Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Solitude On My Deck. #1
Good morning and Happy Saturday to all of you! The coffee is ready if you wish to join me on my deck this morning. It is quite a nice morning for early summer with a temp of 61F (16C). A jacket is still a good idea when sitting outside though. There are heavy, thick clouds above today blocking the sun from shining and making it a very dull day out there. Not exactly the best day for photography. At least not for small birds.
But it still works and if there was a more uncommon bird out there I would be clicking away! Speaking of uncommon birds, yesterday morning I spotted a small blue bird on the ground with the chipping sparrows. I recognized it right away as an Indigo Bunting so I got my camera aimed in his direction but he kept hiding among the raspberry plants and finally flew away. That was so terrible, I did not get even one picture.
That is only the 4th time I have seen one of those birds and the first time spotting one in our town! Getting a photo of that one would have been fantastic! A little later I was back outside since the weather was so nice and my back was paining too much for walking to the river, so being out on the deck is the next best thing. Suddenly this flash of blue caught my eye, that Indigo Bunting was back again! I prayed I would be able to get a photo this time.
And the bunting cooperated nicely so I was able to get several very nice photos of him! Steve was jumping with joy (not literally of course, or I would have ended up in bed!)! But that certainly was exciting for me anyway. I will admit, not many people think that is very exciting, but that is okay, I am a bit different that way. And since this was only the 4th time in my life seeing this little bird, that is exciting for me. And that adds to the solitude from my deck.
This is a little patch of nature right outside my door. A little bit of quietude and solitude, without going anywhere. But it is so very strange this year, it is so quiet out here. The birds are not singing like they did other years. This morning there was the solitary vireo and a chestnut-sided warbler singing. They were close by and the loons were calling out on the lake, and I could hear geese down at the river. Usually there are many birds singing all around here. But not this year. What happened to them?
I am wondering if perhaps that cat and dog duo are scaring the birds further away for nesting this year. That can happen. Or they did not have a good success rate down south this past winter so fewer came back. But that is less likely, though possible. We also did have a lot of birds return earlier, then we had that snowstorm that kept things cold for a long time afterward. That can easily kill off birds that have returned. It has happened many times.
One year they estimated that over 1 million birds died after a late snowstorm and cold weather hit. And that cold only lasted 4 days. And it took several years to fully recover from that loss. Lots of possibilities, no clear answers. But I have been getting some very interesting birds at my feeders this spring! And now a look at our series of Little Things: Insects.
This is a valuable insect for farmers and gardeners. They eat harmful insects that go after crops. They can be found in spring and summer and are active at night and hide during the day. I disturbed this one in his hiding place quite by accident so I got his picture.
Thank you for joining Muffin and I this morning as we enjoy the quietude on my deck. Have a most wonderful weekend everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2022 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
What soothing post in this scorching summer, Sir Steve 😍🌟😺here we are bearing temperature up to 47°to 49° 🤯
Thank you so much for sharing pleasant breeze with us😍😊😺
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Oh my, now that is hot! You would probably like some of our cooling rains. Here we are getting too much of them. So glad you enjoyed a nice breeze of cooler weather Saba! Hope you can have a most beautiful day!😊😻🌞☕☕☔
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Thank you Sir Steve for sharing cool rain along with pleasant breeze 😍😺😊🌟😻
Have blessed day 😻😺😍
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My pleasure Saba! And now we are heading for some much cooler weather this week and lots more rain and thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow. Poor Muffin will not enjoy that at all!😬🙀☔⛈️⚡
Thank you!😊😻😻
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What a blessing, Mashaallah!💖
Muffin you should, at least once, dare to enjoy the rain. The sound of falling rain is very soothing. Am not telling you to bath in rain, but just observe it falling from your window. After few attempts you would start liking it, am sure 😻😍😺
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Well, Muffin doesn’t mind sitting at the window if it’s a soft rain, but heavy rain or thunderstorms she just does not like! We are having some very bad thunderstorms tonight with a lot of rain. Now I likely won’t be able to walk to the river for a while, I won’t be able to cross even the first stream! Oh well, soon that will change I hope. Hope you have a very wonderful day Saba!😊😻⛈️🙀😬⛈️
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Thunderstorms! Intimidating, no doubt 🤯😱🙀better to take care.
Especially you sir Steve take great care of yourself and enjoy soft rain 🙂🌨🌧😺😻
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I will definitely try to take care, in every situation. Thank you so much Saba! Have a most beautiful day!😊😻😻🌞☕☕🌷
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😻😺🌨🌨🌟🌧🙂😊
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😊😻😻☕☕☔
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Beautiful photo, Steve and Muffin. Our baby doves moved on yesterday and we already miss them. However, today new doves started building their nest in the same hanging plant! Yay! At least we were able to water it in between renting out our bird hotel. Have a great weekend! 😽🪴🕊 🌞☕️☕️
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Wow, that was fast! But they do grow fast those doves, then again, most birds do. That must be a nice location! Nice and safe too and good neighbors! Hope your weekend is going well Eugenia, another beautiful day here although very quiet on the bird activity.😊😻☕☕🌞☔
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The chickadee is today’s favorite
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Chickadees are my all around favorite bird! Glad you liked him.😊😺☕☕
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What a gorgeous blue colour of that Indigo bunting ! Glad you were able to get it’s picture ! Even the wood ground beetle has a striking hue ! Sleep well tonight ! 🙂😻😴
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Yes, those indigo buntings are a real beauty! And that beetle was my first new insect of the year. Hope you have a good night’s rest!😊😻😴😴📷
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