Birds--a recently discovered passion!  I've always been interested in backyard nature.  So when I had a decorative painting store and taught simple painting procedures, I loved "around the garden" type subjects.  I was particularly fond of bird related things--birdhouses, eggs and nests. When these natural items became the latest trend, with whole magazines and decorating TV shows devoted to what I loved best, I was delighted.  The actual birds were secondary to their associated paraphernalia. But it was in our new to us home that we discovered how much we liked watching birds. Large mature deciduous and conifer trees and lots of open grassy yard could be viewed from huge windows with eastern and southern exposures.  We added to the bird friendly natural habitat  many bushes, birdbaths, feeders, birdhouses, pond and snags.

We started with one pretty bird feeder from a home center. Watching the antics of the birds as they interacted with each other has become a happy obsession.  As my grandkids will attest to, the digital camera has made me frantic to catch and record each precious moment of their lives.  So in addition to my millions of family photos, I'm adding an ever increasing number of pictures of our backyard birds. The critters outside the windows are as photogenic and interesting as the birds and our four indoor cats. Researching wildlife behavior and observing the daily activities in the backyard has proven to be great fun.  So now we have become avid bird and critter watchers.  I spend much of my time trying to understand and capture their beauty and joy of life on "film", canvas, wood and paper.

The statistics on the birds involved much research. Where experts had differing ideas and numbers, I tried to average out statistics or offer ranges.

The photos have been the easiest part of creating the website--at least after making several major equipment investments.  It's really difficult to put down the camera and pull out the keyboard.  The prospect of possibly missing the initial arrival of a new bird doesn't bear thinking about.  So consequently the volume of pictures that need organizing and modifying for the web is daunting.  It should be easy to delete marginal photos, but even blurry poses inspire sketches for the stories and projects.

The number of craft and art project ideas are many.  The time consuming part is writing the instructions and plans in enough detail to make the projects fun and do-able. They will be off the drawing board soon.

 My grandkids are helping create and test run kids' nature activities.

The stories with dialogue between the birds, critters and indoor cats have proven to be the most fun to create.  Food Guy (the bird seed bag carrier, feeder-post driller, and feeder-filler husband) and I (known as Food Mom) have always personified the numerous pets who have owned us over the years.  Our cats (sixteen-not all at once) and dogs (four also staggered) have been known to make frequent comments and suggestions (both loving and snide) to each other and to the humans who harbor delusions of being in control.  All the birds and critters will use their "voices" to convey information about themselves and add fun with their backyard banter (can't promise talk will be totally free of sarcasm).

In spite of the "work" left to do, I hope to share the joy and fun we have with all these new friends in our backyard.  Please bear with us as we get this site "off the ground".