Chit Chat (3)

[Springrain]

Getting plenty hail here just south of you. But it wont stop...about 20 minutes worth already!

 

[Ariel]

No hail here. Just a lovely sunny morning.

I'm sitting here drinking hot tea and listening to the birds. We had a bird in our pond yesterday that sounded like a DOG. My guess, it was a great-tailed grackle.

May the Lord bless you all today!

 

[gratefulgrace]

That looks very like our Crows or Ravens. I had a huge one in my yard yesterday. Actually they are all over and are indiginous to this area. They are scavengers and can be pests but they are actually very smart birds. Wasn't it ravens that fed Elijah? btw so far sun with clouds here temp is all the way up to 8 Celsius.
Jan

 

[Springrain]

That silly black cloud hung over us for 1 1/2 hours yesterday. What makes a cloud stall out like that.

 

[gratefulgrace]

I enjoyed our afternoon and evening of sunshine but would love it to be nice tomorrow for my friends. It would give them a chance to do some nice outdoor things while I am busy with our church ministry to single parent families(moms and kids). The forcast says more rain can I survive? I think my feet are turning into flippers. lol Jan

 

[clairefish]

We're having more rain that is putting a real damper on my garage sale. I guess the good Lord is telling me I need to keep all these wonderful treasures for myself.
You are all invited by the way, and every item is a quarter each. That's right! A mere quarter for any one of these wonderful things! Don't you need an extra ironing board so you can iron twice as much???

 

[Ariel]

That looks very like our Crows or Ravens. I had a huge one in my yard yesterday. Actually they are all over and are indiginous to this area. They are scavengers and can be pests but they are actually very smart birds. Wasn't it ravens that fed Elijah? btw so far sun with clouds here temp is all the way up to 8 Celsius.
Jan

Yeah, it does look like a crow, doesn't it. Brace yourself: it's a great-tailed grackle. Here is the Wikipedia entry:

Great-tailed Grackle
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Great-tailed Grackle

Genus: Quiscalus

Species: Q. mexicanus


Binomial name
Quiscalus mexicanus
(JF Gmelin, 1788)
The Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) is a large icterid blackbird , also referred to simply as "blackbird", and occasionally "crow" or "jackdaw", though it is not a member of the Corvidae. Similarly, it is often called "cuervo" in areas of Mexico where there are no true crows.

Its range stretches from Kansas in the northeast to southern California in the northwest down to northwest Peru and northwest Venezuela in the south; the grackle's range has been expanding north and west in recent years. It is common in Texas and Arizona in the southern regions. It is commonly found in agricultural regions and suburban environments, feeding on fruits, seeds, and invertebrates.

There is a considerable amount of sexual dimorphism in this species. Males reach up to 43 cm (18 inches), including a tail that is almost as long as the body, weigh 230 g, and are jet-black with a violet-blue iridescent sheen to the feathers. Females are significantly smaller at 33 cm (13 inches), weigh 125 g, and are mainly brownish-black, with a pale brown throat and belly.

This bird has a large variety of raucous, cacophonous calls, and is widely considered to be a noisy pest species, though its range expansion has not been aided by human introduction (compared to the European Starling).

The Great-tailed Grackle and Boat-tailed Grackle were once considered the same species.

Some species of Grackle, usually the Great-tailed, are confused with an American Crow when people unfamiliar with bird identification are asked to identify a dead blackbird. This usually occurs when birds need to be identified as candidates for West Nile virus.

That silly black cloud hung over us for 1 1/2 hours yesterday. What makes a cloud stall out like that.

Hmm. If I was a meteorologist, I would be saying something about pressure systems....

Otherwise, who knows?

I enjoyed our afternoon and evening of sunshine but would love it to be nice tomorrow for my friends. It would give them a chance to do some nice outdoor things while I am busy with our church ministry to single parent families(moms and kids). The forcast says more rain can I survive? I think my feet are turning into flippers. lol Jan

Aw, Jan, I'm sorry! We've had a lot of rain here in Texas recently as well. Not flipper time yet, but getting close...

We're having more rain that is putting a real damper on my garage sale. I guess the good Lord is telling me I need to keep all these wonderful treasures for myself.
You are all invited by the way, and every item is a quarter each. That's right! A mere quarter for any one of these wonderful things! Don't you need an extra ironing board so you can iron twice as much???

I want it! I want it! Just think of the possibilities! Ironing with two hands at once!

Lol! From your garage to mine!


It's another busy weekend for me. We attended a literary event last night and heard several authors speak. Tonight we have another symphony concert.

Still can't put in our garden.... Not enough time, and DH is still too busy.


I wonder where Dave is? He said he was moving soon, I think. I hope he is all right.

May the Lord bless you all!

 

[davedajobauk]

Hi Ariel

dave is fit and well and is also being well looked after

Mary is a lovely lady

all that prevents my removal is the location
of reasonable transport at affordable cost

or, I would have made this TRIP in a one-way manner

as is, we are taking turns at each others
iow once per month 'COMMUTING' to the other

"All good things come to those that wait"
(patiently enough)

awww
bless your thoughtfulness sister
Mary is an angel also



I wont be offline....
Mary wants me to stay in touch with my friends at CF
and, actively encourages me
to sign-in ... in case someone needs me

a LOVELY lady (I DID say!)

dave

 

[gratefulgrace]

Well I have to thank the Lord that yesterday was a very nice day. Sunny with clouds but nice enough to show my visiting friends a few of the naturally beautiful parts of my city. I also was involved in our Single Moms Mothers Day Dinner prep early in the day and during the actual event. It went very well indeed. I only had two little ones in the nursery but one was an older child with autism so I believe that God planted me there for him.(I work with Special Needs kids with all kinds of conditions including autism). I think that was very reassurring to the MOM. Everything fit together well and I heard so many genuinely thankful responses as the families left. One little boy around 8 to 10 kept saying "That was tooo fun". My friends have left to return to the Island and I am going for my NAP> Yay. Jan

 

[Ariel]

Dave, I'm so glad that you are doing well!

Jan, you are so amazing. I have an elementary certificate and have worked with many children, but not that often with children with challenges. I very much admire you and your skills.

Need a nap, huh? Yes, I'm sure you do, but it sounds like you did something awesome for so many people!

Be blessed, dear woman of God!

 

[Ariel]

Good morning, all!

Another storm is brooding over West Texas, apparently coming in from the "Four Corners" area.

I am determined to have a lovely day anyway.

Be blessed!

 

[davedajobauk]

Be blessed also Ariel

Have a really lovely day!

dave

 

[Ariel]

Hello Dave!

Thank you, I had a very lovely day yesterday.

It's interesting to live in a community where farming is a large part of the economy. West Texas is noted for cotton. This area also grows sorghum, soy beans, sunflowers and winter wheat. In recent years, many growers have put in grapes, and wine-making is now an industry in my area as well, for example, the Llano Estacodo winery (the "Ll" is pronounced "yuh").

In any case, we depend on RAIN. So this is a blessing, right? Yet to see our newspaper, you'd think it was only a nuisance, for many streets were flooded (this city doesn't believe in storm drains).

Just once, I'd like to see a farmer dancing, laughing, happy, kicking up his heels! Because they should be, after yesterday's rain, which brought 1.99 inches of lovely, gentle rain into our region.

Hooray for rain!

 

[gratefulgrace]

WE are being blessed with sunnier days the last three days. Monday was actually up to 19 Celsius. WOW it was very nice. We had mostly sun yesterday and a tiny cloudy, misty stretch but that I can handle if I can at least see sun for part of the day. It is still not super warm and the wind was up last night but in the sheltered spots is quite lovely. Everything is very green and growing like mad. I hope you all have a great day today. Oh Ariel I remember seeing those birds you told us about in Mexico I am sure they are the same anyway. It was on the East coast of Mexico. Jan

 

[Jim1927]

It has been quite sunny and warm here for awhile now. It is so dry the rototiller was kicking up dust and I had to wear goggles. We need rain!

Cheers everyone,

Jim

 

[Ariel]

Now, isn't it too bad that we can't sort of swap weather. It's raining here again today, Jim. I'd ship you some if I could!

And Jan could use some sun. I wish I could pack and mail that as well!

Yes, Jan, it's possible you saw some of our grackles in Mexico. I'm not that far away, and those birds do have a way of moving in.

I saw a pair of cardinals recently!!!! I love these birds!

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

It's getting hot here in Florida

 

[gratefulgrace]

My son went to Florida last summer and it was very hot(MIAMI) And actually we do have SUN today it is glorious. Jan

 

[clairefish]

Right outside my kitchen window, there is a new nest with a mother cardinal sitting there, panting away. I know she must have eggs under her if she is panting, at least that's what I've always been told. It is so very pleasant and relaxing to feast my eyes on this wonder of nature when doing an otherwise ho-hum chore of washing dishes.
God does move in mysterious ways.

 

[davedajobauk]

a mother cardinal sitting there, panting away. I know she must have eggs under her if she is panting, at least that's what I've always been told.

The panting is common to birds
they do it to regulate their temperature
(as do dogs also)

So, yes! a nesting bird thats panting
may well be sheltering her brood/
SITTING some eggs


dave