Cold Winds Blow

A beautiful Saturday sunrise ushered in another change of season.


It turned sharply colder this weekend.
Just in time for our family pizza party.


We created individual pizzas...


on homemade traditional and purple sweet potato crusts... 


and sat by the fire...


and napped by the fire...


spending another fun family get-together in the pavilion.
(It may be the last of the year...
as cold weather has arrived.)


It is so much fun having kids who are young adults.
Spending time with them and their friends keeps us young, also!
Thanks all, for joining us on Saturday...we love your company!

The front pasture has been hit by multiple frosts,
so, grass for grazing will soon become scarce.


It does the equines good to get out and forage,
even if there is not much to eat.


We'll fill their bellies with hay this winter,
but time spent out in the pasture is good mental and physical stimulation.


As for me, the cold weather brings an end to many outdoor chores
and allows me to concentrate my energy indoors.


Window-washing should be first on my list.

Sadly, one of the bad things about having large windows
is the birds' propensity for flying headlong into them.


Amazingly, yesterday we had one such incident,
and the bird (after lying motionless for quite some time)
eventually flew off!
He must have knocked himself out.


Any suggestions for preventing this in the future?
I realize that the cleaner my windows are, the more likely this is to happen.

Comments

Lynne said…
Love your picnic spot, pizza oven, fire pit, family and friend gathering place. What fun . . . And a chance to cuddle your little sleeping grandson makes it even more GRAND!
Ingrid said…
There are stickers about the size of a palm, removable (I think), black, in the shape of a flying bird. A few of those on a window pane will prevent these accidents.
Ingrid said…
www.birdwatchingdaily.com/featured-stories/15-products-that-prevent-window-strikes

I hope you can find a means that doesn't ruin your view!

P.S. Thanks for your beeoooutiful blog from paradise! Balm for the soul...
Candice said…
We had the same problem with the birds last year after we removed the screens from the backyard windows so that we could enjoy the view better. It helped when we put the screens back up this year, but some birds (like doves) aren't the smartest birds of the species and still fly into the screened windows. I realize some of the newer double-hung windows have smaller screens on the lower section of the window only, so there is still a lot of window exposed. There are several articles online about the subject. One I found offers several options: http://birding.about.com/od/birdconservation/a/preventwindowcollisions.htm.

Good luck!
Anonymous said…
That is an amazing picture from the bird landing. It must have been sad to watch it lying up there, and amazing when it flew off!! April
Anonymous said…
Gosh it looks cold there. Our evenings and early mornings are that way as well. I even have to put on a winter coat when taking the pups outside. Hopefully a bit of sunshine will prevail.
Bee Haven Bev said…
These windows are triangular and are above our front doors...so they are on the second story. I guess decals of some sort will be what we have to try.
Thanks for the info!!!
This N That said…
Wow...they really hit your windows with a body block..Great picture..Poor birdies....Looks like you got some ideas to prevent this..I have the same problem but they're just little bumps..I doubt that the bird thinks that though..
Junebug said…
My birdies like my front window. During summer when I have hanging flower baskets out they don't seem to dive bomb. Basket are down now so I'm thinking of putting up fresh evergreen basket with pine cone and see if this helps. Plus it may give a festive look.
Ginny said…
I have heard that if you put decals of some sort that it might prevent them from flying into the windows, Snowflakes maybe? And my guess is that you will have one more gathering with the family outside. Do I hear hot chocolate?
happyone said…
Looks like a great fun time at your house on Saturday. : )
It turned cold here too but the wind finally died down.
jaz@octoberfarm said…
oh you got cold weather earlier than we did. it looks like you had lots of fun though. snow is on the way and very cold weather later tonight. i've used those decals with little success. i have this problem each year and the only thing that stopped it was covering the whole window. that doesn't seem to be an option for you though.
Ellen in Oregon said…
I have the same issue with a large picture window. I live on the fourth floor directly across from from a wildlife & water fowl refuge. After several bird concussions, I knew I needed to do something to stop the madness. Besides, my cats thought their new home had come kind of bird-stunner for their hunting pleasure. I decided to hand a couple of wind spinners to see if they helped curb the problem. They don"t obstruct my view, but have sufficient movement & visual presence to keep the birds from flying into the large reflection of sky & landscape.
I haven't had seen a bird fly into the window in the 3 years since the spinners went up.
Allie said…
Wow, what a wonder place to share with friends and family. As for the birds and winows, you can also cut a design out of some "frosted glass" window film.
Unknown said…
I wish I had an answer for you about the birds. My windows aren't particularly clean in the first place and we had FIVE mama cardinals all commit hari kari within 3 weeks of each other this summer - one on the front door and four on the garage door glass which isn't even very big.