That’s enough of those storage problems – my old IPad had 16 GB – my new IPad has 4 times that amount. Yippity Do Da!
And now for a trip to Lime Creek Nature Center.
It was bitterly cold yesterday but we were quite sure the building was open and it was. We asked the gentleman there if the thrush had been around and he assured us it was. He was the one who discovered the thrush a week ago and looked hard into various bird books to identify it. And the rest as they say is history.
Jo – if you’re reading this I wanted you to know we weren’t too discouraged to try again. And it was worth the wait! All I had was my IPhone so these pictures are not professional quality but our readers can see the bird and maybe recognize it if they see one themselves some day.
The gentleman said in the sunlight the bird simply glowed but it was a cloudy day yesterday.
The thrush has gotten accustomed to the feeders and the squirrels- last week it was very timid.
I have to give credit to my friend Ginny who told me about this bird sighting and Reed and I tried all week to get there. It was worth two trips!
There were multiple cardinals at the feeders at all times. This female posed for me.
We spent some time looking around the nature center. There were live snakes and turtles as well as the honeybee display case.
The wooden case on the wall is shown here opened up to view the honeybees.
The classroom has many nature books that can be checked out. There were also many display cases of taxidermy models. I have to admit taxidermy sort of bothers me.
The vaulted ceiling is home to many birds in flight and in nests and this is not a good picture but you’ll get the idea.
On our way home we celebrated our awesome afternoon with double dips in a waffle cone. Reed had anniversary cake and I had cow tippin’. So delicious! And as someone said, it’s never too cold for really good ice cream!
I’m working hard on Bonnie’s mystery four patches. They’re all sewn but now I have almost 300 of them to press – I only needed 240 but I got carried away. Haha!
Look at this box full of pressing ahead of me!
Here’s Hazel sitting on the edge of the pump organ stool staring at the drawer that has the balls in it and I’m trying to ignore her.
One last photo in the basement – this begonia is just beautiful right now.
Okay – I’ve experimented with photos and text and everything seems to be working on my end. One question – these pictures are sized differently – are they too big?
It’s almost the end of November and we have not met our goal this month on ad clicks – we would appreciate any help from any of you. You all thank me for writing this blog and by now I think I’d be lost without you girls so now with a new IPAD I’m good to go for quite awhile.
One more thing! This new IPad has a pencil so I can draw quilt blocks for you. In the past I’ve had to draw them and then take a picture of the drawing and then download the picture. Whoa! This will be so cool when I figure it out! I know you’ll love it, too.
Goodnight, Dear Readers! It’s been quite a day. Oh, I ordered new glasses, too! I can’t wait to throw away these glasses hanging around my neck!
I have 266 of Bonnies 4 patches made. They aren’t pressed yet.
Love the pictures of the Thrush, how exciting to see it in person. I did my bit and clicked some adds, I really enjoy reading your posts and appreciate the blog. ice cream is good any day, just saying 🙂
Congrats the iPad is working great! Does it need a Name? 😂 I think the pictures are a great size. I’m reading on my iPad so they aren’t too big at all. I’ve clicked all the ads on today and I’ll go back and click on some more from previous posts (maybe readers don’t realize they can do that).
I don’t have a dog, but I clicked on all of the dog ads including one for a fish tank and two for dog DNA. Who knew?
The Thrush is really neat. Fun day for you and Reed.
I get it about the taxidermy, but I think there are some species we’d never see if they weren’t stuffed. Our son found a dead owl and the Biology teacher stuffed it and used it at school.
Pictures are perfect, I’ve never seen the ads before and now Ithere they are!
Oops…did you forget no numbers were to be mentioned concerning the MQ??? Mary Ann forgot too! So glad you finally got to see the thrush – beautiful markings!! I was looking forward to seeing what cow tippin’ ice cream looked like!
Susan the farm quilter – I assumed numbers meant measurements and cutting directions – did I misunderstand?
Cool stuff and I like the bigger pictures
The Thrush is gorgeous. I don’t think we get them down here (Arkansas Ozarks), but we have year-round Cardinals. The taxidermy animals that bother me the most are the big cats (bob-cats, lynx, etc. ). They look better alive!
I clicked an ad that had a sweatshirt saying “Sorry I’m late, I didn’t want to come.” I can’t imagine wearing that one, even though I feel that way sometimes!
I have 12 completed 4-patches done, looking cute on my design wall.
I’m SO glad you got to see it and get some pictures! Yeah!! I’m kind of glad the center wasn’t open when I was there, because I am terrified of snakes! 😳 And as a Dairy Queen owner, it’s NEVER too cold for ice cream! 😊.
Jo Thedens – reed loved the center so much he wants us to volunteer to be “sitters” – ha! Maybe next summer. You had to look very hard to see the live snakes in the cage. I have looked at the websites you mentioned and I have not seen your thrush photo – can you direct me? The Dairy Queen in Clear Lake closed last year and I was devastated – ha!
Glad you got a new I pad. You don’t want to wear out your thumbs. I had never heard of that thrush so looked it up in the bird book. My, that is a very striking bird. Worth the wait.
Are you getting the half glass readers? Mine are made so each eye is near sighted. I can thread a needle in the blink of an eye!!
Winter is here. Such is life. We just put on more clothes and do what we have to do. Guess that is what happens when we have lived our whole life in this climate. Had to laugh this morning when I saw a man with 2 dogs in the park. The dogs were having a ball jumping, chasing and rolling all over in the snow. They were having so much fun. We do feel bad for the travelers who are stuck in airports which would be better than a ditch?
Betty Klosterman – since I am so accustomed to typing with my thumbs I did not get an extra keyboard. This screen is twice as big however and I’ll need to get used to stretching those thumbs!
I will have to look for that bird, love the breast colors. We see a lot of Cardinals, love them at the bird feeder. Can’t look at snakes, so the taxidermy would have to be where I would learn more.
Ice cream looks good, Reed picked a great flavor.
Wow, nice to have technology that works like you want it to. Pictures are great – what a sighting to see the Thrush and what a great day you had. Or then again it was a couple of days!! Love seeing Hazel again – hope she got to play with a ball or two! I am not seeing any ads on your blog – could it just be my computer?
Kathy Hanson – do you read from our home page or email? Also you might have an ad blocker installed – I understand!
Thank you for sharing the pictures of the beautiful thrush. It is a beautiful bird hope to see one in Virginia.Love the size of the pictures. I am not following Bonnie’s quilt as I have to make a baby quilt. Love your colors. Carolyn b
FYI to everyone: we all see different ads. They are marketed directly to you as an individual!!! A little creepy, yes! But that’s the world we live in now! I went Christmas shopping tonight and all my ads were from the same 2 stores!! Yes, I clicked them!! Live your blog! Pics are perfect! Thank you!!
ugh… that would be “Love”, not “Live” haha
Patricia Campbell- thanks so much! Yes, our world has changed a lot!
Congrats on your new I Pad. Sounds like a great one. Hope the blog will go much easier for you now. Either size photo is great, although the smaller ones fit in my screen the best without scrolling.
Our pets sure can tell us what they want without words. Did you play ball? I bet you did. HaHa
Hey Mary, how do bees communicate? They use “cell phones!”🤔😂😂 actually, I think they dance.
Aren’t iPads magic! I love mine.
Great pictures, great place to visit, the bird is beautiful.
Our PBS station had a special on falcons this week, incredible birds.
Reed and Miss Hazel Jane, they keep you on your toes. I have a drawer with dog treats, it has nose art all over it.
One more thing, bumble bees don’t make hives. So where do they go at night?
Jo in WY – I don’t know where bumblebees go at night – maybe a reader knows – any comments on this question? Yes, the center is wonderful and Reed and I might volunteer to be “sitters” on a Sunday next summer. I will look into that.
Love the new photos. I read quilty blogs on my iPad so I can appreciate the photos, and the supermarket etc ones are adequate on my phone.
I’ve been missing some of the ads to click because they aren’t intrusive, which I appreciate- on some blogs they are huge, and I lose a lot of text, or they cover part of the photos! Those are really annoying! I will remember to click your tidy little ads 🙂
Pauline – if you ever begin to see pop-up ads I want to know about it! Thanks for your support! It is so appreciated!
I like the size of the photos. The honeybees would have made me nervous, not a fan of bees, but I appreciate what they do for us in nature. I also wanted to say that a good share of the time I don’t get the adds in your blogs. Didn’t get any on today’s blog. In any case, I appreciate your blog and enjoy reading it.
Janelle Boucher – you might have an ad blocker so I understand. The honeybees sorta made me nervous, too – all wiggling around inside that case but Reed loved them!
the pictures are a nice size for viewing they are not too large. I have been clicking away on ads all weekend while waiting for updates I found that I could go back to older posts and there were ads so I just clicked away. Then when ever I had a few spare minutes did it again.
That begonia is gorgeous as is the thrush.
I wonder if it will stay the winter or if it has paused on it’s migratory journey.
Rita Mulvey – climate change has possibly confused the bird and hopefully it will stay all winter. We all wish there was a pair here!
Mary,
The photos are perfectly wonderful, and I only have a phone (It’s my computer!) to view them. How nice to get a new iPad for yourself! You deserve it.
Is there a pair of the rare thrush? Will it stay all winter?
Thank you so much for sharing your life with us.
-Jean💟
Jean – the gentleman did not think there was a pair but hoped the thrush might stay all winter since we are now deep into cold weather. Reed and I would like to go back and see him again!
pics are great! Thanks for the Varied Thrush education! Congrats on your new iPad. Oh and I liked the comment about cold knees.
Best, Gail in Toronto
Love the new pictures..and the birds beautiful. Glad all the computer issues are fixed.
Always enjoy seeing your pics. The pics looks good from here. Reeds ice cream looks sooo good. I’m hoping to get an eggnog shake soon. I Thankyou you again for taking the time out of your busy day and posting ………….
Have spent the morning looking up Thrushes in our bird books and having a cup of tea. So many other things I could/should be doing but I’ve reached the age (72) that I give myself permission to do what I want most of the time! As a friend told me, if we don’t start doing this stuff now, when do we think we will? We have Wood Thrushes here in Maryland. This Varied Thrush is quite unusual for Iowa according to every bird book I own. It’s range is typically from Alaska, along the western part of Canada and down into California. Does make a person wonder how he ended up in northern Iowa? Will he find his way back? How lucky for you and Reed to get to see it! The gentleman at Lime Creek Nature Center was very observant to spot it! Very nice nature center too.
Diane in Worton, MD – he is not really supposed to be in Iowa but I wonder if it’s climate change that has affected his flight path. I loved seeing him but hope he finds his “people “ eventually. The gentleman suggested he might be here for the winter so we might be able to see him again. And you’re right – we are on the downhill slide – better do these things now!
Pictures are a really great size for me to see on the iPad. I love reading quilt related blogs and agree with the above comment Pauline stated about you not having intrusive ads. I stop reading blogs when they are filled with ads covering text as I begin reading, I understand they pay for their blogs but unfortunately I am there to read about their quilt adventures and so if the ads become too difficult for me to navigate thru their post, I stop reading them and they have lost me. That’s why your ads are a really easy way to support your blog for us readers as well as I see your pictures and text perfectly. Thanks again Mary! Now go give Hazel what she is patiently waiting for….gotta love her persistence.
Kathy in western NY – I really hate pop-up ads myself and when my reading is compromised I tend to move on to something else.
Congratulations on the new IPad, Mary. A new one is on my wish list as mine tells me all the time that my memory is low. The size of your pictures are good. Also, there were more ads showing up to click on in this post.
Mary, I think it’s time for me to upgrade to a new IPad. Loved the great photos you posted. It’s still dark outside so I can’t see if we got more snow during the night. It’s on the way, tho.
I had my share of 4 patches and nine patches in Temecula’s Secret Santa sew along. I kept them in the same type of trimmed down box as you show! I’m going to check Bonnie’s Mystery today.
Know you will enjoy your new glasses. I clicked on a few ads.
Launa – we have no snow but very cold temps. Can’t wait to get my new glasses! Hugs to Pepper!
Pepper got a trim at the groomers because she dives into the snow and pretty soon she has good size snowballs hanging in her Border Collie fur. We have to get them thawed out by hand. She now has a darling Yorkie Terrier puppy living with us. What a pair!
It’s been snowing over an hour now…pretty good size flakes.
Launa – are they good friends, Pepper and the terrier?
Clicking away,hope it helps
I so enjoy your blog : )
Elizabeth a hinze – thank you for your support!
I love birds and so does Harry S. Truman. He spends hours watching them! Thanks for sharing the thrush. I bet that was truly thrilling. Love the red and cream four patches. Keep warm.
MartyCae – seeing the bird was thrilling – more so than I had expected.
Ok. what is cow tippen’ flavor ice cream?
be – cow tippin’ is vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered caramels. Now I have to ask you what be stands for.
Elizabeth, thank you.
Yes, I’m a Cick-on!
Congratulations on the new IPad. I hope it makes life easier.
Your pictures are great. Give Hazel an ear scratch from me!
Three youngest Grands will be here soon for a house decorating party and oldest Grand is coming tomorrow for truffle making.
Cheryl – truffle making? Is it hard?
The size of the photos is nice,but I think if they are smaller it is easier to send them, not so much memory being used or pixels or. .? I’ m not tech savvy but I am sure someone can explain it from this group. Love your stories,info,and animals.Thank you for your time on this blog!
Only saw two ads, leaf guard and wine. I wonder if I’m looking at the right place.
The thrush is neat, wonder if they are out here in Penna.
I think I’m going to have to get a new system too. I have been clicking to get rid of the “ads” and it takes me to a different page that wants to know why I’m clicking “off.” Feel sure it has to do with my “ancient” computer. But I’ll keep trying because I love your site. That bird WAS worth waiting to see. Thank you, vickied
I am SO impressed that you do all this typing on an iPad! I have a terrible time typing on my tablet–it changes my words, even when they’re properly spelled and I have to be so careful to read it all again or I sent such a garbled message, it’s embarrassing. It frustrates the heck out of me. So there I am, frustrated and heckless. I so enjoy your posts and pictures–thank you for sharing life in Iowa with us.
Congratulations on your bird sighting! Way to persevere!
Your photos of your latest sewing projects always inspire me to get into my sewing room and get at it. Thanks for the boost!
Your pictures are beautiful and I don’t think they’re too big! You sure have a green thumb! I don’t. I have a whopping 2 plants in my house. But I must say, I’ve had them a long time. Have gotten quite large from little sprouts. Maybe I have half a green thumb…lol!
The pictures are perfect and I’m so glad you upgraded! Tell you a little secret…I love 💕 this blog and sometimes I save them to read when I need a little pick me up! They always bring me joy! THANK YOU SO MUCH👏👏👏👏
Step Breslin – Oh, Steph, I am just tickled that you wrote – honestly some days I think it’s just a lot of blabber… but then so was the Goat Gazette – haha! I never want this blog to be a downer, I’ll never discuss politics and will always defend animals – guess that’s my mission statement.
Hi Mary, Been doing my share of clicking!! Keep on with you “blabber”. We like it.
Margaret – Thank You! We met our goal!
I am just having to say good-bye to my 15 year old Jack Russell – HINT the only place to hide balls from them is in the freezer! Try it
Kathie Richards – funny you should mention hiding balls in the freezer – we have a freezer drawer on the bottom and I’ve been known to throw a ball in there when I’m desperate – haha! Did you have to put your JRT down or did he die. 15 years is amazing!
I just love love what you tell us!!! Paula in ky
Pictures are great!! The thrush is a beautiful bird. Thanks SO much for all you do!!