Robins’ Nests

Almost every year a robin nests on the cross beam that supports our deck. Our two cats look down through the deck boards from the half of the deck that is covered - with keen interest but unable to disturb the nest at all.

This year we have 5 nests! Maybe the second and fourth one look a little scruffy - might be left over from last year. But that still leaves 3 that look freshly constructed. The fifth one is the one is on the corner of the deck nearest the garden…so the robin frequently leaves in a hurry and noisy complaint whenever I am gardening.

We are quite a few robins in our neighborhood. The trees in the yards are now 20+ years old and the trees in the forest that extended down to the river behind the neighborhood has trees that are older still. The robins seem to increase in number every year but this is the first time I’ve seen the increase so tangibly: more nests means more robins in the next generation!

Robins!

Robins on the lawn or in the garden are another sign of spring. The ones I’ve seen recently appear to be tolerating the last blast of winter quite well. Even without their feathers fluffed they look well fed! The robins pictured in this post seemed almos tame....alowing me to walk relatively close (and then use the camera's zooom) to get their pictures.

We always seem to have the most robins in the spring. They seem to move around in small flocks and then we see them one at a time or in pairs later in the season. Perhaps some of them head further north and a few stick around to nest in our area. Almost every summer we have a nest under our deck.

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - January 2014

Over a year ago I posted about finding something to celebrate each day. It’s an easy thing for me to do and the habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10 for January 2014. I’ve grouped them into 4 categories this month: food, my past, looking outdoors and learning something new.

Food

Scones. I’m not sure why I thought scones were too difficult for my cooking skills….but I avoided trying to make them for long time until I saw a recipe that used a food processor for the hardest part! Now I make them a couple of times a month and vary the recipe. The original was pumpkin and ginger. The scones I celebrated this month were raisin and ginger (I like the slivers of crystallized ginger so they are part of the ‘basics’ for all my scones!

Baked Apples. I’ve always liked baked apples but I tend to forget about them. This January we had apples that needed to be used up quickly….so I got back in the habit. I had baked apples three days in a row! I bake the in the microwave for 2 minutes then add other ingredients before microwaving for another 2 minutes. My favorite ‘other ingredients’ are orange zest, pecans, and marmalade!

Homemade soups. Soup is my favorite food on cold days - and I never buy soups in cans these days. Many times I enjoy the leftovers used in soups more than the original meal they came from!

My Past

Wedding Anniversary. I celebrated over 40 years of marriage this month. Noting the date always reminds me of the broader need to celebrate and appreciate the durability of our family ties overall.

Friend from Long Ago. Rediscovering a friend from a long time ago is such a pleasure. It is invigorating to rediscover that the kernel of our younger selves is still within us!

Look Outdoors

This January has been too cold here in Maryland to do much outdoors….but the views through windows have been intriguing.

Snow. The snow has stayed on the ground for a long time. At first it is pristine and there are bits on the larger branches of the trees. Then the tracks of deer and squirrels are evident the snow on the trees either melts or is blown away.

Fog in the forest. One morning the humidity and temperature combined to create a dense fog. The forest behind out house looked as if it were holding the fog in its branches.

Robins. The flock of robins from a few days ago was a pleasant surprise.

Learning Something New

The new semester on Coursera. I’ll write a longer post early next month …when I’ll have more experience with the courses. What I am celebrating right now is that the first week of the courses I’ve started has been so good!

Soil science. I went to a lecture on this topic and was surprised at how much I learned…..and that I followed up to check the soil suitability for my neighborhood (It was quite a relief to know that the soil was suitable for houses with basements!).

Robins in Maryland

A flock of robins came to our neighborhood with the sun after the big snow storm earlier this week. It was bitterly cold (in the low teens and breezy) so they fluffed their feathers for warmth and looked very round. They seemed to like the maple tree that is visible from my office. I took the pictures for this post through the window!

There were other birds around that morning too. A blue jay sat in the top of the maple - very alone compared to the robins. There was a small flock of blue jays in the neighborhood last summer and I hope to see them frequently again. There was a woodpecker that was examining our tulip poplar but must not have found anything interesting since it did not stay long. On the other side of the house, the juncos are eating the seeds left on the stalks of the blazing stars from last fall; the cats watch them through the window.