My first bird feeder visitors!

As it turns out, I didn't do the hikes at Doeskin Ranch yesterday, as I had already put in my twenty hours for the week. Shockingly, Emma let me sleep in until almost seven Friday morning. There must not have been any interesting critters outside in the early morning to get her all revved up! I appreciated the extra time in bed. It was a glorious sunny day with temps reaching the low eighties. We spent most of the day outside with several longs walks and I even had to get the air conditioner running to keep the inside of the motorhome at a desirable temperature. It sure heats up in the direct sun.

The weather changed today, and I awoke to cloudy skies and the temps eventually only made it to sixty. I bundled up and Emma and I headed out up the hill for another exploratory hike of the area. I took my binoculars along this morning, and of course all the birds that were singing and flitting around yesterday were in hiding today.

After we got back, I got ready for the drive to Cedar Park for errands. It's a seventeen mile drive up and down through the hills. I needed to pick up some fresh fruit for the potluck brunch tomorrow at the Flying X. There will be five volunteers there and maybe two of the interns. I always enjoy the potlucks. It will also give me a chance to talk to someone besides Emma.

As I was unloading the car, I thought I saw some activity at the bird feeder. A few days ago, I moved it to the back side of the motorhome since no birds had visited out front. I had also rigged up a bird bath by placing the flower pot saucer on top of some stacked wood and brick pieces. I can view everything from my couch or my bedroom. So, I went inside and sure enough...two birds were dining. They were a pair of house finches. Not terribly exciting, but at least some birds have finally found the feeder. I haven't had a bird feeder in three years (other than the hummingbird feeder that attracted hundreds in Dinosaur this summer), so I was thrilled. Simple pleasures.........

At my stop at Walmart today, I decided to buy a new toaster. The little unit I have just isn't doing a very good job, and I happened to watch a show on the Food Network yesterday where Alton gave a review on toasters and recommended a single slot toaster. I only need to do two slices at a time, so that's what I bought. Just about anything would be an improvement over the cheap toaster I've been using for the last three years! So, the old toaster is history...if you bring in something new, something has to go. That's a fulltimer's rule of thumb. ;)

The sun is supposed to come back out tomorrow, and I look forward to the brunch.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy