February is National Bird Feeding Month if you are wondering what inspired the Sunday Stills challenge theme this week.
I shared a similar post last year about the need to provide food for the birds, especially in the winter months. By February in the northern hemisphere, seeds, grains and other feed are buried under snow and mud or already eaten.
In addition to sharing some images of birds at their feeders, I have a a couple of hawk images to share, in response to Lisa’s Bird Weekly challenge. The image is of the White-tailed Kite family we had living in our former neighborhood in Sacramento.
At twilight, as many as 20 kites would fly in search of their food–rodents, small birds, and small dogs (just kidding?). Make no mistake, these are medium-sized birds of prey, with wingspans from 35-40 inches.
I posted this image of this Red-Tailed hawk flying high above the Valley of Fire State park near Las Vegas, Nevada. In search of a tasty rodent, no doubt!
Now that the hawks are feeding, here are some images of birds in my former backyard in Sacramento.
Is a hummingbird really ever satisfied? 
Mine, all mine! 
Blue jay contorts to get some yummy treats!
No new bird photos yet from Spokane, except a few bald eagles.
Waiting is For the Birds
If we were having coffee today while waiting to feed the birds, I use the above expression to punctuate the slowness of waiting for our home to be built. Yep, every week I have an update, but this week, things finally got moving! Four weeks after our contractor scheduled the electrician to install the meter, the pedestal was set at the end of January. But, I still had to put in a new residential application with our electric company. I could not apply in early January because, as our address is brand new, it did not show up in Google Maps so the electric company had no way to verify the address. Um, really? What did the world do before Google Maps? This application process only took two days, but it took another two weeks to schedule a meeting with the engineer. On one of the snowiest days of the year so far, was the day we met him at the site.
During that time, the state of Washington inspected and passed the work. This week, the engineer approved everything, and gave our contractor the green light to install the conduit to the electrical box on the property, which was placed Wednesday. The crew was also busy working on the home, attaching plumbing lines and other work. I almost cried with relief to see work being done for a change.
I paid the construction fee Thursday morning to the electric company and the construction office called me an hour later and is in the process of scheduling someone to run the wiring. Keep your fingers crossed this happens within a few days. I still predict that it will be the end of March before we can completely move into the home. Did you enjoy some hot coffee while reading? Sure looks cold, doesn’t it?
Feeling Drained and Bird-Brained
As if this wasn’t enough, two major life events happened this week. Sadly, my mother-in-law passed away peacefully in her sleep on Valentine’s Day, at age 89, after suffering strokes and living with Alzheimer’s for several years. We attended a viewing on Saturday and a more formal memorial service is scheduled in March.
On a happy note, I started a new part-time job at Spokane Community College working with disabled students to help them integrate into the community. And you thought I was going to stay retired…nope! More about this in another post!
I’m adding this post to Denyse’s link up Life this Week!
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
- Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
- Title your blog post a little differently than mine.
- Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post. I also recommend adding your post’s URL into the comments.
- Entries for this theme can be shared all week.
- Use hashtag #SundayStills for sharing on social media.
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Each week I will share the links on the following post so you can continue to meet and support each other. And with that…
A Rosy Round-Up
Pease visit these 35 bloggers who shared their rosy-red images last week, and welcome our new friends to Sunday Stills!
- Always Write
- NEW! Artistic Pension
- Bushboy’s Blog
- Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
- Cee’s Photo Challenges
- Deb’s World
- Denyse Whelan Blogs
- Easin’ Along
- NEW! Equipoiselife
- Frost on the Moose Dung
- NEW! Gary A Wilson Stories
- Geriatrix FotoGallery
- Grahams Island
- Heaven’s Sunshine
- Horse Addict
- Hugh’s Views & News
- Jackie Biggar Author
- JP the Wide-Eyed Wanderer
- Kamerapromenader
- Light Write Life
- Mazee Puran
- Musin with Susan
- Natalie the Explorer
- Now At Home
- Photos By Jez
- Picture This
- Priorhouse Blog
- Retirement Reflections
- Stevie Turner
- The Day After
- Travel with Me
- Troyers Living Life
- Wandering Dawgs
- Women Living Well after 50
- Woolley Muses
Remember to feed the birds the rest of this month and beyond! I’m looking forward to your creative images and ideas!
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