Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Heather and Peter Rusty Blackbird Sunday Peter and I took my niece, Heather, to Phoenix to attend a conference.   We wanted to show her some of the natural beauty of our area.   Saturday we toured her around the Prescott lakes, introduced her to birding and later shopped on Whiskey Row.   Sunday we stopped in Anthem hoping to see the Rusty Blackbird, a rarity in Arizona and a lifer for Peter and I. We had been to the community lake three times before hoping to add this to our life list and this time we saw it!   Looking for one bird of a kind is always a challenge and it helped to have three pair of eyes. Then we went to Tempe Town Lake because there was a Red-necked Grebe sighted and that also would be a lifer for me.   Tempe Town Lake is a beautiful community center.   In fact, there were three major events happening on the weekend.   We just wanted to stand on the pedestrian bridge to look for the one Red-necked Grebe!    Red-necked Grebe  Fortunately Pet

The weather is cooling off and the bird activity is heating up!   More birds are coming to the feeder and luckily we have black sunflower seeds ready!   I want to share today’s birds with you.   Two Mountain Chickadees came to visit today and since we have not seen them for quite a while, I was excited!    They have white eyebrows which differentiates them from other chickadees.   I love to look for those field marks and they are very handsome!   Remember, the details make the difference!   These birds are tiny and flit through the high branches of our pine trees looking for seeds from cones.   They often hang upside down to gather insects and seeds – very acrobatic!   This winter they may also eat suet and peanut butter so I’m getting ready.   It is very funny to watch them shell a sunflower seed.   They usually hold it between their feet and hammer it apart with their beak!   Not to be outdone, the White Breasted Nuthatch also visited.   Talk about handsome with the sun hitting his w

 Male Bluebird Have you been to one of those memory classes where they ask, “How many dresser drawers do you have?” and did you know? Or care?   It seems that details, seeing them, creating them and remembering them opens the worlds around us.   Details are the difference between the mundane and the wondrous.   They are the difference between ordinary and extraordinary, between good and excellent.   Details amaze me or maybe it’s my ability or inability to observe and remember details. About 6 years ago I started birding.   I met a man, my Peter, who was an avid birder and, of course, I became one also.   I thought it would be a breeze.   I was used to looking at and creating details in my interior design work.   Booted Racket-tailed Hummingbird I saw him in Ecuador and look at his details! I started out knowing there were big birds and little birds, colorful birds and plain birds, birds that flew and birds that stayed on the ground and I knew I liked to watch birds. I lo