Saturday's Critters # 556

 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!

1. June 11-12th, hubby and I enjoyed an overnight trip to Shenandoah National Park, we like the Skyline Drive, hiking on the Limberlost trail and stopping at all the overlooks and of course the trails at Big Meadows. Below are photos from Shenandoah, birds that were seen and wildflowers and scenic views. 

2. Below are the Eastern Towhee, a Veery and I am guessing the Eastern Wood-Pewee.

I've been using the Merlin Bird Id app on my phone while I am out hiking, below are two screen shots of the birds I could hear while hiking on the Limberlost Trail. 

The Eastern Towhees were heard and seen all along the trail. 

3. The Mountain Laurels were blooming beautifully along the Limberlost Trail.

4. The Mountain Laurel blooms were either white or a pretty pink color. 

5. Our walk on the trail at Big Meadows , we saw some butterflies and lots of wildflowers. 

My first of the year Monarch Butterfly sighting. 

The speed limit on the Skyline Drive is 35MPH  for a reason, the deer and any wildlife can be crossing the road just around one of my many curves. 

One of the many deer we saw during the two days we visited the park. 

6. Birds seen at the Big Meadows were the Song Sparrows and the Field Sparrows and near the parking lot were the Cedar Waxwings. 

7. Stopping at various overlooks at the scenic views of the Appalachian Mountains, the White-tailed Deer , wild Columbine and an Indigo Bunting. 

8. The Limberlost Trail has always been a favorite of mine, below it looks like I captured a young Brown Thrasher, we saw  family of Wild Turkeys close to the parking lot. 

Shenandoah National Park is one of my favorite parks to visit, it is nice to stay overnight and be able to visit later in the day and early in the morning.  I hope you enjoyed the photos. 

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 Thankful Thursday!

 Hello and Happy Thursday!  😀

These are some more images from our getaway to Shenandoah National Park.  Since we spent the night nearby in Front Royal Virginia we were able to stay late and watch the sunset from the Skyline Drive. 

Some scenes from our walk at the Big Meadows in Shenandoah NP.

 If you look close some bugs can be seen flying around us during our walk at Big Meadows. At least the bugs weren't landing on us. 

Pretty red plants on the Big Meadows, in the distance the Visitor Center looks tiny on the top right.

Shenadoah NP, the Skyline Drive and the Big Meadows. 

We had beautiful views of the sky at Big Meadows, seen below I like this lone tree. We did not come across many people on this day in the park. We probably see more people in our local Walmart. 

I am guessing at this bird's id, a Field Sparrow seen on the Big Meadows, Shenandoah NP.

Me and my shadow at the Signal Knob Overlook, Skyline Drive @ Shenandoah NP.

 Sunset from the overlook on the Skyline Drive. The end of a beautiful day! 

I am thankful for a beautiful sunset and a great visit to Shenandoah National Park. We wore our mask in public areas and kept our distance.  So we are thankful to have returned healthy. Most of all we returned a little happier  🌝 since we were able to have a change in scenery.  Most of our time was spent in the car except for our hikes. 

My latest books:
Raven Black by Ann Cleeves, # 1 in the Shetland Island series..
Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica, a fiction/thriller and a new author for me
A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear # 11 in the Maisie Dobbs series..


I hope everyone is safe, happy and healthy! 😊  Please wear your masks and keep social distancing.. I am always thankful hubby and I are both doing well!


I am always thankful for your visits and the comments. Check back for any replies will be under your comments. 



Live simple and be happy!  😊 Take care and keep smiling!


Thank you Michelle for hosting Thankful Thursday. 
Thank you to Yogi the host of   Skywatch Friday


Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments on my previous post. Have a happy day!

Saturday's Critters #200

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!

Wow, this is my 200th Critter party post. Sorry, I do not have anything exciting planned for this 200th post. I do want to thank all my blogger friends for participating. I love seeing all your critters and I hope you keep those critter posts coming.  Again, I thank everyone for sharing your post and linking up and commenting! I hope you get a chance to visit the blog post and comment.

I am sharing some images from a day trip to Shenandoah Nat'l park. We saw a lot of deer along the Skyline Drive and lots of birds. We hiked on a few trails and enjoyed our lunch at the Big Meadows campstore.

This buck was standing along side the Skyline Drive. It was too busy eating to move away.

A Field Sparrow at the Big Meadows.

Eastern Bluebird at the Big Meadows.

American Goldfinch at the Big Meadows.

A white-tailed Deer next to the Appalachian Trail.

I am joining in with this post to Tom's The Barn Collective

I was able to zoom in on this farm and barns from the Appalachian Trail.

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.
Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective

Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Critters #191

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 critters from our last visit to Shenandoah Nat'l Park and Skyline Drive. It is a favorite place for a daytrip,  we enjoy hiking on the trails and just riding on the Skyline Drive.

I have to admit, seeing the black bears at this park is a thrill. This black bear below looked kind of young and skinny. I hope it survives.

On the Limberlost Trail I watched these two Hairy Woodpeckers pecking at the same tree. The Hairy Woodpeckers look like the Downy Woodpecker only bigger in size. Their bill is larger in size too. It is hard getting a clear shot of one moving woodpecker much less two woodpeckers. Their heads are always pecking into the trees, lol.

I believe this is the Field Sparrow below, if not I would appreciate the id help. It was seen at the Big Meadows, Shenandoah. The Field Sparrow has a pink bill.

Also on our Big Meadows walk we saw lots of Swallows, I believe these are the Barn Swallows.

The Big Meadows is an awesome spot in the park for a walk. We saw lots of butterflies and birds. I think this is the Wood Nymph Butterfly. Edited my butterfly id thanks to Karolina.

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.

Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Critters #121

Saturday's Critters #121

Happy Saturday, it's time to share your critters and post. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who is linking in with this week's critter party.

These are some of our local feeder birds on my deck and in the woods. All of these shots are taken thru my dining room window. LOL, it is my excuse for not having a clear and completely focused photo.

A male House Finch on my bird bath.

Up close, the Pine Warbler is a daily visitor and love the peanut suet balls.

The Field Sparrow is another daily visitor. I am also seeing more Chipping Sparrows now, they are a summer bird for me.

The Field Sparrow and a White-throated Sparrow eye to eye. I hope you enjoyed this collection of my yard birds. As always thanks for the visits and the nice comments. I also thank everyone who is linking up and sharing their critters.. Happy Saturday, have a great weekend!

An InLinkz Link-up

To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.

Around the yard

I have a list below of memes I am joining for this week, and to save time I am doing one post for all. They are all fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun  and check out some of the participating posts. Special thanks to all the wonderful host and their memes, I hope you have some time to check them out.

Hello, I have been sent a link for Tina's aka EG Camera Girl's funeral notice and service. You can view the EG Camera Girl  here and the  Service here. You can email a condolence message to the family per 

Please email us at support@skwarchukfuneralhome.com

To send a condolence message to the family.

Please in the subject line of your message include the name of the deceased.

All messages are being passed on to the family

 I copied and pasted the email to send my email message.

I am sharing some yard birds from my Great Backyard Bird Count which was Feb 12th thru Feb 15th and a couple local barns from the neighborhood. I hope you enjoy!  Can you believe February is almost over? Just one more day due to leap year and it will be March.  I am so looking forward to Spring, flowers and the new spring birds. Bring it on, please!

Some of my yard birds, above top Mourning Doves Downy Woodpecker, White-throated Sparrow. Bottom row the Blue Jay, Dark-eyed Junco and Brown-headed Cowbird.


The first day of my Great Backyard Bird count, I counted 18 species of birds and a total of 151 birds in approximately in 3 hours on the first morning Feb 12th.  The bird with the highest count was the White-throated Sparrow at 41 birds seen at the same time.

The White-throated Sparrow seems to be the most common bird in my yard. Following close behind is the Mourning Dove with 29 being seen at one time and then the Dark-eyed Junco the third highest count with 27 being seen at one time on my deck. The Weeping Cherry tree has become a landing spot for the birds before they reach my feeders.

A new bird for my GBBC list this year was this Field Sparrow still hanging around on Feb 12th. All my bird photos are taken thru my dining room window, so I am sorry they are not the best images.

Taking the back road home I can pass the barns in the photos above and below.  I like the weathered wood and colors on the barns and buildings above.

For Tom's Barn Collective meme I am sharing the two photos above. They are both local places in the neighborhood. The barn above recently was renovated and has a new green roof. The trees are still bare, but this street is pretty when everything is green.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your visits and nice comments. Have a happy day and new week ahead!


As always thanks to the wonderful group of hosts listed below.
Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective

Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday
Thanks to Monica for hosting NF Trees

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes

Thanks to the hosting team of Our World Tuesday!

Saturday's Critters #114

Saturday's Critters #114

Happy Saturday, it's time to share your critters and post. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who is linking in with this week's critter party. I am not sure how quickly I will be able to visit today I will be visiting everyone as soon as possible.

Feb 3 & 4th were sparrow days for me. Two new yard birds and one is a lifer.
Below are the Field Sparrow and my latest lifer the American Tree Sparrow.

It was a rainy foggy day and did not expected to see two new yards and one is a lifer. Above is the American Tree Sparrow a lifer and a great bird to show up in my yard.

The Field Sparrow arrived at the same time as my Tree Sparrow. They must have been traveling companions on this rainy day.

They both got busy with the buffet of seed I spread out on my deck railing.

The marking on a Tree Sparrow are the bi-colored bill, a dark spot on its chest, they have a rusty cap and eyeline.

I was happy to add these two birds to my yard list and a new lifer, hooray!

An InLinkz Link-up

As always thanks for the visits and the nice comments. I also thank everyone who is linking up and sharing their critters.. Happy Saturday, have a great weekend!

To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.