Thursday, March 3, 2016

Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge

I am linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences
I hope you can join in on the fun and share your fence scenes and pretty skies.

If you have been following my blog for sometime you know hubby and I love to travel. Now that we are both retired we can up and leave whenever the weather is nice. This trip to Tennessee was planned just the night before we left, we wanted to take advantage of some mild weather for our drive to Tennessee. I had been watching  EBIRD the site to see if any Sandhill Cranes were still being seen at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge and we heard about a great Tennessee park called Fall Creek Falls State Park from Betsy @ Joyful Reflections.







We arrived at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge on the morning of  Feb 18th. The cranes fly into and out of the wildlife refuge daily. Numbers of  Sandhill Cranes and an occasional Whooping Crane can be seen at the wildlife refuge from November to February. We met some wonderful nice birders at the refuge, I believe the  local birders were looking for the elusive Whooping Crane. All the people and birders we met in Tennessee were super friendly and helpful.








We stayed in a nearby town Dayton, located just miles away from the refuge and not too far of a drive to the Falls Creek Falls State Park. The Hiwassee Wildlife refuge 6,000 acres is located where the Hiwassee River and the Tennessee River meet.







There were a lot of white-tailed deer in the area of the wildlife refuge. I am sharing one photo of the deer with this fence shot.

Teresa's Friday's Hunt
1. letter J
2. week's favorite
3. a cuppa






For Teresa's Friday's Hunt I am sharing my favorite photo above with the Sandhill Crane reflection.




The observation deck is a good distance from where we saw the Sandhill Cranes. You know me by now, I still had to take photos even with the great distance.







A pretty blue sky with the Sandhill Cranes in flight.







It is cool to hear the Sandhill Cranes flying in, sometimes we saw some large groups of cranes both arriving or leaving. These images do look better if you click to enlarge them.







In four days we drove more like 1,700 miles after sightseeing around the parks and Tennessee. We had a total of four days traveling, 2 of the days were taken up on the drive down to Tennessee and the drive back home. So we had just 2 days to see everything we wanted to see in Tennessee, not a lot of time.







A pretty view from the overlook of the Tennessee River and the Hiwassee Island.







Another favorite image was the moon over the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge.

I will have a lot more from our trip to Tennessee and of the Cranes coming soon.
As always I hope you liked my photos. Thank so much for stopping by and for the nice comments.


To see more pretty skies, fences and fantastic photos from around the world please visit the memes below.


Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences. Also, thank you to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for doing such a great job at hosting Skywatch Friday.  Thanks also to Teresa Friday's Hunt  

  I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead..

105 comments:

  1. Quanta beleza e paz passam as tuas fotos!Adorei ver , numa manhã bem cedinho ,aqui! beijos, chica

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  2. Hallo Eilee,
    such a wonderful trip trough this fantastic landscape. I like it very much!
    thank you for posting
    susa from germany

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  3. Belas e fantásticas fotografias.
    Bom trabalho.
    Um abraço e continuação de uma boa semana.

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  4. Beautiful post. Awesome photos.
    Greetings.

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  5. All that driving was worth it to see the cranes and enjoy the stunning views across the rivers, even if for a short time!
    I absolutely love the reflection shot, it's beautiful!
    Have a wonderful day!

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  6. Love the shot of the white-tailed deer. The fence is somehow awkward but reassuring. He's safe in there.

    Also, the crane reflection shot. Perfect capture!

    Love the scenes, so calm and serene. I am surprised this is in NC because I am in NC! Another part of the state, but still. ;-)

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  7. Oh my!! The photo of the moon takes my breath away! Thank you!

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  8. All lovely nature shots Eileen, but my favorite too is the one of sandhill cranes reflection. Love it.

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  9. Beautiful place, beautiful birds and animal behind a fence. Have a nice day.

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  10. What a beautiful place! You captured lovely pictures of the wildlife and the moon.

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  11. We rarely see the cranes here flying becasue when they get here they disperse to find nesting spots, usually isolated spots you can't get too. Later we might see the odd one feeding in a hayfield. Thanks for the map; always enjoy following a map.

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  12. Hari om
    What a wonderful trip!!! I cannot pick a fave from these...:-) YAM xx

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  13. how beautiful. i'd love to see that part of the country. love the crane shot!

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  14. I adore your photos, as always, but really happy to see the map. I'm a bit vague on US geography!

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  15. What a lovely place. The cranes with their reflections are beautiful!

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  16. a lot of nice shots. I go a little silly whenever I see sandhills. Especially when they have a couple of young ones with them. Squeee

    Kudos...I wish I'd been on that trip with you.

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  17. Fantastic photos and what a fun trip to see all this wild life . Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !

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  18. Hello Eileen,
    Wonderful pictures of this amazing place.
    A great place of nature.

    Many greetings,
    Marco

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  19. It's always such fun to decide to take off on an adventure! I love the reflections and guess what? I have some crane pics to share on Saturday! Enjoy your day sweet friend. Hugs, Diane

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  20. You did a lot of driving for just two days of looking at the beauties of the park and wildlife refuge, but it looks to me like it was well worth the effort. The cranes look like they are doing a dance in the sky. Such a pretty sight and that reflection shot is awesome.

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  21. Lovely shots of the sandhill cranes. I love photographing those birds and live in Texas where they winter, so have the privilege of seeing them not too far from where I live. The park you went to looks like a lovely place to visit

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  22. I returned from Thailand on the 25th of January and our Sandhill Cranes were already back. I don't know what they are thinking because we have a stretch of winter to get through ... but then yesterday there was a flock of Common Mergansers on the open water in our lake ... I don't know what to think of it. The crane pictures are awesome, Eileen ... I have a soft spot for them.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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  23. Good morning Eileen, wow, that reflection in the water and their skinny little legs is just lovely! All your photos are and that state park by the town of Dayton I believe looks very interesting. You go to the best places when the weather permits! Happy travels stay safe.

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  24. That would be a great place to see. Too bad you couldn't spend more time. i imagine there is a lot of exploring in a place like that.

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  25. Boa tarde, maravilhosa fotorreportagem com excelentes fotos da natureza, significa que o seu passeio foi lindo e certamente que é para repetir.
    AG

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  26. Traveling is so beautiful for you and your hubby, wow, lovely things to enhance us, thanks Eileen

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  27. Eileen, you always have interesting photos of your visits and travels. I like the Sandhill Crane reflection and the one in flight.

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  28. thought those were flamingos ... had to go back and take another look. cranes have such character. ( :

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  29. Looks like a fun trip! I'd love to see that area. I've enjoyed all your wonderful photos. The cranes and their reflections were fun to see. Love moon shot, too!

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  30. Beautiful place and loved all your pictures.
    I think my favorite if I had to pick would be the twin herons.

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  31. Hello Eileen!:) Lovely scenery and some great captures of the Sandhill Cranes, so glad you got to see them. Nicely spotted deer behind the fence too! Looking forward to seeing more.:)

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  32. Hello Eileen what a great post for today. Your photography is great. Thanks for stopping by my neck of the woods. Had been warmer her but snowing pretty heave now. You were not far from me in Tenn. I live in Central Ky.

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  33. A very happy weekends to you Eileen! Great shots!

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  34. Neat fence shot and gorgeous photography as always!

    Happy Week to you ~ ^_^

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  35. truly beautiful area to visit. i remember seeing betsys photos of the falls there. i would like to hear the cranes, don't think i even have. love the water views

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  36. Eileen - this looks a very beautiful place, and it was a great idea to include the map too.

    Enjoy the rest of this week, and have a good weekend too.

    All the best Jan

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  37. Hello,

    I love your favorites, and all the others as well!
    The cranes and the reflection are wonderful :)

    Happy Weekend!

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  38. What's not to like?!? Love the reflection shot! A few years ago, when on vacation in Kissimmee, FL we heard some noises outside our accomodations, and what do we see but a momma Sandhill Crane and her baby! We were able to get pretty close to them...it was exciting! And that shot of the moon--wow!! Thanks for sharing... those might be places we visit someday! Hugs!

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  39. You are a dedicated birder, Eileen, and I like your pictures of the cranes in flight.

    ;-)

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  40. The reflections, a stunner. Enjoy every trip, retirement has huge advantages, and not running to a clock any more is a big one.

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  41. Oh, my goodness, what a trip! Sorry I haven't been by in awhile. No good excuses! XO

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  42. What a pretty area. The shot of the deer/fence was lovely.
    I also really liked your Crane/reflection shot.

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  43. Wonderful trip! The pictures are very beautiful. I like especially the picture with the sandhill cranes reflection.

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  44. WoW!!!! what a beautiful place eileen!!! it is wonderful to be retired and enjoy life in a leisurely way!!! i think the reflection image is my favorite but all of these images are really lovely!!!

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  45. I think the Cranes are so graceful - I love seeing their wings as they fly.

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  46. The refuge certainly looks a wonderful place to explore Eileen. All 6000 acres of it. No wonder you drove so many miles. The reflections picture of the Sandhill cranes is simply beautiful and so atmospheric.

    By the way, knowing our European Goldfinch as well as I do, I can not think that the one in Delaware is a genuine vagrant from Europe, especially going the "wrong" way across the Atlantic. It would be a nice one to see though.

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  47. Incredible images Eileen just incredible. What a great place to visit. Hug B

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  48. How wonderful, you do get to see some amazing birds, all the photos are lovely. You are one lucky lady..
    Amanda xx

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  49. Nice touch to your fence shots! Love the map so I can see where you went.

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  50. Hello Eileen!!
    Wow!! What a beautiful place!
    Wonderful pictures of the birds the landscapes and the great reflections!
    Thank you for sharing!Have a lovely evening!
    Dimi...

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  51. Amazed, I'm always much more amazed by your stunning photographs, my darling Eileen, ... the one of the Sandhill Crane and that of the gorgeous moon are truly charming, thank you, again and again, for sharing all this natural beauty, my dearest one !

    With so much gratitude I'm sending dear, so dear love to you,
    xox
    Dany

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  52. Beautiful pictures! Happy weekend!

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  53. What a joyous collection of photos. Great trip.

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  54. Nice pics, thank you.

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  55. Så nydelige bilder du tar.
    Fint å ta turer rundt om i landet.

    God helg !

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  56. These are great Eileen and what a nice trip you had. I am always grateful for the information bloggers pass on relating to the places they have been to. I loved our trip to Bombay Hook thanks to you :) Have a happy weekend!

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  57. That reflection shot is a real winner, Eileen!

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  58. Oh, Elaine, we love seeing the Sandhill Cranes, too. They pass over here, but this year I was too sick to even get out and go look for them. But hopefully we will be going up north to see them before the month is over.

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  59. I love that shot of the cranes flying over the moon! Great moon shot, too!! Have a nice weekend.

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  60. It doesn't matter how many times I see your moon shots, I'm always in awe.

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  61. What a beautiful area and I love your photos, especially the one with the reflections. I have gotten used to seeing Sandhill Cranes every time I visit my daughter and grandchildren in Orlando. They wander around neighborhoods, shopping center parking lots, and my grandson even sends me pictures of them walking around his playground at school. People down there chase them out of their yards because they are always making a mess (pooping) on their patios!

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  62. Love the crane reflection shot most

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  63. My husband is hanging out for the time we can do like you Guys and just up and leave - me two! That was obviously quite some drive , but I think American's like Aussie's don't think twice about big distances?!
    Lovely to have joined you "virtually' on the trip!
    Wren x

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  64. Your pictures are wonderful and that moon shot is spectacular!

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  65. Glad you visited 'my' area of the country... Sorry we didn't get to meet since we live so close.... You'll just have to come back sometime.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  66. Hi Eileen, your photos are amazing. You captured a great shot of the deer. Your photos just get better and better my friend. Great fence and sky shots. Have a nice weekend. xo

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  67. Your photo of the sandhill cranes with the reflection is my favorite too! Great capture!

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  68. Awesome photos of the cranes reflecting in the water!

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  69. Beautiful location . . .
    Loved seeing the cranes in flight . . .
    You have wonderful photos Eileen . . .
    and perfect pics of the moon.
    (I don't think I have ever mentioned that I lived in Baraboo, Wisconsin when the International Crane Foundation was born.
    It is phenomenal to view the crane migration over the marsh lands near Baraboo.)

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  70. I love how you take us along on your trips.

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  71. What a beautiful landscapes. The photo of two Cranes is so great.

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  72. Fabulous shots! I love those reflected cranes!

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  73. It looks like a lovely place to visit. Wonderful photos of the cranes.

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  74. I love to hear the Sandhill Cranes as they fly over...excellent view of them in flight Eileen.

    This looks like a terrific place to visit.


    I apologize for taking so long to come by and visit. It's been a busy week, and I'm up early to sit at the computer today before another day begins and I won't have much time!! Thanks for dropping by this week.

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  75. Great shots!
    I'm glad I found your place - my first visit. I'm stopping by from Skywatch Friday, and hope you'll come visit our weekly linkup. This week's party is here:
    http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-walls-of-san-juan.html

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  76. It looks like a beautiful area. Glad you got to see the Sandhill Cranes - they are such an incredible bird.

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  77. Beautiful blue skies. I like the freedom of birds :))
    Good weekend Eileen.
    Besos

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  78. Hi Eileen,
    marvelous photos of this wonderful area and atmosphere. Your moon shot is stunning !
    Best regards, Synnöve

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  79. Eileen, your photos are just fabulous! I love them all.
    Have a great weekend:)

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  80. This blog is getting more beautiful!!!!...
    Great work, Eileen!
    And beautiful shots as usual!...
    Have a great weekend, you and yours!...
    All the best!
    Ana

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  81. Your photos are stunning! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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  82. Very nice ! I love the photo with the cranes and their reflection !

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  83. What a neat trip; retirement really is wonderful isn't it! You live in a great place , even two days isn't too bad of a drive to see this lovely Wildlife Refuge.

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  84. Wow - what a great series of images Eileen. Those cranes are beautiful to see, especially on the wing. Thank you too for including a map and driving time - it helps those of us unfamiliar with the US put things into perspective! Wishing you an enjoyable weekend.

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  85. Such a pretty place, definitely worth some effort to see.

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  86. The reflection of the cranes is outstanding! Happy Day.

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  87. The reflection of the cranes is just stunning!

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  88. How beautiful! I'm glad you are enjoying your retirement and taking advantage of that great weather. I think your week's favorite is my favorite out of all of these too. Thanks so much for joining in Friday's Hunt.

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  89. All wonderful views, Eileen, the moon image is very nice.
    Happy weekend!

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  90. A quick thought: so lovely white-tailed deers, wild birds migrating, (these cranes captured in specific way of flying, I presume that they are "cocori" to us in here)*-*
    The moon in pics from far and close up...wow, fantastic views as always!
    Greetings, warm greetings!a sunny weekend, too!

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  91. Shucks, Eileen, I missed being your 100th commenter by one. Unless I dilly dally. The Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge is pretty. Sandhills Cranes winter here in South Texas but I think ours go north through Oklahoma, Kansas, the stop for the summer in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. I was born and grew up in Eastern Nebraska.
    My BIL lives in Jackson, TN, and tunes pianos for Vanderbuilt U. in Nashville. When he is there he and sometimes his wife, retired, stay in there camping RV by a pretty lake nearby. From his pictures, I know you had an enjoyable visit. Wish I were there.
    ..

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  92. Gorgeous photos, Eileen! I love Tennessee, and this looks like a beautiful spot to visit!

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  93. You did well to see and photograph what you did in two days Eileen. I can't help but to chuckle about the wildlife reserve we toured in Florida only to see a baby raccoon in the brush.

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  94. Hello Eileen, I love the crane reflections too! And you moon shot is just fantastic! Thank you so much for your encouraging + heartwarming comments on my blog- I really value them. Have a wonderful week!

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  95. Hi Eileen, I am so glad for you that you got to visit the wildlife preserve there. I was thrilled when I went several years back. By the way, I saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes fly over our home here the day before yesterday, heading North. I sometimes see a few here in our community near ponds and especially near golf courses. They love tender grass. Have a fine coming week!

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  96. The reflection of the two cranes is my second favorite of your photos. The first is your top photo of the cranes and moon. Something comforting about that image to me. :-)
    The View from the Top of the Ladder

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  97. Great beautiful pictures. Nature is so beautiful and the animals in your post are also great to see. Beautiful photos of the cranes. So graceful in the air.

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  98. Wow - how fabulous!

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Have a happy day, Eileen

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