Things That Fly

During a lunch time stroll to the Montlake Fill last Wednesday I spotted the Ospreys again -- only this time there were three of them circling over the lake in close proximity.  A nesting platform has been raised near the slough in an attempt to discourage them from using the baseball stadium lights, but I saw no sign that the birds are adding sticks to the new spot.  They like to be on the tallest thing around, and the new platform is considerably shorter than the light poles.

As I watched, one of the Osprey flew over to a light pole and called repeatedly until its mate joined it.  The third bird ignored them and kept flying over the lake.

A little farther along the path I found a few Mallards engaged in preening:

Down by the wooden bridge over the slough, there were dragonflies -- a hot summer day around mid-day is a great time to watch dragonflies and damselflies.  Here is a Cardinal Meadowhawk:

And here is an Eight-Spotted Skimmer:

After a couple of weeks of hot sunny weather, it is refreshingly cool today after a bit of rain last night and lots of wind.  Feels good, and the rain is good for my garden, though I hope the Saturday forecast for a return of the sunshine (in the low 70s -- perfect temperature!) hold true.

Happy Friday!

Another photo post: Shake!

I did take some bird and dragonfly photos at lunch time yesterday down at the Fill but have not had time to edit them, so guess what?  You get Truman today!

Here is the exciting "sports mode" sequence of action shots showing how a dachshund shakes himself after rolling around in the dirt:

And here is what a dachshund looks like when he knows who owns the lawn furniture:

MINE!

Bee Happy

Since I had a relatively quiet weekend, I have no more updates for today, so instead I present a series of photos I took on Sunday of a bee which took a liking to the foxglove in my yard.  Enjoy!

Invasion of the Hounds

Last Sunday I had occasion to watch Winston and Chloe at my home for about seven hours and it was great fun, especially for Truman.  He tried diligently to show Winston how great the wading pool could be:

Winston remained dubious.  Unless there is a Mallard floating around in it, he is just not interested in leaping into water of any kind.

Truman persisted, and Winston deigned to take a drink as if it were a giant water bowl.

So since it was extremely warm, I took matters in hand and gave Winston a bit of a boost.

Which lasted all of about three seconds.

Oh, well.  Perhaps if I put an animatronic duck in there, he'd get more excited.

Next, the Hounds decided to smell the roses:

They even smelled one of the new ones which had no blooms:

Winston preferred the more established rose:

Either that, or he was sniffing the rose fertilizer, which has fish oil in it.

All in all, it was a delightful way to spend a sunny summer afternoon.

Weekend Roundup: art, birds, and relaxation

It was a quiet weekend compared to the last one -- a little birding, some sketching, lots of roaming about the garden yanking weeds, and keeping the Hound entertained.

On Saturday morning, my friend Tina and I went to Bothell Country Village for a sketch outing -- that's the same place the Urban Sketchers met in May, with the older buildings, pond, etc.  The first thing that caught my eye was a fish sculpture/fountain in a small rock- and plant-lined pool, which I drew in ink and then added water-soluble colored pencil:

Next, I wandered over to the pond with the boat (which is a shop called the "Boatique").  I drew this during the last visit but found a new viewpoint that I liked, showing the bow, where a pair of children's rubber boots stood.  I drew it in pen and this time used straight watercolor to finish it up:

A very enjoyable morning.

Birding happened on Sunday morning, where I spotted a robin eating a berry on the Montlake Fill trail:

The robin was not inclined to share its berry with the cowbird chick nearby, but a few seconds later I saw a Song Sparrow giving food to that same chick.

As for relaxation, I'll post more photos tomorrow of An Afternoon with Dogs in the Garden.  Here's a teaser:

Back to the Birds

In addition to ferris wheels, aquariums, baseball games, and gardening this past weekend, I also managed to get down to the Montlake Fill to check out the Cliff Swallow nests (under the roof on the NE corner of the farthest north IMA building):

Here's a very short (really, only 13 seconds) video showing swallows entering and leaving a nest:

I've also been encountering fledgling birds on campus this week.  I'm not very good at identifying youngsters, though I'm fairly certain this one is a young Song Sparrow:

And this is a different fledgling that was hanging out near the Song Sparrow, looking a bit different, but probably another one, although it may possibly be a White-crowned Sparrow fledgling instead:

Opinions welcomed!  I've seen adults of both species in this particular area.

Looks like we'll have a sunny Saturday and I have no firm plans so far.  Happy almost weekend!

Of Baseball and Blooms

Here it is Thursday and I still have photos to share from the past weekend -- it was busy!  On Sunday my friend Cyn and I went to Safeco Field to watch the Mariners lose to the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1.  Sigh.  Well, we always go with low expectations and just have fun enjoying the ball park atmosphere.

It was 80 degrees but by sheer accident the tickets I got put us on the shady side the whole time, and with a light breeze coming off the water behind us, we were completely comfortable.  Here is the view from our seats:

A fine view indeed.  I always enjoy using the zoom at ball games -- here is Kyle Seager failing to get a hit:

There was enough action to keep our interest, and a bit of drama in the 9th as we almost pulled off a win.  The most exciting moment was when a foul ball flew up near us, landing in the next section over.  Also, four Tree Swallows kept circling the stadium -- the gulls and pigeons are always present, but I've not see swallows there before.  So hey, baseball and birding at the same time!

The second most exciting thing was the clearance rack at the Team Store, where I found a spiffy dog leash with the Mariners logo on it marked down to $6 (and Tru needed a new one).  Here is Truman modelling his leash while waiting ever so patiently for me to open the front gate:

Next, and completely unrelated to baseball, is Blooms -- that is, new stuff flowering in my garden!

This is my all-time favorite rose -- it's a floribunda, with massive, tightly packed blooms all summer long:

And here is another mystery flower from the Arboretum's Florabundance sale:

Mary, any ideas?

And finally, I've not planted lupins before and bought two this year -- I've only seen blueish or purplish ones in the parks so was pleased with this different color:

I've got a few bird photos from the past weekend as well, so I guess I'll post those tomorrow.  And maybe try to take it a little easier this coming weekend.