I just turned the calendar page...to July

I have been busy, but not the crazy I gotta get there busy, more of the nice and easy summertime busy...Here are some of the things I have been up to and or seeing.

I know, I said no more mallards, but the babies were so cute!

I have been visiting the library, a lot! Using my cool bag my old OSU roomie Keeney made and sent to me..

The garden is doing well, well ok the tomatoes are doing well. corn is done, squash dried up. the tomatoes outside the basket are heirloom and boy do they taste goooood!

I visited the local garden center, to replace dried up squash plants, and saw these cool tomato cages...got me thinking of all kinds of things I could make with them.

Baby coopers Hawk, named him Calvin. Pictures are blurry as I didn't want to scare him off.

he was eyeballing the fish, I thought maybe he was confused about what he is supposed to eat...as I usually do, see something, wonder about it, look it up, I guess these guys do eat fish as well as small mammals and birds...yes I know this could be what happened to Mrs Finch, but that is the circle of life. The coopers hawks nest near us and have been coming to our yard for years. Mom and pop teach them how to fly under the cover over the koi pond to get drinks and take a bath. they are funny to watch. Calvin here was also trying to hunt...the guy's got goals, he was after humming birds, of course they were the only birds left in the yard when he was here, I think they laugh at him. We heard and saw no other birds in the yard until Calvin had been gone for a half hour. He hasn't been here so much this week. as they get older they venture further from the nest.

 Skedaddle!

Lesser Gold finches. they love to come and eat the basil seed, they are so tiny.

Well that is about it for now...county fair coming up and and a few more exciting things I will tell you about next time!

Mrs. Finch

Some of you may know a pair of house finches built a nest just outside my window this spring. I have been watching them raise their family along side the humming bird family who built their nest 3 feet away from the finches.

Mr and Mrs Finch were on there second clutch of the season,  This week I did not see Mrs Finch's little brown head pop up from inside the nest when Lycra man and I went out to feed and water the rabbits. I watched the nests , no momma at noon, no momma at dusk. I thought well maybe I just missed her.

I watched the nest for 3 days, no Mrs Finch. I could hear Mr. Finch singing, yesterday I saw him visit the nest, more like a touch and go, he came a couple of times, but no Mrs. Finch.

I decided to climb up and take a look, maybe something happened to the babies, maybe something broke the eggs. The nest is built in such a place I have to poke my camera in and take a picture to see whats happening.

Three nice eggs. I think something has happened to Mrs Finch. I don't know what Mr Finch will do as finches pair up in the winter and stay together through a breeding season.

Life is fragile, and I think even more fragile for the wild things. 

Mrs Finch, taken in March when she was building her nest.

Steal a look...

I have been missing taking photographs. I don't want to take any more pictures of mallards. I have taken enough pictures of them to fill mallard museum. So today I gave my self a photographic assignment...take pictures....at the park , not of mallards.

Today is over cast and muggy, all the birds are sitting in trees sleeping, flowers look dull ,now what...what do I take pictures of.

Ok, one more blurry picture of a mallard...just to show you how drowsy everyone is this morning, bad picture, she has her head tucked under her wing.

I know...steel! Really, have a look...

 

Who knew?

moving along...

Lycra man and I did the 5 hour drive,( give or take an hour depending on who is driving) to Davis last weekend.

We went to help the oldest daughter move to the big city, Sacramento. She will be starting law school there in about a month.

I am going to miss Davis. I always loved to watch these huge wild rabbits in the field every morning, outside our hotel.

The city of Davis has placed owl boxes around town. There was a big owl box near the restaurant where we were having dinner and we were fortunate enough to see 3 barn owls waking up and preparing to leave for the evening hunt. Lycra man took a photo...

Mean while back at the ranch, the garden is growing well, Kathy is home and i am enjoying that quite a bit. Lycra man needs a new bike, that last crash messed up the derailer or something....

some friends and I have been contributing to another blog since January. It is called 52, for the 52 weeks in a year. we post a picture a week following a theme for that week. The theme can be interpreted by the photographer as they like. This weeks theme is, footprints in the sand. I have posted my photo, the others will post sometime during the week. check it out 52 .

That's about it from Casa Bass, our temps are rising out side, I have a bunny off her feed, always a concern with rabbits, I am trying to decide who to enter in the fair, entries are due tomorrow...no worries...better hop to it!

You know how it is when you have a hobby...

It seems I have collected and or acquired quite a few coffee mugs with rabbits on them.

Holland Lop, used to think I wanted to raise these guys, bought this at a rabbit show...

found this at my neighbors garage sale...had to have it!

Netherland Dwarf, Brenda used to raise these, had a grand champion, still have him out there,... captain jack is his name. Got this at a rabbit show.

a gift from Lycra Man and the girls...

this fellow needs no introduction, bought peter for my self , because I needed one more mug with a rabbit on it.

My favorite mug, I am using it now as I type...it's hand painted, those bunnies are thumbprints, so cute.

Time for a refill, hope you all are having a many cups of coffee, kind of Sunday morning.

Someday we should stop there.

Lycra man an I have been up and down the I-5 form here to Oregon and for the last 4 years here to Davis so many times. We always say , "We should stop there some time", as we whiz by, got to be somewhere and that some where is over 300 miles away.

Recently we had the college kid pick up, graduation relay race, from California to Oregon to OSU to pick up Kathy, then back to Davis for Brenda's graduation form UC Davis. We decided to take a little extra time and stop along the way.

First stop...Andersen's pea soup restaurant If you are from southern California you know what I am talking about. big windmill restaurant serves split pea soup...yep, I confess, I like split pea soup and I finally got to eat in the windmill , pretty tasty!

On up the free way we went to Sierra Nevada Brewing company Lycra Man was in heaven.

We had a great dinner in the restaurant. Free tours are available of the brewery. It is a pretty neat place, they grow most of the veggies they serve in the restaurant, send the used hops from brewing, over to Cal State Chico to the beef department for feed, get beef back for the restaurant.

Next... The The Bidwell Mansion in Chico. Built in 1868. some of its famous visitors William T Sherman, John Muir.

On to OSU to pick up the equestrian team member, u turn, head back down the 5...

To Ashland to overnight and see a play, As you like it, by William Shakespeare.

Then off to Castle Lake by lake Shasta

on to Davis for Brenda's Graduation from UC Davis, Yeah Brenda!!!!

then on down the Freeway another 5 hours, back home to Hank and the bunnies.... I think I will stop here for a while!

I'm still here!

I'm still here. I have been, puny, as my granny would have said. You know, unwell, sick, under the weather...whatever. Had a bacterial infection, lost 20 pounds ( that part was good!) Doc put me on antibiotic and I am getting better everyday.

So to catch you up on other things...remember these guys??? The Finch Family.. the baby's hatched and grew and flew. all in that month I was....off.

While the finch family was growing, the hummers started in with round 2 , a second clutch of babies. It was interesting to watch mom Hummer fly over and get right in the face of the baby finches, probably complaining they were playing their music too loud. She also flew over and got right up in daddy finches face too, probably complaining about the kids...bet the finches were sorry they built in this neighborhood.

Just when I got on the mend, Lycra Man crashed himself. He is OK, just pretty skinned up, broke the cleat off his shoe and some such something is messed up on the bike.

Hank is good, the bunnies are good, the kids are good...I am better, Lycra man is getting better, so I guess life is pretty good here!

Nice to be back.