Just a quick shot of the feeder… which I have neglected to show for a while.
Mr. Ruby Throated Hummingbird is coming in for a rest on the top of the feeder pole.
Finding a new view…
Mr. Oriole is waiting to get at the grape jelly and orange slices.
Meanwhile, the Missus is tucking in.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
on ROME 24/4– Day 34 (-7): The burial place of… PLATO?!?: “My baptismal anniversary. I’m mostly Scottish/Irish Catholic, birthed and educated by the Mercy Sisters during the height of the Troubles.…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 35 (-6): adventures in symmetry: “Father, it was perfect symmetry for two people. One cup handle facing one way and the other the other way.”
on ROME 24/4– Day 35 (-6): adventures in symmetry: “From a reader: “What are in the frames between the vestments?” Those are the priest’s vesting prayers. I’ll show more…”
on WDTPRS: 4th Sunday of Easter (Novus Ordo) – Mighty humble Shepherd, humble mighty flock: “Fr Z you are an inspiration in your knowledge about and love for the things of God and the church.…” on ROME 24/4– Day 32 (-9): Happy Birthday Rome!: “Holy cow that pasta. I wish we had smell-o-vision and taste-o-vision.”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “The German grind continues. It is in their nature.”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “Scary about the women. What I mean is this: it would be disheartening enough just to find out that a…” on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “I wonder what’s going on with these women. Don’t they know that the greatest example of womanhood is Our Blessed…”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “Fr.Z sez: It is really sad that some people still push this rock up the hill. Reminds one of Sisyphus,…”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “Alas, those men pushing for ordaining women. STILL trying to get women to do all the work. My mother warned…”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “Dear Dcn PB, I don’t see how the reality can be described differently than by saying that the one sacrament…”
on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “Most people, whether pro or con, misunderstand the history and practice of the female diaconate. The deaconess was a separate…”
on Your Sunday Sermon Notes: 3rd Sunday after Easter (N.O. 4th of Easter) 2024: “I remember only the joke at the beginning of the homily: Priests get four weeks of vacation per year. Some…”
on “you must not remember your forefathers…” Wherein Fr. Z rants.: “My children at one of the solid Chesterton Academies have been taught science and theology by an amazing young Catholic…” on Three items of interest: a conversion, a connection, and a con job: “What is it that changed about the Catholic Herald? Interesting interview by George Farmer. (If only the faithful could be…”
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A Daily Prayer for Priests
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since Sat., 25 Nov. 2006:
I assume the bears and bushy tails are staying away?
Ahhh, I really love those orioles. We have nothing so… fluorescent (?) over here in Ireland.
Jack: The bears are so far not a problem!
We have eastern blue birds and tree swallows at our church, and today an northern flicker. Orioles here are just passing through. No indigo buntings on the property this year. Four baby bluebirds in the box closest to the rectory. We are raising our own mealworms . . . gross, but it keeps the bluebirds here. We call, “Bluey,” and the bluebirds fly up to the rectory for their worms. They come when we call them by name . . . really. Think there are sparrows in one of our bluebirds boxes . . . time for an eviction.
Fr. Jim: I see an Indigo Bunting only occasionally right now. Last year I had a bunch of them, males and females. This year I have only seen one two males.
You have actually conditioned the Bluebirds to come when you call?
Yes.
We\’ve been buying mealworms by the thousand.
Now we are breeding our own.
Whenever I go out to feed them, I call \”Bluey.\”
I have been moving the blue cup closer to the house, now at the back door. Now, if I call \”Bluey,\” they come right up to the back porch and wait for their succulent treat.
Parish Council did not believe me when I told them, then they saw it and were amazed!
This is not a fabrication.
This is a photo from Fr. Jim, above:
A few years ago a flock of bluebirds alit in our front yard as they were heading south for the winter. I had never before seen a bluebird, so to see a whole flock was an extra special gift. Thank you, God!
Fr Z, do you feel the birds all through the year or only when food may be scarse e.g. winter?
Here is Australia we are encouraged not to feed our birds after winter because they might become dependant on us and loose their natural ability to find food.
Bluebirds are notoriously friendly and readily “tamed.” They love the mealworms so much. We have four bluebird boxes in the four acres behind the church, also a tall perch. Yesterday (Saturday) I went to monitor the boxes and was happy and pleased to see that one box I thought was empty had four babies inside. I held the nest in my hand with the four babies. At first I was concerned, but then read that smell is not a strong sense in the bluebirds, and those who monitor their nexts often come across young. They seemed healthy with no sign of blowfly larvae, which sometimes attach to them. Mealworms can be purchased online for a very low cost, last time I got about 3,000 mealworms for about $40. We only take out about ten or a dozen at a time. It’s not like taking out seed for other birds . . . you put it out and wait. With mealworms, you take them out and the bluebirds APPEAR in seconds!
I didn’t think that hummingbirds would ‘sit’ still long enough to be photographed, or even perch, period! Great pictures as usual, Fr. Z!
The ‘Bluey’ stories are cute, Fr. Jim! Nice picture that you sent to Fr. Z!