Happy Monday!

 Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and happy new week!

"Every day is a new beginning."

Southernmost tip of the peninsula located where the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay meet at the Point Lookout State Park, Maryland.

"May your troubles be less and your blessings be more."

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

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Our World, My World

Happy Monday everyone!

Hubby and I are missing our bigger road trips, so we  decided to take  a ride to Maryland's shore. Staying mostly in the car and a few hikes. We visited Blackwater National Wildlife refuge, Assateague Island National Seashore and Assateague State Park and Ocean City.  We did a lot, we saw the Assateague wild ponies and  lots of birds. We walked on the beach, walked on a trail at Blackwater NWR and walked on a boardwalk trail at Assateague Island National Seashore. We were outside during the trip and we were careful keeping a distance from any people and wore our mask if anyone seemed close. 

1. November 8th, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Cambridge Maryland

 

2. A Great Blue Heron on an old nest and a nearby Bald Eagle.

 

 

 

3. The most common bird at Blackwater NWR was the Canada Geese.  We missed seeing an early Snowy Owl that was being seen in Kent County which is just across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland.

 

 

 

4.  Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland. First time I saw people riding horses bareback on the beach.  They were leaving when we arrived.  The second pony below looks like one of the wild Assateague ponies. 

 

 

 

 

5.  Me and my shadow on the boardwalk trail at Assateague Island National Seashore.

 

 

 

6.  We like to ride through the campground looking for birds, usually various birds can be found on the ground around the picnic tables. This time we saw the campground host, a couple of the Assateague wild ponies.

 

 

 

7. The ponies can be found on the dunes and on the beach at Assateague. It was a warm sunny day. Lots of people enjoying the beach.

 

 

 

8. Sunset at the Ocean City Inlet. 

 

 I have more to share from our little getaway, including more Ocean City Md photos and some from Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware. We did a big loop drive, going through Delaware on the way home.

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

 

Wear your mask and keep your distance! 

 

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!

Happy Thankful Thursday!

Happy Thursday!

Happy October everyone, are you feeling the chilly air now?  We have had quite a few mornings with temps in the 30's, it felt like winter to me.  There is always lots happening lately, good and bad.  My son and DIL are having a gender reveal party this weekend. So we will go wearing our face mask and trying to keep a social distance.  These are scary times! Over 200,000 (206,852 as of Oct 1st) Americans have died from Covid. More deaths every day.  This virus is not under control, a vaccine may be ready in the 2nd or 3rd quarter in 2021 for the larger population. Wear your Mask! 

 

With the loss RBG and COVID, do we need to worry the Supreme Court  possibly overturning the  ACA affecting our coverage of healthcare. Are you worried about your pre-existing conditions being covered, the future cost of your healthcare? 

On the bright side, hubby and I are taking our walks with nature. Nature is my happy place.  Recently we visited a few different parks, a few of our favorite places for the birds and scenery. 

1. These are photos from our Sept 20th visit to North Point State Park in Baltimore County. My previous visits to North Point SP can be seen here.

 

2.  Bird and wildlife sightings: Great Blue Heron, Eastern Phoebe, Northern Flickers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Little Blue Herons, Slider Turtles, Mallards, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Wood Duck, Yellow-throated Warbler and a couple of Belted Kingfishers. 

3. A juvenile Little Blue Heron, click on photo for larger viewing. 

4. Little Blue Herons  are usually seen at this park during the spring and summer. They should all be leaving soon.. 

5. The next 2 photos are for my Throwback Thursday theme
 

Four years ago, I used to see the Red-headed Woodpecker at this park.  They are not seen here any more, are these woodpeckers another bird that is disappearing? 

6. A Throwback Thursday and Skywatch image from the North Point State Park.

7. A view of the Chesapeake Bay from the park, I thought I could see a Bald Eagle sitting on perch out in the bay.

8. A Little Blue Heron and a Mallard looking for a meal.

9. The bay was looking a little choppy from the wind, but I believe one of these birds is a Bald Eagle, one on the left.  Edited thanks to David.

10. It was nice to see the turtles out sunning themselves. 

11. A view of the Chesapeake Bay from the trail.

 I am thankful my hubby and I are staying healthy, all of my family is healthy and happy.  I am always thankful for nature, thankful for the Maryland State Parks. Go outside and breathe deeply.  Enjoy every moment. 

Take care and stay safe! 


Live simple and be happy!  😊 Keep smiling!

Thank you Martha for hosting Throwback Thursday 

Thank you Michelle for hosting Thankful Thursday. 
 

Thank you to Yogi the host of   Skywatch Friday
 

Thank you to Jutta the host of Nature Thursday

Thank you for visiting and for your nice comments on my previous post. Have a happy day!!  😊

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!

Saturday's Critters #337

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!


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!



I am sharing some birds and critters from our most recent visit to the North Point State Park in Baltimore County, Md.  The park is located on the shores of the Chespeake Bay, it is a great place to see all kinds of birds. 

Adult Little Blue Heron, we saw a few of the adults and one mottled juvenile Little Blue Heron. 

 An Eastern Kingbird posed for a few photos.

 The bullfrogs were plentiful and very loud.

 The Tree Swallows were doing their thing catching bugs or posing for me and my camera.

 Mallard Duck resting on a log.

 Canada Geese and goslings, a nice family shot.

 The Red-winged Blackbirds were looking pretty. 

 The Slider Turtles were out on a log, catching the sun's rays. We counted 14 turtles in this line up, I could not fit them all on one photo, a branch was in my way.

A male Common Yellowthroat Warbler, one of the common warblers we see here in the summer. 

 I am guessing at this id, a female Common Yellowthroat Warbler. 

We only had a peak at the top of the Osprey's head that was sitting on the nest. 

Thanks to all my visitors and for all the wonderful comments. I appreciate everyone who loves critters and has linked up their critter post.


Here is  my linky;

 

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the host Anni.

Saturday's Critters #328

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!


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!



Before the lock down in early March, we took trip to Ocean City Maryland. During our getaway we visited the Assateague Island National Seashore and the Assateague Md State Park. Hubby and I both have senior passes for both parks which is nice, we no longer have to make sure we have exact change. 

We walked the beaches, the boardwalk trails and drove around the park looking for birds and the Assateague ponies.  

The Maryland Assateague Island ponies are owned by the national park, they are kept separate from the Chincotegue Island Virginia ponies.  Around 150 ponies are owned by the Chincoteague Island Volunteer Fire Company in Chincoteague Island Virginia. Some of these ponies are auctioned off each year.

Below a few Killdeer, Northern Gannet over the ocean, bottom right are some of the Common Loons.

 The Common Loons seemed to be the most common bird seen from the beach.

 I was able to find a few Northern Gannets far out in the ocean, it is fun to watch them dive.

The Killdeer were seen and heard on the Assateague Island beach.

Traffic back up from the Assateague ponies crossing the street.

Thanks to all my visitors and for all the wonderful comments. I appreciate everyone who loves critters and has linked up their post.


Here is a list of my linky parties;


 





Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the host Anni.

Happy Thankful Thursday

 Happy Thankful Thursday!

I wanted to share some photos from a hike and a park we visited back on October 28th.  Cunningham Falls State Park is located in the picturesque Catoctin Mountins in Thurmont Maryland. The park has a man-made lake and is named after the Cunningham Falls, the largest cascading falls in Maryland.  

It was a pretty blue sky day, a lovely Autumn day for a hike.  Below is the man-made lake in the William Houck area of the state park. 

 Near the lake, I watched this flock of Cedar Waxwings finding some berries to eat. Other birds seen and not photographed are the Carolina Wren, White-breasted Nuthatch, Titmouse, Chickadees, various woodpeckers and the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

 At the parking lot for the waterfall hike,  you can see a peak of the lake.

 A sunburst and some pretty fall colors. 

 I am pretty sure, below is the Golden-crowned Kinglet. It has a small bill and they have a black and white striped face. Their pretty colorful crown shows when they are excited.

I wish we had more rain , the waterfalls was not gushing. But, it looked pretty with some fall colors around.

 The boardwalk trail to and from the waterfall. The sun shining on the trees and the leaf colors were beautiful.

 "Happiness is something that you bring to life."

 Me and my shadow. 

 Walking back to our car, we saw more pretty fall colors.  Beautiful trees!

  "Whatever you decide to do , make sure it makes you happy."


I am thankful for the small things, like the sun shining through the trees, blue skies and lovely weather for walking. 

I am thankful for all your visits and comments. 


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!