Our world, My world

Hello,

Happy Monday, wishing everyone a great day and new week!

These are some images from around my yard and our walk on the local bike trail.  

I have some blooms from around our yard, we are having enough rain to make everything grow well.  It was nice see the clematis plant bloom a second time. 

The Lantana growing in this pot is huge, taking up a corner of our deck.

Some potted annuals on the table, upright Fuchsia, Zinnias, Salvia and some herbs.

Usually this fuchsia is sold in a hanging basket, but we found growing in a pot at our local nursery. 

Our local bike trail, we can walk a few miles on the flat trail.  We usually try walking early in the morning, to avoid the hot and humid afternoons. 

A view of our bike trail called the NCR trail or the North Central Railroad rails to trails. 

Along the trail is a bench for resting and some Bee Balm. I am seeing Bee Balm everywhere we walk lately. 

I had a quick view of the Great Blue Heron flying up the river. Below a view of the Gunpowder River, some hosta blooms and down by the river are the orange daylilies. 

I was able to catch this Belted Kingfisher perched on a tree above the river. 

Maybe you will visit the following memes and links. I hope to see you there. 

Thanks to Angie the host of  Mosaic Monday

Thanks to LadyFi  the host of Our World Tuesday!

Thanks for visiting and commenting, have a happy day!

Saturday's Critters #292

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!


If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!


These are some images from our walk on the C&O Canal trail located at Riley's Lock in Potomac Maryland. 

I can always find the Green Herons at this location. They are one of my favorite herons. 

We saw a lot of these Slider Turtles in the canal. They were sitting on piles of mud or trunks trunks sticking out the water.  

There were a lot of dragonflies flying around. 

A couple of Bald Eagles were seen and heard.  There must be a nest nearby. 

A second Green Heron seen along the trail.  I think their rusty neck and colors are beautiful. 

The Green Heron, one of the smallest herons. They can be hard to spot. They blend in well with their surroundings. 

I appreciate and thank everyone who links up their post and for all the wonderful comments !







Here is a list of my linky parties;

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.

Shenandoah Nat'l Park

Happy Thankful Thursday


On July 9th-10 hubby and I took an overnight trip to Shenandoah Nat'l Park. We spent the night in nearby Harrisonburg Va. We picked 2 days when they were calling for cooler and less humid weather.  In 2 days we hiked a total 10 miles, we saw lots of birds, butterflies and some deer. My photos are below with a caption explaining the photo. I hope I identified the birds correctly. 


Below is the view from the Pass Mountain overlook, we took a short loop trail at this parking lot. The next 2 photos show the pretty sky during the first day of our Shenandoah trip. 

The Indigo Buntings were plentiful in the park. 

We also took a short walk on the Compton Gap Trail where we saw this pretty sure this is a Blue-headed Vireo on the nest.

A juvenile Scarlet Tanager or maybe a female?

A deer seen off the Compton Gap Trail.

I am not positive about this flower's id, I was thinking it looked like white Bee Balm.

Bee Balm and a Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly.

A mosaic with images from the Big Meadows, we saw lots of Milkweed, daises, Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on milkweed,  unknown bush with yellow blossoms, Thistle, Song Sparrow and a female Brown-headed Cowbird. 

Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly, not sure of the orange flower id?

Some wild daisies on the Big Meadows @ Shenandoah Nat'l Park.

On the Limberlost Trail, we heard a lot of American Redstarts, Hooded Warblers. This is a guess, I think it is an Eastern Phoebe. 

A pretty male Eastern Towhee seen off the Limberlost Trail.

Below is from our walk on the Limberlost Trail. 

I am thankful for the wildflowers. 
I am thankful for nice hiking weather. 
I am thankful for all your visits and comments. 


Thank you Michelle for hosting Thankful Thursday. 
Thank you to Yogi the host of   Skywatch Friday



Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments on my previous post. Have a happy day!

Saturday's Critters #291 & 10th Blog Anniversary

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!

If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

For my 10th blog anniversary I thought I would share some of my favorite birds & critters photos from previous post over the years.  I created mosaics so there will not be too long of a photo post. I have added many lifers to my list during the past 10 years and during my travels. 

Thank you to all my visitors, I have enjoyed visiting your blogs as much as I enjoy making my own post. 
I am trying to share these in date order, but all photos will be from 2009-2019.  Please click on images for larger viewing.  

I also included links back to each individual post or you can click on any of the various labels I have on my side bar.   



Photos from 2009-2014 Goldie Girl

Our first dogs are below are Sunshine a yellow lab, Daisy a Golden Retriever, Sierra a Golden Retriever daughter of Daisy and Maui a chocolate lab is a son of Sunshine.  In the middle top photo is all four of these dogs.  

Various photos and from 2009-2019 my Maryland back yard birds: 

In November 2012, I was lucky to see a few Evening Grosbeaks at my feeders, Cape May Warbler, Screech owl, Eastern Bluebird, Pine Warblers with a Downy Woodpecker, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Northern Parula times 2, Great-crested Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Groabeak, Nashville Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Bluebirds.

March 2010,  Costa Rica

Keel-billed Toucan, Collared Aracari, Crimson-fronted Parakeet,Montezuma Oropendola,  Blue-Gray Tanager, Amazon Kingfisher, Ringed Kingfisher, Great Potoo.  I have many more Costa Rica birds that are not included on the mosaic.  

Below the mosaic has various images and dates from trips to Washington State. We drove a loop around the Cascade Mountains, Stehekin WA in  Sept 2010 ,  we visited the Olympic Nat'l Park and Sequim in  October 2015 and in May 2017 we visited Mt Rainier Nat'l Park, Sequim, Olympic Nat'l park and Ocean Shores WA. 

American Dipper, American Pipit, Black Turnstone, Black Oystercatcher, Pigeon Guillemot, Western Grebe, Rhinoceros Auklet, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, California Quail, Spotted Towhee, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Oregon Junco, Gray Jay, Elk, Stellar's Jay, Anna's Hummingbird, Bald Eagle, Band-tailed Pigeon.

November 2011,  Panama

Green Kingfisher, Tropical Kingbird, White-whiskered Puffbird, Sloth, Capuchin Monkey, Grey-headed Chachalaca, Long-billed Hermit, White-necked Jacobin, Blue-crowned Manakin, Keel-billed Toucan, Brown Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird, Blue-footed Booby

April 2012 Curacao & Oregon 2012

Caribbean Flamingo, Bananaquit, Bare-eyed Pigeon, parakeet, Crested Caracara, Curacao Yellow Warbler, Black-faced Grassquit, Saffron Finch, Rufous-collared Sparrow, Trupial Kacho Yellow Oriole, Trupial Oriole, Magnificent Frigatebird. 

October 2013 New Mexico & Texas

Gambel's Quail, Northern Harrier, Roadrunner, Lark Bunting, sheep, Cave Swallows, Say's Phoebe, Black Phoebe, Townsend's Solitaire, Sage Thrasher, Canyon Towhee, Rock Wren, Pyrrhuloxia, Less Goldfinch, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Sandhill Cranes, Quail.

May 2014 Belize, I am sharing two mosaics with a lot of Belize birds, but they do not show all the birds we saw on that trip.

Olive-throated Parakeet, Collared Aracari, Social Flycatcher, Royal Flycatcher, Crimson-collared Tanager, Masked Tityra, Yellow-winged Tanager, White-collared Seedeater, Roadside Hawk, Violet Saberwing, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Vermilion Flycatcher, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Violaceous Trogon.

Ringed Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher, Wattled Jacana, Northern Jacana, Kingbird, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Howler Monkey, Brown Jay, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Yellow-tailed Oriole, Bare-throated Tiger Heron. 

September 2014 Colorado

Below are the Stellar's Jay, unknown duck, Common Mergenser, Junco and another Stellar's Jay

Western Bluebird, Pygmy Nuthatch, baby Barn Swallows, Pika, Grouse, Mountain Chickadee, Magpie, Elk, Lincoln's Sparrow and a baby Moose.

March 2015 Florida also may include images from our Florida trips in 2013, 2015, 2016-17 and 2019.

Feb & March 2016 we took road trips to Tennessee, Virginia and we lived in Florida from Oct 2016 thru March 2017. 

Tennessee Sandhill Cranes, Eastern Bluebird, Mockingbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler

2017 in May we traveled to Washington state,
 the  June 2017 Delaware Water Gap  

Below a Baltimore Oriole, Waterthrush, Cedar Waxwing, Gray Catbird, Wood Thrush.

and Sunset Beach Nov 2017 North Carolina

Bald Eagles on the beach, Brown Pelicans fly by, Semipalmated Plovers, Pelicans and Gulls, Black Skimmers and Gulls on Sunset Beach. 

May 2018 was a road trip to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia 

Below various images from our road trip 2018, A Spotted Sandpiper, Song Sparrow, Mammoth Cave Cricket, Deer, Wild Turkeys, Tiger Swallowtail butterflies, Indigo Bunting, Great-crested Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 

I can't not leave out my favorite park, we visited Shenandoah Nat'l Park many times over the last 10 years.  

I plan to keep on blogging and visiting all my favorite blogs. Thank you for all your past visits. 






Combining this post with the following memes for the week. Have a happy new week!


Thanks to Anni @ I'd Rather Be Birding

Thanks to Angie, the host of Mosaic Monday

Thanks to Lady Fi, the host of Our World Tuesday

I appreciate and thanks again to everyone who links up their post today and years past. Thank you for all the wonderful comments !

Hashawha Nature Center

Hello,

Happy Thankful Thursday, wishing everyone a great day!

These are some images from our July 1st walk at the local Hashawha Nature Center in Carroll County Maryland.  It is one of my favorite parks, the trails are great. There is always something to see there, lots of birds and wildflowers .  

The trail and lake at Hashawha Nature Center. 

An Indigo Bunting sky. 

Another view of the trail.  

Pretty waterliles.  

Some Barn Swallows. 

The trail and pretty Bee Balm. 

Closeup of the Bee Balm. 

Cedar Waxwing next to the trail. 

A Common Yellowthroat Warbler. Thank you to David for the correct id. 

The Swallow Sky

"Love the world as your own self, then you truly can care for all things." Lao Tzu


Leaving the park, the stare down.  

I am always thankful for the little things.
I am thankful to spend time with nature.
I am thankful for all your visits and comments. 


Thank you Michelle for hosting Thankful Thursday. 
Thank you to Yogi the host of   Skywatch Friday



Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments on my previous post. Have a happy day!