Look at that beautiful bird! Yes, I got him, a genuine Western Tanager!

The orange-lure worked, as he showed up shortly after me hanging a slice between the bird-feeders! Isn't he gorgeous?

Interesting enough he also seems to like the suet, which I didn't think he would, but there you go ..

Western Tanagers, the western counterpart to the Scarlet Tanager, nest in coniferous forests of the north and the high mountains, but during migration they may show up in any habitat, including grassland and desert; the bright males often draw attention by pausing in suburban yards in late spring where they like to snack on nectar, meal worms, raisins, fruit or berries and when it's cold .. suet. 

.. you learn something new every day!

Besides the flashy bright yellow and red he brings to the garden, we're not exactly lacking other colors at the moment.

In Doug's yard this Eastern Redbud is flowering ..

   

But stealing the show at the moment are the azeleas:

I tried to find as many different ones as I could just here in the neighborhood alone:

And although 'just' a simple white, I shouldn't forget to mention the Dogwoods which are pretty much running wild in every yard around here ..

I'm, very carefully, extending my walks a little bit every couple of days or so and, so far so good, my foot is holding up!
I managed to walk all the way down one of my favorite streets and got to see the vineyard at the end of it for the first time in 6 months ..

                      

                           

It doesn't look like much is 'happening' yet from a distance but if you look real close ...         

Yup! Tiny little buds and leafs are starting to appear! And so another wine/vintage-year is starting to develop ...



Of course last Friday was a Friday the 13th, which we survived without any issues ..

... and I wouldn't be me if I wouldn't question how many there are in an average year?
I found this on the world wide web:

- Any calendar year has at least one Friday the 13th and can have as many as three Friday   the 13ths.
- For a month to have a Friday the 13th, the month must begin on a Sunday.
- This year, 2022, we have only one: May 13.
- The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia. Now say that 10 times really fast!

Fortunately, this Friday the 13th also happened to be National Apple-pie Day (although other sources claim it's March 13?), which probably would make up for a lot of mishaps that could have happened ..
Especially when you actually happen to have some sitting around, since totally coincidentally I made an Apple-Blueberry Cobbler that day!

Perfect for coffee-time .. which was actually our breakfast that day ..
(Hey, apple-pie for breakfast, what's not to like?)

 I think we're good until next week ... maybe ..