CASology ~ Sun; CR84FN58 ~ Red, Yellow, Neutral; Pixie's Crafty Snippets Challenge #28

Thursday Tweet,

I say that because there is going to be bird talk later with lots of bird photos.  You know, tweets, like the sound birds make, not the silent texting of inane nonsense.  Oh, was that outloud?

It's a triple header again in my (what some might call inane nonsense) world of card challenges.  Finding Di and her little band of pixie's has made that third link possible.  The only rule is that you use up some of your snippets of paper, ribbon, and whatnot and her challenge "push" has gotten me to do that, which is a very good thing!

I'm entering the first-ever challenge at the brand new blog, CASology, hosted by some of my favorite card makers.  Ever Tuesday we will be given a new "cue card" with one word and off we go.  This week the word is "Sun."

I'm also entering the CR84FN #58 color challenge, thanks to seeing the adorable entry by my friend, Shirley-Bee, who linked the two with her card.  The CR84FN colors of yellow, red, and neutral just happen to work perfectly with the CASology challenge:

I hope you will join in the challenges from these three great sites!!  Here is my card:

I made the sun from a scrap of DSVW designer paper and SU punches:

The Birds

Great-Horned Owl:

First up, a follow-up of my post about the great-horned owl we saw at the 4th of July party.  Shawn sent me a copy of the photo he took:

©Shawn Wagoner

The picture quality isn't that great because it was after sunset, but isn't that cool?!   It was HUGE!  I don't understand how such a giant bird could sit at the tippy-top and not have the tree bend under his weight!   The kite hawks in my neighbor's yard do the same thing.  I should have taken physicians in school, I guess, in order to understand weight versus height.  Not for nothing, however, I do know that my weight is not excessive, it's my height that's undergrown.

Kites:

Here, BTW, is an updated photo of said kite hawks, two of them!

What makes the above photos so noteworthy is that we live in a large Cosmo and Metro Polotinarea, not up in mountains.

 

Hummingbirds:

I don't think I've yet introduced you to our "pet" hummingbird, "Hitler." 

Yes, that's right.  As with most male Anna's Hummingbirds, ours is very territorial.  That is HIS feeder, by gum, and he guards it constantly from a wee leaf just above.  Other little hummers fly in and, zoom, out comes Hitler to ward them off.  It looks like they are going to collide in mid-air at times! 

At other times, but rarely, Hitler will allow a female to have a sip, just to show his romantic side:

Sorry it's blurry.  I got so excited that Hitler was letting her have a drink, I just snapped it before the camera could focus properly.

Finches:

And equally unusual, this morning I quickly snapped a blurry photo of rare yellow finches at the bath:

I think I'll get to see more of these beautiful birdies because my neighbor has hung a fancy squirrel-proof feeder.  They're hardly much bigger than the hummers and such a treat.

I know.  I don't get much done between the birds and the garden.  But I was a good domestic fairy yesterday and everything is whistle-clean, so I'm, well,  free as a bird. 

It's such a pleasure to be semi-retired and "smell the roses," as it were.  We all know we're supposed to do that, and little kids do it naturally, but then life gets in the way.  It's too bad, but if you're fortunate to live long enough, you start to enjoy nature again with childlike wonder.  I know I sound like a really, really old person, but I especially feel bad when I see people walking around ourdoors, or sitting in a park, with their heads down and their eyes pixelated on their phones.  At the park!  Maybe they are looking at Google Images of birds.

Well, aren't I all judgmental this morning?!  I shall go sit in my rocking chair on the deck and be quiet.  Maybe I'll take some flower pictures for tomorrow.  Life is good.  I hope you have a terrific Thursday!

Enjoy!   As always, thank you for stopping by to visit.   Special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower or leave a comment!

Paper:  PTI vintage cream;

  SU poppy parade;

  DCVW background paper

Stamp:  SU Pursuit of Happiness

Ink: SU poppy parade

SU:  circle and swirly (?) punches