By Sun and Candlelight

Never a Dull Moment

All spring we've been waiting for the day when our dear little chipmunk would reappear after his long and deep winter sleep. Well, yesterday was that day, and oh, what a way to get reacquainted ...

You might be wondering how we were able to get such a close picture. Well, it's quite a tale to tell, as well as quite a tail to tell about ...

I had just settled Earlybird for his afternoon nap, and sat myself down at the computer, when Bookwork called out in alarm:

"Mama! Come quickly! It's the chipmunk! He's being attacked by the cat!"

True enough, that neighborhood nuisance, the bane of our birdfeeders, Sassy, was climbing the back fence in hot pursuit of none other than our beloved little chipmunk! Of course I, experienced wildlife defender that I am, sprung into action and within moments was there on the scene.

My fierce clapping drove the cat away but the whole situation had stunned the poor chipmunk who clung to the fence for dear life, not moving an inch, even as I crept closer and closer. The boys rushed me the camera (first braving a fierce wasp in the doorway), and I was able to take many pictures such as these. I'm going to restrain myself here and post just two more:

   

Isn't he just the cutest little traumatized thing?

So now we know the chipmunk has returned at last, and since we caught Sassy in the act, I think we now know what happened to the gray squirrel, Tough Nut's, tail. If you look closely at the top picture you can see just how close was our poor chipmunk's escape from feline clutches. His tail is now stripped of fur and was bleeding quite badly. But the good news is we think he will make it. Of course the bad news is Sassy knows this too ...

And since no wildlife moment is complete without a glance at our oft-quoted Handbook of Nature Study, here are a few thoughts by Ms. Comstock on chipmunks:

"The Chipmunk is more easily tamed than red squirrels and soon learns that pockets may contain nuts and other good things to eat ... He is pretty and disctinctly companionable, and I can rejoice that I have had him and his whole family as my near neighbors for many years. I always feel especially proud when he shows his confidence by scampering around our porch floor and peeping in at our windows, as if taking a reciprocal interest in us."

That Anna Comstock, she's my kind of gal. :)

So That's What it Was!

Well, it turns out the weird goo on our evergreens is really nothing weirder than just plain old tree sap! We know this now, thanks to MacBeth at the 4Real Forums and my very own dear husband (DH), who came out of lurkdom to comment on my original post!

So much for that owl theory! :)

Who's Making This Mess?

This is not the loveliest of posts, to be sure, but there is a strange phenomenon happening in our evergreen trees and we're wondering whom we should blame.

We've noticed an odd substance, a whitish-greenish kind of goo, which has blossomed around certain stubby branches, mounding up around the perch, and dribbling all down the front of the tree.

Here are a few examples:

O.K. I'll stop there, lest I lose you completely. We have no idea what or who is causing this stuff to occur ... bugs, fungus, animals or birds?

A conversation about owls at the 4Real Forums made me wonder if this could be evidence of them here, but so far we haven't seen any owl pellets under the trees (although we haven't really looked carefully yet).

We're completely stumped ~ pardon the pun ~ so any ideas are most welcome!

It's a wonder we get anything done around here ...

... when there's so much going on OUT THERE!

Does anyone else have trouble keeping their attention on things like oh, math and spelling, when spring is simply beckoning outside?

A few items of interest pulled us away from our planned studies this morning, and we ended up spending a good chunk of time out in the yard before lunch, but looking back at all we observed I'm really glad we did!

Not surprisingly, it was a new bird at the feeders that initially caught our attention:

At first we thought he was a Wood Thrush, but a bit further research makes us think he is really a Brown Thrasher (due to his larger size, longer tail and a streaked rather than spotted breast). I was all ready with a quote from Thoreau about thrushes, too ... but nothing much appears to be written about the shy Thrasher (and with a name like that I don't wonder why).

The excitement of this sighting led us to put the books aside for a moment (or two) and head out into the yard a bit earlier than usual. And in the space of a half-hour we found two more thrilling avian discoveries, the first being this:

An American Robin on her nest, found entirely by accident! (Click on the image for a better view.) Crackerjack had begged me to come up in the play fort (a place I don't usually frequent) to squash gently remove a spider crawling on the slide, when I turned around and lo and behold right behind us was this beautiful nesting mother ~ something we've been hoping to see! We plan to check on her daily, in hopes of catching her hatching as it happens (or shortly thereafter).

And just before we headed in, that tell-tale orange streak appeared in the woods ...

... and finally we had him ~ the long-awaited Baltimore oriole! (If you look closely you can see he has some company behind him in the branches.) Between the scolding of the squirrel (a cat lay in wait on the ground) and the beautiful song of the Oriole, (not to mention the squeals of our group below), our woods positively rang out with the exuberance of springtime today!

How are Your Floors?

If they're like mine (and I'm not suggesting they are) they are in need of a good spring cleaning ... Take a look at some natural floor cleaners I posted today at my kitchen blog, Harvest Home. The herbal ingredients sound so refreshing, I'm almost looking forward to this chore. Almost.

Nature in a Nutshell, May 2006

We're finally getting around to assembling the new Nature Notebooks I keep talking about. Our first few pages consist of sketches, coloring pages, and notes made by us all. To expand upon these notes a bit, I asked the boys for narrations while we reminisced about the past few weeks in our yard.

I thought I would share some of this conversation as I type it up for our notebook. It might not be too scientific, but to me, it will always be priceless:

Mama: Thanks for being here today, boys. I'd like to write down some of the things we've seen in our yard over the past month or so. Let's see what we remember ...

Bookworm: We found a sow bug (or maybe it's a pill beetle) under a rock.

Crackerjack: I think those things look like rocks!

Bookworm: We learned Garlic Mustard is an invasive species.

Crackerjack: We must defeat Garlic Mustard Now!

Bookworm: The Bleeding heart is pink.

Crackerjack: The Bleeding heart is red.

Bookworm: O.K. just say the Bleeding heart is pinkish-red.

Crackerjack: And that we bought them at the nursery with Daddy.

Bookworm: We found some mushrooms called morels. Unlike most mushrooms morels have holes or cells all over them.

Crackerjack: Wow, I thought morels was a girls's name but actually they're a type of mushroom!

Bookworm: The American Goldfinch has gotten extremely yellow.

Crackerjack: He's a cool bird that's Mama's favorite color.

Bookworm: The female spruce buds are wider and shorter and the males look like miniature pinecones.

Crackerjack: I didn't know before that female pinecones are red and male pinecones are brown. I think it's that way because pink is a girlish color. And so how about this tree? This tree is very old but actually it is still growing.

Mama: How do you know that, Crackerjack?

Crackerjack: Because it grows pinecones in the spring and that means its alive.

Bookworm: I spotted a very small butterfly in the yard, and if you keep your shadow off of it then you can get a very close up view.

Crackerjack: Wow, I wonder what type of butterfly it is, maybe there's a book we can check.

Mama: Honey, we found out it's an Eastern Pine Elfin, remember?

Crackerjack: Oh yeah, now I get it.

Bookworm: There are two red squirrels now, and one of them is chubbier than the other.

Crackerjack: Yep, we seem to have our old buddy Red Tail back, but now we found another red squirrel. We call him Red Face.

Mama: So, what kinds of birds have we seen lately?

Bookworm: Eastern Towhee, Brown-headed Cowbird, Mockingbird ... several new species.

Crackerjack: We saw Orioles just a few days ago, but I haven't had a chance to get a good look because I couldn't get there in time.

Mama: How about in the woods, anything going on out there?

Crackerjack: In our woods there are deer that have been spotted, but there are motor-bikers that love going through these woods and we think we should maybe make a call to make them stop because it is not very good for the animals for those motor-bikers to be going through their woods.

Mama: O.K., let's wrap up. Any final words before we go?

Crackerjack: I'd like to say we have 4 cats and we take care of them very well. And for goodness sakes, I say, one of our cats, Poochie, just almost ate one of Mama's sewing needles! But luckily my brother, Bookworm, went dashing down the hall and got the telephone so we could call ... um ...

Mama: Do you remember the numbers we call in an emergency?

Crackerjack: Nope, but I wish I did. Anyway, luckily we didn't need it. I don't know how we got it out but we did.

Bookworm: I know how it happened. Daddy had to pull the needle and miles of thread out while Mama held Poochie still to keep him from swallowing it.

And there you have it in a nutshell, the Nature Report for May 2006. Stay tuned ... I'm sure there will be more before too long!

The Glorious Month of May ...

... continues in our hearts, homes and gardens, in spite of the rain and the cold! At Marigolds for Mama we took a peek at how the flowers in our Mary garden are faring through all these stormy wind-swept days; everything's wet, but still lovely!

And speaking of lovely, at Cottage Blessings today, Alice is hosting an inspiring tour of the homes and gardens honoring Mary this month ~ a bouquet of Marian altars ~ both indoors and out. It's a beautiful post not to be missed!

Ave Maria!

May 15: Feast of St. Isidore the Farmer

There's a great thread underway at the 4Real Forums (one of many), started by Theresa who was researching patron saints for her theme gardens. I jumped in late, but was very glad I did, because as usual there were lots of interesting ideas and much useful information. From this conversation, a few online sources, and Catholic Traditions in the Garden by Ann Ball, I learned there are many saints whose patronage encompasses the garden and other aspects of nature.

The following excerpt was found in today's Magnificat. It would make for nice copywork in a garden or liturgical notebook. The prayer below it is from the same source; it's the opening prayer in today's optional memorial and we'll be using it today as our midday prayer.

~ St. Isidore the Farmer ~

"Isidore was a pious layman who would pray for long periods while guiding his plow. He often spent holidays on pilgrimage to local shrines. There are legends about angels assisting him in his farm labors. He was caring toward animals and generous to the poor. Isidore's wife, Maria de la Cabeza, is also a saint. He is patron of Madrid, of farmers and of rural communities."

Lord God,

all creation is yours, and you call us to serve you

by caring for the gifts that surround us.

May the example of Saint Isidore urge us

to share our food with the hungry

and to work for the salvation of mankind.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God for ever and ever

Amen

Jenn points out Isidore's story is similar to the one described in Tomie de Paola's Pascual and the Kitchen Angels. This is one of the most recent de Paola books, one we don't have, but now surely will want for our collection!

Yes, I'm Playing with the Banner Again ...

... and it's the last time I promise!

Well, I guess I can't really promise, but I will try to keep things status quo for a while. I was looking for something lighter, brighter and more springy, and this pink floral design seemed to fit. (But I think I am already missing those cherry tree branches!) I also had fun playing around with the font colors too ...

Speaking of colors, please take a peek at Marigolds for Mama ~ we can't get out in the garden just now, but we're enjoying some reds and a bit of bright yellow while we're waiting for the rain to abate.

And in other blog business, it was recently brought to my attention that my sidebars have grown rather, um, stagnant, so I will get to work on updating those soon!

So much to blog about, so little time ... :)

I hope you have a great day!

I Spy with My Little Eye ...

... even more birds than before! Or hopefully I will!

All of my wonderful guys surprised me today with a much-longed for Mother's Day gift ~ a window sill bird feeder! It is one of those things I've wanted forever, but had actually (almost) forgotten about. So I was completely surprised (and overjoyed) when I opened the box!

In other Mother's Day news, the rest of our celebration has been put on hold till next weekend. Every year we host a Mother's Day brunch, but this year it was not meant to be. On top of my broken toe, we are all fighting a terrible cold, and with all this torrential rain many nearby streets are flooded and closed; travel would have been hard for our family (especially our beloved 92 year old Damee). So we'll pick up next Sunday where we left off today, and for now take it slow ~ nursing swollen noses and toes. :)

But a bit more about this feeder ... dear husband installed it in the family room just now. A special mirrored panel along the back should allow us to watch the birds without the birds noticing us. Oh, I'm so excited ~ the nature study that will surely follow this!

Thank you to my boys, one and all, big and small. It's because of you that my days (even gloomy ones like these) always seem so much brighter! :)

Just in Time for Mother's Day ...

... A Celebration of Heart and Home!

Amy has posted a wonderful collection of blogs and links to explore, written by many in the 4Real blogging community ~ yours truly included :)

So grab yourself a cup of tea, put up your feet (in slippers of course), and take time today to smell the sweet roses of motherhood ...

Lovely job, Amy!

Hmmmm ...

Well, this is not what we expected:

Before:

After:

Basically the morels left behind damp spots and there were some crummy bits left all around. The inside of the Pyrex dish was dripping wet, so we noted these mushrooms let off some moisture.

Bottom line: Our morels did nothing like what we had expected them to do! We figured we must have done something wrong. So, we tried again ...

Same set up: wiped up the inside of the Pyrex dish, sliced off the bottoms of the morels (to provide a wider, flatter, fresher surface).

But I'm afraid we got pretty much the same boring scientifically insignificant results:

These markings seem slightly more like a print, and less like plain old wet spots, but definitely not what we were hoping for.

An idea crossed my mind. If you recall, in my initial post, this quote from www.mushroomexpert.com:

"However since these mushrooms have tiny spore jets that forcibly eject the spores (as opposed to the way spores just fall away from mushrooms with gills or pores), you will need to take a piece of the cap and place it on the paper and expect a spore print around the mushroom section, rather than underneath it."

Well, we didn't get prints under the mushrooms, but certainly nothing appeared around them either. Except for, as mentioned, those little crummy bits ...

On the bright side, I guess this is truly science! Discovering, experimenting, expecting results, changing the variables, and trying again ...

If you have any ideas on why this isn't working (even words of encouragement would help!) please drop us a line ...

At this point, I've completely lost the boys; they're so over it all. Now, it's mainly my own stubborn pride curiosity that's been left piqued ...

Where in the world are the spores?

One Toe Broken, Two Lessons Learned

You know how it is with us mothers. We always have to do things ourselves ...

But when your husband insists that you go and sit down, while he and the boys unpack all the groceries you brought home, because after all it is Mother's Day weekend, and you did spend the whole morning running errands all over town, out there in the rain and the crowds ...

What you don't do is refuse, and instead keep on unpacking ... even though you are kind of tired and you really could do with a bite to eat, because what you will end up doing is dropping a 32 oz. glass jar of juice on your left foot, bruising three toes and breaking one.

All together now ~ OUCH!

And then what you won't do for the rest of the day - quite obviously - is any one of the many items on your to-do list, but instead will accept any and all kind offers of help, while you watch from the couch, leg elevated, toes numb under a soggy bag of frozen blackberries ...

It made for quite a lesson, and my toe is quite a sight.

Next time help is offered - and I can really use it - I will gladly, and humbly, say yes.

And what's the second lesson learned, you might ask?

Don't put away the groceries in barefeet!

Pass the Motrin.

Found: A Funny Fungi

It had been a rainy quiet day, spent mostly inside. A little cleaning on my part, a lot of free play for the boys. I thought for sure nature study was on hold for the moment, but around here, it seems you just never know ...

The boys had worked all afternoon on the construction of a multi-puppet, multi-zoned, nature-fairy complex (pictures to come of, course). There was so much to decide: who would live in the tree house and who would prefer the log? Just where should the lava be flowing ~ into the pond or over the bridge? And who would be the unlucky chap in mortal peril ~ the beaver, the gnome, or maybe the skunk?

Anyway ... more on all that later (I promised them a post). I left "Volcanic Fairy Town" in the capable hands of the busy builders, and ran outside for a check on the status of the Spruce buds, to see how they looked after a week's worth of rain  ... when a strange little something caught my eye. Something ~ or some things ~ were growing in clumps, all along the northwestern side of the house ...

 

Mushrooms!!!

And quite odd-looking ones at that! Little mysteries of nature, popping up on an otherwise unexceptional day ...

After a little information digging, both online and off, we think they are probably Morels; but in case they are the similar but posionous False Morels, we won't be ingesting them anytime soon. This site shows the difference and I am pretty certain ours are the real deal, but I find it curious that none of the birds or squirrels seem to be eating them. According to the Handbook of Nature Study however, morels should not be eaten once their cells have turned from "creamy white" to brown. Well, as you can see, these specimens are clearly more brown than white now, so eating is out of the question. Hmmm ... we wondered what else we could do with these things, except obviously photograph them and journal about them here ...

... when I remembered a recent post by Rebecca, who was inspired by a post by Leonie, about making mushroom spore prints when they found fungi in their gardens ... (Oh, how I love the 4Real community!)

So ... with direction from Rebecca and Leonie (and some information found here), we are attempting to make morel spore prints from the few we gathered today. I placed several caps on some white computer paper and set them out of reach of little hands (and paws). This was all around 3 this afternoon, so we'll take a peek before bed, and if necessary, check again in the morning. Because morels have an oddly shaped cap, unlike the umbrella shaped mushrooms used by Leonie and Rebecca, our prints could be profoundly different. Morel-print instructions from www.mushroomexpert.com:

"For mushrooms belonging to the Ascomycetes, like the morels and false morels, a spore print is obtained using a similar method. However since these mushrooms have tiny spore jets that forcibly eject the spores (as opposed to the way spores just fall away from mushrooms with gills or pores), you will need to take a piece of the cap and place it on the paper and expect a spore print around the mushroom section, rather than underneath it."

Okee-dokes. Well, we have it all set up in this way (below), only with a Pyrex dish placed on top; now we just have to wait!

And while we are waiting, here is some more information from the ever-dependable, always engrossing, Handbook of Nature Study:

The Morels

"In May or June in open, damp places, such as orchards or the moist fence-corners of meadows, the morels may be found. This mushroom family contains no member that is poisonous and the members are very unlike any other family in appearance. They are very pretty with their creamy white, thick, swollen stems and a cap more or less conical, made up of the deep-celled meshes of an unequal network. The outside edges of the network are yellowish or brownish when the morel is young and edible, but later turn dark as the spores develop. In some species the stems are comparatively smooth and in others their surface is more or less wrinkled. The spores are borne in the depressions of the network."

Stay tuned for the results ~ they'll be posted, successful or no! :)

The Prayer of the Butterfly

As we mentioned in our Nature Notes the other day, we have been enjoying the presence of a tiny butterfly who has been frequenting our yard this spring. We weren't sure of its name, and we weren't even sure if it might not be a moth, but we were charmed by its size and impressed by its beautiful coloring all the same ...

Our field guides yielded little revelation, but thankfully, living in the age of the internet as we do, an online search last night proved successful! We discovered that this butterfly is indeed a butterfly (and not a moth) and is known as an Eastern Pine Elfin, the most frequently reported Elfin in Massachusetts. (As for what makes an Elfin an Elfin, we're still unaware, so a bit more research lies ahead.)

Later today we will work on some sketches of this new discovery for our budding nature journals (I will post our results soon); in the meantime, we found a sweet funny poem to serve as copywork for our butterfly page, another verse from Prayers from the Ark. I think it captures the general flightiness and happy disposition of butterflies quite well:

The Prayer of the Butterfly

Lord!

Where was I?

Oh yes! The flower, this sun,

thank You! Your world is beautiful!

This scent of roses ...

Where was I?

A drop of dew

rolls to sparkle in a lily's heart.

I have to go ...

Where? I do not know!

The wind has painted fancies

on my wings.

Fancies ...

Where was I?

Oh yes! Lord,

I had something to tell you:

Amen

He's a Bit of a Sap, But We Love Him Anyway ...

I guess our Birdy got rather choked up when I told him about Rebecca's Woody ~ especially when I explained that they could never meet, living halfway across the country from each other as they do ...

So Woody, would you like a northeastern pen pal? He's a bit of a softie, but a good guy at heart ... If interested, please send your answer by Sparrow Post! :)

Japan: Week 2

Another week of studying Japan with our coop yielded many more interesting things to put up on the windows and walls ... and of course, lots of fun for the kids!

This week we learned about Japanese art forms. First, we compared American and Japanese landscape art and then the kids set to work. The older group tried their hands at making reproductions of four-paneled screens. They made the screens out of 12x18 construction paper, embellishing them with designs made by specialty rubber stamps (bamboo shoots, ying and yang, as well as Japanese phrases). The younger set made paper towel tube scrolls with similar depictions. Here is Crackerjack proudly showing off his:

The littles and middles also listened to another wonderful read-aloud with Lisa ~ this week's story was Yoko's Paper Cranes. Here is Crackerjack's brief narration:

"Yoko was a kitten who sailed across the sea and then sent her grandparents hundreds of paper cranes because she missed them."

Afterward, they made their own colorful cranes out of lots of bright sheets of origami paper.

Next, all the kids had fun choosing Japanese print reproductions to color; the prints are based on an ancient art form called Ukiyo-e, a hallmark of 17th and 18th century Japan. After coloring their pages (found in Dover's Japanese Prints Coloring Book) they made up little stories to go with them.

For atmosphere we hung up all the kids' creations, adding to last week's decor (here is a window just filled with their art) ...

... and Beth brought some lovely Japanese lanterns which we hung from the beams:

We also sampled green tea (with a touch of honey) and watched Big Bird in Japan (littles) and an educational video about Japanese-Americans (middles and bigs), the perfect way to wrap up a cold and rainy coop day!

And when the day was over, we were quite proud of all the children's hard work, while my dining room was proudly wearing the fruits of their labor! (I think we might be ready to open that gallery now) ...

Daddy was so surprised when he got home! :)

Catholic Mosaic ~ Pre-Order Now!

I am so excited about Cay Gibson's new book being published this month ~ Catholic Mosaic: Living the Liturgical Year with Literature. Cay, whom I have the pleasure of knowing from the 4Real Forums and her blog, Cajun Cottage, has written what is sure to become a treasured favorite in my home ~ a collection of study guides for 52 children's books that follow the liturgical year ... all my favorite things wrapped up in one package!!

Pre-orders are being taken now (I just sent off mine!) ...

Congratulations, Cay!!

Well, It is My Favorite Color ...

Your Blog Should Be Yellow

You're a cheerful, upbeat blogger who tends to make everyone laugh. You are a great storyteller, and the first to post the latest funny link. You're also friendly and welcoming to everyone who comments on your blog.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

~ Hat Tip: Cay, Cajun Cottage ~

These quizzes are so much fun! :)

An Oriole, Almost Observed ...

We have been on Oriole watch around here ever since the cherry trees burst into bloom. Every May, without fail, the Baltimore Orioles stop by our yard to nibble those pretty pink blossoms, on their migration route north from a winter down south. Well, our cherry tree is pretty much all leafed out and is now far more green than pink. But until today, not one Oriole had been seen; I thought for sure we missed them somehow ...

And then early this morning a bright flash of orange streaked by the windows at breakfast. Sure enough, there on the gate stood a beautiful young Oriole.  "My camera," I whispered out of the side of my mouth, as I crouched below the window sill, keeping myself out of the bird's line of vision. Little bodies scrambled to find the camera, but alas we were just moments too slow; the bird flew off before I could focus the shot. Crackerjack said it best, with his softly muttered, "Dagnabbit." He's always the one to lighten a moment ... :)

A short while later I went out to fill the feeders (camera in pocket, of course) and was quite gratified to have a Chickadee and a Goldfinch for company. I felt a bit like Snow White, standing there humming, while these pretty little birds moved nearer to feed. (Now don't laugh, I did say a bit.) I was even able to take a few pictures of the handsome Goldfinch (below); we played peek-a-boo around the tube feeder for a few minutes before he perched on a branch right beside me.

So it was that I began a post about that Goldfinch today, resigned that the Orioles would have to wait for another time, when again that brilliant orange flashed by the window. And although this shot - taken through a rain-splashed window - is kind of lousy (o.k. really lousy) I just had to include it here for the record. (Click on the image for a larger, yet still obstructed, view).

Now before I get too carried away with the elusive Oriole ... let me first take a moment to say a few things about that bright cheerful Goldfinch. He and his familiars frequent our several tube feeders, as they are not generally considered ground feeders. So when we noticed a flashing of bright yellow wings in the middle of our back lawn this afternoon ~ during a rainstorm no less ~ we were surprised to determine it was indeed a Goldfinch, until we realized he was busily eating the seeds of the many (many) dandelion puffs scattered all over our backyard!

"Weed seeds are a big attraction, which is a good thing to remember the next time you're muttering at your dandelions or burdock, two of their favorites." (Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible )

Another good reason to go (or in our case, stay) organic! In the same book, we also read this:

"If cleanliness is next to godliness, then goldfinches must be saints. Goldfinches are inordinately fond of birdbaths and other water features."

This explains why they've been so active all day in the rain!

Hopefully, in another day or so I will get a clearer shot of the Oriole, but in the meantime, we are researching their feeder preferences, in hopes of improving our chances:

Oriole Feeder Foods:

• Amelanchier berries
• Apples
• Berries, especially mulberries, blackberries, blueberries and huckleberries
• Corn, cracked or whole kernel
• Elderberries
• Figs
• Nectar (use a feeder with perches)
• Oranges, halved
• Peaches
• Pears
• Peas, fresh, dried or frozen
• Suet, chopped

This list (again, thanks to the BBFB) is followed by directions for a "Quick and Easy Oriole Feeder" (basically a wooden plank holding halved oranges and jar-lids of jelly) and I'm wondering how quickly we could throw one together ...

I know our window is closing on Oriole observation, for these birds never linger for long. For another week or so we'll spot them as they zip across the road or the yard, but catching them in the trees - still enough and long enough for a good shot - is a challenge. Keep your fingers crossed for us and if you have any Oriole (or Goldfinch!) stories, please drop us a note below. :)