Signs of Spring? End of an Era?

February 2 was Groundhog Day. According to legend, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on Groundhog Day and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.

The Huffington Post reported:

"Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow, predicting early spring."

In Canada,

"Wiarton Willie, Canada's leading rodent prognosticator, also predicted an early spring" but

"Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam did see his shadow, so maybe some of us shouldn't put the parkas and winter boots away just yet."

The rabbit above was a bit shy, staying well within cover, and no shadow. But, definitely a shadow here, but this was in January:

We did have some sunshine and then some fog here on Ground Hog Day, so if there were ground hogs they may or may not have seen a shadow. No matter the days are getting longer and there are some signs of spring appearing.

These next pictures have shadows but are no indicator of whether the weather will improve sooner or later, since these lovelies are inside.

These were taken a few weeks ago, but there is still no shortage of activity at the backyard feeders:

But something is disappearing!

You no doubt are familiar with the statement "if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it does it make a noise?"

The penny, the one cent Canadian coin, is disappearing; did it cast a shadow or make a noise as it fell?

CBC News:

"The penny's days are numbered in Canada, as the Royal Canadian Mint has made its final one-cent coin.

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and other government officials took part in a ceremonial coin strike Friday at the mint's coin production facility in Winnipeg, to mark the end of production of the penny.

"The humble one-cent circulation coin was a workhorse of Canadian commerce," Flaherty said, recalling the penny's introduction over 100 years ago. "Unfortunately…over time inflation eroded the purchasing power of the penny and multiplied its manufacturing cost.

The Royal Canadian Mint has stopped distribution of pennies, which means businesses will no longer receive rolls of copper coins from the bank.

And for customers, today marks the first day retailers are encouraged to round to the nearest nickel, though some may still accept pennies.

If it's a cash transaction and the total is $1.01 or $1.02, the retailer will round down. But if it's $1.03 or $1.04, it will be rounded up to the nearest 0.05.

Electronic transactions will not be affected by the disappearance of the penny.

This change has been coming since March 29, 2012, when federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced his government would phase out the penny.

Each penny cost the government 1.6 cents to produce, so Ottawa expects to save $11 million per year. The last Canadian penny was minted May 4, 2012."

The last pennies were minted in 2012, so these are some of them. Google had a picture of a 2013 penny on their web page, I guess they didn't look that up on Google??

From the "Globe and Mail" newspaper:

"Why is the penny being phased out?

Fifteen Canadians complained last year that having a lot of pennies was tearing their pants pockets. That’s pretty much it. Oh, and our penny-making machine is broken.

Where can I bring my pennies for redemption?

Six hundred penny-redemption hangars have been erected at strategic locations across Canada. Please seal each unwanted penny in a labelled envelope and take a number. We’ll be right with you."

Hey,  this is serious stuff!

Does this mean the end of penny candy; oh wait that's been gone for a long time.

What happens to sayings like "a penny for your thoughts", "penny wise and pound foolish" and "a penny saved is a penny earned".

What will penny pinchers pinch now?

Will "Penny" be told to change her name?

What do we put in "penny loafers" now?

These questions are weighing on my mind, I think I'll hang on to the rest of my pennies for a while yet.

I was busy setting up my art show at Pane E Formaggio this week so didn't really get anything finished. I'll have something for next week.

Thanks for dropping by, happy Whimsy Wednesday, until next time .....................

Christmas Wishes

Well as you read this Christmas Day is past but I wanted to wish you a happy belated Christmas.

A bit of a hectic one here, but followed by a quiet week I hope.

Our Boxing Day tradition is to relax, we don't go out, we don't shop, we don't invite anyone in, we don't answer the phone, you get the idea........... I like to hang out in my pajamas for at least half the day...... reading, doing a favorite crossword and then starting a jigsaw puzzle. Mind in neutral........

I wanted to share a few pictures taken on Christmas Day, these ones taken of the outside activity.

There is a tradition of feeding the wild birds on Christmas day which I believe originated in Scandinavia. I like to feed the birds, especially in the winter, but bought a few extra treats this year.

A bag of peanuts in the shell is a favorite of Jays, so when the peanuts disappeared I thought maybe they were responsible. Apparently not:

Sizing them up

Sneaking in for the grab

Got one

Well maybe one more

I wonder, three, no maybe not

Missed that, well here's an encore:

Action shots.

And here's the athletic rascal with a taste for nuts, but he likes them from the feeder.

Finally who I expected. Here are the Bushtits enjoying the fruit/nut suet I put out.

Males have dark eyes, females golden eyes.

Thank you for stopping by, Happy Whimsy Wednesday and Happy Boxing Day (however you spend it).

Until next week......................

Little Friends

Male Bushtit

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song." Chinese Proverb



Female Bushtit


I recently put up some bird feeders outside my studio window. The Bushtits were the first to discover this new bounty, (I have feeders in other locations in the garden) and entertained me as I was working, with their jumping around and tweeting.

The Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) is a long tailed tit, and is the smallest of the passerines in North America. It is about 11 cm in length and weighs just over 5 grams.  Bushtits are a rather dull gray brown colour, with a large head and short stubby bill, short neck and long tail. The male has dark eyes and the adult female has yellow eyes.

They fly around in groups of 2 to 3 dozen (or more) and feed on insects and spiders but also eat the suet, seeds and nuts in my feeders. The flocks are quite comical to watch, they have an odd jumpy pattern of flying, when they are feeding in a tree or feeder they hop about in every direction. They constantly call out to to each other with a short "tsit" call.

I was watching as they went and grabbed nuts from the feeder in their beaks, flew to a perch and transferred the nut to their foot to eat it.

A female with piece of peanut

 



Male Bushtit (top) with dark eyes on the suet block



They crowd onto the suet feeder, I sometimes think they look like a pincushion with their tails sticking out in every direction.

The Bushtits share the feeder with Chickadees, Sparrows, Towhees, Juncos, Goldfinches, Starlings, Downy Woodpeckers and Red Shafted Flickers. The Crows and Squirrels (black and gray) also come by for a meal.

Staying with the bird theme here are some pictures of an albino hummingbird. I did not take them they were taken by Marlin Shank (but they were so beautiful I wanted to share them with you):

Fifteen-year-old photographer Marlin Shank was fortunate enough to capture 
several images of a rare albino ruby-throated hummingbird while in a park in 
Staunton , Va

You can click on any of the photographs to enlarge them, if you do so for the last one you will be able to see the ring of feathers surrounding the eye. They are amazing birds.

It has been a busy week for me and my sisters. My Mum is finally ready to leave hospital later this week after a fall causing a compression fracture in her lower back; she now needs more care than before so we have been struggling to find a safe but welcoming environment for her but one that offers her the support she now needs. I have my fingers crossed that we have found somewhere with a good balance.


One last bird shot in honour of Valentine's Day: a pair of Parrots happily sharing each others company.

"Birds on the Wires":

 Thank you for dropping by and Happy Whimsy Wednesday. Until next week......