The Problem with Days Off

I was off Monday with my son.
We went to the doctor’s. We played. We went for a walk.
We had a great day.
And that’s the problem with days off – they make me want to have more of them.

Hello Tree

It’s starting to look like Christmas at our house.

We went Christmas tree hunting today. Sadly there was no snow this year, which made it less festive but easier to cut the tree and lug it back to the car.

We went to a different tree farm this year. The farm was a little closer to home and it offered complimentary hot cider AND hot chocolate. However, the wagon ride didn’t start until after we walked the majority of the farm and we had a hard time finding the perfect tree so we’ll return to the usual spot next year.

We walked for a while, up hills, over rope, down hills, across field until finally my son and I played, while Daddy scouted out some trees further back.
He found one, which we all liked and now it’s in our living room, awaiting lights and decorations.

I love decorating the Christmas tree.

I love pulling out the ornaments I have had since I was our son’s age, looking at them again and placing them in key tree spots.

While a number of my friends like the look of a store-decorated tree, where ornaments match and are placed strategically in specific spots, I like the I-can-tell-it-was-decorated-by-non-professionals tree - ornaments that were bought with love and placed on the tree the same way.

Hello to the continuation of Christmas.

Rabbits, rabbits, everywhere

There are a lot of rabbits this year, which doesn’t bode well for our vegetable garden.

I almost walked right by the one pictured here while taking my son for a walk last week.We usually have a rabbit in our front yard in the morning, eating the grass under the bird feeder, and I have seen three at once in the boat launch across the street.

I wonder if the foxes will come back to decrease the rabbit population?

We also have a lot of barn swallows this year, likely because we also have a lot of mosquitoes.

It’s amazing to watch the acrobatic flight of the swallows as they swoop and fly in between each other, people, houses and moving cars. I was able to capture a picture of a swallow actually sitting still. Anyone who has seen swallows in action knows how rare that is.

I thought I would also include a new picture of our Baltimore orioles. I have seen at least two males and their partners this year but we must have more because I have to fill their feeder every third day.

If you are looking to attract hummingbirds and orioles to your backyard, you don’t have to purchase a commercial mix - it’s just sugar water with food colouring. I add one cup of sugar to a large mason jar of water. I do not add food colouring.

And finally, I thought I would include a picture of the turkey vultures. You can distinguish these large birds even in the air by their red heads.