Tuesday, April 7, 2015

On Birds and Such

Good Morning to you!  The birds are singing, especially the blackbirds, and today promises the beauty of spring.  We've never had blackbirds around our yard before and I was so surprised to hear their melody.  We also have sparrows, juncos, finches and lots of doves; I don't put birdseed out anymore because of the incredible mess it makes and the amount of weeds that one gets from it. Instead, I've chosen to plant flowers and plants that will feed them.  However, yesterday hubby and I were outside and I realized that because we back to a strip of lawn  before the golf course and that the golf course takes care of the area, I can hang some feeders from a Blue Spruce tree that face our yard.  That way I won't have to weed, a task I hate and we can enjoy some finches, sparrows and other birds without the mess.  Mind you, the larger birds like the doves leave us huge droppings in the yard that I clean up, lest Hunter rolls in them.  I also realize it is mating season and after having gone through the grackles killing and dismembering the sparrows at our last house for several months, I don't want a repeat of this.  At the time, I was told that when the grackles have nests and baby birds, they become very aggressive with any food nearby-which was the case at our old house.  I also know this is a typical animal behavior, but when you have a dozen if not more dead birds, without heads, in your yard, you want to put an end to it.  So, I will plant food for the birds and also put a feeder outside of our yard. 
On to a more pleasant topic.  Last week a blogging buddy, Carol(Murphy & Stanley's mom), told me about a website for ebooks called Book Bub,www.bookbub.com  They have daily specials and even free ebooks; I decided to check it out. They have different genres that you can put your preferences in and they send you notifications when books you might like come up.   Carol had just finished reading "Saved by Gracie" by Jan Dunlap and she thought I'd enjoy it.  Book Bub provides links to Amazon and different sites to get the books at; so I got this ebook at Amazon for my Kindle reader.  I can tell you it wasn't free, but a very good price and so worth it.  I read the book on Saturday afternoon sitting in the sun; it is one of the best books I've read.  Since I signed up at Book Bub, I've gotten several free books.  I have many on my IPad and to be honest prefer paper backs, but this is a wonderful tool for readers.  When we take our trip to Ireland this summer I will have lots of books to chose from on my phone or IPad.
Today I will take Hunter on a nice walk, do some household chores and also take 4 grands to a fabric store to get fat quarters for our next sewing project-pillowcases.
I hope you have a wonderful day and are able to enjoy some of nature-be it flowers outside or just a walk.
Hugs,
Noreen

11 comments:

  1. Oh my mom is in love with her kindle cos she read all the time on there. She also bought the Gracie book and loved it....it really made her think about God's Plan and how we fit into it in her life...she uses bookbub also. I know sometimes you can share between kindles certain books, we can check to see what books of ours we can share if you are interested. I think you can keep them up to two weeks......stella rose

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  2. So glad you like the Bookbub! Yes, that was an especially good book about Gracie!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  3. Noreen, I did not know that about the grackles. I am not fond of them . We have a robin that lost her sense of nest building...she is trying to make nest on the window sills right in the open. She flies off and her material falls to the ground. We hang our feeders over the English ivy, or at the back fence . Blessings to you and your grands, xoxo,Susie

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  4. I signed up for Goodreads at some point, I don't remember why. I think someone invited me there. Anyway they send me an email each day with specials. I don't even have a Kindle Reader but I do have a Kindle app on my phone so I put the books there.
    https://www.goodreads.com/

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  5. Nothing like a good book ! I still like paper back books in my hands to read lol ! I know Grackles will attack others nests but to peg off and kill another bird at the feeders I have never have they all seem to get along well here and share . Oh well that's nature it can be kind and cruel all at the same time lol ! Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !

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  6. Yes our garden is alive and our sweet robin comes and visits. Amazon also has free ebooks to download. Have a terrific Tuesday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  7. Those grackles around here drive me nuts- They scare al the other birds away.
    Sounds like you have a busy day planned with Hunter and the kids. xo Diana

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  8. We had a very warm and humid day here with those nasty storms coming in tomorrow:( But it was still pretty enough to enjoy a nice walk. Sadly a beautiful robin flew right into one of our big windows today and is no more:( Mom so wishes they would stop thinking our window isn't there.

    Woos - Ciara and Lightning

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  9. All those birds singing,, is very beautiful- isn't it?
    We don't know the Grackles
    love
    tweedles

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  10. I didn't know about grackles either. We don't have them up here. But we do have red-winged blackbirds, who I love!

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  11. Hi Noreen. It sounds like you are back to your normal self now! Have fun with your next sewing project with the grands!
    Happy Spring!
    xo Kris

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