X-Evolutionist: Life in the backyard

I've been out in my backyard lately ...

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:38:19 GMT

Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year. I love to spend a lot of my free time outside in my little paradise in the backyard enjoying God's creation. From my comfy seat on the patio, I can see a lot of what God has made: Trees, sky, clouds, wild birds, squirrels...

Also, I have my own pets in the backyard: My two free-range box turtles, Timmy and Tommy, always have free run of the backyard. We give them fruit and vegetables, but they also like to eat whatever goodies they can find, including bugs and worms.

I also have my forty-something goldfish in the fishpond my hubby built for me. I love to watch them swim around. It's very relaxing!

My two bunnies, Cadbury and Hudson, have a nice, private yard of their own, but when I am outside I open their gate and let them romp through the entire backyard. I love to watch them run laps around the pond. They climb up on the hillside where the waterfall comes down, and play King of the Hill, then jump over the waterfall and keep romping. They are very athletic and fun to watch.

Then, of course, I have my three dogs. They patrol the fence and make sure there are no breaches in security, like a squirrel on the fence, for instance. Belty often gets up in my hubby's chair and sits by me. He's my big boy.

Then, of course, I always have at least one of my pet birds with me: Most always Penny, my cockatiel who is bonded to me. Also, Rufus, my African Grey Parrot, is most always outside with me. Others come out with me from time to time.

Rufus loves animal sounds. When he is outside, he loves to copy the wild bird calls. He also loves to watch birds flying overhead. And, when the dogs bark at squirrels, he whistles for them. He's very handy to have around!

My hubby recently bought me an iPod Nano, and I uploaded my audio Bible on MP3. So, I've been enjoying listening to God's word while I enjoy watching God's creation. I also love to crochet and I bring out my latest project.

So, lately, when I wasn't in Spaces Land, I've been outside in the backyard in my spare time. I'm enjoying Fall while I have a chance, as it is getting colder and colder every day.

The high today will be 56 degrees Fahrenheit. Winter will be here soon and it will be very cold outside. The turtles will be hibernating, the pond will be frozen over, the fish will be inactive, and the bunnies, the birds, the dogs and I will be inside where it is warm.

Then, I have to wait till Spring when I can go outside and enjoy God's creation again. Spring is when baby birds are hatched and their parents bring them to our pond for a drink and their first bath. I love to watch the clumsy little things learn to fly and find their own food. So, next Spring, I'll be out in the backyard again.

My hubby has been working hard on our pond project.

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:45:18 GMT

I posted recently about the walkway we are building around the pond. My hubby is doing an excellent job! It's about halfway around the pond so far and it looks very beautiful.

Here's a picture of Belty modeling part of the new walkway: (click for larger picture)

Big job ahead!

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:26:13 GMT

The goldfish pond that my hubby built for me is a great joy for me. (You can do a search on "pond" and see how much I talk about it here.) But, from time to time we have to work on it. Lately, we've had a problem with grass tendrils traveling to the pond and growing into the water. The edge of the pond can get quite bushy. It looks icky, so we have to pull the grass out. The grass gets in between the rocks, so it's hard to pull out.

At one point, we had a mulch yard around the pond, and we had used these to outline the mulched area and make a pathway through it. The mulch was to keep the grass from growing around the pond.

It only worked a little while.....The Bermuda grass took over and it grew right through the mulch. So, we are back to the drawing board. Here's a picture of how it looked when the grass started taking over the mulched area. You can see the stepping stones, and also the edging bricks between the lawn and the old mulched area.

So, this weekend, I was outside pulling weeds around the pond, again. I thought, there's got to be a better way! I brought a proposal to my hubby to build a "shoulder" of some sort, a buffer zone, between the grass and the pond. I told him I thought we could reuse some materials we already had to make this shoulder.

Remarkably, (tee hee) he liked my idea. Once we decided to do it, his job was to figure out how to do it so it worked the way we wanted. We sat down and planned what to do.

With our new idea, we will let our lawn go all the way up the the edge of the shoulder. So, we picked up up all the stepping stones and edger bricks and stacked them up out of the way. Also, my hubby "scalped" the grass off of the mulch area, and mowed up a lot of the mulch, to get it back down to the level of the rest of the lawn. That was a job right there! Just ask my hubby. It was a lot of work bagging grass clippings in a relatively small area.

Besides that, we calculated quantities and went and bought our materials. It was quite a lot of hard work for my hubby to load and unload all the sand bags, so I'm not sure when we are actually going to start working on our project, but at least we have all the materials ready.

We still have a lot of work to do. Here's the rest of the plan:

Remove the rocks from around the edge of the pond.
Dig a shallow trench, two inches deep, all around the edge of the pond about two feet wide
Install narrow sheet metal flashing vertically as a physical weed/grass barrier just outside the two feet.
Spray weed killer on the shallow trenched area (carefully! We have lots of pets).
Line the shallow trench with 6 mil plastic liner.
Fill the trench with two inches of sand.
Lay the stepping stones in the sand.
Put the medium sized rocks back around the edge of the pond.
Fill in the spaces between the medium rocks and stepping stones with small rocks and gravel (left over from making the pond).
Line the whole shoulder with the edging bricks for a mow edge.

It's going to be a big job, but we don't ever want to pull weeds out between the rocks lining the pond any more. It will save us a lot of time and work in the long run.

The nice thing, is that we don't have to spend much more money to make this, since we are mostly re-using materials we already have.

Wish us luck!

PS: I just was surfing my space to see how often I talk about the pond, and I came across a Picture that shows the edge of the pond, (and my turtle Timmy!).

I saw a hawk land by my goldfish pond yesterday!

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:39:02 GMT

I was at my kitchen sink yesterday, and out my window I saw a big hawk land right in by backyard, next to the fishpond. I live in a residential neighborhood, miles from where I usually see hawks. I love hawks, but I'd rather see them some place else than in my backyard because of my pet bunnies.

I was a bird watcher long before I ever had my own pet birds, so I had mixed emotions. It was like the time I saw a great egret, who eat fish, land on my roof and look down into my pond smacking his lips. I love big wading birds, but I don't want one to eat my pet goldfish!

I was startled when I first saw the hawk, but later realized he was probably only at my pond to get a drink. After all, he landed far away from my bunnies' pen. God gave hawks better eyesight than that!

Anyway, my dogs Nicki and Belty didn't think a hawk belonged in our backyard, either. They must have smelled him, because they were in the house but ran out the doggie door as soon as I saw it land. The hawk saw them coming and flew away. What a beautiful creature he was! God is a very talented designer!

There's no place like home.......

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:55:31 GMT

It's a good thing that I like rainy weather! It is still raining here. It's been raining for weeks. Even though it's raining, I've been enjoying sitting outside in my spare time under our mostly dry gazebo/tent thingy and visiting with my pets.

I love to take out a parrot or two to play on the rocking chair, and of course Penny, my cockatiel and constant companion. From my gazebo, I can watch the fish in the pond, watch my two box turtles wander around, watch the wild birds come to the pond, and of course play with my dogs and bunnies.

The view from the gazebo

I have a pen that I've set up for the bunnies so they have a safe place away from the dogs (just in case). I only give the doggies supervised visitation with the bunnies. They are nice dogs, but I am a worry wart. (Just ask my hubby!) When I'm outside, I let the bunnies out of their pen so that they can romp all around the backyard. The bunnies love to hop up the hill that our waterfall comes down from. If you were four inches tall, you would love hills too! They also love to run laps around the pond. They even love to play in the rain.

The bunnies are not afraid of the dogs at all, so they don't run away from them. In fact, the bunnies hop right up to the dogs and lay down near them in the gazebo sometimes.

When the bunnies are finished romping, they go back into their own yard, lay under their hutch, and take a nap, then I close their gate.

To you, my life might seem boring, but to me, there's nothing I like after a hard days work than sitting outside in my own back yard. As Dorothy said when she came home from Oz:

"If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard."

Of course, when my hubby comes home from work, I'd rather spend time with him, but until he gets home, I spend my time after work in my own backyard.....

It's been too wet for my new bunnies to play outside.

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 14:06:41 GMT

It's been raining like crazy here in Oklahoma! We have had a whole lot of thunderstorms for days. There's so much rain that it has made the national news. Fortunately, there's not been two many tornado scares during the rain. I am not very fond of tornados! It's supposed to keep raining off and on for the next week.

Our new bunnies were supposed to be free-range, hop around the backyard bunnies, but with all this rain they've been indoor bunnies. They were used to being outdoor bunnies before we adopted them, but we don't have the proper housing for them yet. We have them in an exercise pen in the house so they have room to romp, so they seem happy enough.

Our box turtles are doing fine in the rain. They have a lot of hidey holes in the backyard. The goldfish in the pond aren't minding the rain either, tee hee.

It's stormy again. I miss the sun!

Thu, 24 May 2007 14:41:04 GMT

It is raining, make that pouring, again. This is thunderstorm and tornado season here in Oklahoma City. I just looked at weather.com. The sun is not going to be out again until June first.

Bummer!

I hope it warms up to freezing soon!

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:03:01 GMT

It's 21 degrees right now, and with the chill factor it feels like 6 degrees. Brr! It's a good day to stay in the house.

It's snowing again!

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 17:20:34 GMT

We are supposed to get snow through Friday, but this weekend it's supposed to stop. Boy, I am so ready for Spring!

It's snowing big, fat snowflakes!

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 16:29:11 GMT

I just looked out my office window and I'm seeing huge, fat snowflakes drifting down! Seeing snow is still a novelty since I spent so many years in Southern California where you had to make a special trip to see snow.

Just yesterday, I noticed that all of the ice had finally melted on our fish pond. And now, it seems we are getting another storm here in Oklahoma City.

Brr! It's a good time to plan that afghan I've been wanting to crochet!

I am so ready for Spring!

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 14:55:16 GMT

It's been cold! I miss going outside and sitting by the pond and watching the fish. The pond has been frozen over a lot this winter. The fish are fine as God designed them to be able to survive winter, but, I miss being able to watch them.

I also like to watch birds. Wild birds love coming to our pond for a drink and a bath. The birds still come and take a bath in the partly frozen waterfall. But now, I just get to watch them out the window.

I'm "stuck" here all day because I work at home. I miss taking my coffee breaks outside.

Come on Spring!

Here's a picture of what the pond looked like last Spring:

Here's what the pond has looked like lately:

(The ice and snow has melted some since this picture was taken)

Brr! I am so ready for Spring!

The weather forecasters goofed big time!

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 12:05:22 GMT

The news had been forecasting a big snow storm here all week. It never came! It just snowed a teensy bit, not the inches and inches that they warned us about all week.

I should have known better! You can't forecast the weather in Oklahoma City! It changes without notice. After all, Will Rogers said: "If you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, wait five minutes".

A snow storm is on its way.

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:17:23 GMT

We are going to be getting a lot of snow here in Oklahoma City this weekend. There is still ice everywhere left over from the ice storm last weekend. We are planning on staying home like we did last time. My hubby and I are going to rent videos today and plan on hanging out in the house together during the storm.

Squirrel watching at its best!

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 15:03:17 GMT

I work at home in a little office set up in a spare room. I have a clear view out the window from my desk. The view isn't all that exciting for the most part. It's just a view of the side of my next door neighbor's house...

But, here's the fun part! There is a wooden fence about eight or so feet away, halfway between our two houses. This fence is a tree squirrel freeway! During the day, there are squirrel's running back and forth frequently.

There is a big pecan tree behind our back yard, and the squirrels love doing their grocery shopping in that tree. Then, they run home along the top of the fence with a mouthful of pecans.

It sure makes my work day a little more interesting when I catch a squirrel scampering by out of the corner of my eye!

The ice storm is over!

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 16:42:27 GMT

We had nasty weather this weekend. We stocked up on groceries and rented DVDs and stayed in all weekend to stay safe. There is a lot of ice still on the roads, but it will be gone soon, hopefully. My hubby drove to work today. Good thing he's only a minute down the street!

I am so ready for Spring!

We are having an ice storm here in Oklahoma City

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 21:13:47 GMT

A couple of hours ago, the temperature fell and it got wet and icy. It's nasty outside, and getting worse every minute. My hubby and I are planning on staying home, warm and dry. It's too nasty to go outside!

I put the weather module on my space just for the length of this storm just for kicks.

Brrrrrr!

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:59:37 GMT

The first snow of the season melted weeks ago. It had warmed up a teensy bit after that, but we are getting mighty cold here again. The pond is iced over this morning, and the forecast says it's going to snow this weekend.

This California Girl is still not used to the cold weather here in Oklahoma City. At least we have the prettiest skies in the world. I never knew the sky could get so blue until I moved here with my hubby. Just looking outside is a treat. It's too cold to go outside, anyway!

Brrrrr!

Ahhh! It was a nice day yesterday.

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 16:18:18 GMT

It's been pretty cold here lately. But, yesterday it warmed up, and I was able to go outside in a T-shirt and play with the dogs. I also sat in lounge chair and watched the waterfall and the goldfish.

I've had cabin fever being cooped up:

All work and no play makes X a dull girl.
All work and no play makes X a dull girl.
All work and no play makes X a dull girl.

It was nice to go out and play!

The snow is almost all melted.

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 22:48:45 GMT

There is still ice on the goldfish pond, but the snow is almost all gone. It was fun while it lasted!

Winter wonderland in my own backyard!

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 14:35:53 GMT

Yesterday, I mentioned that it snowed. Now, I have pictures!

First, our goldfish pond yesterday :

Now, for contrast, our goldfish pond last spring:

Quite a difference, huh? This California Girl is still not used to snow at my own house now that we live in Oklahoma. I just want to look at it all day and say "Zowie!"

It's a winter wonderland outside!

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 14:29:23 GMT

Oh, what a beautiful morning! I bundled up and went outside and got some pictures of the snow in the backyard. It is so pretty! Once my hubby downloads the pictures, I'll post one here.

I see big, fat snowflakes outside my office window!

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 18:23:34 GMT

It is snowing! Since I spent over 40 years of my life living in southern California, I am in awe every time I see it snow. Now that we live in Oklahoma City, I have had it snow at my house every year. The back yard looks so pretty in the snow!

The fish pond is starting to freeze over. Our goldfish did fine last year, our first winter with the pond, so I am not (as) worried about them as I was last year.

I would have posted a picture of the snow, but it is too cold to go outside! It is 22 degrees F outside. Brr!

It's supposed to snow today!

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:57:39 GMT

We are supposed to get the first snow of this winter today. We had a really hot summer here in Oklahoma City, and I'm ready for winter. Of course, I don't have to go out and drive in the snow, or I would feel differently. I work at home, so I just have to see it snow out my office window.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It is cold, rainy, windy and icky outside.

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 15:56:24 GMT

I am so thankful that I work at home! I'm looking out my office window and it looks really dreary. I'm so happy I don't have to drive to work any more!

Don't worry though, I paid my dues first! I drove to work for 30 years before I was given the opportunity to do my work at home. I used to work in an office with the same person who is my boss now. He asked if I would mind working at home. Mind?? Mind?? Heck no! I won't mind working at home!

My boss works out of his home now, too. We use phone, email and fax to communicate. I draw construction plans with computer aided drafting, and I send my work to him in emails. We've been doing it this way for about four years. I like it very much!

Any way, I'm so happy I get to sit in my office and look at the cold, rainy, windy and icky day and I don't have to drive it it any more!

We haven't seen our box turtles much, lately.

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 17:50:39 GMT

Timmy and Tommy both want the same strawberry

We have two box turtles who roam free in the backyard. They can have all the bugs and greenery that they want, and we supplement their diet with fresh fruit and vegetables and canned dog food. They have learned that mom and dad bring out good things to eat, and often when we are outside one or both will run up to see what we brought out for them. Yes, really!

Well, it's starting to get cool outside, so they are not as active. We only see them about every other day, now. Soon, they will pick a comfy hole and dig in for the winter. (They have dug several hidey holes in the yard) They will be fine as this is how God designed them.

They are used to living outside. We found them last spring in a dangerous situation, crossing the road, and took them home to be safe in our large fenced yard. (It is legal to do that in our state, in case you wonder) So now Timmy, the male, and Tommy the female, are our free range box turtles.

Zowie! It's getting chilly!

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 12:25:19 GMT

Just several weeks ago, it finally got cool enough for me to go outside. Now, we are having a cold snap! It will be snowing here before too long!

Timmy the Turtle took a dip in the pond!

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 13:31:34 GMT

Timmy

So, the other day, we were outside after my hubby came home from work, and Timmy the Turtle decides to take a dip in the pond. Don't worry, box turtles have built in floatation devices in their shells (God thinks of everything) and they just float and paddle. He and Tommy the Turtle have been swimming before, but this time we had the camera handy. You never know what interesting things animals will do! It's best to be prepared.

Timmy paddling around between the parrot's feather plants

(click pictures for bigger image)

Swim time is over!

We've been having fun watching our black goldfish turn orange

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 13:49:51 GMT

My hubby built me a goldfish pond a year ago spring. After it was established, we bought Rick and Ilsa who had babies shortly thereafter. Goldfish are black when they are babies, and they gradually turn orange (or white in the case of our albino, Casper). We still have three or four of the black goldfish. Every time one starts to turn orange we have fun watching the process day by day. We also get to find out if they will have any spots of white. If they have spots, we can tell them from the other fish.

We like to give them names based upon their markings. One of them has a stripe of white over its back, like a saddle. We named him Trigger (Roy Rogers fans will get this one). One has face markings like a raccoon, so we call him Rocky (Beatles fans will get that one). The latest to turn orange has a patch of white on his head that looks like a full head of white hair, so I named him Tony after Tony Bennett.

Rocky (click for larger image)

It's just something silly we like to do after a hard day at the office -- sit on the park bench, look at the pond, and give names to the fish.

I love to sit in my backyard and be in awe of God's creation. Even watching my goldfish is an act of worship, as far as I'm concerned.

Wow, the weather has been so nice for a change!

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 14:33:49 GMT

I've been spending a lot of my free time outside in the back yard for the last week or so. It's finally cool enough to hang out and watch birds coming and going at the goldfish pond.

I owe some of my fellow spacers messages, but it's not personal! I've had cabin fever here at the house lately. I work at home and it's been too hot to go outside all summer. I've been cooped up for far too long! Finally! I can go outside and play again. Whew!

Lots of baby birds are visiting the fishpond this morning.

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:42:38 GMT

I was just outside having a cup of tea and admiring God's creation. It's a nice, cool morning so I was able to stay out a while and watch the activities at the pond.

There is a family of House Sparrow babies whose Daddy is showing them around. I was very pleased to see the Daddy bird bring his just-out-of-the-nest children to the pond for a drink of water.

Thanks to my wonderful hubby for building me my fishpond!

Nobody here but us rocks!

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:29:25 GMT

Yesterday evening, I went out to give our turtles a snack. Sometimes, they are in a hole resting someplace, and sometimes they will hear me call them and come running. Yes, really! I took a look around the backyard to see if Tommy or Timmy were on the way to see me.

This is what I saw:

Yep, it was Tommy the Turtle being incognito.

She somehow got herself wedged in between two "other" rocks. I took her to the patio where she enjoyed some juicy tomatoes.

(Fellow Windows Live Writer users: I could not get my margin from the photo to look good here, but it looked good in the writer. Any ideas?)

(click image to find Tommy among the rocks)

I was so surprised to get this picture. I only took one picture while Tommy was eating and I caught her with her mouth open. Lucky me!

Ahhhhh! What a relief!

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 13:10:57 GMT

I just checked the ten day weather forecast. It is going to be below 100 degrees (finally) for at least the next ten days! Whew! I am so tired of the heat. I have not been able to go outside very much, and I miss it.

I love to go out to watch the goings on at the fishpond several times a day, and I've really missed it. I just can't take the heat! It looks like Fall might actually come this year, after all!

Another picture of Casper the Friendly Fish

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:43:47 GMT

I'm still playing with the new Windows Live Writer (see previous blog for info), so I'm going to post yet another blog entry today just for practice, oh, and to show off my cute fish.

I posted earlier about my albino goldfish named Casper. He's one of my grown up baby fish. He was hatched here last year. Here's a better picture of his handsome self:

Casper the Friendly Fish (Click picture for larger image)

I've decided not to use the "insert picture" function on Windows Live Writer. I am still using the tool, but I'm switching to html and putting in a link to a picture offsite at my Photobucket account. I found out that blog photos get added to a blog photo album. I just deleted a bunch of pictures from my albums recently because my space was too slow. I do not want to add more pictures at this time.

If anybody else is playing with this, please let me know how it's working for you.

Well, I'm not that clever after all!

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:25:23 GMT

Since we have an albino goldfish, (Casper the Friendly Fish) I did a google search last night to find more info about albino goldfish. Without even trying I found out that there are at LEAST three albino goldfish named Casper on the web. Gee, and I thought I was so clever, tee hee hee.

Albino goldfish!

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 13:53:23 GMT

Yesterday afternoon, I got a really good look at one of last year's baby goldfish. It's a white one and we call him "Casper" like the friendly ghost. (tee hee) We were not surprised to have a white goldfish because the daddy fish is orange and white and some of the other babies are orange and white. Anyway, I got a good look at his "face" and he has red eyes! So, he's not just a white goldfish, he's an albino!

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Casper the Frendly Fish (Click for larger image)X

It's another cool, overcast morning outside.

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 12:38:46 GMT

I'm on my way to make a cup of tea and go look at God's creation from my patio chair. I'm so happy it is cooling down!

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Oh! What a Beautiful Morning!

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 13:48:49 GMT

Since I live in Oklahoma, and that song is from the show "Oklahoma" I believe I have the right to sing that song today. Seriously, it is beautiful outside today. It's been too hot for me to go outside much lately, and I've really missed sitting outside with my tea in the morning.

From my patio I can see blue sky, green trees, my fishpond that my hubby built and maintains for me (thanks Sweetie!), birds flying overhead, birds drinking out of my pond, our three mutts and our two free-range box turtles.

Relaxing in the backyard gazing at God's creation is a wonderful way to gear up start my day.

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Turtle Attack!: The sequel....

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 13:27:45 GMT

My hubby and I were outside yesterday evening watching the turtles eat. Then we started talking and quit watching the turtles. Our mistake! Timmy the Turtle came over and chomped on my toe! He had eaten all his strawberries, and that must have been his way of telling me that he was still hungry.

Timmy and Tommy (Click image for larger picture)

Ouch! I love having animals around too much to be mad at him. I'll just have to find a way to make my toes look less tasty.

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Turtle attack!

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 13:32:41 GMT

We have two box turtles who roam free in our backyard. Since they are "free-range" they can help themselves to all the bugs, worms and plants they can find in our large fenced yard. We also supplement their diet with fresh vegetables and/or dog food about every other day.

They are starting to come to us when we go outside. That's been really fun, but today I had somewhat of a close call..........

I was sitting outside in the cool of the morning as I knew it wouldn't stay cool for long. Timmy started coming towards me from elsewhere in the yard once he saw I was there. That was very nice.........

But, I guess he figured "There's Mom, and Mom means food". He stretched out his head and opened his mouth wide and lunged at my toe! I moved my toe in time, but it was a close call. I went in and got him and Tommy some vegies and then my hubby and I had a good laugh about it.

Timmy the Attack Turtle!

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It's too hot!

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 22:24:44 GMT

It's been over 100 degrees every day lately. I'm just about ready to melt. I am SO ready for Fall to come!

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Yikes! It's too hot!

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:56:18 GMT

We are having a heat wave. It's been over a hundred every day. It will be 107 today. Yikes!

It's too hot for me to go outside and play much. I only like Spring and Fall. I'm not a big fan of Summer and Winter. Come on Fall!

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No softball tournament for me!

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 14:50:39 GMT

It's going to be 103 degrees today. My hubby is going to a big deal women's softball tournament here in Oklahoma City. The game he wants to see starts at noon! He invited me to join him, but I do not handle the sun well, and sitting in the sun when it is 103 degrees at high noon does not sound fun to me.

However, It will be a good time for me to stay home and watch an old movie. Every Saturday night there is a double feature of old movies on our local PBS affiliate. I tape it every week. So, I already have my afternoon planned out.

Hope you have fun at the game, sweetie!

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Crazy weather here right now!

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:45:51 GMT

Oklahoma City weather is very strange. Right now it is 99 degrees and it is pouring down rain and there is thunder and lightning. I never saw this type of weather all my years in Southern California.

Well, the wild birds, the fish, and my turtles don't mind and the dogs and my pet birds are here in the house with me. Let it rain!

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Mixed emotions about seeing a great egret in my yard.....

Sat, 08 Jul 2006 16:19:08 GMT

I saw a great egret on top of my house yesterday afternoon. Up till now, I had only seen great egrets flying high over my house, en route to or from a body of water which are all over Oklahoma City. On one hand, I was very excited to see a great egret at my house, but on the other hand, I'm really sad because he was there to try to eat my fish.

He was on top of the house and peering down at the pond. He was trying to decide whether to risk flying down to it since my hubby and I and the three dogs were all outside. Sadly, the camera was in the house, and we didn't want to scare it away by getting up to go inside to get it.

As a bird watcher, I am thrilled that a new bird came to my yard. As a goldfish owner, I am pretty concerned. Most of our fish are children of our two biggest fish, so we've watched them grow up. I get attached to my pets pretty quickly.

I suppose we know now what became of my fish Terry. We bought Terry and Moby a few months ago to add some variety to the pond. They were shubunkins, which are a variety of goldfish that are colored like calico cats. Terry disappeared shortly after we got them.

Most of my fish are gold, but a few have white spots. The thing is, most of the goldfish look alike and so we probably wouldn't notice if one was missing. We noticed that Terry was missing because he had distinctive spots. I would imagine great egrets have come to my pond other times when I wasn't outside.

Here's a picture of some great egrets. There is also a a snowy egret in the picture behind the bush.There is a daddy mallard with his babies in the picture too, so you can see how big of a bird they are. We took this picture at a nearby man made lake.

Great egrets at a nearby lake (click for a larger image)

So, am I happy that I've attracted a new bird to my yard, or am I sad? I haven't decided yet.

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Finally a picture of a White Winged Dove!

Tue, 04 Jul 2006 23:49:47 GMT

White Winged Dove (click for larger image)

Hi Everybody!

I finally got a picture of a White Winged Dove at my pond! The dove is standing on a rock just in front of the waterfall. This variety of dove is rare in my area, but lately I've seen them at my pond occasionally .... just never when I have my camera with me!

Our Backyard (click for larger image)

This is my view from our back patio. The fishpond that my hubby built for me is a wild bird paradise. Wild birds come all day long for a drink and a bath. It is a real joy for me to sit outside and just watch the goings on at the pond. Thanks Sweetie for building me my pond!

Just below the "My Favorite Movies" list to the left I have my "Backyard Bird List". I am gradually adding pictures to this list as I take them.

I would love to hear from other birdwatchers to see what birds you have in your area.

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It's the first day of Summer

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 13:39:05 GMT

Hi Everybody!

It's been boiling hot here in Oklahoma City, and it's going to get a lot hotter now that it is officially Summer. It's beautiful outside, but it's too hot to go outside except in the morning and night. Yes, I'm a big baby.

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Pictures of our free range turtles

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 15:00:03 GMT

Hi Everybody!

We have two box turtles who have free run of the yard. I love to have critters around me, the more the merrier!

The turtles have very different personalities. Tommy loves to hang out in the shade on the patio where we hang out in the mornings and evenings. She likes to be with us, but she is still a little afraid and closes her hinged shell if we come too close.

Timmy, on the other hand, is fearless. If he is on the way someplace, and the dogs are in his path, he just barrels on though like a little armored tank. He also loves to bury himself in mulch during the heat of the day, and then go roaming in the afternoon.

They can have all the bugs that they want to catch, but we also supplement their diet with a bit of canned dog food and vegetable scraps. Tommy loves broccoli and strawberries. Timmy is more the carnivore and loves the dog food mostly.

Tommy Turtle

Timmy Turtle

Tommy likes to hang out in her pagoda on the patio. Don't tell her it is really a barbecue. She thinks it's a little house just for her.

Tommy in her pagoda

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Breakfast time for turtles.

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 14:23:30 GMT

Hi everybody,

I was just outside by the pond. I gave my box turtles breakfast. One wasn't interested in eating, but the other had pieces of broccoli, cauliflower and strawberries. I'll bet that tastes better than bugs.....

Some times our box turtles take a dip in the pond. I didn't know land turtles could swim, but they have a great floatation device on their back, apparently, and then they just need to paddle. They are surprisingly agile!

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It's a wonderful cool morning.

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 12:51:13 GMT

Hi Everybody!

It's been really hot lately, nearing a 100 F everyday. Today it is a nice 71 F with a lot of clouds. It's really nice. It's not even officially summer yet. It's going to be a hot one.

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Ahhhh. It's raining.

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 17:28:37 GMT

It's been too hot the last several days to go outside except for the first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon. It is so refreshing to be able to be outside and see big, fat rain drops and have it be cool.

Ahhhh!

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