bits about my favorite bird visitor

I've always been more fond of Northern Cardinals than any other bird for as long as I can remember.When the first feeder was put up in my backyard 4+ years ago... the first birds to arrive were a pair of Cardinals. I totally freaked out!Today I am just posting some bits and pieces about these beautiful birds...The brilliantly colored Northern Cardinal has the record for popularity as a state bird: in the United States, it holds that title in seven...

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Rob to the rescue once again...

About 6 years ago I got a phone call regarding this pair of Newts along with some other amphibians. What was said to me was this... "come get them or they are going down the toilet!"I won't get much into the past really but let's just say that I've known about these guys (3 newts and 3 frogs) since they were purchased from a pet store. The frogs were all Fire Belly, some may call them toads, but it depends who you speak with. The Newts, well...

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I've got a Red Poll!

............ On Saturday, January 24th I was thrilled to discover we had a new species of bird visiting the feeders. He is called a Common Redpoll. Ang was downstairs and I rushed her up to the kitchen to confirm this bird with me through the binoculars. She did and it was funny because earlier she had predicted we would get them at some point this winter.On Sunday I spotted a female as well... must be his little mate. I hope we get more. ...

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Freaked out cat lead to this act of defense and my injury.

October 19, 2007 is a day I won't soon forget. It was a Friday night and I was preparing to go out with my best bud Chris. The evening was warm and just prior to his arrival I went around and shut the windows in the house (safety).As I went into the basement, I heard a holler like nothing I heard before and I knew it was coming from my cat Meadow. She was in one of the windows and hissing, snarling and freaking out. The windows in the basement...

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Meadow and Maude 20 second video

A 20 second video from my cellphone of Meadow concerning herself over Maude. If you look closely at Maude... you can see she is about halfway through her "moult". This all happened August 16, 2007 and shot around 8:30pm. I can't believe it was that long ago. I know I am talking to Meadow through this but she was like this, going back and forth for hours, or she'd be on top of the tank looking down at Mau...

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Maude turns 21 this year!

Meadow keeping an eye on her friend. see Maude in the top corner of the tank?Above is a skin of Maude, they shed like snakes and to the left is Maude in all her glory. Now about her...I got Maude when I was 20 years old and she was 2 years old when I got her. I am 39 now. That is a lot of years together! I never expected Maude to be with me this long (not that I didn't want her to); but she was my first tarantula. I've had 4 other tarantulas...

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At What Cost?

So, part of our typical weekend will involve a visit to our local "Wild Birds Unlimited" store in Etobicoke. We've become pretty good friends with the couple who own and operate the store. They provide a board for all customers to share their bird sightings of the month.This bird of prey, photographed here, *****please note, the pictures attached, I borrowed from the internet, and were not taken by this photographer I found in the Orillia report...

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It's our 5th anniversary...

So, it's our 5th anniversary today, for Angie and myself. How did we spend part of it? We had a good friend of ours join us for the morning for a nice breakfast and an opportunity to snap some pictures out back of the birds. Another brutally cold morning with a wind chill of -29c. We had lots of bird action but it was difficult to keep the camera going with freezing fingers. These are some of the better shots that I took. I anxiously await...

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Meadow has the right idea in this brutal cold snap.

So, another cold brutal afternoon in January here and this morning my car wouldn't start due to a frozen gas line. Meadow had the right idea, as she has had all week... stay in bed and keep warm. It would have been great but I was out there playing around every half hour or so. It turned out to be a hooky day as the car finally started later in the afternoon... much to the delight of Meadow and Angie.Have a great weeke...

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So, we have a rat! What's wrong with that?

It's winter, food is scarce and more than just the birds come around the backyard for a meal. We once again have noticed a rat making appearances at the back (much like last year... same one?). We don't mind. He's gentle, just takes what he wants and then goes back to his home. I've made mention of this to people and more often than not they freak out, telling me I am crazy, that rats are filthy, carry disease and there's never just one around....

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All you need is a little patience (and food)

All you need is a little patience, food and a good spot to have something really cool happen such as this... a White Breasted Nuthatch and a Downy Woodpecker in hand. Along with...one Black Capped Chickadee and the biggest surprise of all (so far) one Red Winged Blackbird. The Chickadees seem to be the most easy going about landing in for some food but not always. We have had them so often though that we almost expect it now. I'll never forget...

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Lets help our animal friends through this cold spell!

So, here it is the second full week of January 2009 and it's suddenly turned really REALLY cold. Freezing is more the word. I'd like to add a colorful metaphor prior to the word freezing but won't as I have no idea who may read this. Wind chills are going down around -30c, give or take a few degrees, the next few days. All I hear on the news is about what it will do to the people out in this weather. Okay, fine. But, most people do have a choice...

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