The Great Outdoors

This is my friend, Antonina "Toni" Penner who lives at the next house up the road.  She is a beautiful person with a heart that loves God.  The other day we went exploring the countryside on our bikes just like kids.   

We found an interesting, old abandoned house along the way.

There was even an antique stove in there.  I have to say I thought it was cool.  

I liked the handmade patio shelter someone made.  It gave me some ideas of my own.

 Then we explored the wind turbines up close and personal.

Now that the grass is growing so fast with all the rain we've been getting lately, it was time to finally get ourselves a new lawn tractor.  After several weeks of research and looking at a lot of lawn tractors, we finally selected one from a Husqvarna dealer in Simcoe.  It was delivered one morning and not too soon.  Although we had borrowed a neighbors lawn tractor to mow a week ago, the new growth was gaining speed.  So Walpole Lawn & Garden Equipment delivered our new lawn tractor.  Of course I don't have all the details listed but since mostly women read my blog, I don't think its important.  A picture is worth a thousand words anyway.

Next on the list of busy deliverys.....our new truck.  Well, technically it is used.  I took Brian into town to pick it up from the mechanic we had looking it over and doing a few minor repairs.  We got it for $2,200 plus when Brian went to Simcoe to buy the tags, he had to pay HST on it too.  Dang it, you can't get away with anything these days.  So now we have a truck and that means we have a second vehicle.  THAT IS A HUGE RELIEF.  We had to dip into our line of credit but it was an absolute necessity and an awesome deal.

So now I want to talk about the beauty of nature around our acreage.  The Orioles and the Hummingbirds...what a great story.  They are completely different birds but both like the sweet nectar feeders.  I bought a feeder that is a two in one use.  It feeds both the Hummingbirds and the Orioles.  So now I'm out to get shots of the Baltimore Orioles....beautiful birds!!!!

The Baltimore oriole inhabits Maryland and eastern US only in the summer months. They are also found, less commonly, in the central U.S. and Canada.   This just goes to show you the special and unique area we live in near Long Point's Biosphere.  Maryland's official state bird and namesake of the state's professional baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles. Male orioles have brilliant orange-golden underparts and shoulder patches, with black wings and a black head. Females are not as brightly colored. Though they are partially orange, they also have and brownish-olive plumage.

Baltimore Orioles, attractive woodland birds that eat caterpillars and insects, supplemented by fruits and berries.  This should help control the bug problem a little bit around our place.  It says they are drawn by fruits (oranges), nectars or peanut butter.  Each spring the female constructs a hanging nest although I have not yet found one around here yet.  They are usually built at the end of a tree branch.  When the birds hatch they have 2 weeks to be cared for by both the male and female.  I sure hope I can find the nest and get some photos of these babies.  

                                     

Baltimore Oriole

Ruby-throated Hummingbird sitting in the bush near our front porch.

I am absolutely amazed by this petite bird.  These little treasures with high metabolism are my new role-models. An adult ruby-throated hummingbird may eat twice its body weight in food each day, which it burns up with the high metabolism necessary to sustain its "humming" rapid wing beat (of 53 times per second) and energetic movements.

The male ruby-throated hummingbird has a striking red throat, though the female of the species does not. They hover and also fly upside down and backwards while they seek out flowers, nectar and sap. These hummingbirds have extremely short legs, so they cannot walk or even hop with any efficiency. They owe it all to their wings to get them around.  

 My feeder is very popular!  The Oriole and The Hummingbird both love it!

My beautiful, blessed gardens.