A Bird At The Feeder - 2/21/15

Or - Two in the Tree . . .

Things have been out of whack these past few days. Getting ready for the move and trying to coordinate all the things that need to be done is hectic.

But it's all getting done and life does go on. In that regard, I'm playing catch-up with this blog. Nothing big has been happening but things have been happening and so, let's catch-up on the goings on, shall we?

Let's start at the beginning. Remember, I do normally present the pictures in the order taken. This can be disconcerting as you read the blog but it really is a much simpler to present it, for me, and it does give you a better idea of our day by showing the pictures in the order taken. However, I do reserve the right to fiddle with the order every-so-often as I've done with this blog. So, the beginning starts with a bird. In fact, this blog starts and ends going to the birds. Or is it that I'm giving you the bird(s). 

Here she is, she's an old friend. She and her mate come by on an irregular schedule to feed at our Outdoor Cafe. It's Mrs. Red Shafted Flicker and she was hungry.

Fun Facts: The bird's call is a sustained laugh, ki ki ki ki. One may also hear a constant knocking as they often drum on trees or even metal objects to declare territory. Like most woodpeckers, Red-Shafted Flickers drum on objects as a form of communication and territory defense. For defense, the object is to make as loud a noise as possible, and that's why woodpeckers sometimes drum on metal objects.

Like many woodpeckers, its flight is undulating. The repeated cycle of a quick succession of flaps followed by a pause creates an effect comparable to a roller coaster. 

OK, let's get back to the important stuff . . . me!!

Last Thursday, M.J. McDermott, the Weather Gal for Q13, Fox News, highlighted one of my pictures on her morning weather report. This is the third time I've had a picture on her show. 

Hahaha, I've said this before, that M.J. has a keen eye for art. 

Very keen.

And here she is doing her thing.

And here's my picture!!

Look familiar? It should, it's been in my blog before.

"Another GREAT photo from Good Ol' Jack From Seattle.

I'm telling ya, this guy is a local treasure and a great resource for terrific pictures. He sure is one swell photographer!"

On Friday, we were looking for a break, something to get us out of the house and away from all the turmoil of getting ready for a move and so we did our shopping at Walmart and the dropped by Vinnie's on the way home.

And we scored!!

Big time!!

We found a wool blanket for $6.50. I looked one up on-line and it runs over $140. 

Hahaha, I love a good buy.

And today I needed to go back to Staples and so I thought we'd do something a bit fun . . . and tasty. A while ago I saw a restaurant at CenturyLink called Kidd Valley and their ads touted their shakes. I made a mental note to give them a try when I got the chance.

So, today, absent anything else of import that just had to be done, we went to Kidd Valley out at Coulon Park. I finally realized that the other restaurant at the Park was a Kidd Valley Restaurant!!

Duh!!

Fun Facts: Kidd Valley has made-to-order burgers, old fashioned hand-mixed shakes, fresh onion rings and signature fried mushrooms since 1975, when a small storefront in Seattle's University District started the Kidd Valley tradition.

Today, Kidd Valley has 7 stores and 7 stadium locations throughout Western Washington. They serve up burgers at SafeCo Field, CenturyLink Field, Husky Stadium and the Everett Events Center. They serve more than 800,000 juicy burgers and around 300,000 milkshakes a year.

It sits just above the Ivar's in Coulon Park. In fact, it seems Ivar's owns this restaurant, too. At least that's what the guy behind the counter said.

Me: "Uh, who owns this restaurant?"

Him: "Ivar's. Whadya want?"

Hahaha, it wasn't quite like that. In fact, Carol's the one that asked but you know how I like to embellish a story for my own glory ala Brian Williams.

Hmmmm, I don't think they've updated their signs since the 70s.

The opulent and de luxe dining room. It was a better experience than the last time we ate at Ivar's. The guy behind the counter actually chatted with us and seemed, well, not annoyed we were there. Always a plus.

And then he told us to find a seat and he'd bring it out when it was ready.

And he did.

I guess, with their being on the lake and all, they have a background in boat racing. They had one wall covered with pictures, race routes, programs and what-not. All related to SeaFair.

And they even had a small replica of one of the racing boats . . . this one is from 1962.

Boat racing, it would be only slightly more exciting than cutting my toenails but less exciting than watching car races . . . or golf.

I don't know what they were going for in the dining area. It looks like early George Jetson but . . . 

. . . it was clean, quiet and warm.

Haha, I got snapped by Carol. 

Pesky cell phone camera!!

          CB

And it has a good view of the Ivar's in front of it.

And a view of the south side of the park.

Ahhhh, lunch. Carol got a fish sandwich. She has a thing for real fish and this one fit the bill. It looked good and it was a lot bigger than it seems to be in the picture.

We both got shakes. And they were ga-oood!! I got myself some fries and, unsurprisingly, they, too, were ga-oood!!

After our lunch, we took a small walk around the park. It was really cold this morning. I mean it got into your bones kinda cold.

The Pedestrians were there today and were, unlike our last visit, not sporting any particular fashion.

Wassup!?!

The magnolias by the benches are starting to bloom. 

Hahaha, I've shot this area so many times before.

And I'm still looking for new ways to see it.

If I were a better photographer, I'm sure I could find the good photograph here. It has possibilities.

Whup!! A seagull!?!

What the . . . !?!

Hahaha, I can't help myself.

And because I'm predictable, I saw the blossoms and had to get some pictures of them.

I'm really looking forward to the coming Spring.

Looking back towards the restaurants.

At times, it was a nice day. The sun peeked out occasionally and started warming the day up. 

     Artsy-Fartsy Alert!!     

Oh, c'mon, give me a break. You knew this would happen. I saw this grate cover and got this shot. Hahaha, this isn't a surprise.

But this was. That SpongeBob, he's everywhere.

After we'd gotten all our chores done and were heading home, we stopped by our park. 

Carol is getting good with the cell phone camera. She got these while we were at the park.

Halo Carol.

          CB

   Cell Phone at the Park Selfie!!   

Doggone, these cell phones take some good pictures, don't they!!

          CB

She's a sneaky one, alright.

          CB

And as we looked around, we spotted this guy sitting way up high in a tree about a quarter mile or so away and . . . off we went. We drove around the neighborhood until we found a good place to park. And when we got close enough, we saw there were two there today.

I can't explain how fun it is to be driving along and see an eagle sitting up high in a tree. 

And to see two of them!! Wow!! Not something you see everyday.

Here's the total view from where we were standing. You can make out Lake Washington to the right of the house and that's Rainier Ave moving right to left. That's the road we're usually on when we spot the eagles. 

They're in the top of the tallest fir tree there, just to the left of center.

Here's his mate, sitting down lower in the tree. She was definitely tougher to get a picture of so I concentrated on the guy at the top of the tree.

And this is him, the guy at the top. This is the same spot where we usually see the eagle. There's not always a second eagle there but when they are there they usually sit lower down in just about the same position, too.

Hahaha, I had over 80 pictures of these two. Mostly of this guy above. As I said, his mate was shielded by the tree and I couldn't get a good picture of her. This guy, well, he posed, preened and peered about for me looking regal and majestic.

We got our business taken care of and got out of the house for a while. Good work!!

And we had some good food and saw some eagles. 

Hahahaha, how many of you can make that statement? 

And there are areas we already know about where we can go looking for eagles down near Lincoln City. 

Woo, woo!!

Life is good.

     Hooah!!