Birds and blossoms

July was a very birdy month, and August is chirping along...

First of all, Johnny found a little fledgling along the running path and brought it home.

The little thing was fledged, but still had the very wispy fuzz feathers on top of its head.  Mimi began feeding it dry cat food soaked in water, which the bird voraciously gobbled!

Over the last two and a half weeks, the top feather fuzz grew into a lovely crest which is clearly a barometer of the birds confidence....and ended speculation fo the bird being anything other than a cardinal.

He is now flying very well, 

And sometimes escapes the garage as the above photo shows.

But we haven't let him free just yet because......

He still loves his cat food, and....

We don't want him to be cat food.

The other birdy project was taming Drexel and Nesbit, the parakeets, who were no longer tame at all.

Here I am, steadfastly approaching their cage with millet.  

This endeavor took hours, however now....

We can hold them and feed them from our hands.

Mission accomplished!

do you think you would ever see this advertisement in a magazine today?

This ad campaign must be the inspiration of Nonie's "treat instead of a treatment" expression, or visa versa. :-)

The birds and blooms part of this post involves our garden....

As this picture indicates, there are more flowers than produce in the garden this summer.

There are so many zinnias, in fact, that our 

backyard has never

 been so beautiful!

Well.... not that beautiful?

Photo bombed by buddy's inelegant tail.  thank you, buddy.....

The zinnias are so wonderful 

and they are even more beautiful when visited by

....

......which is truly a lovely sight even as the flowers are enjoyed with great relish!

And we have been blessed to enjoy a pair of hummingbirds who like the zinnias, too. 

 Thanks be to God!

these two have not been spotted anywhere near the garden.....

another blessing!