We have a deal
Posted: August 18, 2012 Filed under: 365 Yoga Challenge, Adventures in Life, Air, Critters, Earth, Fire, home, nature, Photography, pond, Quotes, Spirit, Summer, Walking, wandering, water, weather | Tags: American Goldfinch, birds, clouds, flowers, Meadow, nature, Outdoors, Photography, pond, Prairie Home Companion, reflections, Summer, thistle, trees, W B Yeats, water, weather, wildflowers, woods 33 Comments
The American Goldfinches and I have come to an agreement. They will let me take a few photos of them in the thistle every now and then in exchange for providing them with supplemental food at the feeder. Win-win situation all around.
It has been a gorgeous day here in the Bogs. Perfect for taking walks around the pond and into the woods. It’s also good weather for painting the outside of the house, something M and I spent a few hours doing.
The asters in the wildflower meadow are starting to bloom, a sure sign that autumn can’t be all that far off.
Thistle-down
The wind has been carrying the thistle seeds all over the place. You can find them practically everywhere on the property.
The angle of the sunlight, the convention of crows in the woods, and the behavior of the other birds are all making it feel very autumn-like even if the calendar still insists on summer.
Today’s view of the pond.
That’s about it from the Bogs for this beautiful Saturday. Thanks for dropping by. I’m heading out to the deck to listen to the radio for a while (“A Prairie Home Companion“). M is going to grill some eggplant and corn for dinner. I think it will be a good evening to go for a sunset boat ride. I’ll save you a seat. 🙂
A glimpse into the woods
The world is full of magic things, patiently
waiting for our senses to grow sharper.~ W. B. Yeats
One more goldfinch. Just because.
Life in the Bogs 
I love the Yeats quote
Me too, Lynn. 🙂
thanks for saving a seat!! have a wonderful day!
You’re welcome, Ellen. You too. 🙂
Do you suppose the finches are getting lethargic, or perhaps simply mellow, from the abundance of thistles seeds in the meadows?…their own kind of Thanksgiving feast?…and then on the feeders too…yum! They are so beautiful! I could probably sit for a few hours just gazing at the reflections in the pond! The woods are looking soothing and pretty today too. I actually felt a slight hint of autumn here in NCalif the other day too…just a little hint in the air for a few hours! (wow, “listen” to me chattering away here…I seemed to need that walk today! : ) thank you! )
ps…Robin, I have an idea/question…. have you ever thought of creating a photo “gadget” (I think that’s what they’re called) that could be on people’s homepage? I have several gadgets on my igoggle homepage that I love…one is nature photos (but they don’t change), another is animals that look like they are smiling. (always lifts my mood,no matter how I feel), a dailyDalaiLama quote, etc. I’d love to be able to see some of your photos on a home page. I wonder how difficult it might be to create those?
ps…At first, I thought that your foot photo in the upper right column was the ice that looked like feet photo from this winter…but on closer looking, I think it’s actually your feet with a photo effect on them?
lol, Kathy (PP)! I think they might fattening themselves up for the cold winter months.
I like your gadget idea, but wouldn’t know how to go about making such a thing. My Flickr widget and link over in the sidebar will lead you to my daily walk photos, but I’m not savvy enough to come up with something other than that.
My gravatar is one I call my jazz feet. It’s a picture of my feet on a patterned blanket that I took while at Jazz Fest in New Orleans. I used Photoshop to change the colors so yes, it does have a photo effect. 🙂
Love your clouds, finches and thistles! I love wispy things!
Thank you, Cathy. I like wispy things too. 🙂
I’m jealous of your relationships with Goldfinches. And your thistle-down is soooo plush. Love it!
Thank you, Terry. All you have to do is feed them, and the Goldfinches will switch alliances rather quickly. lol!
I always enjoy your lovely nature photos!
Thank you, Karen. 🙂
What a gorgeous sky! We saw nothing but gray today but that wasn’t too bad. I think it was welcome after several days near, at, and just above 100 degrees! But I love looking at your sky!
Glad you like it, Corina. I hope the weather has cooled and the sun is shining for you now. 🙂
It looks like the cloud is ‘copying’ the shape of the tree! Jane
I thought so too! I’m glad you spotted that, Jane. 🙂
Gorgeous shots!
Thank you, LadyFi. 🙂
Aaaand, the beautiful weather seems to have arrived here this morning!
Lovely walk – I have many things that I leave for the finches…
So glad it finally made it out your way, Marie. It’s relatively cool and raining here this afternoon. Just thought I’d warn you (about the rain).
Oh my gosh! I would like to make the same deal with the birds. Look at that expression in your first shot … what a ham. He was posing and making faces at you (was that the lead up to a sly wink?) … did he get an extra treat in his deal? 😉
lol, Bearyweather! That bird has attitude! Cracked me up when I saw the photo on the monitor and realized he was hamming it up. They’re all getting extra treats, but maybe he thought they were just for him. 😀
Thank goodness you and those goldfinches came to an agreement. It’s synchronistic: I just mentioned Prairie Home Companion to Barry this morning. We used to listen to it all the time. And am writing a blog about corn. Hope you enjoyed yours!
The corn has been wonderful this year, Kathy. I often think of A Prairie Home Companion when I think of sweet corn (Garrison Keillor often mentions it). I’m a little behind in my reading, but should get to your corn blog soon. 🙂
Your photos are all stunning!
Thank you, Eldy. 🙂
Oh, I love A Prairie Home Companion. Plus, the grilled dinner sounds amazing. Any leftovers? Check out my post Monday morning for details on our visit with Chattermaster and Husband.
Hugs,
Kathy
There were leftovers, Kathy M., but they’re gone now. Sorry about that. I’ll save you some next time. 🙂
I have read the post, but haven’t had a chance to comment yet. Will do that soon.
The thistle-down is gorgeous – like lacy spaceships ready to fly.
The pond shot does have a tinge of autumn….the light is slightly different some how – noticed it here, too – nice reflections in the water
Thank you, PhilosopherMouse. 🙂
Love the Goldfinches- this is their time of year, gathering thistle material to make their nests.
Me too, Tracy. They’re wonderful to watch, throwing the thistle seeds around. 🙂