Hokey Pokey Magpie

I was looking out my dining room window the other day observing this Magpie, and of course, taking pictures.  You know, Magpies are such a pretty bird and on the other hand.............why are they such an obnoxious bird.  I almost think we have more Magpies around our place than we do mosquitoes, if that is possible.  Their beauty is the only thing that is tolerable.  They come in and literally steal pet food, and when it comes to singing, they remind me of Johnny Cash (my daughter just called and mentioned Willie Nelson & that is who I meant to put on the blog)...they have no voice.  It's not a pretty warble or tweet, it's a SQUAWK - YUCK!

And just when you think there isn't really anything good worth mentioning about a Magpie, this little fellow does this....showing in all his splendor, the beautiful detailing of his black and white colors.  Yes, black and white are colors (a debated issue), in my opinion, as I tell the Kindergarten class.  I think he was doing the Hokey, Pokey, or something like that.  Anyways, it amused me at the time.  On the other hand, I will give credit where credit is due.  The internet states that Magpies are believed to be one of the most intelligent of all animals. 

Easily Amused

I know, I know...........I'm easily amused.  But when it comes to my camera, I'll try most anything.  The other night I was taking some pictures when I almost (almost being the key word) flipped my camera on the floor.  But the cool thing was, look at the picture result.  It is a picture of my carpet, all psychedelic and weird looking.  You can see the swirls where my camera took a turning motion.

I thought, cool.  So from there, I went around the house spinning my camera while snapping pictures.  This is a picture of my couch.  And no, your eyes are not playing tricks on you.  I do have one of those old, vintage couches with the brown and orange flowers on it that just won't wear out. 

From the couch, I moved over to my mantle.  I have greenery, lights, and other objects sitting there which made for another interesting photo. 

I took the above photos with the intent of never putting them on my blog. The other night after getting my Christmas tree up I thought................................................you got it, I remembered spinning my camera and taking photos.  The following photos are of my Christmas tree. 

See, I told you.............easily amused.  These would make for some pretty interesting backgrounds for other projects, too.  You never know!

Deer Jumping Fence

We had a small herd of deer on our lawn by our dining room window this afternoon and this time I actually thought to get them jumping the fence, ON VIDEO.  I keep forgetting that my camera has a video mode.  I've only used it about 4 time in the year I've had my camera.  And no, you don't need to adjust your viewing pleasure.......it's just me, wiggling the camera.  Oopsies! 

While I was downloading this video, Evan went out and counted the deer and he said there were at least 30 head in the field.  Gotta Love It!

Over The Fence

Last night as I pulled into the driveway, this little guy went bounding around to the other side of the house.  I got out of the car and very quietly, crept around the house, hoping he would be there.  There he stood, looking me straight in the eyes from the other corner of the house.  I already had my camera ready for the shot and was able to get this one before he leaped across the fence.

Tonight when I came home, there were two does on the back yard.  As soon as I pulled into the driveway, they leaped over the fence and were on the run.  I didn't pay much attention to them because they were on the run and I knew I couldn't get a picture.  I turned the car off and just sat there a bit looking through the mail.  When I looked up from reading my mail, the two does were jumping back over the fence onto the yard.  One of the does came right over to the car and started eating.  My windshield was terribly dirty but I thought...why not try and see if I could get some good shots.

Here she is looking off to the left, with ears perked up like she heard something.

In this picture, you can see how close she is to my car, as you can see my dashboard and windshield wipers.  It was nice just observing her.  Seconds later, her ears went up and I looked into my rear-view mirror and noticed that my husband had pulled into the driveway.  Off she bounded, once again, never to return.  It was fun while it lasted.