A couple of weekends ago, we were really getting a bunch of stuff done around the homestead. As a result, I was feeling pretty rough. It doesn’t take much to wear me out and that is usually accompanied by pain, so I try to be careful not to over do it, but sometimes…

Anyhow, we decided to relax on the porch. Jeff likes to put out bird feeders and we both enjoy seeing what birds come to visit them. We even enjoy the “plain” sparrows. All of them are so much fun to watch.

Well it turns out that taking the time to just enjoy what’s around us really pays off. We saw so many beautiful birds we almost didn’t want to go back in the house. Thankfully, Jeff had his camera. He is so good at taking pictures and it works out really well for this blog. 😉 We will be sure to spend more time bird watching as the summer progresses. I may need to find some pretty bird baths to add the the gardens.

Gold Finches

We were getting Gold Finches outside the kitchen window at the feeder. Their brilliant yellow color is so cheerful that Jeff decided another feeder was needed.

He hung this mesh feeder in the back so we could see it from the porch. He had his doubts, but the Gold Finches came in like crazy. At one point there were three males and a female. So glad we hung the second feeder!

Blue Jays

My grandmother didn’t like Blue Jays. She thought they had an annoying voice. I think they are beautiful and we were happy to spot this one under a bird feeder in a clump of trees at the side of the yard. They may not be rare, but they are so pretty.

Cardinals

We have seen this guy zipping around all over the property. He is possibly the most intense red of any Cardinal we have seen. That flash of color flying by always gets our attention.

Red Winged Black Birds

Another common bird, we have quite a few of them here. Jeff noticed that when they fly in, they announce themselves before landing.

Baltimore Orioles

Last year, Jeff was sure he saw an Oriole. I barely saw it and wasn’t sure. We put out a feeder and nothing came back.

This year, a friend of Jeff’s mentioned putting out grape jelly for them. Jeff cut down a couple of red plastic cups and fastened them to the play set in the side yard. I expected it to take a long time before we saw any Orioles, if we did at all. Imagine our surprise when we saw a pair fly in!

Here is the female:

And here is the male:

They have come back several times since then and we are so excited to have them. Yes, we are easy to entertain.

And More

We also have a ton of swallows (nothing is more fun to watch), Sandhill cranes, hawks and countless other birds. We love them all. And if we lived in the city we wouldn’t have such a variety. Just another reason to love being on the homestead.

This was a good lesson on the importance of slowing down and just enjoying the moment. Sometimes you have to forget about the endless to-do list and just remember why you’re where you are in the first place!

If you enjoy birds as much as we do, check out this book written by my friend Jeanne Grunert. Attract Bird to Your Garden will give you everything you need to know to create your own little bird sanctuary right in your own back yard.