Ellingson tales

January 25, 2011

Do you remember when I posted back in September about going to South Bend, Indiana to see Derek's brother?  Here's a shot from that wonderful experience.  

While we were there, we picked up a most amazing sunflower. It was a "freshly picked" green color and I was so excited to put in on display.  We brought it back with us to our home in Missouri and I set it out on the table on our front porch along with all the other autumn treasures we were acquiring.  It didn't take long to settle in and soon our sunflower took on the color of fall.  The interesting part was that with how beautiful it looked, I kept waiting for the animals and birds to discover it.  My brother-in-law purchased one at the same time we did and the squirrels devoured his the very night he set it out on the porch.  Ours sat for months and months on the front porch, seasoning itself for the right moment!

One cold winter day in late January, that day finally arrived!  I noticed a lot of bird activity outside on our patio. When i looked out, this is what I saw!

Each bird was taking his/her turn at the seeds.  Unfortunately, the blue jays were the largest of them all and hence, dominated. They walked away with most of the food, but it was neat to see a female cardinal there and a few others.  It took them about a day and a half and the seeds were gone.  We loved having the birds as much as we enjoyed the sunflower.  Thankfully, they waited a while to discover it!