Although Mondays are no longer dreaded at the beginning of a work week, this one held no particilar promise. I was surprised as exciting things began to unfold. I heard a slow, steady hammering from my bedroom. Surely my closest neighbor was not making repairs on his porch, but that is what it sounded like. I quietly stepped onto the deck and tiptoed to the edge, having a premonition that it might be the pileated woodpecker. Yes! As soon as I looked over the railing, this great bird flew to the dogwood tree at the edge of my property. What a sight that was! The red on the back of his head was highly visible as he flew to safety. Later I walked around the house to see if there was visible damage under the deck. It’s there on the cross piece — two round holes and a gash.
If this wasn’t the longest day of the year, it would be off by only a day. Knowing the sun was coming up, I stepped on the back porch to see exactly where it rose so I could mark the spot. Now I have it in my head, as measured by the railing. Merry thought — I have had eleven chances to do that and only now thought of it.
Joyce wasn’t walking, so I took the weather warning that rain was coming soon, and left to walk 15 minutes early. It didn’t rain until after I got home and weeded one section of the garden path. I had planned to turn back if clouds were visible, and that’s when neighbor Cindy came into view, walking her two dogs. She said she’d turn around and walk with me, knowing my goal was the stop sign near her house. If I had gotten rained on, it would have been worth it to spend time with Cindy. Her exciting story of the day was learning why her riding mower wouldn’t turn on. She had stopped to move a branch out of the way and couldn’t restart it. A neighbor looked at it and explained it was a safety feature. She had failed to stop the blades before cutting it off, so the machine refused to start, since the blades would have roared to life.
Shawn’s day lilies were exceptionally pretty just across from my driveway, so I stopped for a photo. When I sent it to her, she asked for a copy. She recently learned that she should have been removing old leaves, and this was proof that it worked.
As I watered plants that David had put in my garden, I found one of the dwarf butterfly bushes had a bloom. The other one had more buds, but they hadn’t bloomed yet. I had to share that with him by sending the photo. We were both excited about it. This was a merry happening, indeed!
After I checked the side of the house for woodpecker damage, I noticed a plant growing out of a huge evergreen under the guest room windows. There was a red berry, and I knew I was looking at an unripe wild blackberry. I will check on it, but it’s likely a bird will get it before it’s ripe enough for me to eat.
Mehrling Muse 
Lots of interesting things to fill your Monday!! Thank you for sharing them with us.
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Pileated woodpeckers are so majestic. What a treat that you saw one!
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It was the closest I’ve ever been to this huge bird.
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I love when unplanned days just come together and all is right with the world!
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It was such a pleasant day!
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You had a great Monday Anne! I have never seen a Pileated Woodpecker in “person”, only in pictures and they certainly are unique looking … it left some unique holes at your house too. I hope you can discourage it from coming back and finishing the job.
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I’ll tiptoe out of I hear him again.
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Yes, tell him who is boss!
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I hope you don’t have insect damage to your deck. The woodpecker may have found something tasty to eat. From what I’ve heard, they are usually making knocking noises to attract mates.
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I couldn’t believe how slowly he was pecking that wood.
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Well, I say it was a pretty busy Monday actually and don’t forget the intruder 🐧 twist tgsy started it all😉
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An eventful Monday! That crazy woodpecker. I hope he doesn’t make too much damage. Enjoy the rest of the week.
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That is a lot of damage, and the pileated woodpecker will likely be back. We have a pair of them in our woods, and they will return to the same spot over and over. The Cornell University website All About Birds has information on why they may have targeted your house and how to discourage them from coming back.
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Thank you for that information, Carole.
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Maybe that woodpecker got what he wanted and will ll leave you alone now.
Those yellow flowers are very cheerful!
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The woodpecker used to drill in the siding of the house. He hasn’t been there again since we had his holes filled.
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Oh that’s good news!
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💕
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There are little new berries all over that bush! Maybe the birds will save you one!
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Yes, there are lots of little berries right now, but I don’t walk there often. I should be happy to have the birds feed on them.
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Sounds like a good Monday
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What a lovely Monday you had Anne. I haven’t seen a Pileated Woodpecker here, but we do have beautiful, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and small Downy Woodpeckers. We are always excited when they visit the suet.
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Today I put a pinwheel above the holes the woodpecker drilled the other day. He won’t like the shiny, whirling thing.
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That is such a great idea.
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I did a photo per month of the sunrise spot. I thought I put it on my blog? anyway since you enjoy taking photos you might like it too. I was a little shocked about the distance it covered as it rose each month. I just put my camera in the same spot (or as close as I could) and snapped a photo. After a year it was neat to see just how far we spun.
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What fun! I don’t have that much patience.
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