Before

I am in the process of doing some work on my house. New flooring, new counter tops, new appliances, new sinks, new light fixtures, painting. I must admit so far, I have only done one thing on my long list of things to do. However, soon, there will be one more thing complete. I am covering my very "me" (awful to keep clean) flooring in the kitchen with something more neutral. This is the one room that will get a very complete make over. First comes the floor. Then there will be new counter tops and new appliances. After that, there will be fresh paint on the walls and cabinets. It won't look like my house anymore. I had to share my very fun and very retro kitchen before it all disappears. I think it will be fun to share as the projects go along so expect a picture of the new floor sometime soon...with these yellow walls!

Another favorite bird

I believe I have only seen these birds in Florida but I KNOW I really like them. I think my fascination is due to their pink legs. These birds are called Black-necked Stilts. This picture is from our trip in January. I can't remember ever seeing this bird out of water...for all I know it may have yellow feet.

Cedar Waxwing

Recently (Easter day to be exact), Todd and I went to Deep Bottom Park in the eastern end of Henrico. Being a Henrico County employee, I thought I knew all the parks (and had visited them) however, I was wrong. Unless you fish or canoe, there isn't much there. That day as I arrived at Todd's house, I had my camera with me. He always wonders should he take his camera. It was an unknown park, would there be anything to see, etc. Since I was taking mine, he decided to take his. He would have been so upset if he hadn't. We discovered a large flock of Cedar Waxwings eating left over berries. These are really beautiful birds and I can't say I had ever noticed them until I started dating Todd. This is the second time we discovered them feasting. These are not great photos but they show that bright yellow tip of their tail and the mask they wear. I had a very poor photo that showed the red on the tips of their wings but it wasn't worth putting on here.

If you look closely, there are three feeding in this shot. You can also see the yellow on their stomach (is that the right bird terminology?)

Note from Cornell: The Cedar Waxwing is vulnerable to alcohol intoxication and death after eating fermented fruit.