BAILEY

Just a note to all my very supportive blogging friends to let you know that the sad saga of Bailey is over.

It is a sad day, but it had to be. It was all over in less than an hour from when I woke him from his bed in the sunshine of the patio window, to his demise. It would have been so much worse for him to be caged for 5 days in the off chance that someone would take him -- and who knows, maybe brought back again because of his problem.  This was the most peaceful way for him.

I may not be blogging again until next week as I am going to see my son.  I will miss you all.  But I will be back.

O is for....

O is for ORNITHOLOGIST

I have been watching birds in my back yard for about 10 years now.  I keep track of the different varieties as they appear.  I have seen 25 varieties over the years and am always on the lookout for new ones. GOLDFINCHES are always favorites.  In the first photo they were waiting for us to go inside so they could get back on to their feeder.  We mostly have the lesser goldfinch which is not as pretty as the true American Goldfinch -- not as much color. 

These two below are the common house finch and the white crowned sparrow. LOTS of these around  We have counted as many as 20 at any one time -- all looking for seed from the feeder.

                                                                                                                

We have at least three different humming birds that visit. The first one is the Anna's hummingbird which is quite prevalent in Southern California . I think the next one is the black chinned, but I'm not sure and the one below that is the rufous. He does not stay all year round.

This bird is a new comer this year.  It is the black-headed grosbeak.  My friend Brenda took this wonderful photo in her yard.  He also came to visit us too but I couldn't get a good photo before he flew away.

This is the common yellow throat.  I call him Zorro because of his black mask  He is often around when the house finches and house sparrows are nearby, but doesn't mix with them.

The California Towhee is quite different from the eastern towhee.  Ours is less colorful and has a brown speckled patch on his throat and a brown patch on his rump.

The Scrub Jay is a beautiful blue but has a harsh shriek to announce his presence.  He is also very common around here.

Everybody knows a crow, but I posted this picture because this one was so cheeky he came so close and started pecking at stuff I was looking at on the patio,  so I was able to get a really good photo.  But in the end I went inside because I think he was after my glasses.

The red tailed hawk is always around but does not visit our yard as much as...

...the Coopers hawk who comes at least once a day, causing quite an uproar among the little birds and frequently catches one as they fly away.  He comes as close as several feet to the house perching on a low fence or on the feeder.

Feeding time !

Waiting for us to go inside.

Some of these photos are better than others, partly because I have become better at taking them and partly because I got a new camera for Christmas.

If you want to see really good bird photographs visit Abe Lincoln's Bird Blog 

Latest Art Work

Thank you all for your encouraging and empathetic words regarding Bailey.  They are so appreciated.  Nothing has changed thus far.

Meanwhile I have been giving much concentration to my art this past weekend.  The concentration keeps my mind occupied.

This first piece is my copy of a beautiful painting called:

"The Young Shepherdess" by William -Adolphe Bouguereau  (1885). 

Below it I have posted the original.  His girl is so much more beautiful than mine.  I need much more practice doing faces.

It is 6 x 3 1/2 inches done in watercolors on watercolor paper.

 This is Bouguereau's original. 2 1/2 x 6 inches.  Done in oils.

This is my combined composition of two photographs I took at the Leo Carrillo Ranch a week or so ago.  Done in watercolors and pen and ink, on water color paper.  A little too heavy on the ink around the pots, I think  My very fine ink pen (0.03) ran out of ink.  I should have waited until I went to the art store for another one.

SEE YOU AT ABC WEDNESDAY

http://abcwednesdayround3.blogspot.com

DO I DARE POST THIS?

Click to enlarge to read this.

After much heart-rending, we are down to our final week with Bailey.  I am desperate.  We have had him seven years and have had to replace carpet in two rooms three times. We are now retired and living on social security. We just cannot do it again.

He needs a home with tiled floors.  As much as I love this cat -- and he is beautiful in every other way -- we are at a dead end.  He only urinates on the carpet if other cats come past the patio windows and it may be weeks between times.  It is a behavioral problem, not medical. But we are now in the position where we cannot even invite friends to the house.  I have tried all the rescue places, but who wants a ten year old cat who urinates inappropriately especially when kitten season is here?  Believe me we have tried everything else.

Please don't lecture me about keeping him.  It is hard enough to make the final decision, and I know there are people out there with very strong opinions on this topic.  So this is a last ditch effort and to ask you to pray for us as we make the decision.  The Lord loves animals, as do I.

WEDNESDAY'S WORDS

Today in my Bible Study we were discussing some things that King Hezekiah said and did.  People often wonder what relevance the Old Testament has for us today.  In 2Chronicles30, Hezekiah gathers all his people together to celebrate the first passover of his reign, in the newly cleansed and refurbished temple.Worshiping God and taking part in the daily ceremonies of the temple had been given up for years because the previous king, Ahaz, wasn't in any way interested in doing what God wanted him to do.  And the people followed Ahaz's example. 

But Hezekiah was a whole different kind of person. He put everything back to the way God had told Moses centuries before.  Then at one point he prays for all the people and says "May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone."   -- that is for everyone who wanted it!  (2 Chron. 30:18 and 19)  Then a few verses later we find Hezekiah giving "encouragement to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the Lord".  2Chron. 30:23. In all his reign, Hezekiah wanted the people to know the good knowledge of the Lord.  

These two acts of Hezekiah are as if they came straight from the New Testament.  God gave Jesus Christ to provide atonement  (forgiveness) for our sins and He sent the Apostles to go out and "teach "the good knowledge of the Lord."   It's no use us trusting in something we know nothing about.  We need to have good knowledge of who God is.  This is partly why Jesus came, because now we know what God is like because Jesus is God.  Jesus also came to bring atonement for us -- that is, for those of us who want it.

I have set my heart to know the good knowledge of the Lord and I have accepted the atonement Jesus Christ has offered me.

N is for,,,

...NORTH LANDING, Flamborough

Sorry, I held out on using Flamborough for as long as possible, but North Landing?... Flamborough IS North Landing.

Here it is in all its different moods:

Tide in, calm seas

Tide in ... look at the color of the water! Beautiful, but cold! Visitors going out in one of the cobles (yes, just one 'b') for a "Trip Round the Caves". If you visit do take this trip -- it is well worth it. You get to go in at least one large cave which can only be reached by boat.

A very different day.  Imagine the fishermen trying to get in to the Landing through breakers like that.
But they often did, sometimes with catastrophic results.  The description below is taken from the Flamborough lifeboat web page:

__________________________________________________________________

Loss of 'Gleaner' and 'Two Brothers' - 5th February 1909

Two local fishing cobles had been out fishing, when the more experienced crews had remained ashore. A severe gale was imminent, but as John Cross needed money to feed his family, he put to sea. By the time they were returning to North Landing the gale was raging. The entrance to North Landing is narrow and with rock platforms (known as 'Scars') at either side force the sea into steep rollers. As the weather gets worse the rollers get wider and eventually seal off the entrance.


The coble 'Two Brothers' was the first to attempt the narrow channel into the landing. On board were George Gibbon, Melchoir Chadwick, and Thomas Leng Major. They negotiated the channel successfully although it was touch and go. As they were half way home the coble 'Gleaner' made her attempt to enter the landing. A particularly large roller struck the boat and capsized her, throwing the crew into the boiling sea. The crew were John Cross and his two sons, Robert Cross and Richard Major Cross.
The crew of the 'Two Brothers', on seeing the stricken boat and crew turned their coble around. They made their way back to the scene, but another wave capsized their boat as well. Both crews and boats met their fate near to a point known locally as West Scar.

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This is an old photo of another ship that ran onto the rocks in the fog. There are numerous wrecks around the headland, including John Paul Jones' ship the 'Bonhomme Richard'.  There are crews diving, looking for its remains right now.

 This is a painting I did back in the 80's looking north from North Landing.

 

This is my copy of an old painting done by an artist whose name we couldn't decipher.


So N is for North Landing, Flamborough 
which is located on the East Coast of  Yorkshire, UK., and is usually marked on maps as Flamborough Head.
 

Swishing Creatures

Peacocks!  Apparently there are 40 -50 of them in the grounds at the ranch.  We could hear them all afternoon.  I must say  it got to be a little irritating after a while and I wondered how the people whose homes were nearby were reacting.  But then I remembered we used to live by an old, loud foghorn on a frequently foggy headland and we didn't even hear it after a while.  And then too, this is mating season and all the birds are at their loudest at this time of the year.                                                                                                     

Got a photo of this one coming... actually, it was a hen -- no fancy tail.

...and this one going.  

They didn't seem to be too shy but once they approached you they would pass on by pretty fast.  Since we were by now on our way out of the ranch, I didn't have much time to set up shots.

 

But look at that beautiful tail!  That was the swishing sound we could hear.
I just finished saying, "I suppose it would be too much to ask that they would spread their tail for us", when whoosh...

 ...not in the best light, but the best I could do.  Then I looked to my left and... woosh! There went another one.

But this one was under the picnic table shade. 

It was closing time for the ranch  and we had our hands full, so maybe we will do better next time.

 Even so, it was a very pleasant and satisfying afternoon.

If you come down our way I do recommend you visit the ranch.