This was Friday evening as the dramatic storm clouds rolled through.
The orioles are doing their best to eat me out of house and home.
Husband observed, "I see you bought oriole food."
"You can have some too . . . if you want to eat bird food." On my last round about the yard tonight, I saw that the birds have worked their way almost down to the rinds.
Husband is whittling away at the supply.
Poor orioles.
Imagine the poor wild birds having to go find their own food...
Olga says she's saving her old sheets to protect the garden. This afternoon I folded up a whole lot of old sheets that have found new lives as dropcloths in Husband's workshop. He was on his way to snooze for a bit, said, "If it starts to rain, tell me. I have to bring in the dropcloths that I put outside."
"What? You want me to wake you up if it starts raining?"
"Yeah."
"Well, why don't I just go bring them in now? I know it's going to rain."
So I did (Good Wife!), and he was a happy man.
The sun came out again and he never did fall asleep. But the dropcloths are picked up and folded tidily and stacked on top of a saw.
I think it's a saw: there's a lot of stuff out there that looks to me like Industrial Age sculpture.
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23 comments:
We've got those same old sheets. I can't bring myself to throw away or donate old sheets and towels...because they'll be useful some day. The problem is that I rarely paint. Is it worth storing sheets for 8 years to save a few dollars on dropcloths?
i didn't know about hanging oranges for birds. Around here we're trying to drive away our magpies...they attack our baby quail and even the little rabbits.
I love your stormy skies and the citrus banquet you've provided for the birds! I keep old sheets endlessly, thinking someday I'll find a use for them. It was easier when my old dog was alive - I'd spread one out for her to shed on after a bath.
That impending rain shot is wonderful.. love that contrast between sky and grass. What a great idea to put oranges out for the birds. Does it attract oriels only.. or other species as well?
Don't tell me about birds eating you out of house and home, I buy bird food by the sackful too. I don't mind if it's just the pretty little ones who come to feed, but now big ugly brutes like rooks and crows come; and the squirrel thinks the banquet is for him. He's fun to watch, although he just a big tree rat really.
Aren't those oriels living in the wrong state if they're such fans of citrus fruit ?
As for arcane do-it-yourself equipment . Husband's developed a whole new enthusiasm for bodging .... sorry , Mending Things ... since he found a hand drill in a garage sale . Unfortunately .
The oranges are for the orioles. The only other bird that seems interested in them is red-bellied woodpeckers. Those guys REALLY make fast work of the orange halves!
I don't put out anything else except hummingbird feeders, and the hummingbirds are among the missing so far this year.
I would love to have feeders all around and watch the birds, as my friend Bibi does. MiMau would love it too. "Look! Mom's put out BIRD BAIT!"
S&S, the orioles only come to breed and then, as soon as the babies can fly, they're gone again.
Probably to citrusy places.
Remember when our mothers saved the old sheets for patching the newer old sheets?
You are precious. My husband isn't a workshop kind of guy. He does have a toolbox. I use most of the tools, except for the ones that I can't identify.
He bought me a shovel for Mother's Day.
You are such a sweetheart... I would have said something sort of smart-elecky and done it too.
Our pear trees just are not producing these past two years, so the puppies are playing with the small ones that fall to the ground. They get to them before I can. I need to look it up.
Your photographs are just WONDERFUL!
Joey
The storm photo is wondrous. I just have a balcony and don't want bird droppings on it so I've been making myself happy by having bee attracting plants instead. I'm worried by the bee scarcity and want to do my part. The WV is "hymning" and I think that's what we're both doing!
Even with the dark storm clouds, there's a glorious feel to the first photo. Love the oriole shots!
Wanda, thanks! I think the dark skies, and that light made the green more beautiful. Kind of a metaphor for life, isn't it?
Joey, I think I might've been a little bit smart alecky, too....and b'lieve me, I ain' no sweetheart. I am a pragmatist. I'd rather go fold the things than have an ungruntled freshly-woken Husband.
Grandmother, nurturing bees is a Good Thing. We have a hive that is currently hosting bees that we did not put there. It was empty for a year and now it's occupied. Nice bees, too. We did have two hives and one was nice and one was bad-tempered, so this is a happy chance occurrence!
Spectacular photo of grass and sky! And who knew about oranges and orioles? Not I! But now i do, thanks to you.
Old sheets are useful stuff. Our car has a couple [to sop up dog drool and fur], the high glass areas in the house have one [to shade from extreme aussie sun]. There're even a couple that've been made into dog bedcovers :)
Hi June, I had to laugh at your last few words... I am constantly leaving the bird seed (the one in a plate without a top) out --and asking hubby to tell me (over and over) if it's raining yet... I sometimes I take that plate of food in and out 3-4 times every day... ha ha
Hope you didn't and don't get any of the severe weather...
Thanks for your kind words on my blog today.
Hugs,
Betsy
Lucky orioles. I did not know they enjoy oranges, but I'm sure they're grateful you do. :)
I love your photos, June. Well done!
Thaks for the link to my post. We are seeing orioles in our yard this year, for the first time ever. I am definitely putting out some oranges to encourage them to hang around for a bit.
Birds....I love them all! And all are welcome--even the wild turkeys. I keep a well stocked smorgasbors going but never knew about the oranges and orioles. I think HRH would blow a fuse if I did that. I already put out roasted peanuts (unsalted) for the jays and the squirrels.
Great photo of the sky/grass!
I envy you those orioles! I've never seen one.
And your pictures on the previous post are WONDERFUL!
The Baltimore oriole is such a beautiful bird - I've put out orange for mine and now get to see them close up. Thanks for your photos story cluing me in.
Thanks, too, for your kind comment on my blog.
The Orioles are so pretty with their bright feathers. I'll bet they're very appreciative of the sweet treats you leave out for them.
I haven't seen much evidence of birds around here yet, except for crows & seagulls. I miss their morning serenading.
I wandered on here via Woodswalker and I am enjoying my stroll through your site. Because I am a sucker for any photo with a white birch within it's border I really liked this particular post. Well done.
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