North Point State Park

Hello,

Another Friday is almost here and it is the last Friday in June. Gee, this month flew by!  June 10th my brother, hubby and I visited the local North Point State Park. It has been one of my favorite local places for birding and walking.

Two Ospreys, one seem to be hovering right above the one sitting in the tree.

My mosaic shows some of the birds were saw during our park visit: top row are the Indigo Bunting, Little Blue Herons, Cardinal, Tree Swallows. Second Row: Redwing Blackbird, Male Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Cormorants. Third row: Red-headed woodpecker, Great Egret, Osprey, GB Heron. Bottom row: Osprey, Little Blue Herons and the Cattle Egrets.

Around 10 Cattle Egrets were seen in the field across from the parking lot. I do not see these egrets often in Maryland.

My only fence shot at the park's parking lot, we were heading to see the Cattle Egrets on the field. Across the way is the barn I have shown in other posts and my brother can hardly be seen walking behind one of the tree on the other side of the fence.

A view of the bay from the park, you can see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in the distance.

The moon seen with the planet Jupiter (tiny dot on the top right side) on June 11th.

A closer look at the first quarter moon on the evening of June 11th.


Thanks for visiting and for all the nice comments. As always, thank you for visiting and for the nice comments. I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead.

Here is a list of linky parties for part of the week, I hope to see you there.

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences.
Thank you to Sylvia, Yogi and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.

Blue skies

Hello, at this time we had pretty blue skies and lovely weather. I am a warm weather person and I love sunny warm days. How about you, do you love summer?

This week I am sharing some fence, sky scenes and birds from my yard. Also, sharing some of the clematis, beautiful blooms this year on my fence. Sometimes I find the hummers sitting in the tree tops but my hummingbird likes to sit on top of an old antenna on our roof.

The male Ruby-throated Hummingbird has been seen often sitting on top of an old antenna on our roof. I guess it gives him all over view of the whole yard and his feeders. The male hummer is very protective of his space and feeders.

"When we feel stuck, look at the sky. The clouds reminds us that everything changes."  unknown

I just loved seeing the clematis growing in my yard this year, I hope you do not mind I am sharing more blooms growing along my fence.

 "Where flowers bloom, so does hope." Lady Bird Johnson. I love all our summer blooms, they make me happy.

Another species of called Jackmanii Clematis growing in our yard.

Happiness is feeding the birds. The Blue Jays seem to know just when I come outside with the peanuts.

I never get tired of the blue sky! Above my capture May 29th of the moon and a couple of jet contrails.  Thanks for visiting and for all the nice comments. As always, thank you for visiting and for the nice comments. I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead.

Here is a list of linky parties for part of the week, I hope to see you there.

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences.
Thank you to Sylvia, Yogi and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.

Around the yard

Hello, it is amazing how fast the weeks are flying by. My photos are still from the month of May. There is so much activity with the birds in my yard, babies are already growing quickly.

My thoughts and prayers are with all the Orlando victims and their families. Also for Christina Grimmie (from The Voice) also shot in Orlando. Also, very sad at the Disney resort a Gator attacking and killing a 2 year old. 


For Teresa's Friday's Hunt: the letter "y", week's favorite  and "in my shoes".

I am sharing some birds, flowers and sky shots from around my yard.

 A closeup of one of the Carolina Wrens. Carolina Wrens are known to be very loud birds. They can have up to 20-32  patterns of songs and can sing year round.

A family of Carolina Wren pecking at the droppings from my suet feeder above.

For Today's Flowers . Thank you to Denise the host of Today's Flowers

We have a lot of pretty Clematis blooms on our fence. There are around 300 species of Clematis. We have at least three different species growing in our yard.

A House Wren has been busy all over my yard, singing up a storm. The courtship of male house wren consist of singing and showing the female houses for potential nests. They often puncture eggs of other birds to prevent other birds nesting nearby. If it is possible for a bird to be mean, the House Wren  are meanies.

This is one of neighborhood Great Blue Herons standing close to it's nest.

I can stand "in my shoes" on the fire road not far from my house and look over at the Heron's nest. Sometimes I can see the heron on the tree tops from my kitchen window. On this day I think the heron decided to pose nicely for me.  LOL not really just for me, I was kind of far away from the nest.

The moon on May 26th, the waning gibbous and 81% visible. My addiction to the moon continues, as long as the sky is clear.


 As always, thank you for visiting and for the nice comments. I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead.

Here is a list of linky parties for part of the week, I hope to see you there.

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences.
Thank you to Sylvia, Yogi and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.
Thank you to Denise the host of Today's Flowers
Thanks also to Teresa Friday's Hunt
Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective

Spark Bird

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 & happy month of June. I hope everyone is well. We are finally enjoying some nice weather.

For Teresa's Friday's Hunt: the letter "w", week's favorite and rough.

1. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak was my "Spark Bird" .  A spark bird is a bird that caught your eye and kindled your interest in birding. I hope you are not tired of seeing my Grosbeaks photos, I was just thrilled to see them here for such a long time this year. I have many photos of these beauties! One of my favorite photos!

For Tex's Good Fences, below I am sharing our neighbor's fence with our blooming white azalea.

2. "If you strive for the moon, maybe you will get over the fence." James Woods

3. I am sharing my simple pleasure of skywatching.  Watching the sky, does it make you feel big or tiny?

"Enjoy every sunset, look forward to every sunrise." unknown

4. My moon addiction continues with this Waxwing Crescent seen on May 8th.  The sky captured close to sunset.

For Teresa's Friday Hunt: my favorite photo is this Crescent Moon photo.

5. The evenings lately are filled with  frog sounds in my yard, they are pretty loud. Check out my video of the moon and you can listen to the music of the frogs.

To see more pretty skies, fences and fantastic photos from around the world please visit the memes below.  As always, thank you for visiting and for the nice comments. I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead.

Here is a list of linky parties for the last part of the week, I hope to see you there, whether it is just one party or all of them.

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences.
Thank you to Sylvia, Yogi and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.
Thank you to Nancy the host of Random 5 Friday
Thanks also to Teresa Friday's Hunt
Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective

Making lemonade

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.

I am behind in sharing my photos and jumping all around these are from April 30th. At this time the weather was usually either cloudy, rainy and chilly. The reason for my title, the weather was not going to clear up days so we took our chances and made lemonade out of one of the cloudy days. We were able to do some walking, birding and make it home before the rain started.


Teresa's Friday's Hunt:  The letter V,  Week's Favorite, Sunshine.

Start's with V..photo below. I like the Virginia Bluebells in bloom along the river trail.

 Weeks Favorite  is below, I like the mill and the big knotty tree. These trees in the spring are full of warblers and Baltimore Orioles. The birds, it is one of the reasons for being at the park on this day.

Random 5 Friday

1. Rock Run Historic Area with the Grist Mill at the Susquehanna River State Park in Maryland. I was looking for some fence scenes, the fence around the mill is perfect for Tex's Good Fence meme. The Grist Mill was erected in 1798 and in 1958 three hundred acres of this land was donated to the State of Maryland to create a park.

2. "Go all out, don't be embarrassed or scared." I love this shot below with the Great Blue Heron sticking it's head into the water for a fish.

3. We enjoy a spring walk at the Susquehanna River State Park, the wildflowers are so pretty in the spring. Advice from a wildflower: Show your true colors, delight in simple pleasures, celebrate your natural beauty, open up, spread seeds of joy, it's OK to be a late bloomer and be wild and wonderful. Thanks to Denise the host of Today's Flowers!

4. I do try to learn the bird id's. I guessed right on this bird and received confirmation that it is the Northern Rough-winged Swallow. This bird was flying around and under the fishing bridge at the Susquehanna River.

5. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  In our case it was get out for a walk on a cloudy chilly day. The weather was only going to get worse. My Friday Skywatch, a cloudy day at the Susquehanna River.

Did you have fun on my walk?  I hope you enjoyed my post and images. As always, thank you for visiting and for the nice comments. Have a happy weekend ahead!

To see more pretty skies, fences and fantastic photos from around the world please visit the memes below.  Thanks for visiting and for all the nice comments. I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead.

Here is a list of linky parties for part of the week, I hope to see you there.

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences.

Thank you to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.
Thank you to Denise the host of Today's Flowers

Thank you to Nancy the host of Random 5 Friday

Thanks also to Teresa Friday's Hunt 
Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective

Warbler Time

I have a list below of memes I am joining for this week, and to save time I am doing one post for all. These links are not just for me but you can also copy them and join in with any of these linky parties. . 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 hosts and their memes, I hope you have some time to check them out.


Teresa's Friday's Hunt
1. Start's with U
2. Weeks Favorite
3.  Morning

Random # 1. In the spring we see some pretty warblers pass thru our neighborhood and around our lake. The warblers like to stay high up in the tree tops which makes it almost impossible to get a good photo. I still like to document what I see and when.

#2. My name is Eileen and I have an addiction to birds. On this day I saw the Prairie Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, possibly a female Pine Warbler or Kinglet and a Chestnut-sided Warbler, Woodpeckers, Hermit Thrush and the Eagle nest.

We watched the Prairie Warblers chasing each other around the trees and bushes. This may not look like the best photo. But it is my favorite for the week, mainly because I love the bright yellow warbler checking me out. 

The Lousiana Waterthrushes show up a near the creeks that run into our lake, the same time that the warbler arrive.

Overhead looking up at the top of the pine trees, we saw a Red-tailed hawk.

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. Skywatching is another one of my simple pleasures. On this day, we drove around the lake for a walk on another fireroad, it is the same spot where we found the eagles nest. Another favorite photo, this shot of the sky and field was taken from the parking area.

4. Hubby and I are proud of our son at 23 years old, he has purchased his second home. After living in his first home for two years, he spent a lot of time renovating the first place and sold it within a week of listing. Some scenes from our ride to our son's new place, we take the back roads and there are a lot of farms, barns and animals.

5. The spring baby animals are so darn cute. We pass by this farm with the Longhorn cattle, do you see the little calf  laying in front of the whitish colored mom. Click on the image for larger viewing, it is in the middle of the photo.

  Lots on contrails from the jets and a pretty blue sky.  Make time for the simple pleasures. My simple pleasure is skywatching.

"Be thankful for what you have. Simple Pleasures are the best part of life."

I hope you enjoyed my post and images. As always, thank you for visiting and for the nice comments. Have a happy new week ahead!

To see more pretty skies, fences and fantastic photos from around the world please visit the memes below.  Thanks for visiting and for all the nice comments. I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead.

Here is a list of linky parties for part of the last part of the week, I hope to see you there.

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences.

Thank you to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.

Thank you to Nancy the host of Random 5 Friday

Thanks also to Teresa Friday's Hunt 
Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective

Location, location, location

I have a list below of memes below. 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.


Teresa's Friday's Hunt
1. Start's with T
2. Weeks Favorite
3. Evening

1. It is Thursday, I am Thankful for living in a beautiful area. It is like having a park right outside my door. I am blessed with beautiful birds visiting my yard like the Rose-breasted Grosbeak seen below. I guess you have heard the saying location, location, location when looking for a house. I can say we live in a beautiful location.

2. The other side of our lake is the dam and the Gunpowder River. I leaned over the dam wall to get a shot of the overflow of water. A cormorant was swimming in the lake above the dam.

Below,  it was a dreary foggy day but the rain stopped so we had to get out for a walk on the fireroad and to the lake.

3. The park I mentioned right outside my door is the watershed and reservoir. The lake is one of three reservoirs that holding drinking water for the city of Baltimore. I can walk out my door and take a walk straight to the lake.

My favorite photo below for the week, we see these wild White Dogwood trees growing in the woods around the lake and off the fireroads.

4. May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. I have always loved the Irish Blessings. Have you had to chance to visit Lynne @ Irish Garden House . Lynne has some beautiful images of Ireland on her blog.

Another favorite Irish blessing:
May the Irish hills caress you,
May her rivers and lakes bless you,
May the luck of the Irish enfold you,
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.


5.  A photo of a farm we ride by on the other side of the lake after leaving the dam for both Good Fences and The Barn Collective. Where I live we have the hills, lakes and rivers are nearby, it reminds me of the Irish blessing above.  The cloudy foggy sky continues,  our weather at the beginning of May was not very Springy..

For my Skywatch Friday I am ending my post with another favorite shot of the moon taken on the Evening of April 26th. After that our skies were either cloudy or rainy..

I hope you enjoyed my post and images. As always, thank you for visiting and for the nice comments. Have a happy new week ahead!

To see more pretty skies, fences and fantastic photos from around the world please visit the memes below.  Thanks for visiting and for all the nice comments. I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead.

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences.

Thank you to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.

Thank you to Nancy the host of Random 5 Friday

Thanks also to Teresa Friday's Hunt  

Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective

Back Bay NWR Virginia

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.


Teresa's Friday's Hunt
1. Start's with S
2. Weeks Favorite
3.  Smile

1. I am sharing more of our trip to Virginia Beach and a visit to the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It is a gorgeous refuge and reminded me of Chincoteague NWR. There is more walking and they do not have the wildlife drive.

Above the Cardinal, Redwing Blackbird, Yellow-rump warbler, Eastern Phoebe, Horned Grebe, Gull, Northern Gannet, Brown Pelican, Cormorants.

2. One of my simple pleasures... watching the Sunrise. 
For Teresa's Friday's Hunt.. also my Favorite photo for the week.  My photo with the letter "S" the last Sunrise of our trip to Virginia.

3. Another simple pleasure are walks on the beach.
I am not positive but I think the gull above is the Great Black-backed Gull. It looks like it has misapplied the lipstick, LOL.

4. Walking is cheap, fun and safe acceptable exercise.

For Tex's Good Fence meme.....There is also a trail that takes you up to the beach. Check out the Shadows from the fences.

There are five or more trails, some were the boardwalk trails with pretty views of the bay.

5. An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.

 I love this deserted beach, not many people around. Pretty blue skies during our whole trip.

 We had fun watching the dolphins swimming back and forth while we were on the beach. I hope you enjoyed our visit the wildlife refuge. We were able to see two refuges during our Virginia trip, this Back Bay NWR and the Great Dismal NWR. I recommend visiting both if you are ever in the area.  As always, thank you for visiting and for the nice comments. Have a happy new week ahead!

To see more pretty skies, fences and fantastic photos from around the world please visit the memes below.  Thanks for visiting and for all the nice comments. I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead.

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences.

Thank you to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.

Thank you to Nancy the host of Random 5 Friday

Thanks also to Teresa Friday's Hunt