Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Daily Pics #250.
Good morning and Happy Sunday! Well, after a nice day yesterday today is, well, not quite so nice. It’s cloudy, rainy and once the cold front moves in we are going to get a wind storm as well. That is going to drop our temps a lot over the next few days. It will be down to 5C tonight (41F). That’s not so good, it can actually snow at that temp, though I sincerely hope it doesn’t. It’s too early for that. Though it has happened before, but we won’t think about that right now. Speaking of migrating. That’s something I should do, birds are smart, they head to warmer locations when the cold air moves in. Well, most do anyway. It’s nice that there are a few different species that will stick around, around 20 species normally, some years a few more. Larger flocks of geese have been migrating through the last few days. And yesterday the sandhill cranes began their migration south. Those birds often fly so high they can’t be seen, and they are big birds. But they can always be heard. They have an unmistakable call as they migrate and they are constantly talking to each other. And they migrate in large flocks as well. They have started a bit earlier than normal this year, hope that doesn’t mean anything.
Yesterday afternoon I had just put out a fresh batch of peanuts and 5 chipmunks showed up all at the same time. They started chasing each other around the box, around me (I was kneeling down at the time), then up one arm, across my back, down the other arm, running around on my back, all around the flower pots. But they didn’t seem to be very serious about it, perhaps they were just excited that more peanuts were coming out. Whatever the case, it was fun to watch and get trampled! Jasper wasn’t around either. Sad to think these little chipmunks won’t be around much longer. Their little storage rooms must be bursting with food by now and in about 3 or 4 weeks they will be settled in their homes for the winter. They go to bed early. Probably so they won’t be caught off guard by an early snowstorm. Smart little critters.
More zinnias for today’s flower enjoyment. The featured image is a nice bright white flower, followed by this bright yellow. The colors of these flowers are definitely bright and cheerful, just perfect for cloudy, stormy days like today or for any day really. I hope you all have a beautiful Sunday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2020 Steve McLeod.
Daily Pics #249.
Good Saturday morning everyone! It’s a nice fall morning, the sun is shining, the moon is shining, the sky is a very brilliant blue, there’s no wind. It’s nice to see that strong northwest wind has stopped, and that means warmer weather for the weekend. It should hit 66F (19C) today. But Monday it really starts to cool off with temps colder than before. Oh well. Fall is here. That turkey is staying around here these days, definitely not a smart thing to do. Last evening he was in our yard so I was out there trying to get a picture. That was a waste of time really, he would not stand still. But I tried. This morning he was in the neighbors yard getting his morning exercise running around. He was being chased by a small black cat that roams the area. The cat does have a home but he spends more time outside than he does at home. Anyway, he was chasing the turkey, a rather futile attempt, that turkey can run fast. It did look rather comical though watching that little cat chasing this huge bird around the yard. Muffin was having fun watching them. Probably saying to herself, “I could catch that turkey bird”.
Speaking of chasing. All the chipmunks and Jasper were out here this morning. When Jasper first showed up Pocket was already in the box filling up with peanuts. The chase was on! Pocket easily got away and Jasper decided not to jump off the deck this time. But as he turned around he spotted another chipmunk and off he went. As they were going one way Skamper came by going the other way. Poor Jasper, he spotted Skamper but as he was trying to turn around he ran right into another box, smack! He shook his head and continued the chase. By this time Skamper was picking up his second peanut and getting ready to leave. Skamper and Jasper flew over the edge of the deck. Meanwhile Coffee showed up and got his fill of peanuts and left just before Jasper returned. Jasper got up and looked all around but couldn’t see any chipmunks so he started to go into the box. As he was going in one end Chester was going in the other end. Poor Jasper. He jumped, hit his head and then was in a mad scramble trying to get back out the door. I couldn’t believe how much trouble he was having. Meanwhile Chester was hiding behind a flower pot. Jasper finally got out and turned around. He couldn’t see anything so he went slowly back to the box and peered in the door. Finally he was brave enough to go in, grab a peanut and run off. I think Jasper must be getting nervous, or something.
It is a nice fall morning. The featured image at the top shows more island living on our beautiful lake. Then in the picture above is another zinnia, this time in a nice bright pink. There are many different colors of these flowers which I will be showing over the next few days. I hope you have a nice relaxing Saturday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2020 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 