April 28, 2014

A Bright Start to My Day!

April 28, 2014

This morning I did not make it to the gym.  My back was hurting and although some exercise might have helped, I decided it also might make matters worse, so I stayed home.  I did get up and do some housework and had Ron's coffee ready earlier than most days recently.

After taking care of things in the yard, I came in and opened the curtains in the sewing room and spotted an adorable little Yellow Warbler out on the waterfall.  He was having a good morning bath!  If you aren't a bird watcher, the name Yellow Warbler can be confusing.  Lots of little warblers are yellow in color, but one of those is named a Yellow Warbler.  He is mostly yellow with orange streaks on his breast.  Those deep black eyes just set off the yellow in an amazing way.

He had a good time hopping around on the waterfall and wiggling around in the little pools of water in the indentations in some of the rocks.  Half of the photos I took were blurrs of him getting wet all over.

The object in front of him is a solar powered light.  I have several around the ponds.  He did a pretty good job of trying to hide behind this one so I couldn't get good photos.  Of course I think if his eye was behind it and he couldn't see me, he thought he was hidden.

I needed to go to Harlingen to the quilt shop, but I kept watching him until a dove flew over to the waterfall and chased him away. 

Finally I got ready to go to Picket Fence Quilt Shop in Harlingen to meet the lady who is going to do the machine quilting on the quilt I have been making.  I had ironed the backing and binding fabrics this morning before I spotted the Yellow Warbler.  Then I spotted a puddle under my car and after calling Ron and describing it, I decided to drive to the office and let him check it out.  He said I was fine to go to Harlingen.

I met with the quilting lady for about 30 minutes deciding on design, thread color, batting, etc.  She thinks it will be ready in plenty of time.  Then I ran a couple of errands in that end of Harlingen before heading home and stopping to pick up a prescription.  Right now I am taking allergy medications.  The winds have been bad and there is smoke from Central America that is keeping our air hazy and dirty.  Those of us with allergies are feeling the affects from the smoke.

At the office, I took care of the usual things.  Business was slow today.  I think the weather was a factor.  It was 96 degrees, the wind died down, the humidity was high, the barometric pressure dropped, and it was oppressive outside.  No one wanted to be out unless they had to be.

After a trip to the bank, at the end of the day, I went by Ron's mom's house.  Ron's brother and his wife were visiting briefly.  Then I left to go to my mom's house to check on some things.  From there I headed home to relax a little. 

When I saw this bird on the feeder, I couldn't figure out what is was.  Then once I put the photo in the computer and enlarged it, it seems to be a baby that is just getting its feathers.  Funny looking.  Then this Black-bellie Whistling Duck (they used to call them Black-bellied Whistling Tree Ducks) took up a post on the top of a dead tree.

I think the barometric pressure has all of us with joint pains suffering.  My elbow has bothered me the last two days.  I am ready for the wind shift that is predicted for tomorrow afternoon.