Home › #Photography › #Birds › AND SUDDENLY, IT’S ALL GREEN – Marilyn Armstrong

AND SUDDENLY, IT’S ALL GREEN – Marilyn Armstrong

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RDP Wednesday – BREATHTAKING

It’s gray, rainy, cold and the world is made of mud. No hope of flowers because it still feels like the end of winter.

Then, suddenly, the sun appears and you get a couple of warm day and the world explodes in color. Breathtaking barely describes it. It’s like a new world, a new planet. The sky is blue, the birds are singing. Of course, the squirrels are still eating all the seeds, but the lawn got mowed, the dead bushes are gone, there’s a tall fence to keep Duke in the yard where he belongs … for today, at least, the world is just perfect.

Garry went out and took pictures yesterday. Me too. I got serious about birds. He got serious about Uxbridge. There are so many pictures, I have barely had time to scrape along the edges of the more than 200 pictures from just yesterday. Call this “Breathtaking Sample 1” with more to follow!

From Garry Armstrong, the village and neighborhood:

Photo: Garry Armstrong – This picture is my favorite.

Photo: Garry Armstrong – The brand new crossing sign in the middle of town.

Photo: Garry Armstrong – At home in the woods

Photo: Garry Armstrong – The crossroads of Uxbridge

Photo: Garry Armstrong – The perils of not having a newspaper or even a radio station — we didn’t know there was a vote — or for what!

From Marilyn Armstrong, more birds and a squirrel.

The determined squirrel

Cowbird with Hairy Woodpecker – sharing!

A beak and a half
One Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Cowbird with Hairy Woodpecker – sharing!
Eating well!
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Categories: #Birds, #gallery, #Photography, Blackstone Valley, Daily Prompt, Garry Armstrong, Marilyn Armstrong, Uxbridge

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33 replies

  1. Stuart Templeton
    05/22/2019 • 17:02

    You are both very talented photographers and I enjoyed both sets of pictures – thanks for sharing.
    That crossing sign is insane – the amount of time it would take for me to figure that one out I would have missed my chance to cross????

    Liked by 1 person

    • Garry Armstrong
      05/22/2019 • 19:16

      Stuart: I wonder how many will stop to read it.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Marilyn Armstrong
      05/22/2019 • 21:16

      You know, that’s EXACTLY what I thought — especially since we aren’t downtown New York or Boston here. It’s a two-lane road, one in each direction. Not quite that complicated. The could have spent the money on something we actually need.

      Liked by 2 people

      • Stuart Templeton
        05/23/2019 • 04:56

        It does have to be the most complicated crossing sign I’ve ever seen. I would think the ones in Tokyo would be simpler.
        Spending money on things people need??? That’s not what Government spending is about!

        Liked by 1 person

        • Marilyn Armstrong
          05/23/2019 • 18:11

          Uxbridge has NO money. We are a really poor town mainly because our town managers (we actually do not currently HAVE a town manager and the police chief is the temporary acting town manager — and he had to be ordered to do it more or less at gunpoint) have been so incredibly stupid about the way they have wasted our money — not to MENTION the millions of dollars that have vanished with no one willing to say where it went (I’m assuming it was someone on the town council).

          Theoretically, we could bring a lawsuit and force them to explain where that $7.5 million went, but then they would drive us out of town and I don’t mean in a limo. Uxbridge is a small, bucolic, yet surprisingly hostile town. Ask anyone. Not all towns are as hostile as this one. Even Boston had better manners.

          We have town-meeting that end up with injuries from fights. so I have to figure someone thought this was a great idea and no one was willing to argue about it because it can (does) get so ugly.

          Small towns — not always what you expect.

          Liked by 1 person

      • Garry Armstrong
        05/23/2019 • 15:00

        Yeah, but it still looks nifty. Maybe the design came from the Town Manager’s cousin??

        Like

        • Marilyn Armstrong
          05/23/2019 • 18:13

          We don’t HAVE a town manager. He quit. No one wanted the job so they forced the police chief to do it. We only HAVE two cops in town and one of them is also town manager. Basically, no one is managing Uxbridge. The probably explains it.

          Like

  2. draliman
    05/22/2019 • 14:43

    Lovely sunny Spring photos! It’s been so sunny here for days I’ve had to go out and water my flowers. I’m glad the sun finally found you!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. angloswiss
    05/22/2019 • 13:18

    Isn’t it wonderful when the sun comes out and you feel the warmth? Even our cat spent all afteroon outside today, she feels it as well.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. swo8
    05/22/2019 • 12:42

    The leaves are out in the trees and the grass is green – looks promising.
    Leslie

    Liked by 1 person

    • Marilyn Armstrong
      05/22/2019 • 13:32

      And Owen mowed, chopped down the roses and as much of the dead Rhododendrons as he could without cutting down the live ones. The problem was that some of the dead ones seem to be coming back — partially, anyway — to life, which makes trimming them a bit tricky. When in doubt, he left the bush to sort itself out. But we are now triimmed, mowed AND there’s a new fence we think the Duke won’t be able to jump. And unless the bugs eat the trees again, it is just beautiful.

      Liked by 1 person

      • swo8
        05/22/2019 • 14:04

        Sounds like everything is ship shape. We did some planting today. I put the tomatoes in. I sure hope we don’t get any frost. Of course it has started to rain….

        Like

    • Garry Armstrong
      05/22/2019 • 19:13

      Yep. Promising. Grass even smells nice.

      Liked by 1 person

        • Garry Armstrong
          05/22/2019 • 21:22

          Speaking of grass, The Sox commentaors were talking about an error our young 2nd baseman made. He misplayed a grounder off the artificial turf. He didn’t use it as an excuse.
          Y Jr. is an impressive kid, He needs to be careful about his weight.

          Liked by 1 person

          • swo8
            05/23/2019 • 13:50

            don’t we all?….

            Liked by 1 person

            • Garry Armstrong
              05/23/2019 • 14:54

              Leslie, yes, we do. But Vlady Jr, is just beginning what could be a Hall of Fame career. He needs to care of his body. I’d like to think his Dad is on this issue.
              Sox had a first baseman. Mo Vaughn, back in the 90’s. He was a slugger. Big Muscles. Big Body. He took the money and ran – to The Los Angeles Angels. Didn’t take of his body and a promising career was aborted. Very familiar story.
              It’s amazing that Babe Ruth lasted all those years — given his prodigous eating and drinking. An exception to the rule.

              Liked by 1 person

  5. Donnalee of Woodstock NY
    05/22/2019 • 12:27

    We have at least one woodpecker that looks just like that and I figured it was a ‘red-headed woodpecker’ since that’s what my dad called me since I have red hair–

    Looks like a church that has some decent focus, which cheers me up.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Marilyn Armstrong
      05/22/2019 • 13:29

      There is a red-headed woodpecker, but he has a COMPLETELY red-head – but otherwise, looks very similar. All woodpeckers have at least a splotch of red on their heads and since you can’t call them all the same thing, that’s why the diversity of names. But it is confusing.

      This is me and a reblog from the Audobon group which explains it pretty well. – https://wp.me/p2bT5l-1d8SVo

      Liked by 1 person

      • Donnalee of Woodstock NY
        05/22/2019 • 14:10

        Interesting. It seems to make me think of ‘Lemarckian acquired characteristics’, which we learned about in school, which was found by some to be a false theory. I can understand that if someone thinks some ‘fakes’ are dressing like them they may feel more bullying if that’s their thing anyhow, so it might only avail the ones who look like the stronger in some settings –it isn’t like the smaller dudes are wearing teeshirts that say STAFF to pretend they’re official or something!

        Like

      • Garry Armstrong
        05/22/2019 • 19:12

        the pedestrian pic: Good for those who stop to read before walking mindlessly across the street and traffic.

        Like