Beautiful Day

Today was a beautiful day! I went outside and worked in the yard  a bit. I was able to pick raspberries and gooseberries with my little girl. Of course, she was more interested in eating them than picking them. I can't say that I blame her they were really yummy! I am hoping to save up enough of these berries so I can try canning them. It is such a liberating experience to be able to pick your own berries and then can them. How wonderful to be able to know exactly where your food comes from. I love it! I have learned so much since I have been here!

My little girl and I topped the day of with admiring the lightning bugs or as we like to call them "blinkings".She was so excited when one of the blinkings decided to land on her. She didn't know if she should be scared or laugh. I told her baby the blinkings like you. After that she laughed and decided to play with it. So, that gave me the idea to go back into the house and get her bug cage. For the next half our we ran all over the place looking for blinkings to catch. After catching the blinkings to our hearts content we decided to run back into the house and show daddy.  Once daddy got a good look we took our new friends back outside to be released. I was such a special moment to share with my girl. She is already looking forward to the next time we can go out an catch some more blinkings. I can't wait!

Discovering Bird Watching

I love living here! There are always so many things to discover and find. There are many things to teach and show my little girl.  Yesterday we found a bird’s nest in a bush near by the house. We also discovered that a bird house we put out about two months ago now has the beginnings of a nest.  I don’t know that much about birds. Where I came from there were not that many birds to watch. Here in West Virginia it is very easy to take up bird watching as a hobby.  Since I have moved here I am now able to identify several birds both male and female.

 It is exciting for me to see birds like the Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, or even the Red- breast Grosbeak. The varieties of birds out here in the country are just amazing. I love looking out my picture window in the morning and seeing all the birds in the field.  I still have much to learn about birds. I know it will be awhile before I can identify them by their bird call.

 A week or so ago I was outside around dusk and I kept hearing this sound. The sound sounded little water droplets falling. I kept thinking, 'what in the world is that’! I heard water but I was nowhere near a water source. It took me awhile to realize that it was in fact a bird. After doing a little research I discovered that the bird I was hearing is called a Brown- headed Cowbird. 

 Here is an interesting link I found about birds http://www.allaboutbirds.org

This website has all types of information regarding birds. The website will help you with identifying birds and life history of each bird. On the website you will find that there are sound and video clips. There are even tips on how to locate the bird you are interested in.

 I love the idea of learning something new. The thought of trying out a new hobby is equally exciting. I look forward to including some video clips in the future, of the birds I have seen here in West Virginia.