Happy Thankful Thursday!

 Hello everyone,

Hubby and I decided once again to get out for a long car ride. A good part of our getaway was just being in the car, we were not around people at all. So we felt safe.  Our snacks and drinking water in the car, we had a nice time. 

 "Happiness is nature's beauty and tranquility."



It was a beautiful sky day, puffy white clouds here and there. We drove on the wildlife drive at Bombay Hook NWR, checking out the views and birds.

 The American Avocets are common birds seen at Bombay Hook NWR in the summer.

Three GB Herons,  actually there was a 4th Great Blue Heron standing off to the side.  A family of herons.

 The Great Egrets are a pretty sight to see. 

Three Mute Swans floating by.  

 The larger tern is the Caspian Tern, I am not sure about the smaller Tern. Maybe the Common Terns?

 The Killdeers are so cute, I love their big eyes. 

"Spending time in nature is healing energy." 

  You can almost always see the Egrets in the trees along the wildlife drive. 

"Life is full of give and take. Give thanks and take nothing for granted."

 It is great to see the Purple Martins doing so well..

"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy."

I am thankful to get out and enjoy nature and the great weather.

My reading has slowed down some, here are my latest books:

To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear is # 14 in the Maisie Dobbs series.

Currently reading, Little Girl Gone by Gerry Schmitt. It is the first in the Afton Tangler series who also writes the Tea Shop series in the name of Laura Childs.




I hope everyone is safe, happy and healthy! I am always thankful hubby and I are both well!



 
Live simple and be happy!  😊 Take care, 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 #286

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!

On the afternoon of the second day of our Finger Lakes NY trip  we drove to the Montezuma Nat'l Wildlife Refuge in Seneca Falls New York.  The wildlife refuge is located near the end of the Cayuga Lake.  We drove the 3.5 wildlife drive, seeing Purple Martins, Great Egrets, Canada Geese, Red-wing Blackbirds, Bald Eagle, Northern Shoveler duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Tern, Gadwall ducks, DC Cormorant, Song Sparrow, Mallards, unknown Sandpiper and lots of turtles.  

The Canada Geese were the most common bird seen at the wildlife refuge.  

There were a few Great Egrets in different areas of the refuge. 

I am guessing at this id, I think they are Gadwall ducks. 

We saw a few Great Blue Herons at the wildlife refuge. 

I think this is a juvenile Bald Eagle. I do not see the white head. 

Another guess at this bird, a Caspian Tern?  I appreciate any corrections on my id guesses. 

The Purple Martins were at two bird houses near the visitor center. 

The Pied-billed Grebe is a cutie. 

I really loved this Bald Eagle sculpture near the end of the wildlife drive. I think it can be seen off of Rt 90.

I appreciate and thank everyone who links up their post and for all the wonderful comments !









Here is a list of my linky parties;

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

Saturday's Critters #192

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!


These are some images from our last visit to Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware. On this day we saw a lot of birds, awesome sightings of the Purple Martins, Great Egrets, Mallard and ducklings, American Avocets, a few sightings of a Red Fox.


The Purple Martin houses are close to the visitor center.

This Red Fox was laying right on the wildlife drive. I think it is a young one and looked sick.

A view of one of the ponds and some Great Egrets and Canada Geese.

I believe this is a Mallard with her ducklings.

The American Avocets, a pretty shorebird.

I have much more from our visit to Bombay Hook NWR, we visited for two days. There is always so much to see.  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!

Cape May NJ

I am linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences
I hope you can join in on the fun and share your fence scenes and pretty skies.

For this week's Good Fence and Skywatch Friday memes I am sharing an overnight visit to Cape May/Atlantic City, New Jersey earlier in July. It was a pretty day to visit Cape May and the beach, I think I even got a little sunburnt.

A mosaic of the Cape May wildlife: Top Row is the Purple Martin house, Halloween Pennant Dragonfly, Carolina Wren. Second Row : Black Crowned Night Heron, Muskrat, Bunny, Third Row: Least Tern, Oystercatcher, Black Skimmers. Bottom Row: Blue Grosbeak, Mute Swan, possibly Forster's Terns.

For my Skywatch shot, the Cape May lighthouse and the Purple Martin birdhouse.

You have to look closely for this fence, just a white string tied to the area closed sign. This is to protect the birds nesting on the beach and dunes.

Another sky shot,  hubby and I sat on our beach chairs watching the waves. A few dolphins swimming by and the planes with their advertisements.

The Least Terns recognizable with the white spot on their foreheads. LOL, do birds even have foreheads? My birds posts are just for fun and I hope the serious birders do not find my post on the birds, their birdie parts and or how I type their names unacceptable. I guess they are skipping the part, that I admit I am blogging just for fun, I am an amateur photographer and I must admit sometimes I might miss a spelling error or put a dash on a bird's name when it does not belong.

Which leads me to bird slang, are you a birder or a birdwatcher? Maybe you are a twitcher or a dude.  Definition of a Dude: a low-keyed birdwatching hobbyist with a lack of devotion or enthusiasm.  A dude, really? Why bother birdwatching if you are not enthused with the birds? I love all the birds and wildlife, my favorite thing to do is go out and look for any species of wildlife. Maybe I am not understanding the definition of a Dude, could I be a dude-woman? I found this link with bird slang check it out Bird slang

A fence scene and a happy couple walking down the trail to the beach. This shot works for both Tex's Good Fences and for my Skywatch Friday shot. I hope you enjoyed our Cape May visit.

I hope you enjoyed my post and photos. 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 happy day and weekend ahead..

Birding Cape May

I hope everyone had a GREAT Mother's Day!!

For Mosaic Monday I have a little of my Cape May birding from last weekend. Hubby and I took an overnight trip to the Jersey shores last weekend and stopped at a few of the birding places that are known to be good in the spring time.


In this mosaic I have the Purple Martin birdhouse and the Cape May Lighthouse, Swallowtail butterfly, one of the many bunnies we saw,  a few baby geese, and the beach.

We practically had the beach to ourselves.

A mute swan on the trail, swan in flight, Terns and Laughing Gulls, Egret, Oystercatcher and a Coot

This a Great Egret you can id this Egret by the large yellow bill.

I hope you enjoyed my Cape May photos and to see more wonderful mosaics please visit Mary's Mosaic Monday.  A big thanks to Mary for hosting this fun meme and thank you for visiting my post. I hope everyone has a great weekend.