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Spoiled Goldfinches

06.25.2008 by Susan Getgood //

Spoiled Goldfinches

The birds in my backyard have become terribly spoiled. Especially it seems, the goldfinches. So much so that yesterday afternoon, when I tried to move the finch feeder to another pole, the little brats staged a revolt. Of sorts.

We have 3 poles for feeders — two double-sided shepherds hooks and one single. The finch feeder, with thistle seed, is on the single hook and just behind I have a large double hook with two regular food feeders. The nectar feeders for the hummingbirds are on a double hook in the corner of the herb garden, sort of catty-corner from the thistle feeder. Here’s a picture of the yard from earlier this spring; I’ve noted where the different feeders are located.

Spolied Finches 2

When I got the second hummer feeder yesterday, I switched the finch feeder to the same pole as the first hummingbird feeder and put the new nectar feeder on the single pole.

The finches said no to that plan. They perched on top of the large double hook pole and made absolutely no attempt to locate the finch feeder. It was almost like they were staring at me through the window.

So I moved it back, and within moments — almost before I got back in the house —  they were all back chowing down on thistle seed.

My husband’s response when I told him the story? “So your birds are as spoiled as your dogs”

[tags] birds [/tags]

Categories // Birds

SciFi Sunday: Books for Kids

06.22.2008 by Susan Getgood //

We didn’t watch Dr. Who this week. We were watching The Golden Compass on Comcast On Demand. The recording was screwing up the movie so we canceled it and I forgot to set it to record the later reshowing. It will probably be repeated before next week’s episode so we’ll catch it then. I hope David Tennant doesn’t irritate me too much.

Speaking of The Golden Compass. We enjoyed it, though if you’ve read the books, you know the ending of the film is a bit of a cop-out. Far more sunny than the book.

Summer vacation is beginning, so I thought I’d give a few sci fi reading recommendations for kids.

I just finished a new one, a gift to my son from his grandmother: Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. I recommend it for age 8 and above, although the younger ages should be strong readers.

Some favorites, for ages 8-12 :

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle. The first of many wonderful stories by this author.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer

The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set by C.S. Lewis

A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1) (the first of the EarthSea Trilogy) by Ursula LeGuin. Read them all.

Dragonsong (Harper Hall Trilogy), Dragonsinger (Harper Hall Trilogy, Volume 2), Dragondrums (Harper Hall Trilogy) by Anne McCaffrey (Harper Hall Trilogy Books 1, 2, 3)

Douglas also recommends the Dragon Slayers Academy books very highly although I admit, I have NOT read them. Dragon Slayer’s Academy Boxed Set # 1- 5

Ages 12 and up

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien [J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings)]

Dragonriders of Pern (multiple books), Anne McCaffrey

Foundation et al, by Isaac Asimov [The Foundation Trilogy]

Kurt Vonnegut. Start with Cat’s Cradle or Breakfast of Champions and go from there.

Harry Potter 1-7, JK Rowling [Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-6)]

The Belgariad and The Malloreon by David Eddings [The Belgariad, Vol. 1 (Books 1-3): Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician’s Gambit and The Malloreon, Vol. 1 (Books 1-3): Guardians of the West, King of the Murgos, Demon Lord of Karanda]

Ages 14-16 and up

The Once & Future King by TH White

His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman (book one is The Golden Compass)

American Gods: A Novel by Neil Gaiman

Categories // Books, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Hummingbird

06.18.2008 by Susan Getgood //

Three shots, in sequence, of the female ruby-throated hummingbird who has become a regular at our feeder over the past two days. My picture of the male is a bit too fuzzy.

IMG_1993

IMG_1994

IMG_1995

A few more pictures from today.

The red bellied woodpecker.
IMG_1999

A trio of goldfinch.
IMG_2000

The female cardinal.
IMG_1991

I also saw a female purple finch and the above noted male ruby-throated hummer but did not get good pictures.

More on Flickr.

[tags] birds, hummingbird, cardinal, goldfinch,  woodpecker [/tags]

Categories // Birds

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