Definitely not at Jordan Lake! Grayced the Cat, my home companion, wanted to share with you some of HIS birds he watches while Doc is at the lake. This is a pair of House Wrens, cousins to the Carolina wren, getting the nest box ready for eggs and chicks. At this point in the process it is Momma wren that is doing the nest construction. Dad wren dashes about singing his territory song – I wish I could have shared his song with you but the little iPhone couldn’t capture the sound through the picture window. BTW Grayced the Cat has his own Facebook page where he and I occasionally post some of his adventures and good sleep wishes – you can visit his page at https://www.facebook.com/GraycedCat/.
photography
CategoryTucked Away
Mayhap we should follow Grayced the Cat’s lead and find a nook that is tucked away and brings security for a good night’s sleep. Peace and Grace, Doc Ellen and Grayced.
Doc Ellen’s Natural Minute 05/92/2020
Jordan Lake and the Haw River, Saturday, May 2, 2020. For each of you here is a minute of wind, sliding cloud shadows, the Haw River in the distance and the Jordan Lake in front of us and of course the bird songs above all. Take care, be safe. Be very well!
Jordan Lake, Haw River: Fledgling? Where?
Whether it is a teenager with the keys to the car or a fledgling that has the whole sky in which to fly, this time in a youngster’s life is hard on a parent! The father blue grosbeak has caught a bug for his youngster. Now, he has to find the fledging. Ever consider how hard it is to keep track of a teenager … especially one that can fly?
Public Service Announcement: Not Gotten Your Stimulus Check yet?
Glitch with Stimulus Checks that the government isn’t telling you about! IF you have not yet gotten your check and want to know when your check will arrive: Go to the link https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment. Click on the box “Get My Payment” and fill in the information. This site has been telling people, especially those on Social Security that your “Payment Status is Not Available”. Yeah, well, the reason that information is not available is due to a computer programming error…. So the following detail is VERY VERY IMPORTANT: when you put in your street address use ALL CAPS and just put in your street address like this 125 D MAIN STREET (don’t put in the city) and the zip code in its block. It should come up and tell you when your check is to be mailed. There is a program coding error that throws out addresses that are not in ALL CAPS. Sometimes the same glitch occurs if you do/do not abbreviate the STREET to ST. So if need be, try the different ways to type “street”. If that fails, go to https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/economic-impact-payments and follow instructions for did NOT file 2018 or 2019 taxes.
With these directions, if you are supposed to get a check (and this in particular applies to those on Social Security) Get My Payment should now work for you … it did for me just now (after I learned about the all caps) and my check is to be mailed to me on May 1.
Hope this helps! Doc Ellen
Jordan Lake and Haw River: Mockingbird Antics
When someone mentions a flycatcher, we tend to think of phoebes or swallows or even blue-grey gnatcatchers. But, ha, the northern mockingbird is good at catching insects in flight too. Yesterday, I caught up with a mockingbird, on the wing, chasing his breakfast at the lake.
doc ellen's journey 