Guess It Is Lunch Time At The Hobbit House

So it seems that this guy has put the Hobbit House birdfeeder on the route for his weekly if not daily forays. The other day, I was washing dishes and I heard the distinct sound of a bird hitting the glass in the french doors on the back porch. I cringed a bit, but hoped it wasn't a hard hit and that there would be no casualties. I finished up what I was doing and then peeked around the corner, so if there was a stunned bird there, I wouldn't scare it. What I found was this hawk sitting on my welcome mat, not 14 inches from the door with a small "victim" in his clutches. As soon as he saw me, he flew off...with the "victim" for lunch.

Yesterday, I was coming around the corner of the house from running errands, and I saw him fleeing the scene (fortunately with no "victims"). I have noticed over the last couple of days that the birdfeeder is not being depleted as fast as usual and I have to wonder if my unwelcome guest is scarying off the little guys. Boo!

New Bird At The Hobbit House

I don't usually get the opportunity to see a completely new bird, but this weekend, I did. I have never seen a Varied Thrush before and when I saw him on the ground below the feeder, I had to do a double take...then I grabbed the camcorder and tried to get some snap shots of him...this one is not perfect but it was good enough for me to identify him. Click on the link to his name to see images that other internet sources have of him.

Apparently the Varied Thrush is related to the American Robin...similar in size for sure...but I loved the colors that were completely new to me. I have seen a few Robins out and about as well but they aren't in full color yet and this guy was so vibrant. I don't know if this means that the Varied Thrush has an earlier breeding season than the Robin or not.

Regardless, I thought it was pretty cool to see a new bird out there...hopefully he'll come back some more and I can get some better shots.

Hobbit House Maintenance

Due to the fact that I leave the back porch life on at night, and have Christmas lights on the back patio, I close the door between my office and the livingroom at night when I sleep. Because the carpet in this place is new, it is kind of puffy and big still. In the spot where the door would meet the carpet, the carpet was starting to pull up from the threshold. Shutting the door was always a very tight fit, but doable.

Even though there is nothing in this little old house that is perfect, I am still not able to leave damaged things, and the carpet was starting to really bother me. On top of that, I didn't want it to get worse over time. I wasn't completely sure how I was going to fix it but I was willing to give it a try.

So I pulled up the threshold, lifted the carpet, cut the padding back, moved the carpet strips back, and then made a trip to the DIY store to see what my options were. I purchased a new threshold and a 12x12 piece of parque colored linoleum so that I could try to fill any gap that might have been left in the process. After looking at the work I had done and laying the carpet back down to see how it all fit, I realized I wouldn't need the stuff from the DIY store.

I trimmed the ends of the old threshold to fit better and then reinstalled it an inch back from where it was. Overall, it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be, but I am thankful for that. I didn't have to do any creative construction to get it back into working order.

Snow At The Hobbit House

Don't know if it will be the last for the year...I watched it snow off and on all day yesterday but it really started to stick once the sun went down. I wondered if it would continue through the night, and it did. This was the biggest dump we have had yet, and it was so pretty. The birds were fighting over the birdfeeder. The majority of it melted off as soon as the temp started to come up. I was going to get out and get some pics in, but it started to melt so quickly that it wasn't much of an option. I ended up limited to shots from the house...

Idiots On Parade

I don't know if I mentioned before but I have new neighbors in the house next door. It seems for the last two years the owners have tried to sell the house next door during the winter (which really isn't the best thing to do), and when it doesn't sell, they get desperate and rent it to a bunch of idiots college students. Let me start off by saying this batch is better (even with this weekend) than the last batch, and I haven't lived here long enough to know any before that.

So the new batch moved in a few weeks back and at first, they weren't too bad....stayed pretty quiet and didn't make an effort to piss off their neighbors. Well, as of last week, that is all past. Last weekend that had a huge party that started at 5:30pm and went until Campus Security showed up (yes, I live near their school) at 1am. The city police weren't called, in hopes that they would get the hint.

Hobbit House Wildlife

Today, I needed to go out and fill the feeder up since it was almost completely empty and this beauty of a towhee was out there and he was not even phased by me so I was able to get a lot closer than normal with the camera and get a shot of him. He is really pretty....however I didn't see any of the white breast that all the towhees in my book have so I don't know if that is because he is colored up for spring or what.

Then of course, the fat little squirrel that lives close by came by for a snack under the feeder. He seems to have given up on trying to get any seeds from the feeder itself, and is just as happy to just look around on the ground for cast offs from the birds.

"The Birds" At The Hobbit House

Oh my gosh, the other day, I had a million birds in the yard. I am not sure what caused it but it was a little freaky. I was watching television and kept seeing all these birds fly past the window. I looked out the window and saw all these birds on the ground picking around.

Earlier in the day, the house owner was here cleaning the gutters, so perhaps he was throwing the gutter leaves onto the lawn and there were bugs in them. The first time I checked the window, the birds saw me and flew away in a huge flock...but they quickly came back.

I grabbed the camera and snuck back up to the window. This was the best shot I got. I think they are Starlings, but I am not sure.

Hobbit Mouse

Doing laundry last night and almost stepped on a dead mouse on the floor of the basement. I have no idea where it came from...there are no open spaces in the basement for it to get in and there is nothing in the basement for a mouse to eat. I also have no idea what killed it...it looked pretty normal to me, just dead. I found some yard gloves close by and picked it up by the tail and tossed it outside.

I kept thinking it was going to wake up while it was in my hand and freak me out but it didn't. I don't have a fear of rodents but if one woke up when I thought it was dead and in my hand, that would definitely freak me out.

Guess I need to keep my eyes open in the future, just in case there are any live ones down there...

Darkness

Okay, it is one thing to have rain, but when it is so dark at 10am that I have to turn on lights in the house to get things done...that is not good. Now I am off to venture into the pouring rain...hopefully I will find parking and not have to stand at the overflow lot...

Hobbit Smoke Alarms

I don't know if I mentioned this but the Hobbit House on a whole is kind of small. The main living area is probably 900 square feet max. There is a basement and an attic but I don't use either of them for anything but laundry and storage. I have always know there were a lot of smoke detectors in the Hobbit House, but I never really took a tally. The other day, I took a tally....there are 5 in the main living area, and 1 in the basement. In the attic, there is a bracket for one (so one was there are one point), but there isn't an active one there. A couple of these are only a few feet apart.

I don't know if the fact that there are so many makes me feel secure or worried!!!

Hobbit House Snow

A couple of weeks ago, we got the one and only snow I think we are going to see this year. It wasn't a lot but it was still nice to experience the snow. The quiet, the stillness, the fresh feeling...it was all there, even with only a few inches.

Of course it came in the evening/night time because that was when it was cool enough for it to snow rather than rain. So it was hard to get decent shots but at least I was able to get a few to document our only snow.

Hobbit Seasons

The holidays started late for me since we were out of town until mid month, but I did find this cute little live tree for 10 bucks at the store and decided, "what the hell?", might as well do what I can to get into the spirit a little. I also had Xmas cards coming from friends and family and wanted to put them up. The tree only came with a bell on top (which I put on my front door), and 3 little ball ornaments, so I bought a few small things to spruce it up a bit.

I found a short strand of LED Christmas lights that I thought I might find a spot for. The only outdoor socket I knew of at the Hobbit House was near the back door, but I wasn't even sure if it worked. Without taking the lights out of the box, I plugged them in to see if the socket was good and it was so I quickly strung the lights up around my patio window...and instant festivity was had. Now, since my patio has no lights on it regularly, I am seriously considering leaving the Christmas lights up for a while, unless I can find some all white ones to replace them.

At this moment, all my Christmas stuff is still up...I need to get over to a couple of stores and see if they have any sales for Christmas stuff and maybe some white lights will be in my near future...LOL.

Bird Brunch

So as you know, I posted about a hawk that I saw on my back fence the other day. Well, I think it has been confirmed that my birdfeeder has turned into Hawk Bird Brunch...

I was on the computer in my office just after having opened the shades on the office window. Because my office windows face the covered back patio and the patio is bordered by evergreen bushes, the windows can (when the office is dark) reflect that vegetation and make it look like the vegetation is on that side as well. I have heard a couple of birds in the past run into the windows, but nothing very hard. So when I heard the knock on the window yesterday, I knew that a bird had hit it pretty hard. When I looked at the window, I could see a small female finch out there, just sitting on the sill, and I knew she was the one to hit and it was sitting there stunned. My experience with stunned birds is to let them be and after a while, they will usually fly away after recovery from the contact with the window.

So I checked on it every once in a while, but it was still sitting out there. I moved over to the french doors to get a better look (without it seeing me and frightening it), and I could see the hawk sitting on the ground near the edge of the patio. Just as I realized it was the hawk, it starts to fly towards the little bird and the window sill. The little bird flies up out of the way, and the hawk retreats away from the patio (I think the small covered space makes the hawk nervous). So the little bird continues to sit on the sill. I start to move out the french doors right as the hawk comes back in and the little bird flees to a bush on the side of the patio that is much too dense for the hawk to follow it. The hawk retreats again to a neighboring tree. I walk out to the end of my patio and he sits up in that tree squawking at me for ruining his brunch. Eventually, he flys away. I never did see the little bird again on the patio but hopefully she recovered and is back to eating at the feeder with her friends.

Now each morning when there are about 20-25 little song birds eating at my feeder, I wonder if the hawk is sitting somewhere nearby waiting for one of them to make a mistake...

Hobbit Backyard Birds

I realized that I hadn't done a post about the birds in the backyard other than to say there was a feeder and mice, squirrels, a hawk, and a raccoon.

So here is a post about the birds I have seen so far in the backyard...

Blue Jay
Stellar's Jay
Western Scrub Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Oregon Junco
Cooper's Hawk
American Goldfinch
House Finch

It is hard to get pics of the birds while they are at the feeder because they are so quick and it isn't close enough to the door to get close up shots, but today, there was an entire herd of Oregon Juncos (about 15 of them) at the feeder for about 15 mins, so word must be getting out.

Predator At The Hobbit House

As you know from this post...the birdfeeder seems to attact more than just birds. It seems that those new residents must have now attracted even more visitors.

I was walking through my office (the room with a view of the backyard) to the kitchen and I saw something big on the fence out of the corner of my eye...I backed up to take a better look and much to my surprise (because I was expecting the large thing to be a squirrel), I found this guy hanging out.

I am pretty sure he is a juvenile Cooper's Hawk because he is bigger than the juvenile Sharp-Skinned Hawk. According to my two reference books, Nat Geo's Field Guide to the Birds of North America (5th Ed) and Peterson's Field Guide to Birds of North America (2008) the Cooper's Hawk is bigger than the Sharp-Skinned Hawk. As juveniles, both of these birds are very similar in coloring so it mostly the size that is helping me to figure out which one my visitor is.

Note that my thoughts about the field mice being the attaction might also be wrong because according to both of these books, these two predators eat small song birds as well and since I have many small birds that visit my feeder, it could be a two for one deal...

Nighttime Bliss

They are gone. Have been for the last 10 days and I haven't slept better in 6 months than I have these last 10 days. I don't have to wear earplugs and I have not been awaken by any loud fights, laughs, wood being chopped, or bottles being thrown towards a recycle bin!! It has been awesome.

It also looks like no one has started to do anything at the house to prepare it for new renters...there is still trash all over the yard and furniture that was left. Hopefully that means it won't be rented for a while!!

New Birdfeeder Residents

I was working on the computer the other day and heard a bit of a ruckus outside...birds squawking and tapping around on the patio cover. I looked outside, and there were a ton of birds flying in and out of the birdfeeder. Then I saw something on the ground. I looked closer and I saw these little guys.

They, of course, disappeared as soon as I went outside. I went back in and grabbed the camera and then found a spot near the wall and stood still for a while...and it took a bit for the birds to come back and even longer for the little guys to be brave enough to come out for some photos. But my patience paid off and I was able to grab a few shots of new wildlife at the Hobbit House...aren't they cute???

Hobbit House Neighbor News

The loud, immature neighbors are supposed to be moving...I just assumed that they had to be out by tonight, but since they didn't even start moving until last night, I have no idea if they will really be gone by the 1st or not. Obviously, they are not planning to clean...and to tell you the truth, I am hoping that it takes them a while to rent that place. It would be great to be neighbor free for a while.

The only reason I even know any of this is that they came over a few weeks ago to let me know they were having a party on the following Saturday and it would be their last since they were moving. They gave me a card with a phone number if the noise got too loud. They actually (the three I met of the five total that live over there) seemed pretty nice and I really thought that perhaps they would hear when I told them that the only time I can really hear them is when they are outside on the balcony or in the backyard area...hint, hint, hint. Turns out, the party ended pretty early because they started drinking about 2pm and by 10:30pm there was some kind of brawl and everyone cleared out. It was normal noise levels after that (which still means I had to wear earplugs to bed).

But for the last 5 nights, I have had to listen to them make noise...and not just in the evening...in fact, they are pretty quiet until 2AM in the morning and then that is when they decide to go outside to have conversations. Twice they have woken me at 4am and I have had to bang on my window or slam a door to get them to get the hint that it is time for bed. I was awake last night until 5AM because of them and I was so tempted to go over there and ring their doorbell repeatedly at 7AM but I just keep hoping that I only have a few more nights of dealing with them...please, please, please.

The place is now under property management and the rent increased...that is the reason that they are moving. I am thrilled...I am hoping the price hike will keep out other kids like them from renting it. It is a really cool house, 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 2 kitchens, 2400 square feet...and I am sure it doesn't look even remotely as nice as it once did on the inside because of these fools...I feel sorry for the owners. I noted the property management phone number from the ad so I have it for future reference should the new tenants be too much, however, I am hoping to move soon so it probably won't end up mattering to me one way or another.

Anyhow, hopefully this will be the last post about my bugger neighbors...

Halloween House

Okay, remember Leprechaun House? Well, now it is a Halloween House....and it is over the top. I need to take pics during the daytime but I did manage to sneak down the street tonight and get a few pics with it all lit up. I didn't get the big purple spider at the end of the front yard in, so perhaps I can do that during the day when it is more visible.

I haven't gotten the invitation in the mail yet but I am guessing that the neighbors are going to be invited like we were for the St Patty's Day bash...

Bugger Neighbors

They are at it again....noise seems to be their favorite thing to do. It is after 11pm and the city has a 10pm ordinance for noise but I have been trying to be nice with them for the past 6 months. I haven't yelled, gone over there, or even called the police yet...yet! It is a Saturday night but believe me they don't limit themselves to weekends...

I have been waiting for the next BIG party, and we know it is coming, and then the door is going to come slamming down on them...I will call the police on that party and then every single little bit of noise they make every day after. At this point, I have lived here over 6 months with no complaints against them, but I am tired of having to wear earplugs every night. It is BS and there are times when they are loud enough to get through my earplugs.

On top of all that, the next day, they are all out there rehashing how wasted they all were, spilling their secrets about how many drugs they did and who slept with who and who couldn't keep it up...I almost choked laughing when I heard that one. I am kind of looking forward to the day when the "after party" talk will center around how they all got busted and they start being a little bit more careful about what they say in public.