Among Friends

[Sweet Caroline 1]

 

Happy New Year!

[MalteseMomma]

Can I start the new year with a question????

I have been feeding birds forever........lol  Between my beloved dog and my birds they are ,"what I do....my life......ect.......lol

Question..........."My birds" actually ,"live" across the street from me,in a bush that has been in front of my dear neighbors house for years and yrs..........(over 50)

Now the house is empty and will be knocked down anyday now?  Where will "my" birds go???

I am soooooo worried about them . They are happy there ,I hear them "chatting" every nite before bedtime,after they have eaten the last meal of the day.  I watch them flee there  for sfety if someone should pass by my house.............they sit on  her doorstep in the sun on the cold days of winter........

Do you think they possibly will come to my bushes (the same type) in my backyard,where they play in the mornings after eating?

I am soooooo worried about them  as they have lived there over 50 yrs...... or even more   

[Bird mama]

Hi @MalteseMomma  So do you think they are going to flatten everything out, like all there will be left is an empty lot where the property used to be?

Birds are remarkably resilient, especially the sparrow   They will find other shrubs to nest in once their favorite is no longer there.  As sad as it is to see it taken down, it's almost better that it happens now before Spring comes and they start creating new life.

[NickNack]

I understad how you're feeling @MalteseMomma.   I had a row of leland cypress trees behind my fence in my backyard.  I have a backyard feeding station set up with several types of feeders that the birds love.  They spent a lot of time in the leland cypress trees, and there were always nests there in the spring.

Two of the trees fell over a few years ago, and after our first light snow this year another one fell over.  These were huge trees.  I started reading about them, and they have very shallow roots and often fall over.  Before more of them fell over and damaged my fence I decided to have them all removed.

They removed them last week, and I've been worried about where the birds will go.  I have other trees but not any other evergreen trees.  I'm not sure where they're staying, but they're still visiting my feeders.  I just feel like there's less places for them to escape if a hawk came around.

I'll bet the birds that you feed will move to your trees.  Hopefully that's what will happen.

[Drythe]

In the summer this plant almost died from too much rain on our back porch.  It was in very bad shape, soggy, and pieces falling off.

I put it in the pantry, gave it light water, and crossed my fingers,

This morning there appeared this one beautiful blossom.

I send it to all as a sign of Hope for the New Year.

[possummink]

[possummink]

[possummink]

[Winifred]

Great pictures of great critters - for sure. Cannot think of a better way to start the year. I did my good deed yesterday - and again froze during it. Filled ALL the feeders and those birds must have come in from ths storm - so to speak. Near dark I noticed they were mostly empty again. Now they are pushing me for sure.. LOL.  Wore my gloves this time however.

Ditty was extra cold yesterday and I tried to get him in the house - he was obviously very miserable, yet while I got him in the door he was skittish so escorted him back out into the carport . I rearranged his blanket on top of my dryer for him and he snuggled into that. I keep remembering however, most of his life he did not live in a heated environment but he was able to go into the shop out of the weather any time he wanted to - guess it made a difference. Other cats are now coming into the carport and eating his food. Will try and figure out something. Do know I cannot monitor the food bowl 24/7.  Oh well.

Had my black eyed peas and collards and cornbread yesterday. Made way too much but will certainly freeze some.

Stay warm everyone.

[Bird mama]

@Winifred  Ditty might relax a little once he sees the inside of the house enough and understands that no one is out to get him.  So the word got out on the animal grapevine that there's good eatin' at your house?  I can testify that the bird grapevine is alive and well in my neck of the woods. 

My sister brought me a can of black eyed peas again this year.  I know, made from scratch is better however I was relieved she went with simple Bush (the bean people) black eye peas.  In the past she bought me Glory brand 'southern' seasoned black eyed peas that tasted like dirt from the ground, lol.  Southern flavors can't be canned so I have no idea why Glory brand even tried.  

In the spirit of the new year, I took about a third of the can of black eye peas, tossed in some hormel reduced fat bacon pieces and heated it all up.  I learned bacon/pork is the key to getting rid of the earthy flavor.

I didn't eat the bacon, just the black eyed peas and they were pretty tasty.  I'd probably eat this brand again.  I then followed it with a plate of sauerkraut (last of holiday food).  I had a couple of pillsbury crescent rolls and was satisfied with my dinner.