Hawk Stalking

January 8th Hawk Stalking results:

It was competely overcast and chilly, but no wind.

adorable American Kestrel

Red-tail hawk? not sure b/c of the strips.

This is Henry the hawk, one at the edge of our neighborhood that we've watched from afar for years, now. He did not like me getting "close" to take his photo, so I had to be more sneaky, hide behind the car door and shoot from there. My longest lens is a 200-400. Yes, a better one (1200) is on my wishlist!

Later, after observing other hawks down the road, he came back around. My strategy to stay behind the car door worked pretty well, as he didn't scare off so quickly. Not bad for my first time out trying to capture him.

coming in for another landing

The backside of Henry

Henry the hawk (red-tail-pretty sure anyway)

Two red-tail hawks

the hawk on the right

the hawk on the left

so beautiful

 The above hawks keep their distance from our neighborhood.

We have a hawk (Coopers or Sharp-shinned...probably a Coopers hawk, as he is larger) and a falcon that regularly visit our backyard to look for "lunch." I am almost always trying to keep my camera ready for them, but it is not easy. They like to do the hunting and not be 'the hunted.'

We are planning another outing soon!

Javamom

Mrs. Finch

Here is the female finch that I was writing about. See how she has pin feathers sticking out from her eye?

She also has a tumor or two above her left eye. I wonder what happened. She has been around the cottage for months, now, but I also wonder how long she will last, and if she can see out of her left eye. We have a lot of hawks in the area (which may not even bother with her, because she is so small) and American Kestrels (which do like small prey).

Another view of the feathers poking out of her eye.

She decides to try and wash them out ~

Poor girl, trying so hard to wash the irritants out of her eye, or so it seems.

Because here, she seems so weary and tired. The eye malady has burdened her for months that I've noticed her.

More to come, if we see here again. The temps dropped and I have not spotted her at the feeders for a couple of days :-(.

Javamom

Finches

Finches are extremely fun to watch. This is the best, unplugged show in town, which may actually make it the best show in town.

Goldfinch is scoping out the situation down below to see if there's anything good to eat or drink.

The 'birdie dive' to get to drop quickly. Forget swooping about. This means business, and quick!

See how much smaller the American goldfinch is than the house finch?

 One of our sets of regular house finch couples. It's as if they see me and ask "what are you doing?"
The female is the brown, streaked on the left and the male is the pretty one on the right. I will share my confusion over the different types of "red finches" for the longest time. Why they don't just call them red is beyond me. The purple finch is a more brilliant and rich red, with hints of magenta or maroon, but he is definitely not purple, in my humble opinion! ;-)

The finch dance that I get to see almost every day. I wish my focus had been better. There is the goal for next time. :-)

 Coming in for a landing with the others. They are sociable creatures and love to stick together in groups. One of my bird books says they can move into a yard by the dozens or HUNDREDS. Imagine that! That's a lot of birdseed.

They don't just eat from  tube thistle feeders or sock feeders. These are eating black oil sunflower seed from a flat surface. When I was a newbie birder several years ago, I thought I must have a tube thistle feeder in order to attract finches, especially gold finches. I was so wrong! I finally gave up on those, just figuring we'd never have a whole bunch of finches. Again, I was wrong. They came later, and seemed to prefer our regular feeders at the cottage. Go figure.


Next time, I will tell you about one of our regular house finch couples. The female has a bit of a health problem.


Until Then!

Javamom

Birding in the new Year

I have decided to turn my blog posts more toward my learning adventure into the habits and care of our backyard birds. I've been photographing our birds for about four years, now, but have simply kept the joy low-key.

Instead of starting a different blog on birding, I am simply going to keep going on this blog. It makes sense...we encourage lifelong and naturally occuring learning (outside of typical "school" hours, even) here at the cottage.

I am a few days behind in my new goal, but I will try to post something new or something that I've learned several times a week.

What I've learned recently is that it may be more important to provide water sources (and not just one) for the birds, especially in drought conditions. Even though winter is here, we (I) tend to notice the drought conditions less (unless our livelihood depends on rain).

Robins have shown up in droves these past four or five days of the new year. Perhaps our water sources have something to do with it!

 Lining up for water :-)

All finished for now!


Javamom

Last Day of 2011

Is this New Year's Eve?? It's 73 degrees outside, and sunny!
Oh, and the birds are very active!

Happy New Year's Eve, my friends :-)


Javamom

One of my hobbies...

As we move through December, I noticed how behind I have gotten on my blog. Blame it on teaching a couple more classes than I have in a couple of years, or on the fact that Facebook has become my one-stop info source.

It has been a busy Autumn, with two weddings in the family, one of which I photoraphed in its entirety. THAT was a good time :-).

On to my hobby: observing birds through a camera lens. I've been doing this for two-three years now, and I have learned so many little things.

We've seen new visitors to the feeders in the last few days, like these American Goldfinches. These are the most we've had at once...they seem to have descended upon us like never before, and it is exciting! I love nature study and have come to love birding in a way that I never imagined.






So in between Spanish class prep and grading, crafting, a little shopping, and prepping for Christmas, this is what keeps me busy.

What critters are you noticing in your neck of the woods?


Javamom

Our only student left! AJ's schedule

Our last child, DS AJ, is a junior and we are basically doing most of HEO year 10 . I have taught a course in American Lit a couple of times now, with my own kids and a few other hs students along for good discussion. That tends to steal from the typical HEO recommendations and rotations from both years 10 and 11. We have to adjust for that, but I have made adjustment to AmblesideOnline ever since we first began it back in the late 90's.

We are looking into purchasing "The Lost Tools of Writing" to help our last child with writing. I'll let you know how that turns out. We may yet keep things simple for him, or we may decide to dive right in to better, deeper methods on a simple level, which is what he needs right now.

History Spine for this year:
Our oldest two students, now long-graduated and married, used Paul Johnson's History of the American People. Our now college freshman read through the Clarence B. Carson set, A History of the United States, for his American History Spine. So, we are trying Churchill with our youngest. He is a junior, but we have rearranged his history for several reasons, one being the American Lit. class issue that I've already mentioned.

Literature:
We did American Lit last year. Hubby teaches American Lit, so I love to present that subject in chronological order, different from HEO, so that I can have Hubby's input and discussion in our classes, as well.

We saved Moby Dick for this year, didn't require it of him in American Lit last year. His big brother read it, but he was ready for it, AJ was not at the time. Hubby also wants him to read Great Gatsby, which is scheduled in Yr. 11 of HEO.


Our main Shakespeare play for the year is "As You Like It" but Hubby wants us to add one more to the rotation. Maybe it will be Hamlet, and we can use Peter Leithart's study book, _Brightest Heaven of Invention_.

DS will keep reading through _The History of English Lit for boys and girls_. This is one of his favorite books of all the AO/HEO recommendations.

Writing:
Zinsser "On Writing" or may get "Lost Tools of Writing" and go deep to see what he is capable of, since AJ grasped things later than our other students/children.


Citizenship:
DS will also be reading "Ourselves" by Charlotte Mason to cover citezenship, along with One Blood by Ken Ham and Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin

Geography:
Pinpoint places about which we read on a map
also may read Eothen (a travel journal)
We have maps which we bought in New England when we visited there. We will point things out from this year as we come across them, such as Winslow Homer's home(s), Nathaniel Hawhtorne's home, Louisa May Alcott's home(s), Emerson's Home, etc.


Government/economics:
The Law (1848) by Frederic Bastiat


Foreign Language:
DS has studied two years of Spanish, but I'd like to draw him into more conversation and stories. He is still a resistant, reluctant student with learning/processing issues, so I have to present enriching ideas for him to grasp hold and take off. That is difficult to stay the course with this one. I lose heart far too often.


Worldviews:
We'll watch the video series "How Should We Then Live" by Francis Schaeffer to help ease the reading burden on ds. I am also planning on reading _Seven Men Who Rule the World from the Grave_ along with him and disussing.

We may read Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde. Not sure if we should add two more books to his reading schedule. Will see how things go. All our other kids read these, plus _The Deadliest Monster_ by Jeff Baldwin, a sort of study guide, but an essay in and of itself for the aforementioned books. Our oldest two read this when they were in year 8 and year 10, respectively.


Essays:
I love the Emerson Essays. We have already read some in American Lit last year. I will have AJ read more, including the LONGER Nature essay. There are two Nature essays. I think HEO still scheduled the very short essay. The longer one is much, much better, IMHO, and in my teacher-Hubby's opinion. He has taught American Lit for 20 years. The American Scholar is phenomenal, and one which we read last year. Oldest kids read it, as well. So I'll have AJ read "Art" this year, since we didn't cover that one last year.

We are going to add a few books by Wendell Berry, as he seems to be a modern-day, Christian Thoreau in whom my husband and I are becoming very, very interested. Hubby is not your typical Christian, evangelical hs dad. He is not a replublican! (lol) and I am more of a tea party person, myself...though I still hesitate to identify with them, because the Tea Party encompasses a broad spectrum of folks and ideologies.


Math:
Consumer Math (we suspect dysgraphia with this student, so we don't expect any miracles toward Algebra I or II and beyond...that is also a real problem I have, so have swapped the teaching of Maths--with other families, Moms--for Spanish teaching {which I *love* and am good at, if I do say so myself, lol!} in years past with all our other, older three kids, all now graduated).

Budgeting and books by Larry Burkett, Ron (I think) Paris, others


Logic:
I hope to work on _How to Read a Book_ with AJ. He has not read any of this, yet, unlike our older kids, who read this much earlier in their schooling.


Health:
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (probably the DVD instead of the book for this particular student)
The Gift of Pain by the same author

Science:
Six Easy Pieces by Richard P. Feynmen
Bio on Albert Einstein, and DVD documentaries

Nature Study:
We've already read _Walden_ and been to Walden Pond, so we will read some John Muir
and work on nature photography, probably study Ansel Adams again. AJ was too young last time we studied him.

The following are not this year's AO/HEO recommendations completely, because we are studying these with a few others, as well as at home.

Poetry:
We've already been working on Billy Collins and just started William Wordsworth. To these, I will add Emily dickinson and John Greenleaf Whittier for the year


Artist/Picture Study:
An in-depth look at Winslow Homer
Norman Rockwell,
and Vincent Van Gogh


Drawing/Art:
Artistic Pursuits
The Arts by Hendrick Van Loon


Composer Study:
Chopin this term
The Russian composers next term

Music History:
300 Years of Interaction in Western Music, Arts, History, and Culture by Professor Carol


Hymn Signing:
Yes! and Tonic Solfa study, as well
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind by John Greenleaf Whittier (just one of several)


Recitations and Copywork:
sections/speeches from Shakespeare
poems that we are studying this year
Bible verses in English and Spanish


Folk Songs this term:
Aiken Drum
Carick Fergus
De Colores


Plays:
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (we will watch it, instead of reading it)
a second Shakespeare (haven't decided which one yet)


Free Reading:
The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne (We have the added bonus of having visited Hawthorne's hometown, his home in Concord, and Seven Gables, so this may help!)
Little Men (AJ never read it earlier in AO b/c he didn't fully learn to read until he was older, now he reads quite well, but it is not his favorite thing to do)
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
P.G. Wodehouse stories (may simply watch some)
G. K. Chesterton
and MAYBE a Sir Walter Scott novel.


And of course, we will be working on basic life skills, such as changing tires, changing oil, building simple things, helping with home and car maintainence, cooking, etc. He keeps his room very tidy.



It has taken me long enough to share this, but I just gave the schedule another tweak this week, so it wasn't really ready to share, just yet!

I've also been quite busy prepping other classes, Spanish I and II, Artist/Picture Study, and poetry, just to name a few!


The older I get, the slower I seem to be at posting details, LOL.


How is your schoolyear going, my dear, quiet readers? Let me know!


Javamom

A Night Piece

Hunter's Moon October 2011

A Night Piece

by William Wordsworth

composed 1798, published 1815

--The sky is overcast

With a continuous cloud of texture close,

Heavy and wan, all whitened by the Moon,

Which through that veil is indistinctly seen,

A dull, contracted circle, yielding light

So feebly spread, that not a shadow falls,

Chequering the ground--from rock, plant, tree, or tower

At length a pleasant instantaneous gleam

Startles the pensive traveller while he treads

His lonesome path, with unobserving eye

Bent earthwards; he looks up--the clouds are split

Asunder,--and above his head he sees

The clear Moon, and the glory of the heavens.

There, in a black-blue vault she sails along,

Followed by multitudes of stars, that, small

And sharp, and bright, along the dark abyss

Drive as she drives: how fast they wheel away,

Yet vanish not!--the wind is in the tree,

But they are silent;--still they roll along

Immeasurably distant; and the vault,

Built round by those white clouds, enormous clouds,

Still deepens its unfathomable depth.

At length the Vision closes; and the mind,

Not undisturbed by the delight it feels,

Which slowly settles into peaceful calm,

Is left to muse upon the solemn scene.

Placed by Wordsworth among his "Poems of the Imagination" printed in the "Lyrical Ballads"

September Garden

Our first watermelon!

We were able to keep most of our garden hydrated enough to survive Texas's hottest summer on record. This is one of our watermelons that we noticed this week, growing outside the fencing of our garden!


Here is a quartet of canteloupe that I photographed about a week ago...

It has taken advantage of the extra growing space on the fence around the garden.

Here they are today ~ getting a little more ripe!

Eggplant blossoms!



A couple of canteloupe that I picked this morning.

This one is one of the large ones that have grown this summer. One thing about our 100 degree plus temperatures: canteloupe seem to thrive in it! But so do the weeds, with all our irrigation.

It was too hot for too long for our seven tomato plants to even set blossoms this summer. One of our larger tomato plants completely dried up and died. The rest have struggled to stay alive, but also to make a comeback, but come back, they have! I saw lots of blossoms out there this morning.

Next, I need to concentrate on our pepper plants and give them a good feeding with Howard Garrett's liquid molasses plant concoction. I will shoot some photos of them later.


How does your garden grow? Are any of you planting a fall garden now? I have misplaced most of our seeds whilst getting things organized for the new schoolyear. But I will be replanting more cool-weather greens as soon as I find those seeds!

Javamom

The Names by Billy Collins - In memorium 9 11

The Names
Billy Collins

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han,
Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner --
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.