Through the Kitchen Window ~ A Special Place

It's often the littlest of things that bring us joy.
That special something that brightens our day, adds excitement, lifts the soul and makes us happy.

The word joy means:
A feeling of great happiness.
A source or cause of great happiness: something or someone that gives joy to someone.
Success in doing, finding, or getting something.

My old kitchen was tiny.
There were no windows and I stared at a wall while washing the dishes.
Since remodeling, it is pure joy taking in the views and having the sun stream in through the new kitchen window.

Even on a cloudy day it's bright in the kitchen.




Just outside the window and hanging from the dogwood tree is a bird feeder.

It is pure joy watching all the different birds flying to the feeder to eat and resting on the branches while singing their songs.

This time of year the babies come too, following their parents who are teaching them how to care for themselves.  The babies give those little cries for food as the mama bird busily cracks open shells to get to the seed, trying to feed herself as the little ones seem to cry, "me, me, feed me," while fluttering their little wings that have just become strong enough to soar them through the air.

Such beautiful sights and sounds...joy!

See the cardinal through the window on the right, sitting on the feeder?

Many house finch babies have been coming to the feeders with their parents.

This one has been cocking his head in every direction while looking at me.

This is the sibling and if you look close you can see he is fluttering his wings.





Chickadees are so tiny and cute!

I'm seeing more and more Eastern Towhee birds.

The Eastern Towhee has a whistle that sounds like "Drink Your Teeeee."

They are usually found in forest undergrowth, woodlands, and brushy edges.  On the ground they scratch in the leaf litter using both feet at the same time, in kind of a backward hop.  They are more abundant in yards where there are large shrubs and natural landscape.

Nests are built by the female on the ground or near the ground in tables of vines or bushes.  Nestlings are cared for by both parents and fledge in 10 - 12 days.

These birds feed on moths, caterpillars, ants, wood borers, snails, beetles, and other destructive pests.  They also eat berries and seeds.

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You can hear the Eastern Towhee here...

While looking out the window and taking pictures of these sweet birds I noticed something else. YIKES!

If you have a fear of snakes, look away now.

Slithering in from the front yard onto the walkway is a black rat snake.

I quickly left the kitchen and headed out to the front porch.

He was almost completely to the monkey grass when I got outside.

He is making his way up the walk by hiding just beneath the monkey grass.

I'm not wild about snakes myself, but if they are going to be around, this nonpoisonous snake is a good one to have.

Black rat snakes are constrictors, meaning they squeeze their prey until it suffocates.
They feast on small rodents, including mice, rats, and moles and sometimes will eat frogs.  The sad thing is, they are good climbers and will eat small birds and bird eggs, swallowing them whole.

Black rat snakes like to live in the woods.  They can be found in barns, sheds, fields or gardens if there aren't any woods nearby.  They are good swimmers too.  They grow to be very long, between 3 feet and 6 feet, but the record for the longest snake in North America was more than 8 feet long!
Adults are black with a white underbelly, and babies are gray with brown patterns on top.


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The kitchen window is a special place to watch beautiful birds eating and singing their sweet songs,
black hawks walking just under the window in search of something to eat,
owls and black rat snakes,
and the sunsets are pretty amazing too.

Yes, I love the views from the kitchen window!

Who know what else happens just outside these panes of glass that I may have missed?

I look forward to many more memorable views from this special place that brings me so much joy.

What have you seen from your kitchen window?

See our before and after farmhouse style kitchen remodel here.


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