Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #140 – Unwanted Change of Scenery

Beth at Wandering Dawgs is the guest host of Lens-Artist Photo Challenge this week. The theme this week in Change of Scenery.

March 18, 2021

Days of stormy weather is on the horizon! Mother Nature at her best and worst all in a few days.

Birds were frantically feeding and flying around as storms approached Jacksonville, Florida. We had been in a Tornado Watch all day and as it got closer, we were in a Tornado Warning. A tornado was spotted in Gainesville heading northwest towards Jacksonville. Luckily it dissipated and much of the severe weather stayed north and south of us. We had about 10-20 minutes of rough weather. No damage!

March 20, 2021

Male Northern Cardinal feeding just before the next storm.
A male Northern Cardinal helps himself to some seed.

Frank filled up the feeders during a slight break in the weather as a Nor’easter was now heading our way. Just days after the tumultuous weather had passed through from the west. Our feeder system has been up for 8-9 years in some capacity. This is Frank’s project that allows him to be creative. He is building bird feeders at the moment and we have been testing them out. You can see a little of one of them in the right corner. and one of them in the photo below with the dome.

Mourning Doves feeding before the storm hits.
Mourning Doves gouging themselves while squatting in the feeders.

March 21, 2021

The bird feeders are down on the ground showing the steel pole bent into.
Feeders Down!

For two days we had seen high winds. It was similar to a Tropical Storm except it was spinning in the middle of the United States and we were getting whipped by the tail. The photo shows the carnage after a 45-50 mph wind gust hit our feeders just right. Snapped the pole about 12 inches from the ground. With two broken feeders, busted pole and another pole compromised, our yard seems naked without the full feeder system and the birds are beside themselves. Time for a trip to Wild Birds Unlimited.

What is left of the broken bird feeder steel pole snapped during a 50 mph wind gust.
A mere rod in the ground.

The resemblance of what once was the beauty of our buffet for the birds. Frank was able to get it the rest of the way out of the ground. Now it is time to rebuild. Interestingly enough, all the wooden feeders that Frank has created were undamaged.

March 23, 2021

An American Goldfinch feeding out of the new wooden feeder made my hubby.  What is left after the damage from the Nor'easter.
A temporary fix for now with Frank’s new feeders.

The sun has finally come back to Florida. Two of the poles are still intact even though one of them is going to need replacing. When I walked outside to take a photo, the American Goldfinches were coming in. A lone Carolina Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse stopped by. A change of scenery is in order and I’m sure the new feeder system will be even better once we purchase the new poles!

Comments

53 responses to “Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #140 – Unwanted Change of Scenery”

  1. John Avatar

    I’m glad you missed the big storm and tornado. Las Vegas gets winds to 60mph fairly frequently.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Yes, it got quite windy when we were there last time. We got caught in a dust storm stuck in the grocery store parking lot. We had our picnic in the van. We had just left Henderson Birding Preserve from a beautiful morning of birding and BAM! It was on us. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. John Avatar

        I’m not familiar with Henderson, but the bird area sounds nice. 😍

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Lisa Coleman Avatar

        Please look up Henderson Birding Preserve, south of the strip. If you call ahead, you can probably get on a golf cart because it is a lot of hiking. The wetlands and area is just beautiful. https://www.birdandhike.com/Bird/Urban_LV/Henderson/_Henderson.htm

        Like

  2. Mr. Skip Avatar
    Mr. Skip

    Given the potential for these dangerous storms, Lisa, do Frank and you have a storm shelter? If not you might want to consider an above-the-ground shelter–see the following web link.

    http://www.usstormshelters.com/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      No we don’t and probably won’t. Our house is sturdy and we have an area in the house that would be as safe as anyplace. Of course the water table is too high to have an inground cellar. I feel very safe in this house during a hurricane. This house was built in 1963 back when they built homes beyond hurricane strength. 🙂

      Like

  3. bushboy Avatar

    Frank needs to build with hurricane ratings 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      LOL! Well, his feeders stood up to the test! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. bushboy Avatar

        Yes that is a bonus 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Raven Avatar

    Reblogged this on About the Jez of It and commented:
    Love the bird feeders

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Thank you for reblogging. Frank will appreciate the comment. Many people have shown interest. We need to get them up on his Etsy store. He is working on building it. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Marilyn Armstrong Avatar

    I absolutely LOVE your husbands wooden feeders! We’re going to add another pole as soon as Owen has some time to do the work. We’ve been taking the feeders down at night because the flying squirrels were emptying the feeders every night. Then pounds of seeds per night is kind of a lot of seeds, so we had to make a decision. I feel bad that we can’t feed everything, but we just ccant.

    We’ve had a lot of wind, but so far hey haven’t taken down the feeders. Owen now takes the feeders in at night and puts them back up in the morning, If he’s five minutes late, the Blue Jays squawk so loudly, the wake me up from a dead sleep! Owen say he can just about hear them tapping their little birdie feed trilling “Where’s breakfast?”

    We also have lots of itty bitt baby squirrels with little white tufts on their ears. SO cute.

    We were very lucky not to lose any feeders during our many windstorms this year,. I used to keep them feeders on hooks so I could reach them, but that made them spiral out of control faster. So now, Owen has to put them up and take them down. I just can’t reach them.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Owen is a good man for doing that. Frank feeds them several times a day. He never completely fills the feeders so they always have fresh food. Talk about spoiled! I can absolutely believe the Blue Jays have turned Rooster on you. Cockadoodledoo! If I’m up, you should be up too. LOL! 🙂

      Like

  6. Tina Schell Avatar

    WOW, that really tells a story doesn’t it?! I guess it was a definite change of scenery for the birds too! Fun subject for the challenge.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      I was going to write about it anyway but then I saw the theme and it was perfect for it. We will be having our own change of scenery next week while going birding. We do it every year for our anniversary. Day trips again this year because of the pandemic. Our birds are started coming back to what is left of the feeders. They will adjust until we can buy new poles. Probably this weekend. 🙂

      Like

  7. willowdot21 Avatar

    You have caught the change perfectly 💜

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Thank you Willow! The birds are beginning to come back to the leftover feeders. Hope to get new poles this weekend. 🙂

      Like

      1. willowdot21 Avatar

        🤞🤞🤞

        Liked by 1 person

  8. margaret21 Avatar

    Oh dear. But what a tribute that the home-made feeders weathered the storm!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      It’s going to be fine, just a bit naked at the moment. I was excited to know that Frank’s feeders held up even after hitting the ground with a might force. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Wandering Dawgs Avatar

    Lisa, so sorry your change of scenery had to do with a broken pole for your bird feeder. We were under watches and warnings, here, too but didn’t have nearly the winds you did. Thanks for participating in the challenge!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      It’s like the St John’s River cuts most of our sever storms in half where they go north and south of our house. Strange how that works.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Toonsarah Avatar

    I’m happy for the birds that you were able to get the feeders up and operational again so quickly after the storm 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      We are happy too, but we will be ecstatic once we get the new poles. This is only 1/2 of what it was. One of these poles will have to be replaced as it sustained damage but is up for now. We will go over the weekend when the owner is at the store. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Irene Avatar

    What a unique feeder system. Love it!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Thanks Irene. That is only 1/2 of what it was and what it will be again. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Cee Neuner Avatar

    Winds can be so dangerous at times. Great photos though 😀

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Yes, they can be and we had them for 3 days, but the final day got us good! 🙂

      Like

  13. JohnRH Avatar

    Feeders down! We have a breach!! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! (Good ol’ Mother Nature.)

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Sound the horn! Iceberg straight ahead! Oh, wait…wrong scene! LOL! You read my mind perfectly sir! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. JohnRH Avatar

        😂👍😂

        Like

  14. Amy Avatar

    Oh noo… Feeders down. But, I love these bird photos, Lisa!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Thanks Amy! Yes the feeders went down but at least we have something up for now. The birds are starting to come back now that they have adjusted to the new norm until Frank can rebuild. 🙂

      Like

      1. Amy Avatar

        That’s wonderful, Lisa! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Lisa Coleman Avatar

        I’m happy about it. Goldfinches are still here. This is the latest we have seen them. We added a more variety of foods. I guess they like it. 🙂

        Like

  15. SoyBend Avatar

    Sorry about the loss of your feeders but glad you are okay. Now your husband will have a new project to fill up his time. 🐦

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Yeah, he will rebuild. We may go buy the new poles this weekend. I know he will want to get it rebuilt as soon as possible. Like he needed another project. LOL! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  16. norasphotos4u Avatar

    Good to hear that you got through the storm safely

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Thanks Nora. We’ve had worse, but none every broke our feeder poles. Frank takes them down when we have a Tropical Storm or Hurricane, but this one caught him by surprise. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Siva jyothi Avatar

    Nice Birds 🦅

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Thank you Siva! 🙂

      Like

  18. Jim Borden Avatar

    love the shot of the cardinal!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      Thanks Jim. I know that is your favorite bird. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Jim Borden Avatar

        I keep things simple… 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Lisa Coleman Avatar

        Yes you do. I tend to complicate things. LOL! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  19. Marsha Avatar

    Such an elaborate system, Lisa. I’m sorry it ended so badly. What a lot of work. Yet through it all your obvious concern is more for the birds. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa Coleman Avatar

      It will be bigger and better the next time. Frank enjoys the creativity of it all so once we get the new poles, it will get a plan together. For now, the birds are back to some normalcy and will be thrilled when the new ones get done. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Marsha Avatar

        I thought that one was very elaborate! I can’t wait to see the new one. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Lisa Coleman Avatar

        It was elaborate. I think we are going to try to get our new poles on Sunday if they are open. 😊

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Marsha Avatar

        That may be iffy, but who knows? 🙂

        Liked by 1 person