Around the yard in June 2017

Hello  and  HAPPY Thursday,

June seemed to fly by, the weather has been a mix bag, hot, chilly, cloudy and rainy days.  I am hoping July will feel more like summer. I have various photos taken from around the yard.

The Great Blue Heron is on a nest in the woods across from our driveway.

The Stella D'Oro lilies bloomed nicely, I do not think the deer like to eat them.

This clematis blooming is mixing in with our blueberry bushes. If you look closely you can see the blueberries.

The waxing gibbous moon and Jupiter below taken on June 3rd.

The almost full moon rising on June 8th.

This Great-crested Flycatcher has been hanging around the yard and also banging himself on our front window. He is safe and finally stopped.

"Always be thankful for each other."


For my list of thankful things this week:
I am thankful for a bush full of blueberries, if not for me but for the birds to enjoy.
I am thankful for a clear sky to see the full moon, just beautiful.


I hope you enjoyed my post and photos.  Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments. Have a happy day!

Thank you Michelle for hosting. Thankful Thursday

Thank you to the hosts of   Skywatch Friday

Sandhill Crane

Hello,

I am sharing the Sandhill Crane, a common bird seen in Florida. I have seen the Sandhill Cranes in a few places in Maryland also. I guess you never know where they might show up. These are Sandhill Cranes photos from our Florida neighborhood and at the Circle B Reserve.

The Sandhill Crane is a species of crane seen in North America. The adults are grey and have red foreheads and long dark pointed bills..

They live together in pairs or family groups. The Florida Sandhill Cranes are seen year round and do not migrate. 

My youtube video of the Sandhill Cranes walking in the neighborhood. You can turn the sound down and ignore hubby and I talking.. The bird sounds you hear are the Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.



These cranes were one of my favorite Florida birds, they seemed almost tame to walk right by. I hope you enjoyed my photos and video.


Thank you for stopping by and as always I appreciate your comments.

My list of memes for today, I hope to see you there. Thanks to both of the host below.

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Saturday's Critters # 184

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!

If you love critters 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!

I am sharing some grand-doggie photos and some images of the neighborhood Great Blue Herons and their chicks. We have a good view of the nest from the fire road that we take our walks on. My son's dogs visited for the first week of June, while he went to visit my sister at Ocean Isles Beach, NC.

 I took various shots of the herons on the nest as we walked by on the trail. This is the only nest that we can see in an open area. The other nest are hidden with the trees and all the leaves.

Twins, two chicks on the nest with the proud parent standing by.

Nibbles looks like she is part shepherd/lab  and Chewie has short legs like a dachshund mix.

Resting after a walk on the fire road.

Every day the grand dogs went on a walk. Once in the morning and again in the evening.  They are spoiled now.

My Linky





I appreciate and thank everyone who links up their post and for all the wonderful comments! I hope you enjoy my post and photos too!



Here is a list of my linky parties;
Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the host: Anni.

Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

Washington Park, Anacortes

Hello and Happy Thursday!

I am sharing some more Washington State photos. We stayed a few nights May 2nd thru May 5th in Anacortes Washington.

A few Great Blue Herons, they must have found a good fishing spot.

Bald Eagle sitting in a near by tree.

A view of the ferry from the beach at Washington Park

A seal near the boat dock at Washington Park.

I read that Washington Park in Anacortes was a great place to watch sunsets.  A little cloudy but it still was a pretty sunset on this evening.

For my list of thankful things this week:
I am always thankful to see a sunset.
I am thankful for all the birds and critters, I hope they and other wildlife remain safe and healthy in our world.



I hope you enjoyed my post and photos.  Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments. Have a happy day!

Thank you Michelle for hosting. Thankful Thursday

Thank you to the hosts of   Skywatch Friday

Green Heron

Hello,

The Green Heron is one of my favorite herons, I am always happy to see one during my walks and outings.

The Green Heron is a small heron, with a green-black cap, greenish back and wings and a chestnut neck.

Their bill is dark and long with a sharp point.

These are photos taken at the Circle B Bar Reserve in Florida, but I do see this bird in Maryland during the summer months. I hope you enjoyed my photos.


Thank you for stopping by and as always I appreciate your comments.

My list of memes for today, I hope to see you there. Thanks to both of the host below.

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Saturday's Critters # 183

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads!

If you love critters 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!

Another common bird we saw in Washington State is the Stellar's Jay. I think they are beautiful. These images were on a day we transferred from the Mt Rainier Park area to Anacortes, Washington.

This shop called Recycled Spirits of Iron off on Rt 706 in Ashford Washington. The iron sculptures are huge, there were  horses, a giraffe, rooster and eagle. The sculptures were all very cool. I took these photos from the road and our car. 

A larger image of the iron sculpted giraffe.

On our drive to Anacortes we stopped at the park below called Bay View State Park on the Padilla Bay. I was amazed at how many Great Blue Herons were seen hanging out in the bay. The tide must have been low at this time.  The photo below looks better after you click for a larger image. 

I believe these are Western Grebe's below, if I am wrong please let me know.

For Tom's party ...a barn across the bay.
Tom's The Barn Collective  Thanks to Tom for hosting.

My Linky
I appreciate and thank everyone who links up their post and for all the wonderful comments! I hope you enjoy my post and photos too!

Here is a list of my linky parties;
Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.

Tom's The Barn Collective  Thanks to Tom for hosting.


Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

South of Daytona Beach, Florida

Hello and happy Thursday!

Would you believe these images are from Jan 18th, that is where I left off sharing my Florida photos. On this weekend we went on an overnight to the Flagler Beach area and visited Daytona Beach the next day, we stopped at various beaches along the coast. Daytona is just a little further south down the road  and along the Atlantic coast. We like the uncrowded area of the Ponce De Leon lighthouse and the Lighthouse Point Park located at New Smyrna Beach Florida.

Terns and a gull. There is one Sandwich Tern in the group below. It has the black bill with a yellow tip.

Osprey with fish

Shadow shot of me and hubby!

An Egret was hanging near a fisherman on the jetty.

Surfers at Daytona Beach

A look back at the Pone De Leon Lighthouse from the jetty. I do not really like beaches that allow the cars to drive on them. I worry about the birds and their nests in the breeding season. Daytona allows  cars to drive on the beach.

For my list of thankful things this week:
I am thankful for pretty beaches. It was great to see so many Florida beaches are clean and do not have litter and trash thrown around.
I am thankful for the time we had sightseeing in Florida. I am also thankful my hubby and I share the love of nature and the outdoors.
As always, I am thankful for your visits and comments on my blog.





I hope you enjoyed my post and photos.  Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments. Have a happy day!

Thank you Michelle for hosting. Thankful Thursday

Thank you to the hosts of   Skywatch Friday

Barred Owl

Hello,


This week I am sharing the Barred Owl, it was seen often during our visits to the Circle B bar Reserve near Lakeland Florida.  I love the owls and seeing this pair was a thrill every time.

We often saw these two Barred owls sitting together, a few times we even saw a third Barred Owl in a nearby tree. I thought maybe the third owl was from last year's nesting.

The Barred Owl has a pale face with rings around the eyes. Their bellies are streaked vertically.

They have a yellow beak and brown eyes. Their diet is mostly rodents or small mammals.

My Barred Owl video, it took a little bit to find him/her in the tree.





Thank you for stopping by and as always I appreciate your comments.

My list of memes for today, I hope to see you there. Thanks to both of the host below.

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Saturday's Critters #182

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!

If you love critters 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!

I am so behind in sharing photos, I have months of Florida photos, some from home and most recently from our Washington state trip. I will be flip-flopping all around with photos. These are from our 1st day in Washington state, we visited Mount Rainer National Park.

A Gray Jay  below was seen at one of the park's overlook parking lots.

The Varied Thrush is one of my favorite Washington birds, I love it's colors and markings.

The Northern Flicker.  In the western states, they are known as the Red-shafted Northern Flicker. The east coast has the Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker.

A Stellar Jay, commonly seen in Washington State.

We stayed at a B&B Mountain Meadows Inn at Ashford Washington. We were only 7miles from the park entrance.  The elk below were seen near a farm along side of the main road.

Sharing a barn for Tom's The Barn Collective  , I saw this while walking a trail behind the barn from a local Ashford park.

My linky

I appreciate and thank everyone who links up their post and for all the wonderful comments! I hope you enjoy my post and photos too!

Here is a list of my linky parties;
Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.

Tom's The Barn Collective  Thanks to Tom for hosting.


Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!  

Mount Rainier Nat'l Park

Hello and Happy Thursday!

I am sharing some images from our first few days April 30-May3rd in Washington state and our visit to Mount Rainier Nat'l Park. We were happy the weather cooperated and we saw some blue skies along with the gray cloudy days. I have some common birds seen in Washington along with some pretty sky images.

One of the common Washington States birds we saw was this Oregon Junco below, they are cute.

A view of the mountains with a blue sky. As you go up the curvy mountain road you leave the greenery behind and end up with snow all around you.

We saw lots of white trillium along with some pink trillium in places.

Another view of our walk on the Trail of the Shadows, Mount Rainier Nat'l Park. This is at Longmire and an elevation of 2,761 feet.

The American Robin was one of the most common birds we saw during the whole trip.

A Belted Kingfisher seen during one of our walks along the river.

During our stay we saw blue skies and cloudy gray skies, either way the scenery and views were beautiful.  We even saw some snow flurries.

At the park we headed to the where the snow plows had stopped clearing the roads. Some roads were not supposed to open until the end of May or June.

Inside looking out from the Paradise Visitor Center, Mount Rainier Nat'l Park. You can see the snow piled up near the bottom of the window.

Paradise Visitor Center, Mount Rainier Nat'l Park is at an elevation of 5,400 feet.

For my list of thankful things this week:
I am thankful the weather was nice during our trip. After we left this area we heard they closed the road to the Paradise visitor center due to the warm weather could cause the snow to drop off like an avalanche into the road.
I am thankful we had good timing for our activities.


I hope you enjoyed my post and photos.  Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments. Have a happy day!

Thank you Michelle for hosting. Thankful Thursday

Thank you to the hosts of   Skywatch Friday