Category Archives: weather

Warmer Weather Cats

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Tuesday, May 14, 2024, 12:05 pm — Perkins, Teeny Tuxedo … sunny noon … just right for napping cats … little yellow  flowers … tiny blurry brown bird, flying toward the back trees …

4:30 pm … Teeny Tuxedo … on comforter, grooming her face  … not needed at night for past few days of warmer weather, Thursday-Sunday … 80°s … 91° on Friday … 78° today …

Here Comes the Sun

birds, cats, curiosity, fun, health, outside, sleep, weather, window, , , , , , ,

Saturday, May 11, 2024, 7:17 am — Robin … rising sun illuminates its beak … Deck railing under suet feeder … The REALLY early bird robins chirp up a storm at 4:30 am on the north side, in front of the kitchen …

… a minute later … sunny, chipper face … Is its left leg raised because it’s hurt? … or just resting? … Have seen it do several solo right leg hop-abouts … and eat from the suet holder (above its head in photo), often accompanied by a large, pushy fledgling robin …

4:13 pm … Teeny Tuxedo … never claimed to be an early bird … After her siesta, she DOES enjoy watching their afternoon frolics from the comfort of bed … Lumix FZ300 camera …

Together Rain or Shine

birds, blogs, dvds, family memorabilia, Finland, Finnish, fun, shadows, weather, , , , , ,

Wednesday, November 16, 2022, 3:19 pm — Mid-November afternoon sun catches Rob R. Duck and Li’l Penguin … in her nifty yellow raincoat … in front of Grandma Ahola’s sewing basket … See them out on the deck between rain showers, on My Photo a Day Adventure blog, October 21, 2022 – Celebrate! …

November Start Cats

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Tuesday, November 1, 2022, 3:07 pm — Perkins … sports her year-round fall colors … matching 1st day of November golden autumn leaves …

Sunday, November 6, 2022, 6:50 pm … 5 days later … Teeny Tuxedo still minds her manners while Perky eats … whether fall or summer … Ms. Manners Cats, July 30, 2022 …

Seek & Hide Squirrel

animals, food, fun, outside, video, weather, window

Sunday, September 4, 2022, 4:43 pm — Fall is around the corner … the squirrels have a new activity … looking for previously hidden nuts in the back lawn … and re-hiding them …

Video below … a clever “seek and hide” squirrel …

Excerpt below from Smithsonian Science Education Center … Why Do Squirrels Bury Nuts? (and other mysteries) …

“Scientists have observed gray squirrels frequently burying and reburying their nuts. The scientists posited that this behavior was to help always keep a fresh memory of the nut’s location. However, it’s not only memory that squirrels need to combat in order to find their nuts! The gray squirrel community is rampant with nut theft. Squirrels can lose as much as 25% of their cached nuts to such thieves! Luckily, squirrels have developed some clever tactics to protect their nuts. Scientists have observed squirrels creating false caches in order to trick thieves.”

“While it might be frustrating for squirrels to lose their carefully hidden nuts, it can be beneficial for other organisms. In particular, it can help the forest itself! A study done at the University of Richmond cites that squirrels fail to recover up to 74% of the nuts they bury.”

Flower Buffet Birds

birds, food, fun, outside, video, weather

Thursday, August 18, 2022, 2:35 pm — After 99° yesterday, today’s 88° … just right for a refreshing butterfly bush buffet for … the bird herd! … a minute earlier, it had been bustling with many more of the tiny mighty mights … Their official name: Bushtit … More photos, Return of the Bird Herd, Dec. 15, 2019 …

Cool Facts … from Cornell …
  • The Bushtit is the only member of its family in the Americas; seven other species are found in Eurasia. All have similar complex hanging nests.
  • A breeding Bushtit pair often has helpers at the nest that aid in raising the nestlings. This already rare behavior is made more unusual by the fact that the helpers are typically adult males.
  • For most breeding birds, only one adult at a time sleeps on the nest, but all Bushtit family members sleep together in their large, hanging nest during the breeding season. Once the young fledge, they all leave the nest and thereafter sleep on branches.

Hot Day’s End Butterfly

outside, video, weather, window,

Tuesday, July 26, 2022, 7:16 pm — Cool of the evening … swallowtail butterfly … dining at the butterfly bush … the 100º sun is finally down … beginning a week in the high 90ºs … the first overly hot stretch of a rainier-than-usual Pacific NW summer … See a swallowtail in brighter light, 3 years ago, Up Close Butterfly Cat, July 22, 2019 …

Video below … Swallowtail butterfly … butterfly bush has been late to bloom this year …

Rain, Rabbit, Rain!

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Friday, June 10, 2022, 7:10 am — Mr / Ms Rabbit is catching a moment of sun between the rain … Look at all those raindrops on the grass! … “It’s not your imagination: Portland is experiencing the wettest April, May and early June of any time in at least the past 81 years.” … “12.23 inches of rain at PDX from April 1 through Sunday mid-morning, June 12, 2022” … We’re north of the Columbia River on the Washington side … (photos from deck) …

Sunlight through translucent ears … More photos, My Photo a Day Adventure …

Video below … Munching in the raindrops …

Pretty in Pink Feet

birds, food, outside, shadows, video, weather, , ,

Saturday, June 4, 2022, 10:55 am — Mourning dove … pretty in pink feet … and exquisite blue eyeliner … Not sure if it’s male or female … both are very similar … females a bit smaller … Males have pink-tinted breast feathers … females have  gray …

Some fancy footwork …

Video below … Mr / Ms Pink Feet Mourning Dove thinks the new bird seed is delish … “Sizzling Variety with Habanero” … “Squirrels detest the pepper oil, but it’s harmless to birds” … Especially like that it has “no milo, no filler” … Songbird Selections, by Audubon Park, Seattle … who “work to help support small farms by purchasing local seed from local farmers as much as possible.”

Tuesday, June 7, 2022, 9:30 am … The next day … full morning sunlight from left … compare to the gentle overcast sky lighting in photos above …

Specialty Bird Seed

birds, outside, weather, window, YT, ,

Saturday, May 7, 2022, 7:27 pm — Male evening grosbeak … “I like my favorite, black oil sunflower seeds … but look at what’s new at the green bird feeder!” …

… Female house sparrow … What’s this?! … New bird seed! … specially mixed for us Pacific Northwest birds … at the Backyard Bird Shop, Vancouver, WA …

… Below, video … female evening grosbeak … yum, yum, yum! …

Monday, May 9, 7:04 pm … Hummingbird … “Glad you guys are having fun up there with your new seeds … I’ll stick to my fresh nectar!”…

1st of May Windows Cats

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Sunday, May 1, 2022, 3:01 pm — Teeny Tuxedo … May Day! … plants are starting to wake up … butterfly bush … sunshine … open window …
tuxedo cat

Monday, May 2, 2022, 2:19 pm … Hey, Perky! … are those halos over your head? … or flying saucers? … Just aluminum plates for bird seed, water … on deck table …
ginger / red / orange tabby cat

… clematis … happily sprouting up in the sun …
ginger / red / orange tabby cat

After Snow Snoozes Cats

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Wednesday, April 13, 2022, 7:02 pm — Teeny Tuxedo, Perkins … it’s freezing outside … but they’re staying warm on self-heating thermal mat …
tuxedo cat, ginger / red / orange tabby cat

Thursday, April 14, 2022, 1:19 pm … Teeny … Monday’s masses of snow have disappeared … time for yawning on a warm window kitty sill …
tuxedo cat

Historic April Snow Cat

birds, cats, curiosity, outside, snow, trees, video, weather, window, , ,

Monday, April 11, 2022, 5:30 am — Teeny Tuxedo … Whoa! … Snow! … from sunny, over 70º four days earlier … to four inches of quiet whiteness this morning … “first time in 82 years of record-keeping that measurable snow has fallen at Portland International Airport this late in the year.” – opb.org  … Airport is 18 miles south, across the Columbia River, in Oregon …
tuxedo cat

… 6:50 am … HEAVY snow weighing down shrub … east side of deck …

… 7:41 am … Teeny Tuxedo … two hours later … STILL snowing …
tuxedo cat

… 9:30 am … Gently falling snow flakes … A spot of red at the black oil sunflower seed bird feeder …  either a male purple finch or house finch …

Below, video … Big, fluffy flakes … 7:50 am … first significant snow this late, April 11, in over 80 years … stopped by afternoon … Fluffy, but heavy … listen for “pops” of tree branches breaking, especially at 1 minute …

Lambykins Cat

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Thursday, March 31, 2022, 12:33 pm — Teeny Tuxedo … The last day of March lives up to its reputation … going out like a lamb … While Teeny catnaps in the warm noon sun, the butterfly bush is sprouting new leaves … Tall trees still in sober grays and browns … exuberant plants in front of them starting to sport fresh greenery … Photo from My Photo a Day Adventure …
tuxedo cat