Sunday, July 24, 2011

Busy Summer

Oh, what a busy summer.  Two weeks without a post, so I am sneeking one in.  Guiding fishermen, fishing with family, getting in wood, working on a grant, keeping the garden weedless (almost), attending grandkids activities, attending weddings and building a few things keeps be busy from before sunrise to after sunset.

Someone asked me what I do in my spare time; I replied "sleep, if I can find the time."  But I always manage to find a few things to photograph.

Coming back from guiding a fisherman, I discovered a family of Mountain Bluebirds and stopped for a half hour to work them.  Here the dad sits in all his royal colors, trying to stay between me, the intruder and his family.


Meanwhile, Mom is catching bugs, killing them by pounding them on a hard surface and then feeding one of the four babies begging for food.


Occasionally Dad leaves his command post, catches bugs and feeds the hungry bottomless pits.


All this work is so hard, he appears to take a nap - not really - he is actually scratching an itch. 


And as I go to leave, he gives me a wave good-bye.


What a great way to enjoy the Wilds of Idaho.

13 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

What a fantastic series of images! :)))) That was so much fun. He's a gorgeous guy, too!

Veronica Wald said...

MARVELOUS!! Worth waiting two weeks for :-)

Gaelyn said...

How wonderful to take the time to watch these family activities. Your photos are wonderful. I've heard that retirement (even semi) can keep you very busy. ;)

Monts said...

Hi Bill what a fantastic set of images well worth half an hour of anybody's time.
Remember "All work and no play makes Bill a dull boy " Cheers.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Nice photographs. Actually, they are wonderful.

Reena said...

Bluebirds are so beautiful ... don't see any up here in Philly. Bummer!

Jann said...

Really neat photos Bill. We've got bluebirds nesting in a neighbor's birdhouse real close by and the male is out gathering food daily in our front or back yard, it's great to be able to watch him. Saw the female in earlier days too.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Yeah, so glad to hear from you Bill. I figured that you were out and about doing something fun, yet we always look forward to hearing what you have been up to. Mountain Bluebirds, a perfect entry back into our blogging world~

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Wonderful! I'm so glad I have you on my Google REader, so that I don't miss anything. Sounds like a wonderful summer, though busy!!

FAB said...

It's a tough life being a parent!

troutbirder said...

Truly a beautiful set of pics. Our indigo buntings are remindful of the bluebirds but much smaller.

Dagmar said...

I love blue and now even more so. What a great way of exploring your summer. And yep agreed, to short a time to cram things in.
Gladd to be back in your space Bill. Wonderful hugs from here to there.
Dagmar

Janie said...

Cute captures of the birds and their activities. The nap/itch scratching one, and the wave goodbye are especially good.