Eleven-Eleven-Eleven

That's the date, 11/11/11...hoping it's a good day for starting a blog. 

Angelique is part of my name, my family calls me Angel.  It has been suggested that it was wishful thinking on their parts, more than once!  The last few years I've made a more conscious attempt to live up to it a little better, by actually living by faith, and can only hope that I succeed most days.  Some members of my family would probably say so; but you wouldn't get the full review, unless you also asked my husband, Ricky.....wait, don't, hee hee.   

The kids are grown, I had three of them; now I have three young adults as best friends.  They live nearby, I'm so thankful for that.  We became grandparents about five years ago, a new dimension to life that has been unexpectedly wondrous.  I am part of a large, close-knit family, that I believe to be one of my greatest blessings, and one of the greatest assets I could have offered to my children.  In a short while, I'll be joining those who're available, for Friday Lunch, a tradition in my family that goes back about 30 years.  

I'm an outdoors/wildlife enthusiast, particularly camping and water.  

In my profession I'm basically a gardener, in varying degrees; for many different residential and business clients, year round.  I design and implement landscape and hardscape as well.  Ricky heads up the mowing crew, and I work with him a couple of days a week in-season, too. 

I'm an animal lover, we have four cats and two dogs.  One of the dogs is old, he's in his twilight years with us now.  He's the only animal that wasn't a rescue.  I only mean to have two cats and two small dogs, but it never works out that way, does it?  

About the river...

Last June Ricky and I moved into our river house.  We've been rebuilding it, out of pocket, for a few years now.  Moving in was kind of a bold move, it isn't finished, doh!  The economy, fuel prices, a bad Summer drought the previous year, (and occurring again this year), an  old work-truck that finally blew-up and needed replacing, all came together to put a good dent in our resources.  We figured we could save the money spent on expenses at the home we lived in, and instead put it toward finishing the inside of this house. 

Right now I feel like Laura Ingalls, with the internet!  But the tales and adventures of moving into an unfinished house are for other entries, on other days.  The house itself sits nearly over the river, a story in the air on columns.  Though it sits square in the city, a major metropolitan area at that; being in the river green-way belies that fact quite completely.  Because the leaves are down, I can see a couple of condo buildings that are about a half-mile away and to my northwest across the river; but that is the only indicator of anything but river and woods that one can see from the windows  and riverfront at this place.  We have 11 acres of woods behind us, and the river with woods upstream and down, and across from us. 

I am an avid birder, and as I type this I'm trying to get a better look at the little group of Wood Ducks across the river.  The male Wood Duck is to my eyes the most beautiful of all ducks, and is also a beautiful bird, period! 

And no, I'm not getting as good a look as this!

I have this wonderful tree branch off of an old battle-scarred Silver Maple that sits next to the north end of the river-side deck.  It comes off of the trunk and hangs out over the river, providing me with wonderful anchor for the bird feeders that I've hung from it.  We call this, BTV, (Bird TV), and the cats are utterly addicted while the birds are oblivious to them, right there on that deck and railing, chirping themselves at times.  It's the only TV I have.

And my River Reflection takes place from the window that sits just above these feeders.  Now that I've gotten some of the mundane introduction out of the way, I'm here because I have a bit to say about all of this.  There's quite a bit of drama going on in the world right now, and believe it or not, quite a bit of drama in this tree right here too.  I'll be observing and posting about both.  Not sure who will read this, for me it is more about the recording of it all; maybe for no one but me.  

It's been a busy day here on BTV; Nuthatches, Chickadees, Gold and red House Finches, Titmice, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, all repeat guest stars and always in little flocks have been aflutter about the feeders since sunrise.  The full moon was setting this morning, so bright in the pre-dawn hour that I heard soft chirps of Cardinals on the feeders.  The light had awoken them early.  New arrivals, a FLOCK of juvenile Northern Shafted Flickers alit in the branches above the suet feeder, but alas the possessive Red Bellied Woodpecker  chased them away.  I'll have to put a couple more suet feeders up, as he has been quite the bully about it, and I want all the various woodpeckers to be regular visitors.  Two male Cardinals have been chasing each other away from the black sunflower feeder all morning, while the female mate of one of them sits nearby on another branch and seems to enjoy the show.  It's past time to go to Friday Lunch now, I'd better wrap this up.