A Stunned Visitor - Immature Female Hooded Warbler?

While eating a late breakfast Ellen and I were startled by a loud bang on the window - Oh Oh it must have been a bird. We rushed outside to see if it was dead or not. Ellen had found a dead female cardinal one time, but there was no dead bird near the window. After looking further away I saw what looked like a a fat yellow green plant and realized it was our stunned bird. Due to the the heavy rains, the bird was lying on its side in about an inch of water and could have easily drowned. I was able to pick it up and let Ellen hold it as we looked in our National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America to see what type of bird it was. Our best guess is that it was an immature female hooded warbler, another option could be that it was a feamle painted bunting. However its beak is less rounded than a female painted bunting's beak.

Help us identify this little bird.

MidSummer's Eve - An Overgrown Yard and Space Cats

With the window treatments installed (bedrooms, kitchen, entry) and temporary measures for some other windows I decided to take an evening walk around the house to see how they looked from the outside. Naturally the cats followed me around, their eyes getting caught by the camera flash giving them eery, extra terrestrial feel. Having no money yet for landscaping, nor any great motivation to work in the heat & humidity, one can see what can happen to a yard left unattended! The area on the West side of the house has a temporary pond with tall grass which has proven to be a great place for dragonflies and frogs. Thanks to their presence mosquitoes have not been such a problem.

A Hot & Wet Summer - Time for Window Treatments!

When you combine a very hot and humid summer with a sale on Window Treatments like those offered by Pottery Barn and New Orleans Bamboo you get a compelling argument for dipping into savings. Luckily our rapidly depleted funds were replenished when we received our Federal and State Tax refunds. The Solar Panels from South Coast Solar qualified for a 30% Federal and a 50% State Tax refund. The Louisiana refund (~$15000) was deposited at the end of the Louisiana Fiscal Year (end of June). So while these funds are supposed to be targeted to reducing our Addison Avenue Solar Loan, we felt that the sale on Natural Window Blinds offered by New Orleans Bamboo warranted us to make this major purchase. We really like the natural look and feel these shades have on our rooms. They help keep the intense sunlight and heat out of the house which is vital in a southern Louisiana summer! Window drapes and hardware came from Pottery Barn. The son of the owner of New Orleans Bamboo did the installation.