Friday, January 23, 2009

Homeschooling is Everywhere!

Recently I changed the look of the blog - those bright red berries in the header are from a mountain ash tree in our backyard. Generally they grow in double-fisted bunches and hang on the trees throughout the winter. As the season carries on, the berries lose the bright red and start to turn brown and fall off. This year, they didn't last long enough to fall off.

Meet the Bohemian Waxwing. These birds arrived on our property last week by the hundreds! They spent two days cleaning off every last berry. We looked them up in all our wildlife books and bird books. The Bohemian Waxwing is noticeably marked with yellow, red and black markings. They are far more beautiful than any of these pictures actually show. The pictures were hard to capture as the birds do not sit still very long at all.
The peaked heads originally had us thinking they were female cardinals (which are grey with only some dark markings) but when we finally had a good look at the flock, we could see the additional colour.
Our research tells us they come from Alaska!
It just goes to show us again, that homeschooling can be found everywhere. We had a great time looking them up in books and learning about them. They have never visited us before and we are thankful to have studied them this time.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

OHHHHHHHHHH WOW !!! I got to see them....once ! And....it was b/c they were eating our Mt. Ash berries. [0= Well, that was down at the rental we used to live in. I have wanted SO bad to plant one up here at our house. They are such a sight to see. What a treat that must have been. Ohhh I also different subject. Let me know what seeds you wanted to order. I am pretty sure you were one of the people who asked me.

Blessings and ((HUGS)) my SSiC
In Him<><
-Mary

Anonymous said...

I just love your nature photos! So beautiful!

Anonymous said...

What gorgeous birds. I've never heard of them before. Thanks for educating me, too! And yes, homeschooling really is everywhere. It's amazing all the things you can learn, and teach, and share if you're looking for opportunities.

Anonymous said...

Those birds are beautiful and what a lovely treat they had!

Anonymous said...

What beautiful birds!! And you were able to get such good pictures of them. Yes, homeschooling is everywhere! It's a lifestyle.
I also like your red berries.
Blessings!

Anonymous said...

That is an awesome looking bird. I'd be excited, too, if a bird as unique and pretty as that one landed on our trees.
Antoinette