Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Coffee At Steve’s Country #70.
Good morning everyone! Coffee is ready, fill your cup, sit back and relax for a few minutes with Muffin and I. It’s a beautiful sunny morning, but windy and cold today. Hopefully we will be back to above freezing temps by Saturday. Jasper was here again so I sat with him for awhile to talk. We ended up talking about spring. “Almost spring Jasper”, I said.
Loud chip. “Oh, yes, the striped mice will be back soon, they’re called chipmunks. But just think, things will begin to grow, flowers will bloom.”
Chip. “Oh, you were stung by a bee when you went to say hi to one last year? It’s best to stay away from bees. But the snow will soon be gone and everything comes to life again.” Loud chip. “Oh, the mosquitoes bite your ears? That can be a problem I guess. But soon the leaves will be coming out on the trees making everything nice and green once again.”
Chip. “Oh, yes, I guess it would make it hard to see very far.” Chip. “You like to look out over your territory to see if other squirrels are coming around? I guess it is easier this time of year to do that. And yes, it is hard to see those chipmunks once everything begins to grow, that’s a good point I guess. But the weather is so much nicer and warmer in the summer.”
Loud chip. “Oh, it gets too hot to run around and play? Well, yes, that can be a problem too. But we don’t get that many hot days this far north.” Chip. “Oh, we still get too many hot days and you don’t like hot days. Oh my, you’re having a rough time.
Having problems at home?” Loud chip. “Oh, Sylvie said it would soon be time for one of you to leave the territory, either you go or she goes. What did you say?” Chip. “Oh, you offered to help her pack? That probably wasn’t the best thing to say.” Chip. “That’s when she pushed you off that high branch over there? Long drop.” Chip. “Oh, you have to go now and pack? Have a nice time.” He looks at me and off he goes. Not often you get to hear a squirrel sigh. I’m sure they will work out something. I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin (who is rolling with laughter at Jasper)
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve’s Bird Of The Day #30.
Hi everyone and welcome back! Today’s bird is the common grackle, there are 3 subspecies of this bird living in different parts of N. America, all east of the Rocky Mountains. They are one of the most common blackbirds and in fall and winter their flocks can be large, up to a million birds. A flock of grackles is called a ‘plague’. And they can be such in grain fields where they cause a lot of damage. But in summer they eat an abundance of insects, most which are harmful varieties. They nest generally in loose colonies of 20 to 40 pairs, sometimes more. They have iridescent bronze colored bodies and iridescent blue or purple heads. As you can see the one shown is the blue headed variety, I will show the purple headed variety tomorrow with more facts. Thanks for reading, have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 