Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"We don't remember days, we remember moments."

July 2, 2009 our Royal Caribbean Eastern Caribbean 9 day cruise out of Baltimore. I took photos of the ship going under the Key Bridge. The bridge was hit by a container ship and collapsed on March 26 2024.  Thoughts and prayers to all who were involved in this tragic bridge collapse. 

"Live each day like it's your last."

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

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Our World, My World

Happy Monday,

           To my blog friends in Canada,   Happy Thanksgiving! 

After my son's wedding, my hubby's sister and her husband from Florida stayed at our house for a few days. We had fun showing our neighborhood to our BIL. We all  went on a few walks with the dogs on the local fire roads. Also we all met up with hubby's cousin who lives in Baltimore, we all had fun walking around the Baltimore Harbor and the Federal Hill neighborhood. Lunch at Nick's Seafood Restaurant was delicious, Crab Cakes in Maryland are the best.  

The Prettyboy Dam and reservoir, Gunpowder River, Lake views with Nibble and Chewy.

The Prettyboy Dam,

Our neighborhood, the Prettyboy Reservoir. 

Nibbles and Chewy going for a walk. 

Mosaic of Baltimore, the Harbor, Oriole baseball stadium, Baltimore National Aquarium, Flag, Federal Hill Neighborhood, Raven's Ray Lewis sculpture, Raven's football stadium, harbor. 

Baltimore's Harbor, it is nice to see new buildings being built. Seeing the cranes is a good sign. 

Baltimore's Federal Hill flag, the Federal Hill provided a panoramic view during the War of 1812. This flag is the 13 star Colonial Flag. The Betsy Ross Flag has the stars in a circle. 

Please check out and visit the following memes and links. I hope to see you there. 

Thanks to Cath the host of Country Scapes

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 and a great new week!

Fort McHenry, Baltimore

Linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences  

I appreciate all my blogging friends for their visit and wonderful comments thru-out the year! I wish everyone all the best in 2015, Happy New Year!

The day after Christmas was a beautiful day to be outside. Hubby and I joined up with my hubby's cousin for a walk around Fort McHenry in Baltimore.. It has a nice walkway along the water with view of the Fort which is famous for the Star-Spangled Banner written by Francis Scott Key..

I took some shots of the Fort's canons, the flag, fences and the sky..Oh I can not forget some ducks in the Baltimore Harbor.. Later in the day I took some shots of the waxing crescent moon from my deck..

A couple of Mallard duck, the Baltimore harbor and a view of the neighborhood Canton across the way.

A Double-crested Cormorant flying by.

A view of Fort McHenry, the flag and a fence scene for Tex's Good Fences meme.

A beautiful sunny day, the water glistening along the harbor's walkway..

The Bufflehead ducks seemed plentiful around the harbor..

Another view of the Fort's canons, flag and the fence..

The sky and a pretty tree seen along the harbor's walkway.

A lone male Bufflehead duck floating in the Baltimore harbor.

Continuing on our walk around the fort, another view of the Fort's flag and fence..

More Bufflehead ducks see on the calm water.

Another sky shot for Skywatch Friday, a view of the Francis Scott Key bridge..

Back home a shot of the waxing crescent moon seen from my deck..I hope you enjoyed our walk along the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry..Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments..


 To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and check for more fence shots at Tex's Good Fences


Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences and thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.  I wish everyone a safe happy healthy NEW YEAR and a great weekend.

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's featured bird I am sharing the Yellow Crowned Night Heron. I have been reading about the Yellow Crowned Night Heron rookery in Baltimore for a few years now and have never visited.. I drive past the area every weekday going to work.. So on Saturday, hubby and I finally visited the rookery to see these gorgeous birds.

Our timing was perfect since the leaves are not blocking our view..Some of these shots were taken from the bridge looking down and some were from the trail's viewing platform near the Jones Falls.

A viewing platform near the falls was perfect for viewing the rookery and the Yellow Crowned Night Herons. Some were landing on the trees above our heads. We watched them as they broke off branches to add to their nest.

The Yellow Crowned Night Heron is a nocturnal heron and can be found breeding along wooded streams.

They have a black face and bill, with a white cheek and a yellow crown stripe. They have a gray body and yellow legs.

These herons above were not happy with each other.

The habitat around the rookery, a view from the bridge looking down.  It is located right next to the Jones Falls trail a bicycle-running trail. The trail starts at the Inner Harbor Baltimore and when finished will end at the Mount Washington Light Rail station.

Sorry for the overload of photos, I took so many different shots. I had a hard time choosing which photos to share.


Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Saturday's Walk

  I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday 

Saturday's Walk 04/13/14

Wishing everyone a HAPPY EASTER!

Hubby and I visited two places on Saturday morning. The first was a short walk on the Jones Falls trail to the Yellow Crowned Night Heron rookery along the Jones Falls trail in Baltimore.

Above the Jones Falls, the stream runs along side the expressway that takes you into Downtown Baltimore,  some of the habitat of the Yellow Crowned Night Heron rookery. The rookery is located maybe just a half block-block from the Stieff Silver building in Baltimore "Hon" . The bottom left is a light rail train and bottom right is two of the Yellow Crowned Night Herons.

Above is a viewing platform overlooking a small falls on the Jones Falls, some colorful weeds, a bike rack on the trail, garter snake, American Robin, Pink Flamingo and National Boh image see along 34th St.  This street in Baltimore is famous for the Christmas light display on every house on the block..People visit from all over to see the Christmas light display and decorations on 34th St.

I will be featuring the Yellow-Crowned Night Heron and rookery on my next post for Wild Bird Wednesday. I hope you can stop back and see these pretty birds.

I am finally seeing some blooms in our yard.. The daffodils are looking pretty!

Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit  Mosaic Monday and more
 from  Our World Tuesday

 Thanks to our host: Mary our host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  I wish everyone a happy week ahead!
I hope you enjoyed our quick visit to the shore and seeing the birds. 

Birding Fort McHenry, Baltimore

Hello, I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday.

 HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY weekend!


I have been reading recently on my birding listserve that Snow Buntings were being seen at Fort McHenry in Baltimore. I have only seen the Snow Buntings in flight along the Delaware shores so I figured this was my chance to see them on the ground and a little closer. So hubby and I drove to Baltimore picked hubby's cousin and we all went to enjoy the great weather and a walk around Fort McHenry.  Well, I am sure everyone knows I am really into birds could not pass up such a great opportunity to see the beautiful Snow Buntings and unbelievably it was hubby's cousins first time inside the Fort. I am happy to report finding these two Snow Buntings was so easy and I have to thank the nice birder that found them and reported seeing them. Seeing the Snow Buntings made my weekend.

A hazy view of the Francis Scott Key bridge seen from Fort McHenry. The Fort was where the Star Spangled Banner our national anthem was inspired and written by Francis Scott Key during the bombardment of the Fort McHenry.

One of the two Snow Buntings that we saw at Fort McHenry.

The birds were on a walkway that is close to the waters edge. Many people were walking and jogging right by them and they did not seem bothered by people at all.

Looking up on the hill from the walkway we could see the large canons that were used during the War of 1812.

Inside the Fort, people were gathering to listen to a local band playing and celebrating the Veteran's Day holiday. After our walk around Fort McHenry we made the short drive back to hubby's cousins place, parked our car and walk over to the Baltimore Harborplace for lunch at Bubba Gumps.

Just outside the restaurant we saw this visiting tall ship from Norway, what a beautiful tall ship. The harborplace was crowded mainly due to the fantastic weather we were having. What a great day! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

To see more wonderful photos and mosaics please visit Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday
 Thanks to Mary of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy .  Thanks also for stopping by to see my post.  I wish everyone a happy week!

Birding Robert E. Lee Park

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I am linking up with Mosaic Monday  and Our World Tuesday

I was able to finish my Christmas shopping on Friday and my Christmas tree has been up for weeks. So, that left Saturday open for hubby and I to take a walk and to do some birding. I have been reading on my listserve for Maryland that Redheaded Woodpeckers and a Nutmeg Mannikin have been sighted at the Robert E. Lee Park in Baltimore. I have been wanting to visit this park ever since it was re-opened after being closed a long time for renovations. So this was my chance to see the park with the new boardwalk and new bridge near the dam and maybe to see some great birds. The newly renovated 415 acre park has multiple trails and nature programs, a dog park, pavillion, waterfrnt activities like canoeing and kayaking. The one acre fenced dog park seemed to be very popular. Goldie Girl would be very upset if she knew that we went to this park without her.

Sad to say I missed both the redheaded woodies and I could not find the Nutmeg Mannikin. I was not even sure what a Nutmeg Mannikin was, it sounds like a seasoning, LOL! I had to look up Nutmeg Mannikin to see what it even looked like. I found out it is native to southeast Asia and I have no idea how it arrived in Maryland. Previous posters listed this bird being seen with WT Sparrows and Song Sparrows. I did see the sparrows in the area near the boardwalk and maybe this Nutmeg Mannikin was there and was just hiding from me.

I did see a Belted Kingfisher, what looks like a Chipping sparrow, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and pretty bluebird. Other birds, seen were Cardinals, Titmouse, Redbellied Woodpeckers, Carolina Wren, Mallard ducks and a large group of crows.

Since, it so close to Christmas I thought I would show off my Christmas birdie ornaments. I hope you enjoyed my mosiacs. And to see more wonderful photos and mosaics please visit Mosaic Monday 
and Our World Tuesday.  Thanks to Mary for hosting Mosiac Monday and thank you to the hosting group of Our World: Sylvia, Gattina, Lady Fi, Arija and Sandy. 

I wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and for those who celebrate Happy Hanukkah.

Black Bellied Whistling Ducks visit Baltimore

With my most recent lifer the Black-Bellied Whistling ducks I am linking up with World Bird Wednesday and Watery Wednesday and Nature Notes . The Black Bellied Whistling duck is common resident of the Gulf coast states. Their habitat is freshwater marshes, swamps and ponds. They nest in tree cavities near the water. I have seen a lot of ducks like the Harlequin and the Long Tailed and they really are beautiful ducks but there is just something about these Black-Bellied Whistling ducks that is just darn cute.

I am not sure if anyone checks on the website Birding on the net but if you are a birder it is an easy way to see what birds are where. I check my state list called Maryland Osprey daily on my emails. But the website Birdingonthenet has an archive list for just about all the states. It might be worth checking the list for your state. You never know when a new bird might show up and one that is not too far away for you to see. Especially if it is a life bird!

The Black-Bellied Whistling ducks showed up in a Baltimore City park days before was able to see them. I was happy they stuck around till the weekend so I could see them. I think these are just the cutest ducks and as far as I know they do not visit Maryland often. There were a total of five of these cute ducks. These three below and two more hidden in the reeds.

The park lake held mostly Mallards and Canada Geese.  I guess you never know what might turn up in a city park. The lake has a nice walking trail around it and some of the trail was a boardwalk. As we walk around the lake we saw a Black Crowned Night heron standing in a tree.

Black Crowned Night Heron,  the tree was on an island in the middle of the lake. 

The lake also had a lot of white waterlilies. Very pretty!

The ducks were still a distance away but my camera was able to zoom up on them some, I was happy with this photo.

I think I got there during their nap time.

To see more wonderful birds and post please visit World Bird Wednesday and Watery Wednesday and Nature Notes.  Thanks to Springman of Pine River Review and 2Sweetnsaxy of Watery Wednesday and Michelle of Nature Notes  for hosting these fun and great memes. Thanks also for stopping by to see my birds and post. I hope the rest of your week is birdie and wonderful.