The orioles never left

A few weeks ago I did an entry entitled "Where have all the orioles gone".  I think I have solved the mystery.  

Last year when they disappeared, I stopped putting out grape jelly, figuring they had found greener pastures.  This year, after consulting Google, I learned that they aren't seen as frequently while they are nesting and raising their families.  So, just in case they were somewhere nearby, I kept putting jelly out for them.  

Once in awhile, early in the morning, I'd see one of the lovely birds out there partaking of the sweetness.  If rain came and washed all the jelly away, I'd replenish it; I realized there was still at least one male oriole and one female, because once or twice a day, they'd show up... first one, then the other.  

Now I'm seeing more of them; I'm assuming the babies are now coming for jelly, since some of the male birds aren't quite as brightly colored as others.  

So, the orioles didn't desert me at all.  They were simply busy raising a family.

Where have all the orioles gone?

I only spotted my first Baltimore Oriole two years ago, drinking from a hummingbird feeder.  I didn't even know what it was, but if you google "orange-and-black bird", you come up with oriole.  
Last year I read and talked to everyone I knew that had orioles in their yards and began doing whatever I could to entice them.  Grape jelly seems to work best, and they also like oranges.  This year I found out they like grapefruit just as well.  
So, both last year and this year, I was rewarded for my efforts.  Orioles, both male and female, ate the grape jelly almost as fast as I could put it out.  
After about a month of such activity, the orioles disappeared.  Both years.  
A neighbor across the highway who has only recently discovered orioles called over the weekend to ask if I was still seeing orioles.  His have disappeared too.  
I've done one Internet search after another and haven't really found any information telling me where the orioles have gone.  
UPDATE!!!!  It's 8 A.M., and I just saw TWO male orioles at the feeder.  Perhaps there is yet hope.


Today it's been three weeks since my surgery.  When I went to the therapy clinic last week, the guy told me I could stop doing the exercises my home therapists had me doing, unless they still challenge me.  Well, a couple of them do; and besides, I don't want to risk losing what I have gained so far.  So I'm still doing those twice a day, plus the ones the new therapist wants me to do.  These exercises seem to be waking up muscles in the rest of my body as well as knees and legs.  I'm learning to climb steps like an adult rather than take one step at a time with both feet the way a two-year-old does.  Hard work, folks!  
I'm still working on getting my surgical leg to straighten out all the way.  Oh, it looks straight enough to me, but stretched out in bed, it starts hurting after about five minutes.  So I force myself to keep a foot suspended on a tall stool when I'm watching TV, which really puts the stretch on me.  It's hard to keep it stretched like that for over five minutes because it hurts.  

This is my favorite pain-reliever.  Cliff keeps that little cooler stocked with ice.  I plug it in to an electrical outlet and cold water is pumped to the pad that is wrapped around my knee.  I use this for fifteen minutes at a time after doing therapy exercises, or after being on my feet quite a bit.  It is very soothing, and not addictive.  It's supposed to help with swelling, too.  I don't know how long the swelling is supposed to last, but I'm getting impatient.  I'd be a lot more flexible without my knee being so swollen.  I tried googling information about this, but one has to be careful:  You're liable to find things in a google search that you'd rather not know, if you know what I mean!  


    

I still have it!

I spoke rashly the other day when I made the statement, "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my enthusiasm the most."  
How easily some things are overlooked!  

2nd iris of the year, a red one.

Every morning when I go out at the crack of dawn to check on the blooming and growing things, I find my enthusiasm.  How exciting it is to see a huge bloom on an iris that has never bloomed here before!  Or to walk beside the garden and realize the potatoes need to be hilled and know we'll be having peas and new potatoes in no time.  
The hummingbirds are back full force now, fighting amongst one another like so many wayward siblings.  I can't look at them without smiling.  
A loudmouth male oriole has been hitting the hummingbird buffet several times a day, and yesterday I noticed he had a girl friend who was enjoying the grape jelly I put out for them.  One thing about that male oriole:  He can't seem to keep his mouth shut when he's enjoying his grub, and I can hear him squawking no matter what room I'm in, with the windows open.  Folks, this is exciting stuff!  The trouble is, orioles are very skittish, so I can't make any sudden moves or noise inside the house or they fly away.  You should see me, turning off lights and sneaking like an idiot to the window to watch them.  
And then there's Jody, my calf.  She's eating grain and chewing her cud and grazing, apparently past the danger of scours now.  I won't worry about her while I'm in the hospital next week; I think she's outgrown the need for an hourly poop inspector.  All I have to do is have someone feed her while I'm gone.  
Yesterday I noticed that the same people from whom I purchased Jody have eight more heifers for sale; their Craigslist ad gave me information about my calf that I didn't have before:  
Jersey/holstein cross heifer bottle calves. Last 8 heifer calves of the season available Monday afternoon. Straight from a grass based dairy where the cows are producing 10,000 lbs milk with 5% fat test on just 1 lb of grain per day. If you are looking for a nice heifer to raise as a family cow, now is the time to buy!

*Most of the bull calves are spoken for, but if you want one to raise along with a heifer we can sell you one for $120.
Heifers are $275 and bulls are $120 each. Cash only, Please. 

Now I know more about Jody's past, and my enthusiasm once again rises to the surface.  

I read the ad to Cliff, and he sounded enthusiastic too.  "But I hate to get another one without you being here to take care of it and watch it next week," he said.  

I told him I don't want another calf right now.  For one thing, we'd have to make another pen; if you put two bottle calves in a pen together they suck on any bodily part of one another they can get to, usually the naval area or the little immature udders (which can ruin a milk cow's udder in the future).  But here's the thing:  one calf is a pet.  I can spoil her and halter-train her and thoroughly enjoy her.  More than one calf starts turning into a job.  

Jody is already part of the herd; ever since I got her, Bonnie and Clyde make it their business to come right up close to her pen to lay down and chew their cuds; cows are not loners, and they have already accepted Jody as one of them.  

So yes, I do have enthusiasm.  I just take it for granted and forget I have it sometimes.  I may be soured on the human race, but God's handiwork never leaves me bored.
  

It must be a plot

When we moved back here behind the barn three years ago, I started putting hummingbird feeders out for the first time in my life.  It didn't take long for the little cuties to find me, and I was ecstatic:  it was free entertainment, right on my front porch.  

They got used to my presence and allowed me to take videos and still shots of their antics.  All it cost me was a little sugar; I actually threw more sugar-water away, keeping it fresh for them, than they consumed.  (The feeder in this picture, by the way, is the one I misplaced and can't find.)    


When the hummingbirds left for the winter, I missed them; so I decided to see if I could attract other birds to my yard with a feeder.  Soon house finches and goldfinches showed up, and life was good.  Except, of course, for the cost of the seeds they consumed.  But it was worth it.  


Last year I saw one Baltimore Oriole at a hummingbird feeder.  Only one, and just that one time.  But oh, how I longed to attract more of those beautiful orange-breasted birds!  On a visit to the Wild Bird Center, I struck up a conversation with a lady who said she and her husband had a pair of them that returned every year.  "They love grape jelly," she said.  "And oranges."  


So I bought an oriole feeder, loaded it with the goodies they are supposed to like, and waited.   


It was never touched, and I gave up on the orioles.  I stored the feeder away in the garage.  


Just a few days ago, I began seeing orioles at the hummingbird feeder.  Not once, but several times.  Cliff would be sitting in his recliner and he'd see their bright orange little bodies flitting back and forth from one young tree to another.  I dug the oriole feeder out of storage and put grape jelly on it, four teaspoons.  In an hour, it was all gone, and I decided they would only get grape jelly once a day.  Because otherwise this project could run into some money.


"Maybe they'd like a little toast with their jelly," Cliff said sarcastically.  


I didn't worry about putting home-made nectar in the oriole feeder, because they seemed to prefer getting that out of the hummingbird feeders... which I had to secure a little better on their hangers because the big orioles kept knocking them down.  


I told my sister-in-law next door that I wasn't going to buy oranges for them because they're so expensive.  "Oh," she said, "you just put a slice out and it lasts a long time; they don't eat much."  


I bought a single orange, which cost me fifty cents; the first slice I placed there lasted about thirty minutes.  So, they don't eat much, eh?  I think they're going to have to make do with the jelly.  

The trouble with orioles is that they're very skittish and shy, so I can't get a decent picture of them.  My daughter got this shot when she was here Saturday.


So these days I find myself grocery-shopping for all kinds of birds.  I think they've been spreading the word that they've found a sucker.  I keep the contents of the hummingbird feeders fresh and wash them thoroughly every three days.  I don't throw out as much nectar as I used to, because it's getting mostly consumed by the hoards of birds descending on the place.  In fact, it's hard to keep ahead of them.  I don't cook my nectar; I simply stir it until it's dissolved and store it in the refrigerator, ready to refill the feeders.  I'm a nursemaid for a bunch of birds.  
They've definitely found a sucker.    

A fun and exciting day

Welcome to all you folks coming today from some forum called "AVR Freaks". Thanks to the Aussie guy who posted a link to my blog; some of you might want to leave a comment while you're here.

Peace and quiet reign in my neighborhood tonight. That's good news anytime.

Granddaughter Natalie and I observed an oriole at the hummingbird feeder today. Wow! I'm not sure I had ever seen an oriole anywhere, at any time.

I've been putting the pregnant heifer, Bonnie, in the stanchion at least once a day; she needs to know this routine so I can milk her after she has her calf. I give her feed, she sticks her head in, and I lock her in. She jumps when I first close the stanchion, but then she just goes back to eating like a pig.

This afternoon I was standing there watching her eat, and asked myself, "Can I still bump a calf in a pregnant cow?"

This wasn't necessary, by the way. Bonnie shows plenty of external signs that she is pregnant. But I was curious as to whether I'd retained my old cattle skills.

To "bump a calf" in a cow, you get on her right-hand side (the milking side). You make sort of fist and start hitting her down low on her belly with your knuckles. About the third bump, you'll usually feel the calf, if there's one there. I've actually been able to bump a calf in a cow when she was four months along. I may have Cliff help me do a video later, so you can see what I'm talking about.

As I said, there's no doubt Bonnie's pregnant. But still, when I felt that calf bouncing against my knuckles, it was the most awesome feeling!

Life is good.