I BELIEVE IT'S THE SAME WARBLER THAT COMES EVERY YEAR AT THIS TIME

This pretty bird has been coming by to drink water for about a week now.  He always comes in the fall but doesn't stay long.  I'm glad I was looking out the window when he landed so I could get some photos.

A SOULFUL DAY

photo by Anna Geier (thanks Sandy (the other one)...for the photo reference name.

When you do things from your soul
You feel a river moving through you

Rumi

      

YESTERDAY AT THE LAKE - HERON

The lighting was so pretty and I took quite a few of this heron.  Our weather in the mountains at least for the last week has been really nice and it's exactly the motivation I needed to get out and enjoy the lake again.  We are having a breezier day as the winds start up whenever there is a change in the jet stream which is now going to bring in warmer weather for awhile.  We shouldn't get above 80 and our nights will still be chilly.  So that's good news. 

I CAN'T HELP IT

If I'm anywhere near a store that sells birds or a bird farm I have to take photos.  I love parakeets.

SUMMER BIRDS AND SUMMER HEAT

 Birds enjoying life.

All is good - no fires anywhere close that I know of - two major fires one of which is done and the other  I believe has  been put out or downgraded to almost contained.  June was a hot month both in the valley and up in the mountains.  We had a cool down and now heat and humidity will fire back up towards the end of the week - which means - monsoonal weather and beautiful cloud formations.  I will be out a lot going up the mountain to catch some beautiful sky photos.  This month I will be in Washington about an hour outside of Seattle.  Looking forward to some different scenery while there.

A LOT OF COCKATIELS

I enjoy visiting bird farms.  In a perfect world there would be no bird farms and all birds would be free to fly.  I did own birds in the past but the only time I didn't feel guilty about having a bird in a cage was when I had a cockatiel.  We had an enclosed atrium which was in the middle of the house -and it would have been open to the outside except for lattice and netting we had put up to keep bugs out and birds in.  It was my  VERY favorite thing about my whole house which we had for about 30 years - the atrium area being built later when we added on and it created an L-shape where on one side was a master bedroom and the other side was the kitchen.  I sat out there every day, every night, unless it was raining.  When it was cold I sat out with a blanket in the mornings to have my coffee and read.  The atrium is really the only thing I miss about this house - the rest is a nice memory of many family functions but the atrium is still in my heart.

My cockatiel was free to roam and I would put her cage out on the table with the door open and she could come and go as she pleased.  The farthest she would venture was just out on the table.  She was never kept caged - even in the house her door was open and she would climb out and sit on top of her cage.

I have visited the bird farms several times and have quite a collection of beautiful birds to use as models for my sketching.  I'll post more from the bird farms later.

These pictures were taken when I began the process of uncluttering and moving out a lot of plants and other things that made it mine..so it would sell easier.

These photos are after it was "undecorated" and left bare when it was up for sale.  Our real estate agent said it would be more appealing to a buyer without art work and lots of plants that I use to have set up inside this area.

TWO LITTLE SPARROWS SITTING ON THE DECK

Two little sparrows sitting on the deck.   I almost had a poem and then it left my mind before it came out of my fingers.  It had to do with .....what the heck...

Oh well...

I do love sparrows ..they are such cute little birds.

Time moves through the seasons and its' unbelievable to me that we are in summer already.  I must say ...I cannot wait for Fall - my favorite season.

SPRING SPARROWS

PRETTY SPARROW

THE STELLARS LIKE THE NEW ADDITION TO THE DECK

They were hanging around the bird house - probably because i put peanuts in it - and also because they are nosey and wanted to check it out.  It's the first time since my sister brought this to me that I have put it outside.

We finaly had some heat up here in the mountains - going to be 70 or so today.  Glad to be out walking and enjoying our own lake over the last few days.

One of the many seasonal lakes up here in the mountains looks so beautiful since we have had so much snow and rain (drought-busting rain).

This is ArrowBear lake - a small area with a small population.