Finch Feeder

Dad and Torchy's dogwood

Last Thursday night, I had a flight to Indiana. Due to delays beyond my control and perhaps those of the airline, I did not arrive until the wee hours of the morning on Friday. My dad picked me up from the airport and I spent the night at his house. That morning, we sat outside in his backyard enjoying the weather and the scenery while we drank our coffee. It was a beautiful morning, so I also got out the camera. This is an accounting of what I saw there. It also includes some more of my dad's fancy camera work, Victor, so you can enjoy it again! (Victor commented on yesterday's post that the photo my dad took of me and S was a "Wonderful photo." Thanks, Victor for the comment!)

There were flowering trees for spring. Dad has a dogwood, too - you know how I like dogwoods...

There was a lilac tree in bloom...

...as well as a crab apple tree...

...the maple tree had all it's "spinners" ready for action...

Dad planted this in the backyard when it was a tiny little tree. It had rooted in his front yard on the hill - he pulled it out of the ground and replanted it in the backyard. They weren't sure it would live, but it has thrived!

...and this big old evergreen was loaded down -
and I mean seriously loaded down -
with pine cones...

There was also this pretty spring vine on the old gate.

And, there was some fauna too, of sorts....a wasp here.
There were also several bumble bees.
No photo of them.

The real show, most mornings, is the bird show. Dad and Torchy have several bird feeders in their back yard and the birds come by to eat. This morning, however, the birds were not too plentiful. Dad accounts for this with many hypotheses - they just returned from Florida under a month ago, so the birds are just getting used to them being there again. Also, there is a hawk in the area that sometimes swoops through the yard.

Now, that's an interesting tidbit - they asked Torchy's daughter to ask the bird people where she works - she works at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, where they not only have a museum but a large grounds they care for. Anyway, she asked this expert what to do to discourage the hawk from hanging out in their yard, since he sometimes scares the pretty birds away. The expert told them to, "embrace the hawk". That they should relish in the fact they have a hawk in their backyard, and that he would only eat the "old and feeble" birds anyway. Yikes.

Also, dad speculated there were lots of heavy winds, not on the ground, but towards the top of the trees, so maybe the bird weren't flying much. Nonetheless, I did see a few birds.

I saw this Mourning Dove.

And a black bird on one feeder...

...and talking it up on another feeder.

I did see a couple of finches, high in the trees...

...but not on the finch feeder.

So, I sat there, enjoying the weather, the scenery, talking with Dad and drinking my coffee, and sort of hoping to catch some finches on this finch feeder they have. Dad calls it the "udder feeder" - you'll get it when you get to that photo.

While I waited I caught a female cardinal on the "regular" feeder.

And this guy - a male cardinal - was chirping away up in the tree.

He was pretty far away.

But I finally gave up on seeing finches on the feeder because I needed to take a shower so we could go have some breakfast and I could meet Mom to spend some time with her before the wedding rehearsal that night. So, I left my camera outside with Dad and went to clean up.

Darned if they didn't come out after I left.

So Dad commandeered my camera..

...and got these photos to prove it.
Thanks Dad.