WELCOME TO Val's Alentejo -I write about my region of Alentejo. My art ,painting, my cottages, Family life, my animals -Travels And my love for Roses- and rural country life.

Wednesday 19 February 2014

A respite in the weather

Not much been happening around my Quinta.  The weather has been shocking.  As it has been in many other areas around the world.  This year it rained and rained.. my ground in many areas is just waterlogged. I have lost a few bushes.  I am hoping that when the sun comes out warm and smiling.  My plants will smile too.
                                                                        My daffodils have been slow in coming through.  I was pleased to see yesterday that I have a couple of heads .    This morning the sun is shining.. no rain in sight. So we might be getting a respite from up above.
                                    My snap dragon is looking healthy and has a couple of heads on it.
                                  I have shown you a few images i took of my Fuschia.. Its growing like wildfire - it has been blooming with one or two flowers all through the winter.  I seem to have put it in a place it likes.

                         A rainy day over the weekend.  I saw bird poop on my kitchen window sill.  So I thought to myself. Put some bread there , and see what bird it is that is making this mess.
                  Here he is.   A beautiful   male blackbird.  I was sitting having my herbal camemile tea, just relaxing with my arm.. have had a few twinges in for some days. When I heard.. tap, tap, tap.. I didn't give much thought to it.  But it came again. tap tap tap.   I peeped around to the kitchen window and there he was, tapping at my window. I went to get my camera , and stealthily tried to take a photo.   I can tell you, that It took me over an hour to take these couple of photos.. He knew I was there watching him.
                                  Blackbirds are very intelligent.  You can catch them and teach them to speak.  Young friends of Filipe - used to have a couple.  Dont see it any more.  They mimick and are very clever.

                                                                                He cought my eye.. it was amazing we both froze and i clicked as quick as I could

                          He was off like a shot.   His wings opening here and he flew away.


                                 This morning saw this bird on my pool cover.  drinking from the collected rain water.  Never seen it before.      You can see from the photo, how wet and damp it is around .  I dont like this time of the year.
                               Anyone know what type of Bird it is.  !!!!

  Looking forward to catching up with you all.
Wishing you the rest of a wonderful happy week.


val

25 comments:

  1. There is no doubt about it, the weather has been strange this year. A couple of days of warmer weather, and I now see the trees trying to bud out. Just two weeks ago it was below freezing....

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    1. Thanks for coming to visit Meggie,
      Here too a respite from the heavy rain.
      We have had very cold weather here. I hope soon the sun will be warmer.
      pleased your trees are budding too.

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  2. What a nice feathered visitor! How fun to get some great photographs. Did not know they could be trained, that is so interesting! Your flowers are doing really well, thank goodness spring is around the corner!

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    1. Thank you Nancy,
      I was pretty chuffed with my photos.
      Yes, a blackbird like the raven or crow, can be trained..but from chicks.
      Am looking forward to warmer days.

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  3. Enjoyed your photo's today;Val. It is to be in the 70's here today.

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    1. Thank you Sylvia.
      I enjoyed your post of today too.
      Nice weather there for you.

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  4. i think that is a white wagtail. :)

    cute blackbird, too!

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    1. I have never seen this bird in my garden before. It was early this morning.
      Must look it up..it looks like a lovley bird..nice black and white with long legs.
      I loved the visit from the blackbird.. They nest around my garden in the trees.Thanks Tex.

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  5. Hi Val - what awful weather and when is it ever going to stop. Our lawn is absolutely sodden and we daren't walk on it. I'm not sure what your bird is as I can't quite see even when enlarging the picture. Your Blackbird is certainly a cheeky chappie and I certainly didn't know they could be trained to speak. Hope you are well Val and have a good rest of the week.
    Patricia x

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    1. Hello Patricia,
      I am slowly catching up with everyone.
      I have been watching the news and all the horrors of the floods in the UK.
      Here too, the weather has been very bad.
      I was happy with my bird photos. Yes, the blackbird can..not a great vocabulary like a parrot..but they can.
      My arm is feeling better.. will be resting. Thanks for your visit Patricia.

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  6. Dear Val - glad to see the weather is improving with you too. Today it felt positively spring like here - lifts the heart.
    That bird is a pied wagtail - such pretty birds, and well caught on camera by you.

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    1. I felt a slight change in the air today Rosemary,
      It was sunny all day. Still cold, but getting better. Indeed it lifts the heart.
      Thank you for the name of the bird. Tex also said it was a wagrail..
      I haven't seen one here before. Indeed a pretty bird. I was glad i caught him wading there.

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  7. The one on your pool cover...is it some sort of Tern? It has such a long tail and legs which makes me think ocean...:)JP

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    1. Thank you for coming over and leaving your comment JP:
      I am told its possibly a pied wagtail.. or some sort of wagtail.
      I am far from the ocean..but it could have come over. I have never seen it in my garden before..such a beautiful bird. I will be getting my bird books soon so i can study more about them.

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  8. Your flowers are way ahead of the ones here that have barely come trough the ground. Think of all those long months that you had no rain and now too much!

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    1. I think you have a much heavier winter than we do here in my part of Portugal.
      For us its been heavy rains and very cold. We dont get snow.. maybe a covering of frost in the depth of winter.. but climate change seems to really be upon us. We will be complaining soon that its too hot.!):- Thanks for coming over.

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  9. Aaahhh, sweet little birds, Val. That one on your pool cover looks very familiar and have taken pictures of some that look very similar to this; not sure what the name is. That was funny that the black bird was tapping on your kitchen window. What a sight that must have been. I think he was saying hello to you.

    We need your rain here, Val. I can't believe you're getting so much of it.

    Have a lovely week.

    ~Sheri

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    1. Thank you Sheri.
      I have always loved birds. More so now, since I have been blogging. I wish i really had a long zoom on my camera. I couldn't believe that the blackbird was tap tap tapping on my window. Indeed he was saying hello.

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  10. You were very patient to wait for the bird photos, but you got some great shots. I have been putting out seeds for the birds all winter. I have been rewarded with cardinals, chickadees, tufted titmouse, doves, jays wrens and many more. I love watching the birds. They really do eat a lot!! Keeps me busy putting out seeds. I'm glad your weather is beginning to improve. February is a least favorite month of mine. Short month but seems so long. Hoping you have no more rain anytime soon!

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    1. Thank you Sanda for coming to visit my blog.. You always leave such nice comments.
      I really was patient to get the photos of the birds. We are so lucky to have these lovely little feathered creatures in our gardens.
      I keep my left over bread.. but think i will buy some seeds too. good idea.

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  11. What a serene and lovely place you have there, Val. Daffodils, fuchsias, snapdragons - all so pretty. Isn't it fun, stalking a bird for a photo? You did well, caught 2 birds in one day. I never heard of Blackbirds being taught to speak, and I have only seen one in my life; it was near Hadleigh Castle in Essex, and I chased it for a photo. The bird on the pool cover is cute, but I've not seen it before. Have a good week, Val. xxx

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    1. Thank you for your kind comment Patricia.
      My garden is poor at the moment. Its rained so much..The ground is still damp and wet.
      My son's friend had a blackbird.. took it from the nest as a baby and weened it..and it said a few words.. and sang.. it was so sweet.
      There are various sub species of blackbirds.
      I love to hear them sing of a morning.

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  12. I am reading about your rain and here in the midst of our extreme cold and huge drifts of snow, we are suddenly having a rare winter thunderstorm. The rain will melt some of the snow which is very good, but it will also cause flooding for homes in low areas or like us, surrounded in clay soil. I'm glad you have some flowers and can't wait to see what else comes up. I can't imagine you without flowers, especially your roses.

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  13. Hi Val: Seems like just yesterday that you were in a drought, now so much rain. We are in a bad drought here, but have had a little rain, but not nearly enough. Funny ole birds, pecking at your window. I had one tiny one (I'm not good with most bird names) but he was pretty common looking, sitting on the windshield wipers of the motorhome and pecking to say hello!. That other bird (although I saw someone identified it) looks very much like a bird we see around here, called a Mocking bird. It is very nasty to any poor kitty that walks by his space..Happy Wednesday..Judy

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  14. I'm glad you've had some respite from this winter's appalling weather, Val. We've had a couple of dryer days, but it's back to the wind and the rain today. Your lovely photos are a real lift to my spirits and remind me that spring is on the way.

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