation~
~repair of 2 water line leaks~
~interior painting~
~photography class~
~searching and purchasing boat~
~finding and negotiating a mooring for such boat~
~entertaining family visitors~
~meeting new friends, new friends, new friends~

Highlights of my summer ... well, I'll just cover that in the next several blogs.  For now, I'll let my view through my lens serve as a preview.

One of the best highlights was taking a week photography class at a Maine Media workshop in Rockport.  More on that later but here are my classmates.  We had a blast and learned a lot!

Probably by the time you are reading this, we are off on our next adventure.  An Around-the-World trip with stops in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Singapore and Amsterdam.  The Professor is taking a sabbatical (research) and I, humble assistant, will be his muse.  Yeh, right!

Bags are packed (carry-ons, even with all my camera gear), check lists completed, house sitters coordinated and itinerary complete.  Hope to see you here.  You can also "Like" me at Missing Moments Facebook Page and keep up on all my posts as well.

Bon Voyage!  Wish us safe travels!

All quiet ...

As many of you know, I'm a bit sad that summer is soon over. 

Perhaps it is not so much that summer is coming to an end, but that all my feathered friends' actions in my backyard are winding down.  The cardinals, blue jays, starlings, finches, grackles, robins, chickadees, cowbirds, woodpeckers, doves, sparrows, titmouses and those sweet sweet little hummingbirds.  All is quiet.

For over five months, I've watched them court and romance one another, mate, nest, and hatch their young.   I found fledglings that fledged too soon.  Observed a sparrow raising a cowbird and got a hummingbird to sit on my hand.  I saw too many house finches with the fatal eye disease and lost a couple of doves to a hungry hawk. 

And then there were all those fledging teens with their insatiable appetites.  Most are all gone.  But there is still one hanging around.  A little house finch.  A definite late-in-season-hatching. 

He caught my attention last week with all his ruckus at his mother who was feeding at my feeder.  That's him below.

He carried on something awful.

 He was rather cute, with his little tufts of baby feathers that still clung to his head.

When he couldn't get her attention, he flew down landing awkwardly on the feeder and begged her from there.  He was so obnoxious she finally flew away!

Minutes later, they both returned, mother first and then the little one.  Still chirping away at her!

Doesn't she look weary!  I wish I knew bird talk ....

She left him behind again and went back to the feeder.  (Doesn't he look like a little devil here?!)
All I can imagine was that she must be trying to illustrate to him how to feed from the feeder.  But he just didn't seem to be getting the message.

Well, she must have been successful, because here is yesterday.  Still sporting that little tuft of feather but now alone and feeding.  Quite well, I would say, by the size of him.  No more chirping and squawking going on.  And no signs of his mother.  He's on his own.

Sort of sad when your babies leave.

I miss them.  Even more than summer.

Pining over the end of summer ...

Did you catch that moon last night?  Wasn't it gorgeous! The Professor, who was driving home, called to alert me to step outside.  Glad he did otherwise I would have missed it.  I grabbed my camera and took a few shots.  No time for tripods. 

The days are growing shorter.  Have you noticed?

Something about September makes me a bit melancholy.  

There is a shift in the air of

shadows growing long

from a distancing sun.

And so I ...

yearn

long

ache

sigh

hunger

languish

miss

mourn

lament

grieve

bemoan

 over the end of summer.

Yes, I do pine a bit (not to be confused with 'whine' a bit), to the loss of summer days.  

Until tomorrow, friends,

Bald headed blue jay, and then some

July 28

Isn't he a handsome fellow!  Such a proud papa!

Raising young ones, though, can be stressful. 

Don't I know!

Of course, all mine are raised.

August 18

This teenage blue jay seems to be stressing his dad so bad, he's starting to go bald!

Look closely around his face ...

August 22

See!  What did I tell ya!

No ....  his baldness is not really caused by stress.
Apparently Blue Jays go through something called 'molting' once a year in late summer.
I had no idea!  

 

August 24

At first I thought he was sick but a quick google search eased my concerns.  It is a normal process for birds.   Feathers will grow back.  But for a period of time until they do, they do look rather odd.  Other birds such as hummingbirds, chickadees, hawks, owls and woodpeckers are just a few that go through the same process.

And if you look real close, you can even see his ear!

So the good news for this guy is that he won't be bald forever.

Cause this is Forever!

Introducing my son, The Professor and my brother.

These baldies I love!

(And definitely cuter than Mr. Blue Jay ... but don't tell him that!)

~smile~

Weekend views

This weekend was beautiful!

One NOT to be wasted indoors.  At least Saturday anyway.  It rained all day Sunday.  But the temps were great!  It felt like summer was saying a slow goodbye.

Within walking distance of our home are some trails The Professor and I like to hike occasionally.  So we headed on down there but were greeted with this sign.

BEWARE ... archery hunters!  

What!?!

The Professor and I spent a few minutes contemplating if we should enter or not.

We thought if their aim was as bad as their spelling, we were safe.

It was a beautiful peaceful walk and gave me a great excuse to use my 18-55mm lens......

..... and take other photos besides the critters in my back yard.  (Speaking of critters, I've got a treat for you at the end.)

The neat thing about these wooded acres is that about 20 minutes into the walk you happen upon ....

.....  a large bamboo forest!  It's the coolest thing.  Something I didn't expect the first time I happened on it.

On our way back, we noticed some tree carvings.  Tree graffiti .... not good Dirk!

I couldn't help but notice a fair number of fallen yellow leaves.   Summer postcards to fall.

After our hike, we didn't feel like heading home just yet and drove over to one of our local farmer's markets.  I love wandering amongst all that color and I was not disappointed.

But what WAS disappointing upon returning home, was that our freezer seemed to be on the fritz.

Ugh!  We had to haul everything out and put it in our other fridge.  And it had been such a great day.  Guess the universe thought I had too much joy for one day and needed to even things out.

I say phooey on that.  Anyway, guess I'll be entertaining a repairman on Monday.

And now, for that special treat!

Remember that mama squirrel?

Well, I had not seen her for two weeks while she was taking care of her new brood.  Well, today, was MOVING day!

She apparently didn't like our old cherry tree and was moving her babies from our backyard to an oak tree across the street on the golf course.  I mean, really!  As if our view wasn't good enough!

This was the best picture I could get of her ... she was moving pretty fast and far away.  She did this three times.  And each time, I held my breath as she crossed the street.  One time, she STOPPED in the middle of the road!  aaaarrrrgggghhhhhh!  Golfers don't care about any ole squirrel when they have  a Tee time to make!

Now I'm just going to worry about her all the time crossing the road.  But wait! 

Amazon to the rescue!

So ...  which one do you think I should get?

                      

I'll rest a lot better once I get my new sign.

Hope your weekend was this much fun!  

(Except for the freezer part.)

~ sharing with ~

Creative Exchange

Mosaic Monday
Jillsy Girl Studio "Weekend Exposure"