I am starting today's post with a photo of Jack.
Donkeys are in fact highly intelligent animals despite popular misconception.
(If you've ever referred to someone as a Jack Ass, you might have just been paying him/her a compliment!)
Donkeys can live for over 50 years, and are very intelligent.
A donkey is stronger than a horse of the same size.
Donkeys have an incredible memory – they can recognize areas and other donkeys they were with up to 25 years ago.
I wish I had the memory of a donkey like Jack!
Donkeys are not easily startled (unlike horses) and have a keen sense of curiosity.
Donkeys have a reputation for stubbornness but this is due to their highly developed sense of self preservation. A donkey has a mind of its own.
It is difficult to force or frighten a donkey into doing something it sees as contrary to its own best interest or safety.
Donkeys are very independent in their thinking and will reason, then make decisions based on their safety.
When in doubt, be like a donkey!
I took this photo of Jack yesterday when driving the back roads from my hair cut adventure. Sometimes when you "talk" to him, he will "talk" back with the cutest of brays. You can't help but smile at his vocalizations!
It had been a while since I was really on a drive of any length - the last time was my chiropractor appointment a couple of days before Christmas Eve.
I've shown this house before - but not in winter.
I would love to get a beautiful photo the next time we have snow -
The only problem would be driving these narrow and sometimes steep dirt roads when they are covered with snow! I just think it would make a beautiful postcard type photo.
I just love that upper verandah!
There was a smattering of rain - but no snow.
Driving slow behind an Appalachian Traffic Jam!
Waving goodbye as they turn off -
Can you see the green sign?
Eastern Continental Divide!
I would have to say that the highlight of the day, (besides the haircut - because human interaction is so dreadfully needed - having someone touch my hair, my head, give me a bit of pampering is soul restorative!) was opting to pick up a take out lunch at a favorite Mexican place and eat it in the car before running additional errands.
Other than a drive through Taco Bell - I just haven't been going "IN" to places for a Mexican food craving.
I don't think I will ever take simple pleasures like a delicious lunch out ever again.
One of my out and about stops found....
A fabulous frame for 3 of the photos that dad sent me for Christmas. His gift to me this year was some of his favorite photos he had taken this year. I love these three in a series, and was looking for just the right frame that would fit the cabin.
This is perfect!
One of the things that dad has dove further into during the Covid pandemic is his photography. I'm so proud of him. My dad who turns 81 next month is busy with webinars and online courses and doing things to keep his mind busy and his interests piqued.
Photography (like quilting) is something on can do solo and socially distant.
It was also a TWO BIRDS DOWN day yesterday -
And this time I had the camera.
Little red headed wood pecker flew into the sliding glass door UNDER THE PORCH that opens to the dining area. Doofus!
He sat there, with his beak propped up on the chair rocker until he too, gathered his wits and flew off across the yard and into the woods.
We are not sure what may have attracted these birds, but Ivy loves to watch at ALL of the sliding glass doors (We call it Ivy TV) to watch the birds.
Maybe they were showing aggressiveness towards her?
And after all was said and done and back home where I belong - some more of this happened:
I love sewing with fabrics given in love by friends!
This purple Jackknife block is for my Iowa Girls!
This morning's sunrise.
Glorious.
And so far no more birds have dive bombed my windows!
There may be snow here on Friday, I want to be sure everything is ready to go so I can just push PUBLISH on Friday morning.
If there is some times - that pile of scraps covering the table may find themselves sewn into more Snails Trail blocks by late afternoon.
Oh, and before I go - we need to draw the winner of the Winter Blues and Facets of Blue fabric roll Gift-Away!
Entry 5178 is:
Alvera Dothage!
Alvera, please reply to the email I have sent to the email address you provided with your entry! The PDF pattern for Winter Blues and the Facets of Blue fabric roll will soon be on their way to you!
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
It really is how we look at things!
And if I am feeling a bit stressed, I pick it apart one thing at a time into smaller doable bits. I am excited when I can knock those things off my list and look at things in a different perspective.
How do you handle looking at a working through your own stressful things? What helps you?
Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!
Best position for me is that I never have time to be in a hurry.... as you make more rounds gathering things and forgetting what you were up to when in haste. So: take your time! =^}}
ReplyDeleteBonnie..of course I LOVE your Iowa block being one of the Iowa Girls!!!! Have a wonderful January 6th day and so enjoy reading your blog and following all your quilting stitches and adventures near and far!! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSuggestion - Walk away from the house and look at that door. Is it possibly reflecting the woods and the birds think that's where they are flying? Of course, you would probably need to be as high as they are to get the 'proper' reflection.
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed day.
We have issues with birds at different times of year, it seems to depend at least partly on the sun angle. The hawks have been known to scare prey birds into the house, sometimes hitting the windows; the stunned birds are then easier to grab.
ReplyDeleteWe have used the decals available to make the window visible. I need to put them back on our picture window, we have had a couple of dove hits recently, no damage to the doves.
I was given a large, beautiful, red begonia that I placed on the coffee table. Shortly after the first bird hit the window. After a second bird hit I decided it was the red flowers attracting them. The plant got moved and the birds quit hitting the window. Is there something new, bright and shiny that can be seen from outside that might be attracting them? Thanks for all the inspiration you share.
ReplyDeleteThe birds that are flying into your window may be seeing a reflection of themselves or other birds or it just looks like s fly through to them. 8f you have not had this problem previously, it may be related to changing sun angles of the season. . There are numerous applications of things available on line. I will leave that to you to research on line so as not to get to long winded!
ReplyDeleteI love your Quote of the Day today, as they are always inspiring, I think this is the best yet.
ReplyDeleteHave a good day.
MaryAnn in Oregon
In my former house, the birds would do this at certain times of the year for a few days. I think it was a particular angle of the sun that cast just the right light to fool them.
ReplyDeleteLove the traffic jam--I grew up in a rural area, so I recognize the "hay hauling," "tractor," and "old farm truck" slowdowns. :)
Had various birds flying I to my west facing windows and I put small opaque stick one of leaves on Windows. It seemed to have deterred them. Been up over a year now.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and great photos! Love, love your quote. I’m definitely going to practice this one. We had our stress relieving outing today. We got our first COVID vaccine!!
ReplyDeleteLove seeing “Jack” & the donkey facts! My husband takes our young grandchildren to a nearby city campground / park with a petting zoo. “He-haw” ( the “biting” donkey) KNOWS when they drive up. He starts up with his happy sounds, comes to the fence for petting and will follow them back & forth along the fence, running if they run... he’s so cute!!
ReplyDeleteLove all the pictures today, including the ones your dad took. How wonderful he is ever learning & keeping busy!
I keep my sanity with planning, petting (fabric!), cutting, sewing... my happy place, and the peace of the Lord! And of course my family nearby...
Beautiful red belly woodpecker! Glad it is ok! We get window bumps too, on the north facing glass door... no direct sun even... no cats or other pets.. 🤷🏼♀️ I had the pleasure of holding on my finger a gorgeous goldfinch this past summer for about 10 minutes before he finally snapped out of it!!
Have a happy day!!
Marci H.
Love the quote! Great perspective.
ReplyDeleteWe have birds that fly into our south windows too. (we call it bird spit) There are outside doors on the other side of the house and you can see through the house.. maybe they think it's a short cut??? For the fun of it.. you could cut paper snowflakes and tape to the door to see if that helps.. if not, it's still cute.
ReplyDeleteThat's a male red bellied woodpecker. A lovely somewhat shy bird. Post It Notes are effective at delineating glass from free space. Scatter Post Its liberally and you shouldn't have to remove a dead bird from your deck.
ReplyDeleteMy son and his family have a donkey as part of their menagerie, along with a couple of goats. I have some of that date due fabric. As a retired librarian I just had to buy some when I saw it and the matching library card one. Your Dad's photos with the moon are spectacular. Nice that you found a frame for them so quickly.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived on Cumberland island national seashore for many years, we’d had birds flie info our large window All of wrne time. They don’t understand, houses in wilderness areas. They think it’s thin air and sometimes they see themselves (they don’t understand mirrors or the mirror effect) and think it’s another bird. My neighbor, well miles down the island, was one of few full time residents, like us. She finally put up orange streamer plastic tape type strips. They would flie in the wind to distract them. She had a freezer full (dedicated to them only) of birds that had met their demise over the years. She’d put them in ziploc bags and when grandchildren or visitors would come, she’d show them to them. They were dead and not of any fault of her own. She used the opportunity to show birds that they might not have normally seen. Sounds a bit strange to some, I suppose. However, I digress, the point was that she out up orange streamers that she attached at the top and let flow in t!he wind. It worked! They just don’t understand the glass....
ReplyDeleteI bet the angle of the sun is reflecting the trees. We had that problem at one time in a different house from where we live now. The birds think they are flying into the forest. We were told to put a lamp in the window or something so it would break up the reflection. Poor birds. It's heartbreaking when they get hurt.
ReplyDeleteI have read that birds fly into windows because they see their own reflection and think it is a rival, *or* because they see the outdoor scenery in the reflection and think it is open to fly through.
ReplyDeleteA dove hit the glass of my back door and the noise sounded like a gunshot. I was sitting about ten feet from the door and know I jumped three inches! Sadly she broke her neck and I buried her in my garden. I have some of the Iowa fabric too that I got on a business trip to Iowa several years ago.
ReplyDeleteThat woodpecker is called a red-bellied woodpecker! Why, I don’t know! No red on it’s belly. Had one here last week, but never seen one before! It is a southern bird.
ReplyDeleteI am working on clue 6, yea all caught up til Friday! Love to see your little adventures! I was excited to get out today even if it was a Doctor’s appointment and groceries!
We have red-bellied woodpeckers in the northern regions, as well. I think they do have a small patch of reddish color kind of low on their "belly." I enjoy seeing them at our feeders and hearing their call in the woods, which is very recognizable.
DeleteLove the Iowa fabric, that's my favorite Iowa Shop Hop fabric from a few years ago. Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteLove the photographs your Dad gave you! My Dad loved photography & often gave me pictures he had taken. I treasure those pictures! Just wanted you to know that your post brought back fond memories of my Dad for me!
ReplyDeleteIt's the little things that encourage us, isn't it? Getting out of the house these days is indeed a treat!
ReplyDeleteWe have issues with birds hitting some of our windows too - it seems to depend somewhat on the angle of the sun. We also have issues sometimes with birds "fighting" with their reflections in a window or two in the spring. I have used streamers to dissuade them.
I agree with some other readers that the bird pictured is a red-bellied woodpecker, not a red-headed one. Here's a link to an excellent birding site from Cornell University: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-bellied_Woodpecker/id
Our office used to tape large cutouts of owls to our windows to deter birds from flying into the glass. It seemed to work!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photography! You chose the perfect frame to highlight the set! Miss my dad dearly, sending a big hug to yours, Bonnie! 🤗
ReplyDeleteNo more stress in my life---just lots of excitement!!!
ReplyDeleteThis Iowa girl loves your purple jackknife block!
ReplyDeleteDonkeys may have a great sense of self preservation, but they have even better sense of protecting their herd, even if not other donkeys. IIRC, in some places, they use a donkey for guarding sheep against coyotes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with others that said it's probably reflections that make birds see they can fly through there. Although, some birds don't like a certain color. Notably male redwing blackbirds will dive bomb or fight red things. When I was into running, if I wore a red hat, I got dive bombed, any other color they left me alone. The funniest was riding in a bright red car, at a stop sign and seeing a male redwing on the ground puffed up and wings out ready to fight, but looking at the car one end to the other trying to decide where to start.
Being an Iowa girl, I love that block! I have some of that Iowa fabric and haven't decided how to use it yet.
ReplyDeleteBirds fly into windows because they see the reflection (of what's behind them), and think that's what's in front of them. This often costs them their lives. You can mitigate the frequency of this happening by sticking silhouettes of birds of prey on the windows.
ReplyDeleteI know Alvera, she is a member of my quilt quild! I am excited to recognize a name for the winner of the drawing, even though it was not my name :)
ReplyDeleteJust saying Happy New Year from Ireland..and learning how to sign on here...have tried a few times in the past without success. Want to say such a big thank you to you Bonnie for sharing your ideas, kindness, and quilt stories. I`ve been following you for a few years now, have 4 of your books and the wonderful quilt jigsaw..how delighted I was to make a jigsaw of quilts..two favs together.I bought the jigsaw for Christmas 2019, then my son bought me your "matching" book for my birthday in April...oh heaven! I LOVE your Grassy Creek mystery quilt..the colours and the design. Thank you and God bless you. you are the only person I follow on-line. You give a sense of calm and caring and I love your humour.xxxxxxxxxxxnow lets see if this posts!!
ReplyDelete