Monday, January 4, 2021

A Painted Bunting was seen in Maryland

I saw a news clip about this rare bird siting in Maryland on the CBS News this morning. It was rare to see a painted bunting so far North but the news clip said they were rather common farther down South. All the bird watchers (birders) are flocking to Maryland hoping to get a glimpse of this bird for their life bird count. 

I couldn't find anything to watch last night in bed on Acorn TV so I started a search. I was searching by name of some of my favorite actors and I put in Martin Clunes and guess what popped up? Doc Martin, Season 9 was released in September 2019 but I never knew it. I started watching and it's delightful. I am SO HAPPY! I think it's on Amazon Prime Video too.

I have been working upstairs in my attic home office doing endless organizing and shredding. I went to paper recycling today with 3 tall garbage cans of shredded paper, junk mail, and flattened cardboard boxes. I wasn't the only one either. The lady in front of me had a car full and I thought she would never get finished unloading her SUV. Mine was all organized and went quickly.

I have an older, small flatscreen TV on the third floor with a Chromecast attached to the back and I have been streaming non-stop episodes of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW UK from PLUTO TV Channel 621. It's so much better than the American version. It's on 24/7 and I don't often see repeats because it has been on the air for so long. I am such a happy cord cutter and haven't looked back since I got rid of cable TV and my landline phone. All I have now is high speed WiFi and my cell phone. In my living room I still get Air TV from an inexpensive antenna. Now I watch what I want, when I want. I can stream the Sunday shows on PBS starting on Monday from The PBS Video App.
xo

9 comments:

Pam said...

It would be wonderful to see a painted bunting. Their colors are so vibrant, they almost seem unreal--hence their name, I guess. Congratulations on sorting and recycling. So satisfying to get things done at the start of a new year!

The Queen Vee said...

I'm alive, sorry I've been absent.

Like you I'm cleaning, sorting, recycling and trying to go through all closets, drawers and storage areas. I keep thinking if I die tomorrow my kids would be cursing my name because of all our stuff.

Wow, that painted bunting looks like all the primary colors were spilled on it. The only birds I see around our home area are migrating birds way up in the sky and robins. Antelope Island, the "Family Island" is only a 20 min drive from our house, it is a bird sanctuary among other things. That's the place to go bird watching.

I would love to cut our cable. I don't watch it but Ken does. I pretty much watch BritBox, Acorn and Amazon Prime. I had Netflix for quite a while but found I wasn't watching much on it. I may sign up for a month and binge watch some things and then cancel it. I think it is a bit pricey.

jusaweecatnap said...

The bird is charming and crazy cute. As for tv, have you seen Elizabeth is Missing on Masterpiece? Glenda Jackson is terrific. Very sad, but thought provoking and touching. Beautifully produced, as always. If you like that one, you might also like Sweet Bean, which I found on Kanopy. Also, Edie. As I get older, I appreciate movies where the main character is an older woman, focusing on issues that older women have. Conversely, I did not really enjoy Queen's Gambit, though I watched the whole series. I was cheering on Beth as she rose through the chess ranks, but the other messaging in the series bothered me. The message I perceived was that a woman can be super smart and the best in the world at something, but what really matters is that she is beautiful and sexy and available to any man who wants to have sex with her. It's not enough just to be smart. I read a review of the show by a woman who read the 1983 book years ago and loved it. She complained that the tv series changed the theme of the book where Beth agonizes about not being beautiful. A different tension was created for the tv series, no doubt to appeal to a male audience and get as many viewers as possible. One of the films I think of as the "will they or won't they have sex" genre. yawn.

jusaweecatnap said...

One more movie about older women that I loved was Strangers in Good Company, on Kanopy (love Kanopy). Apparently it was mostly ad libbed. The women modeled the characters on their own lives.

donna baker said...

We have Painted Buntings in Oklahoma. They are beautiful.

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for the update on Doc Martin! I've been looking for the new series but never thought to just check the status - I won't forget that trick!

And the bunting is just beautiful!

Thanks so much, Rosemary, and Happy New Year!

Susan

Content in a Cottage said...

Just a Wee Catnap -- Thanks for the Kanopy movie recommendations. All three are now on my list. I don't subscribe to Netflix so I haven't seen The Queen's Gambit. Acorn TV is my only paid subscription and it's really all I need along with the PBS Video App. I did watch Elizabeth is Missing on Masterpiece and it was excellent.
xo, Rosemary

Content in a Cottage said...

donna baker -- You are so fortunate to have painted buntings in Oklahoma. They are spectacular birds.
xo, Rosemary

Brenda said...

I live in S. Florida and Painted Buntings migrate here for the winter. I’m always so excited when they return. They are quite small and timid. That’s a male in your photo. They truly are that colorful. The females are a pale greenish yellow color. I think they are quite lovely also.

The best thing I’ve seen on Kanopy is Mr. Jones. Do you get Hoopla with your library membership? Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is available and it’s delightful. Introduced me to the author Elizabeth Taylor who is an excellent author. I’ve got the book and it is on my TBR list.

I’m also clearing out. Seems to be never ending. I think emails multiply in my inbox...🙄. It’s motivating to hear of someone else progressing so thank you for that!