My Everything Corner

American Avocet Spotted Sandpiper Moon on the evening of July 4th. Spreading Dogbane Anenome Female Red-Winged Blackbird It's not the greatest photo, but I finally got a shot of the baby  American Avocet. Such fancy plumage. A Wilson's Snipe- I think...

For those of us connected on Instagram, this will be a repeat performance in photos. How is December treating you thus far?  As per our family's tradition, we all get colds to varying degrees.  But so far, the illness has been mild as has the weather and so December has been mostly quite joyful.  After my daughter's 16th birthday this past weekend, I put the tree up and have worked my way through wrapping quite a few gifts, a job that continues today, along with decorating the rest of the house.  Then the baking begins. Now there, in the baking department, I must file a complaint. Why have the mint chocolate chips disappeared off the shelf?  I have a recipe of whipped shortbread with mint chips that we simply cannot live without! I haven't attempted it yet, but I intend to make my own.  If you have any experience at all in the art of making flavoured chocolate chips, please share your knowledge.  I would be most grateful. Besides the shortbrea...

Our devoted Mama bird is back!  How do I know it's the same bird? It's quite obvious she knows us as she is practically tame when are close, sometimes very close. We can't touch her, and wouldn't try, but we can sit within a few feet of her and have a pleasant little chat.  I like to think we are making her very difficult job of sitting there all day a little more interesting with our visits.  She has four precious eggs and we doing everything in our power to keep them safe.  We are so excited for hatching day!  Please send some good luck wishes her way...and have a great rest of your week.

It seems that our Spring has finally arrived.  I have plants coming up in the garden, more on that later, and I have spent a day or two outside in just a t-shirt (pants too, course).  My son and I went on a picnic this past weekend and got our first mosquito bite as well a bunch of wood ticks. I'll spare you those photos, but neighbors beware -they are back and they are plentiful! My dog loves to get his belly wet, and has been spending quite a bit of time in our temporary pond.  I'm afraid it is not going to be there for long though as we are far dryer than normal for this time of year. It is so wonderful to have all the songbirds back giving life to the outdoors again. Too bad about that twig obscuring her face, but otherwise a cute shot. A warm dog is a sleepy dog. Loving all the geese action!

It happens every summer, time moves beyond fast and I'm left wondering where a month has gone. The weather has been so kind this year, warm temperatures and hardly any wind. I mention the wind because I live on the prairies and so wind is just something I've come to accept, but what a marvelous break we've had from it. I've been taking pictures like crazy since getting a new camera at the beginning of July and so you'd think I would have been blogging a lot, but... Instagram. Yep, that's where my photos have been going. A few you of have found me there and so know that I am still alive, but the rest of you, I have not been fair to.  I'm not sure I'm in love with Instagram.  I was at first, but then I discovered that a lot of people are using it to build up a false sense of popularity. Normally, this sort of thing would not bother me, except that I'm looking for a genuine community. Here's the problem - I post a photo, I get a bunch of ...

July is flying by so fast, it is making me dizzy! I've been having fun learning about my new camera and enjoying Instagram a whole bunch. I like that I can use it from my phone which I almost always have on me and that it is super quick. Mostly though, I've been enjoying the weather, my gardens and having my kids at home. They're older now, and mostly prefer to do their own thing, but I love "dropping in" now and then to see what they're up to and just having their happy voices fill up our home makes me lighthearted. I do hope you're all having a fabulous July! Here are some photos, mostly from my morning walk with my dog. An America Coot in its nest. I get a kick out of these guys and the noises they make. A lovely pair I passed on my morning walk. Seemed like a sad little birdie. My black kitty Sooty, getting some love from Georgia. This is one of those shots I thought I didn't get. It's my current favourite and I wil...

I thought I would share a sweet picture of a chickadee I took a couple of days ago and link up with Eileen's "Saturday's Critters." These little fellows are not shy at all and I can stand there all I want, nothing keeps them from filling their wee bellies with sunflower seeds.  They are so sweet and chipper and make me smile every visit.

Another absolutely gorgeous day!  It is hard to believe that November has very nearly passed us by and it feels like Winter hasn't yet begun. It was above zero today and hardly a breath of wind.  I knew the feeders would be busy, and while it took the wee critters a few minutes to return after I showed up, return they did, and they put on a nice little show.  I would love to name this bird for you, but the only thing that comes to mind is show-off.  He seemed to know what a camera was and just how to hold a pose.  I really enjoyed my visit with him.  I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend and  is all rested up for what I am sure will be a busy week ahead.