Our World, My World

 Happy Monday!

 Dec 7th, it is my son's birthday. He is 28 today, Happy Birthday to Brian!   Hubby's birthday coming soon, on Dec 10th.  We have lots to celebrate in December, I just turned 64. I am looking forward to when things are back to normal in our country, when hubby and I can feel safe to travel.  Today I am sharing photos from my archives and March 2010 and a trip to one of my favorite places Costa Rica. On my next critter post I am sharing a lot of the Costa Rica wildlife, check it out.

I am linking up with Lydia of Where the Wild Things Were and the Favorite Fotos linky. Thank you Lydia for hosting the party.

1. A rainbow seen on the first morning of our 9 day tour. 

Click on photos for better views.

 

2.  During our tour we stopped at a craft market, the ox carts were on display.  The carts are unique with colorful painted designs.

 

3.  Tortuguero, we stayed at a park lodge which was just a walk away from the Caribbean Sea. The park is only reached by airplane or a boat ride. Our tour to the lodge included the boat ride. The lodge is located between a lagoon  on one side and the other side was the Caribbean Sea. The Howler Monkeys were constantly heard while staying at Tortoguero, the resort was nice with wildlife everywhere.

 

 

4. The nature boat rides were fun, the wildlife in Costa Rica is awesome. We saw various species of monkeys, lizards, a sloth and birds.

 

5.  Fortuna, Costa Rica..our hotel had a view of the volcano, we had a tour set up to visit the Baldi Hot Springs and we also hiked on the Hanging Bridges trail at the Arenal Volcano National Park.

 

 

 

6. Guanacaste on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.  We stayed a nice resort on the beach. I think we were so busy during the day, I did not get in the pools at any of the hotels, all the pools looked beautiful.

 

7. A walk on the beach at Guanacaste Costa Rica. During our time here, we saw more monkeys and various bird species. 

 

 

8. Sunset at Guanacaste, Pacific Ocean

 

It is also Pearl Harbor Day, a day to honor the 2,403 service members and civilians who were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. From the beginning of the tracking on Feb 15th through today,  282,829 Americans have died from the Coronavirus, more people have died from the virus than all the wars put together. 

 There is so much talk about the vaccine coming out. It almost time to make new memories and visit new places, hubby and I will be happy when we are able to travel again.  Mean time we  are happy and healthy, I hope everyone is doing well too.

 

 

Wear your mask and keep your distance!  Be safe, stay safe!

 

What's happening in your corner of the world? Please check out and 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 and a great new week!

Our World, My World

 Happy Monday everyone,

On November 5th hubby and I took our walk at the Susquehanna River and at the Conowingo Dam in Maryland.  Hubby and I have been going to see the Bald Eagles every year, this is a link to my previous posts on the Susquehanna River & Bald Eagle.  November is a great time to see the migrating Bald Eagles, there are days you can see 100 or more Eagles.

 1.  Every winter the Bald Eagles gather below the dam, some are the migrating Bald Eagles and some are seen year round. It was a little foggy at the river, dam and trail when we first arrived but the fog cleared out and it was a beautiful morning. Below photos are of the Susquehanna River trail, a Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagles in the trees, fog over the river, a juvenile Bald Eagle perched on a rock in the river, eagles flying over the dam, eagles on the tower and lots of Black Vultures on the tower.

Click on the photos for better viewing!

 

2. The foggy Susquehanna River trail.

 

 

3. Seen from the foggy trail, a Bald Eagle high in a tree.

 

 

4. A juvenile Bald Eagle was perched on top of a rock in the middle of the Susquehanna River. The juvenile eagle below is starting to have more of the white head, it takes 5 years to attain the full white head seen on the adult Bald Eagle.

 

 

 

5.  The fog was lifting and the sun was shining and the sky was looking beautiful. What a great day! 

 

6. The Bald Eagles were everywhere you looked, in the trees above our heads, flying over the river and  chasing each other around. It really is an amazing sight to see so many Bald Eagles at one time.

 

 

 

7. In this area below, I found 3 Bald Eagles ( 2 adults and one juvenile) and 2 Great Blue Herons. Can you find all 5 birds below? 

 

 

8.  Years ago, there was an Opsrey nest on this tower.  These 2 adults Bald Eagles seem to be checking out the nest. 

 

 9. Below perched on the tower are 2 juvenile Bald Eagles on the right and one adult Bald Eagle on the lower left. The photo above was taken at the same time showing the nest and 2 adult Bald Eagles. 

10.   This area is popular for seeing the Black Vultures, below the are just a "few" Black Vultures hanging out on the tower.  There are warning signs at the parking lot, you park at your own risk. These vultures are known to land on the cars and start eating the rubber around your car windows.  Sharing an old post that shows the Black Vultures on some of the parked cars.

 

 I have lots more photos to share for my Saturday's critters, I hope you enjoyed these views from our visit to the Susquehanna River and Conowingo Dam.

 Below a Covid 19 update, which is in the news every day and in my world. This is not political, it just concerns our health and lives.

 I follow and trust the Johns Hopkins website called Track Testing Trends, it shows the positivity rates in Maryland and every state in the USA. The state of Maryland as of 11/6 has a positive rate of 3.4 and just to share how bad the numbers can increase, the state with the highest number is South Dakota at 52.2.  I believe any state that stays in the range of 5.0 or below is doing well handling the Virus.  The Covid cases are going up each day, so take care and stay safe.

Wear your mask and keep your distance! 

 Hubby and I are happy and healthy, I hope everyone is doing well too.
 

What's happening in your corner of the world? Please check out and 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 and a great new week!

 

Our World, My World

Happy Monday, 

Today is Labor Day, the first Monday of the September. LOL, I am sure you know what day it is. Labor Day is a holiday to honor the  American workers and their achievements.  I think during these Covid times I am especially thankful to all the essential workers, that includes all the health care workers, farm workers, retail workers, child care workers, the list goes on.  Happy LABOR day to all these important workers who are risking their own lives for all us.  Thankfully, I am retired and blessed to be able to stay safe at home during these Covid times.


We are able to get outside for our walks. I am sharing a  recent visit to one of our Maryland State Parks called Patapsco Valley State Park. We timed our visit to a week day trying to avoid crowds but it seems like everyone had the same idea. We managed to get there early enough to get a parking place and take our walk. 
 

 We walked on a few trails at the park, one took us past the Lost Lake, we saw lots of turtles, but birds were hard to find with all the leaves on the trees.  I am not sure of the id of the birds on the lower left photo, possibly the Wood Pewee and there were a few Cardinals. 

 A view of the Lost Lake, they are working on this lake area and on trails in this park that are still closed from a historic flood in 2019.

 Some of my birds sightings included an Osprey bathing in the Patapsco River and the Kingfisher sat on a branch above the river. 

The swinging bridge crosses the Patapsco River. 

I was lucky at one time to get a shadow shot of us with no one else in the photo.  Lots of people were walking across the bridge, some wearing mask and some were not. 

A Great Blue Heron fishing in the river. 

This was my best shot of the Cascade Falls, without too many people climbing on it and around the falls.

Various images below: Belted Kingfisher, Great Blue Heron, Osprey, me and my shadow, swinging bridge, view of the trail, Cascade Falls and the turtles at Lost Lake.

This was the first time I have seen an Osprey playing in the water, it was splishing and splashing. 

I hope you enjoyed my photos from the park, we had a nice time. It was good to see some different scenery for a change. 



 Maryland Covid Update: As of 9/2/2020 Maryland is starting the Phase 3 of re-opening. Our positivity rate is below 3.5% which is great compared to other states around the country. The rate should below 5% or below for re-opening safely. Latest total case numbers for  Maryland Covid there were 109,319 positive cases in Maryland, 3,623 deaths.  I hear the numbers can change daily, this virus has not ended and it is not just going to go away. We must still wear our mask and keep the distance.   #MasksonMaryland     I hope everyone is staying safe, happy and healthy.  



What's happening in your corner of the world? Please check out and 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 and a great new week!

Our World, My World

 Hello everyone,

 We are pretty much doing the same thing here, staying safe and close to home.  We are taking our walks of different local fire roads.  I have a mish-mash of photos, taken during our walks or from around the yard.  

I do have a happy news update: hubby and I are going to be grandparents, congrats to my son Brian and DIL Allie. Baby Wise is due in February. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird seem at the Salvia plant. 

Flowers, bird and butterflies  seen around our yard: the Purple Coneflowers, Upright Fuchsia,  Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, grape tomato plant. 

The Purple Coneflowers and the bees are a happy sight. 

I've been seeing the Brown Thrasher around the yard, sometimes it is near the blueberry bushes.

On the fire road, another bird watcher, Chipping Sparrow, Ruby-throated Humminbird silhouette, Male Northern Cardinal, the fire road, Cedar Waxwing, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird and possible Thistle. 

It is nice our walk was mostly in the shade on the fire road.

We are finding a few mushrooms or fungi along the fire roads. 

I like checking out our flowers and plants in the yard.  Our potted plants have to be watered often, it seems like the rain goes around us. This Upright Fuchsia is doing well, lots of blooms.

The butterfly bushes are attracting a lot of different butterflies.  Below are the Black Swallowtail butterflies.

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly seem to be doing well this year.  

 Hubby and I are remaining safe and virus free. Maryland Covid cases are on the decline. On the day I typed this post,  the numbers for positive Covid cases in my state have been below 4% for the last 6 days.  I hope everyone stays safe, happy and healthy.  




What's happening in your corner of the world? Please check out and 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 and a great new week!

Our World, My World

Happy Monday everyone,

As July marches on, I have been enjoying the flowers outside my windows on the deck and around our yard.  It has been hot and dry here, so we are having to water our plants often.  


 Some blooms around the yard, the Purple Coneflowers, Zinnias, Red Salvia, Lantana and Upright Fuchsia called Firecracker.

 The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are zipping around the yard, I am refilling my hummer feeders every other day. Can you find the 2 hummers below, the feeder is hanging near our butterfly bush?

 A few of my yard birds, the male Cardinal, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Sootywing Butterfly on Zinnia.

 The male Eastern Bluebird seen in his usual perch spot on the gutter above the birdhouse. I think the baby Bluebirds have fledged, they left without me even seeing one of their babies. 

Sometimes I would see both the male and female sitting on the gutter that is right above the birdhouse. I assume they were taking a break.. 

 The Common Sootywing is a black butterfly with speckled white spots on the wings. The Zinnia is looking pretty with lots of blooms.

I have seen a few different birds in my yard recently, I think this one was a juvenile Great Crested Flycatcher.

  We had one of our large pine trees just fall over in our yard, so it is a mess to clean up.  It fell on top of our blueberry bushes, a very sad sight to see.
 

"Today I will give thanks to all the things in my life that don't need fixing."  Mary Davis


In Maryland, we are still required to wear our mask in public areas and to keep the social distance.  The numbers of positive cases, deaths and hospitalizations are going down in Maryland.  The reopening of schools in Maryland maybe up to each community or county.  We are thankful for all the essential workers, especially the health care workers. I hope everyone takes care and is safe, happy and healthy.



What's happening in your corner of the world? Please check out and 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 and a great new week!

My World, 11th Blog Anniversary

Hello,

Happy Monday!  It is my 11th blog anniversary, these years have flown by.  I have many great memories looking back at my older blog post. My post shared years of birding, enjoying all things nature and traveling.  All the things I love and I hope you love too.  During the first part of 2020, we were limited on what we could do and where we could go due to the Covid virus. I am not sure if or when things will ever return to normal.  Covid is not something I like to blog about, I just wish for happier times and good health for all. 

 So images randomly picked from my past 11 years of blogging.  I hope you enjoy and I thank all my blog visitors for all the past and future comments.  

I have my eye on you!  Wood Duck , Nov 2009..Original post Wood Duck_November 2009

  I started making the mosaic images and participating with Mary and her blog called Little Red House. Mary was the host of Mosaic Monday back in 2009.  Now Angie of the blog Letting Go of the Bay Leaf is the host of Mosaic Monday. Maybe you can join in with the mosaic making party.

 Various Toucans, seen in the wild during our Costa Rica trip in March 2010. Original post Costa Rica trip_Toucans

At this time in 2011, I was joining in with the linking party called Our World Tuesday. Thanks to these lovely host Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  Lady Fi is the host of Our World Tuesday. Some bloggers are gone but not forgotten. 


 Some of my favorite birds seen in 2011, original post Favorite-birds-of-2011.  I must add all birds are favorites, especially at the time of seeing them..

 Goldie Girl will always be remembered on my blog. This Goldie photo was taken in Dec 2012.  My original post Dec 30th 2012

 A Snowy Owl seen on the Delaware Shore in Dec 2013.. My original post Delaware Snowy owl

 A Violet Sabrewing seen while birding in Belize in May 2014, my original post Belize birds and critters

 In 2015, I blogged about our Washington state trip and a visit to the Dungeness Spit. This spot is my favorite near Sequim Washington, hubby and I almost moved there. We had a realtor show us a few homes.  One home was perfect,  we are kicking ourselves for not buying.   My original post was a year end for 2015 Year end 2015

Starting in Oct 2016, I started blogging from our place in Lakeland Florida, we were just a walk away from a lake and this Tricolored Heron.  My original blog post is here  Lakeland-Florida

 I started my Skywatch blog post back in 2009 with the Skywatch hosting team of Sandy, Wren, Sylvia, Louise, Fishing Guy and Klaus. A few of these bloggers Louise and Klaus have passed away, they are missed.  The others are MIA, I believe Tom, the Fishing Guy has stopped blogging. Now Alan of the blog Yogi's Den is the Skywatch Host at  http://yogisden.us/     
Join me and others from around the world watching the sky.

 In Dec 2017, I blogged about my favorite things/sights we saw during 2017.. The original post is here Thankful 2017 list

 In March 2018, one of my favorite places to blog about Assateague Island National Seashore and the ponies.  My original post Assateague, Md

Dec 2019, hubby and I went to Hilton Head SC. My original post is here Hilton Head SC

I am looking forward to another year of blogging and visiting your blogs.  Thanks so much for visiting.   I really appreciate your comments now and over the past 11 years. 


We are staying safe, wearing our mask and keeping the social distance.   I hope everyone is safe, happy and healthy. Take care and stay well. 



What's happening in your corner of the world? Please check out and 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 again for visiting and commenting, have a happy day and a great new week!