sooc #31

Dark-eyed Juncos are so fun to watch!

She looks so coy!  As you can tell I took these in the fall, everything is white now but they still come around.

We have Downy Woodpeckers in the yard daily too, along with their bigger cousins Hairy Woodpeckers. :)  I think they're so cute, I keep suet out just for them!

Murrieta365

female dark-eyed junco

Regardless of the diagnosis. each and every day that we breathe we are living with - not dying of - cancer.  (Otherwise, we have been dying of life since the day we were born.) ~ unknown

~ You can see the explanation behind this project by going here or see the all posts in this category by going here.

While I was watching she found a worm - cool!

the juncos are back

If I have a pain that lasts for any length of time, I fear the cancer has come back.  Paranoid?  Yes, I am.  But, I think, in this situation, the paranoia is normal.  I had a diagnosis hit me from out of the blue, in fact, the last words I said to the doctor performing the test was, "Well, we know it's not cancer, or I'd already be dead."  I was 38 years old, it was not supposed to be cancer.  The next words he said to me were, "We found cancer."  I am much more in tune to my body nowadays.  Yes, I am paranoid.

~ You can see the explanation behind this project by going here or see the all posts in this category by going here.

My photo has nothing to do with my words but I figure that's ok.  I'm excited the dark-eyed juncos are back, winter is coming!

tweet, tweet

Hey I found a dark-eyed junco in our yard who would cooperate momentarily!

I'm pretty sure this is a type of sparrow, but what kind?

He would not come out from behind that branch, but he has a little bit of yellow near the beak, and black stripes with white in the middle on his head.

Does seeing this side help?

The white-breasted nuthatches are typically zany.

Lil dive-bombers, lol

Who's in my yard?

A coy sparrow

The white-breasted nuthatches stay all summer, but the red-breasted are back now too.

We have a plethora of chickadees tour our yard daily, but a few have gotten zany, hoping over the plastic divider and into the seed! They often hop back out the other side. lol

We have several woodpeckers visit daily. This one was not in our yard, but you'll be seeing one of them soon.

And this dark-eyed junco is not in our yard but many are - they just don't cooperate as well in my yard.

The chipmunks are gathering for the upcoming winter. Their puffy cheeks always make me giggle.  The squirrels are driving me crazy getting into the seed too!  All except one, Pixel (the flying squirrel) has been making appearance again - I'm hoping she'll move back into the birdhouse for the winter.

I have not seen turkeys in our yard but I often see them a few blocks away from our house.

A nice day for a walk

Just a short walk down a path on a nice autumn day. This same path is now being used for cross-country skiing.

First I saw a white-throated sparrow perched on a branch.

A white-breasted nuthatch hiding food in an old woodpecker hole.

I almost stepped on a butterfly, but right before my foot crunched down I noticed him and of course 'snap, snap, snap'. But I was clueless what kind this little flutterer is. Finally, I dug out my butterfly book. I bought the Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America when I drove to Oshkosh in July to meet Marilyn, but I think of her every time I see it and I hadn't been able to look at it without thinking about the fact that she is no longer here. Damn cancer! I had a hard time making cards for a while too but have pushed through it and decided it was time to open up this book.

So, I have it narrowed down and am pretty sure that it's a Comma. I think it's a Green Comma, but it could be a Hoary or a Gray – I'm no expert, obviously.

When I got home I was happy to find my little shrew out and about. In fact, we have two living here now, one is darker than the other.

And the dark-eyed juncos came back!