Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"If a flower can flourish in the desert, you can flourish anywhere."

Saguaro National Park, Tucson Arizona.

"The magic of the desert is hard to define."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Happy Memorial Day!

 

Happy Memorial Day!

May 27th, a day to honor those men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice serving our country.

Saturday's Critters # 545

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 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!

Happy Memorial Day weekend! May 27th, a day to honor those men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice serving our country.

After our short visit to Page Arizona we headed to Green Valley Arizona and our next place to stay. This hotel was only an half hour drive to the Madera Canyon and some great birdwatching. I added more than a few lifers sitting in one spot in just a short time. 

1. Below two lifers for me, top is the Acorn Woodpecker and below is the Arizona Woodpecker both seen at the Madera Canyon.

2.  These are all Broad-billed Hummingbirds.  

Another look at the Broad-billed Hummingbird. It has a red dark tipped bill and is a vivid green color.

3.  Below are lifers, the  Mexican Jay and the Black-headed Grosbeak. Others are the Lesser Goldfinches and it looks like there is a Pine Siskin below the male Lesser Goldfinch. Bottom right is a Brown-crested Flycatcher, another lifer. 

4. Below the Yellow female Summer Tanager was seen at the Madera Canyon and the Red male Tanager was seen at the Paton Center.  I am not sure if the red male is a Summer Tanager or the Hepatic Tanager. 

5.  At the Paton Center for Hummingbirds, I captured the Gila Woodpecker a lifer and the Ladder-backed Woodpecker.

6. One of my favorite lifers was the Lazuli Bunting, a beautiful and colorful bird.

7. Another look at the Lazuli Bunting, it has turquoise colors, orange breast and a white belly.

8. Below is my lifer, a pair of the Gray Hawks.

A better look at the Gray Hawk couple, in better lighting. The are gray in color and have white bands on the tails.

More from this day to come, we went from place to place sightseeing and birdwatching. 

Edit: A short note, I had this post and more ready to go thankfully before my fall. I am healing the swelling and the bruises on my face and nose are looking better. My hand is still sore and swollen around my thumb/wrist area where I have had previous surgeries putting my thumb back into the joint. I just wish it was not my right hand. Thanks for all the kind well wishes.

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Collect moments, not things."

Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River, Arizona

"Lets go explore magical places."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 544

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 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!

A bit of news, recently I fell at home one morning, It was a clumsy fall, tripping over the corner of my bedroom rug. After a 4 hour visit to the ER, a CT scan on my head and xrays of my wrist and knee I learned I fractured a bone in my nose, sprained my right wrist, busted my lip and a bump on my left knee. My face is swollen and bruised and so colorful, the ice packs have been helping.  I am moving slowly and recovering but it is hard to type with my left hand. I will be slow visiting but I will get to everyone who links up and visits. BTW, hubby is back to normal hopefully we will both be healthy and ready for our next trip.

1. We were only in Page Arizona for two nights, the main attraction was to see the Antelope Slot Canyon. Before leaving Page, we did stop to take a walk to the Horseshoe Bend overlook, along the 1 1/2 mile trail we saw lots of pretty flowers, cactus, lizards and a few birds. I believe the white flowers are called Evening Primrose?

2. Me and my shadow. It was a pretty sky day for our walk to the overlook, a lot cooler in the early morning.  

3. Views of the trail, the Horseshoe Bend overlook and the river below and what looks like a nest on the canyon wall.  We did see more swallows flying around this spot. You can see the Colorado River down below the overlook.

4. While walking to the overlook, I heard lots of the Black-throated Sparrows.  They are pretty birds. A House Sparrow was seen nearby, they seem to be all over the world. 

5. A closer look at the Black-throated Sparrow. This bird is gray-brown above and has a white eyebrow and whisker stripes along with the black throat. They forage on the ground for seeds and insects.

6. Not sure if you can see there are two lizards in the photo below, one is hidden by the plant and only the tail is seen. 

7. Pretty flowers along the trail. 

8. From the overlook, we could see two rafts on the bank of the river, can you see the two rafts in the upper left photo. The lizards were running all around us on the desert floor, pretty yellow flowers and the Page sign showing the Horseshoe Bend.  

9. The rafts look tiny in the mosaic above, I was able to zoom in with my camera for a closeup. 

10. Leaving the town of Page behind, passing signs for Flagstaff and Sedona and Phoenix. We had a long drive to Green Valley Arizona and our hotel for the next two nights. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Life is like a waterfall, always moving."

Oregon 2012, Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Gorge,

"Like a waterfall, life doesn't flow backwards."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 543

 Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 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!

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms, have a great weekend!  🌹🌹🌹

On April 20 hubby and I flew from Baltimore-Washington Airport to Phoenix Arizona, it was a fly-drive trip. Arriving in Phoenix we picked up our rental car and drove 6 hours to Page Arizona for the start of our vacation. Thinking back on this it was a mistake to fly for 5 plus hours and then drive for another 6 hours with little to eat.  On our first full day in Page, we had reservations for the Upper Antelope Canyon tour. Hubby had a low blood sugar episode before he could eat breakfast. He was fine after the EMT's, hotel worker Suzie and a guest who was a nurse checked him over and the orange juice was very helpful. So, I ended going on the tour and hubby stayed back at the hotel resting. 

1. We reserved a Navajo guided tour through the slot canyon called Upper Antelope Canyon 

It was nice they refunded my hubby's ticket price since he could not make the tour.  It was upsetting since it was a highlight of the vacation for me and hubby. Below are some photos from the tour, the tour was only a total of 3/4 mile walk.

2. Supposedly there are 28 reptile species, we saw lots of lizards on this trip. 

3. The White-faced Ibis look similar to the Glossy Ibis. I took this photo from the tour guide vehicle. The birds were on the grounds of a high school. 

4. I tried to crop this photo for a closer look at the White-faced Ibis.

5. The Carl Hayden Visitor Center, Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam

6. Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam, we missed seeing the wildlife in this canyon area. I would have loved to see the Bighorn Sheep. The visitor sign says there are hundreds of plants and animals living in this wild place.

7. A male House Finch, one of the few birds I saw by the Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam. I did see a few swallows possibly Cliff Swallows flying around the bridge. 

8. The cactus blooms were beautiful, I like these pretty pink flowers.

Our trip  and hubby's health improved for the rest of our trip. The weather was very hot at times, 103° on the day we headed south to Phoenix from Page. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly."

TCI resort, Turks and Caicos

"Take all your worries to the beach and wave them goodbye."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 542

Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 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!

Happy May to you all! The days and months are flying by, today is our 34th anniversary. Happy Anniversary to my hubby! We have been home from our trip to Arizona for almost a week. I hope to be sharing trip photos soon. Tomorrow will be a busy day with a baby shower for my daughter-in-law. Baby Sophie is due to arrive July 13th. 

1. On this day our walk was on the NCR trail in Parkton. We watched a juvenile Bald Eagle land in a tree over the river.  

2. A larger look at the juvenile Bald Eagle, it may be a 2nd year Eagle.  

3. The Friendly Farms pond, gazebo and lots of Canada Geese and the Gadwalls were still hanging out at the pond. 

4. Below a male and female Gadwall. 

5. Below a few of my yard birds, 2 Mourning Doves were sitting on the gutter outside my front window. They are shy and decided to only show their backsides. 

6. It seems the Blue Jays sit in the nearby trees and wait for me to come outside with the bird food.  The Jay below is grabbing as many peanut nuggets it can fit in it's beak. 

7. April 2nd, the Dark-eyed Juncos a winter bird. They have not left yet. I am still seeing a few in my yard and on the deck looking for the food. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!