G's Blog: May

April - May - June

I don't know if this link to a FB Reel will work, but it's worth a try.

(Neither do I know if it's for real or clever AI.)

May 31

I don't recall seeing the Red-head taking grape jelly before. Perhaps because the suet was empty.

May 30

A couple of FB "memories" from 7 years ago.

New Oriole feeder seen visited by Catbird, Oriole and Downy Woodpecker. Also a boatload of ants!

May 29

May 28

This has to be one for the books. Here we are struggling to start Milkweed seedlings with failure after failure. Meanwhile my established patch has no trouble sending a rhizome nine feet under my patio and pushing up through this crack.
PS - This is the first in my 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 series, no doubt soon to go viral. PPS - can't believe I didn't notice this until this morning.

May 27

Possibly the first time I captured Hairy woodpecker feeding young.

My sax debut at open mic (link).

Five years ago. I wonder what we're looking at.

I don't know if the Orioles are hip to their new feeder yet, but the Downy is.

The Phoebe has started over.

Return of Butterfly Weed

May 26

Happy birthday Dad, wherever you are. (4-year FB 'memory'.) Here is one of my favourite videos of him playing.

Trying to protect the Milkweed seedling (from chipmunks?) with the top of a lemonade bottle. The downside may be that it also shields from wind which the stalk may need to get strong.

May 25

Family weekend photos. Hard to believe I was about the age of those kids when we moved there.

May 24

May 23

I watched a video about transplanting Common MW being possible if you get enough of the horizontal root. I had some volunteers that were in rather inconvenient places so I thought I'd give it a go.

May22

Couldn't resist

May 21

May 20

Some open mic songs.

Well this is odd, Youtube blocked this song for copyright reasons. I'd previously posted the same song in 2020 so here is a link to that. Funny thing - I'm wearing the same t-shirt!

May 19

I might have taken this yesterday but today I tried to accentuate the MW for my Zoom background

May 18

Happy Together

Music with Rick and Michel at Cafe 14.

Oriole Blink

This one doesn't usually linger for photo-ops when the window is open but patience was rewarded today.

May 17

Today's music project: overdubbing a sax solo.

I hope to perform it at open mic next Tuesday.

May 16

I don't know what this is but it's not the only one exactly where Swamp Milkweed was last year.

Iris!

Bee Balm is back!

May 15

Only another four thousand miles (4 months?) before the next really interesting one.

Catbird is eager for the grape jelly. For a minute I thought a Cardinal would go for it too (before I dumped it).

May 13

I almost didn't bother with this, but here are my 3 songs from Tuesday night open mic. Last Night is a messy kluged affair as Jesse's video wasn't pointing at me. Audio is not so bad on that song though. The other songs I didn't do so well, not making these public.

I made sure to record Jesse doing this song because I want to learn the sax solo.

May 12

I think this is hilarious. We grew up listening to the fiery furnace story as told by Louis Armstrong.

1st Female Oriole

May 11

May 25, 2024

Zooming

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Female Phoebe, just after I disturbed her. I wanted to see if the second egg hatched yet (it didn't). I brightened her face up a bit so you can see the eye.

Established Common Milkweed

May 10
Some nice colours after the first thunderstorm of the evening. A Hummingbird happened to come by while I was trying to get the view with my phone. Might use it for a Zoom background.

I don't know about any Milkweed I tried to start last year, but the established patch looks like it's coming back and spreading.  Saw the first evidence today. No sight of Swamp MW however.

Phoebe nest April 30 6am (Ma perhaps awakened by Cardinal, slo-mo) and today (day-old chick).

FB memory 6 years ago.
"Social distancing was not a challenge at our first spring gig, we're normally pretty spaced out anyhow. The chilly wind on the other hand... that made it hard to play! Singing through a mask was tough too. Kent farm market. Kent in the USA that is."
May 9

This trail-cam video snippet is actually dated April 30 (5am) but I just saw it and wanted to share.

I'm slowly getting better pics of the smallest gentleman. Focus aside, you just can never tell what the light is going to do with that gorget.

Eastern Phoebe just hatched, sometime since yesterday evening.

At least one Bluebird has yet to fledge, as of the morning.

Ma and fledgling, a combined image. They were there at the same time but the focus was not good for both.

Pa and fledgling. It's unusual for me to see a fledgling come this close so soon.

Bluebird bribery continued. When the live worms are offered the Bluebirds can't resist, especially when they have mouths to feed. He is a bit more reticent than She and hovering often happens while he makes up his mind to come so close to me (less than 2 meters*).

*𝐼'𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑚𝑦 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑖𝑠.

Wordle 1783 Brag

May 7I bribed the Bluebirds with live mealworms into some kitchen window photo-ops.

My favourite shot of Ma approaching.

This is a composite of Ma Bluebird (right) arriving and Pa Bluebird departing.

I can't stop myself trying to get a better photo of this little one. As of today he has competition, another one showed up.

May 6

Here's a Youtube playlist of my 3 open-mic songs at Kent Lanes.

Feeling a bit embarrassed while trying to remember the next song I was going to play.

Phoebe update: no hatched eggs yet (as of May 7). Trailcam pics.

Appears to be checking out the mirror above her nest.

Catbird all puffed up. I can't tell male from female with this one, but it sure looks like somebody is showing off with attitude.
I need one of those apps that remove objects from photos but I don't want to buy in to the AI-Chat craze.