During the Heat wave things are still happening

We have had a really slow moving week with all this heat that has hit but things are still going on, My doll house club was having a big display of many of our projects during Danville, PA's Iron Heritage Festival.  I helped out a bit on three different days.  I will do a post about that tomorrow. 

But first.............  yesterday, while my shop was open I noticed a lot of bird activity around the front door of the shop.  Apparently there was a bird nest up on the side of the shop where I have a huge wreath with the name of my shop. We hadn't been open in almost two weeks due to travel so didn't see the activity.  Well  yesterday must have been the day the parents kicked out the little birds.  I was standing at the open front door when suddenly a tiny bird flew into me.....  and then landed on the ground.   He hopped around and I quickly closed the door.  He flew up to land on the ledge of the front door's window panes.   Here are a couple of pictures of the bird looking through the door window.

A bit later my husband came out and saw what was happening.  I went out side and suddenly the bird landed on my shoulder so my husband picked him off carefully.  There next two pics are of him holding the bird.  After this he set the bird up on the awning next to the wreath and parents much have come along and encouraged the little guy to get going again.

Nature up close and personal!

Birds in the Backyard

Birds in the Backyard

My husband spends a lot of time (and money) feeding the birds in the backyard.

  It pays off with interesting sightings.

Here is a Robin sitting patiently on her nest.  While she was away we "peaked" in and saw three eggs.

 This is a pair of rose breasted grosbeaks.  They are such a pretty bird and they do seem

to like the choice of food that has been provided

And finally a large group of gold finches at their feeding station.  There is always a crowd on this feeder.

Woody Woodpecker came by for a visit.

A couple of days ago there was a VERY loud pecking sound coming from our Maple Tree. It was a visit from a Pileated Woodpecker. What a beautiful bird. The bird is busy and "shy" so it is hard to get a picture. But this is what they look like. They are huge and the first time I saw one I was amazed and very curious to learn what kind of bird it was.


They don't come by very often but when they do they are a sight to behold. They are unlike any of the other kinds of woodpeckers that we see quite often at our birdfeeders such as the Red Headed, Hairy, Downey and others. They look, in person, more like the Woody Woodpecker" of cartoon fame than other woodpeckers I have seen.

The picture I am showing is one I found on the internet since the one in our tree would not hold still long enough for a decent picture. You can learn a lot more about the Pileated Woodpecker by clicking here.