birds, morel mushrooms, sunny weekend

The hummingbirds and orioles have returned, so we spend time looking out our various windows.  I've discovered something this year:  All the birds... finches, orioles, hummingbirds, and others... seem to like their feeders placed behind the house.  Possible because there isn't as much human traffic there, but I think the cats have something to do with it.  They are always stalking my sweet, lovely birds, and they don't have as much access to them along the back fence-line.  

I'm seeing more orioles at once than in other years, since I moved their feeder.  This morning there were three males sort of fighting for territory at the feeder; I got a picture of two of them, but once the third showed up, they scattered.

one on the feeder, one up above waiting his turn

The birds sure do make things interesting.  I mentioned the other day that Cliff accidentally messed up the bluebird house and broke all but one of their eggs.  I hoped they'd stay and hatch that lonely egg, but apparently they decided to find a home in some safer spot.  The old birdhouse needed to be replaced anyway.  The roof was leaking and it was about to fall apart.  So I'm looking for a new one.  

We are supposed to have sunny weather and NO RAIN today and tomorrow.  Cliff was going to a swap meet, but I decided I didn't want to go.  Cliff was debating on whether to go anyhow; last year we went and there was hardly anybody there.  I like getting out and going places, but the grandson and his wife have been so successful at hunting morel mushrooms that they needed help getting rid of them, so I took a whole bunch of the older ones that might soon go bad.  Cliff and I can eat a lot of mushrooms, but believe me, we will get our fill for today!

That's a one-gallon ice-cream bucket, about 2/3 full.  Now folks, you might think of mushrooms as a healthy food; after all, they grow out of the ground.  But any good nutrient that MIGHT be in them is pretty well cancelled out by the eggs, cracker crumbs, and flour I roll them in, magnified by the fact they are fried in shortening of some type.  So this morning I figured we'd better have some fruit and cereal for breakfast.  

Some strawberries (from the store) with a little sugar added, plus half a banana cut up for each of us, made our Cheerios a taste treat.  

Enjoy your day, won't you?