I Spy With My Little Eye....

The main reason we came back to Ohio so early this year was for Bill to have cataract surgery.  Both eyes need it and our doctor here prefers to wait a few weeks between the procedures.  Wednesday, April 27th was the big day....

Left Eye...  All Done!

There's Bill with Dr. Lembach following surgery.

She removed the cataracts from my eyes 5 years ago.  Why do we drive 75 miles to Columbus when we could have it done here in Athens?  The Arena Eye Center is a 5 story building totally devoted to eye care.  If anything should go wrong during surgery, like a torn retina, there is a specialist right at hand ready to step in.  We went there to begin with because there was a 3 month waiting period even for the initial evaluation here in our hometown.  Once we met Dr. Lembach and her staff, both Bill & I have continued to go there.  Bill's scheduled for the right eye to be done on May 18th.  

"I can see clearly now the rain has gone"...

Okay...  we still have rain, but now Bill will see things clearer...  and brighter!

What a collection of colors!

There's an Indigo Bunting on the left, a Goldfinch at upper right and a male Cardinal at lower right.

No worn feathers this time of year...  everyone looks their best....  afterall, wearing one's finery is part of attracting a mate, isn't it?

We've never had an Indigo Bunting come to the bird feeders before.  This little guy has stopped in at least twice that I know of.  I had the door to the rig open and was sitting inside using the laptop when I heard his song...  looked out and there he was, on the ground below the feeders having a snack.  I've seen him a couple times since, but suspect he'll head for the tall trees to hang out soon.

One of my favorite birds...

This male Rose-breasted Grosbeak arrives around this time of year.  He'll hang around a few weeks then move on....

This is mating season...

The feathers in his armpits (wing pits?) are as rosy red as his throat this time of year...

You can see them here as he's landing on the feeder to have a snack.

And...  the object of his affection...

His lady friend...  the female Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Of course, being the female, she's drab with no bright colors at all.  There's no question as to how they got their name "grosbeak" is there?  

The Purple Finch and the Juncos have gone now.  The spring birds are arriving or some just passing through.  One that I've been hearing now but haven't seen is the Wood Thrush.  Early mornings and evenings I hear his melodious call just below our rig.  The leaves are coming on now and the floor of the woods is greening up, so it's not easy to spot birds in that growth.  I don't mind, just hearing the wood thrush is enough.

That's All For Today!