RANDOM PHOTOS

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!

There has not been a lot happening lately... so I don't have anything to "tell" you... but I always have my phone camera and there are some photos I have taken this spring/summer I will share with you now.

By mid-May, the tire garden was doing well with tomatoes on the way!

At the same time, there were some beautiful daylilies blooming in another area of the yard.

Mid-May was also a good time to hit the "all-you-can-eat" crawfish buffet at a nearby casino!!  This is the "bucket" you get to start your feast.  The gals I went with went back for second buckets to share!  YUM!

You may be a little tired of my morning walk photos but bear with me.  :)  I enjoy them so very much!

This little one was crossing one of the airport streets.  I almost didn't see it!  It blends so well... and the front of my shoe gives you the scale of the "tiny turtle."

On another morning, I glanced down just in time to see this little critter making its way across another road.  When I asked it to "please stay still so I can get your picture!", it stopped, raised its head a bit, looked toward me, and waited!  LOL!

During late June through July and into August, I am lucky enough to see HUGE groups of wading birds, primarily white herons with a few Great Blue herons occasionally mixed in.  I don't know for certain but I believe there must be a rookery fairly close by.  On some mornings, I see literally hundreds of these birds fly over... ranging from small groups of 2 or 3 birds to the huge groups I mentioned that contain more than I can count as they fly over!  My best estimate is about 300 birds that I have seen in one morning.  My guess is there are more I do not see... so I would bet totals in the 500-600 range.  At any rate, they are beautiful to see in the early morning light as they head out for wading and dining all day.

This morning, I was a little late returning from my walk... and spotted a rather interesting "sand trap" on the golf course.  :)  I'm not sure if you have to "play through the puppy dogs" or what?!?  They certainly seemed comfortable in the cool, damp sand.

Finally, I know I have posted "sky" pictures before but sometimes nature provides some pretty cool stuff.  :)

Ending on a humorous note, I pass this driveway every morning on my walk.  The newspaper that is delivered there is typically on the grass to either side of the driveway although it has hit the edges of the pavement, too.  Never see it dead-centered on the driveway.  So... Blogging Buddies... what day do you think was the day the newspaper was placed DEAD-CENTER on the driveway?  Why, the day after the driveway had been PAVED, of course!  Couldn't walk on it... thus the tape.  LOL!!  Never fails, does it?

As always, thank you for dropping by.

Until next post...

DICHOTOMY AMONG BIRDS!

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!

Well, it's been far too long since my last post but I must tell you that there has simply been NOTHING to report to you!  The only exciting thing I have done is try a new recipe for Quick Yeast Rolls.  (By the way, they were VERY yummy and had to be banned except for special occasions as they are just FAR too good and were consumed FAR too rapidly to be healthy!)  If you want the recipe, email me.  I will send it to you in a Word document.  You have been warned.

So... about the title of this post.  Interestingly enough, I have had two bird stories arise in the past week.  It was amusing to note that one was about the Decorah Eagles that are now sitting on two eggs in their snow-surrounded nest while the other was a receipt of photos of the National Bird of Jamaica, the Red-billed Streamertailed Hummingbird, commonly referred to as the Jamaican Hummingbird.  It is found ONLY in Jamaica.  It amused me that these two birds are so disparate in appearance and locale yet they are both birds. 

The Decorah Eagles have laid two eggs thus far, the first on Wednesday, 2/18, and a second on Saturday, 2/21.  A third may yet be in store and would likely be laid on Tuesday, 2/24, as they are typically laid 3 days apart.  You can visit them live onscreen at several different sites but I usually watch them here.  They will be tended for about five weeks until hatching begins.  Watch for that in very early April!  That's when things get really interesting!!

My friend, Susan S., visits Jamaica every year.  She returned with the story of the hummingbird and some photos taken by her friend, Debbie Stahl.  I am sharing some of them with you below as I think this little bird is just stunning!  There is a very short video you can view here to see the little fella' move about.

As we brace for the coming cold and wet weather, I can't help but look out back at the "tire garden" and think about what should grow there this year.  It can't be too much longer before it's time to play in the dirt, right?  Fingers crossed.

Enjoy your day!

Until next post...

STILL NOTHIN'!!!

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!

Once again, I really have nothing at all to tell you.  There is a l-o-n-g period of time when very little takes place here... actually that's most of the time.  Mardi Gras is on its way so I guess that is something to look forward to but only if one is involved in it.  There isn't much of a true celebration here and we don't do any traveling just to party at this point in our lives.  LOL!!

We were inundated with rains for quite a while but we have been fortunate to have a few days of respite recently.  Warmer weather.  Sunshine.  All good.  With all the rain we have had over the winter, I'm guessing there should be an explosion of flora come spring!!

One of the fun things here are all of the critters.  We have a substantial number of little frogs that I believe to be tree frogs.  I have found them before in some of my plants outside.  However, they apparently make their way to a lot more than trees and plants!  The spousal-unit caught this little fella' on the back door glass one evening.  Nice that he had placed himself in such a manner that we could get good shots from "above" and "below."  :)  I really love these little guys.

I also have to tell you that the spousal-unit spotted a little woodpecker in a shrub right next to the house.  I grabbed my Sibley's bird book (the very best reference to identify!) and started looking for it.  It was not one of our usual woodpeckers.  When I finally identified it, I had to laugh out loud.  Those of you who are old enough will recall Yosemite Sam's reference to a "Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker!"  Well, that's what was in my shrub.  They apparently winter in this area although I do not recall seeing one before.  He returned to the shrub for at least four days in a row and I am keeping an eye out for him.  Real cutie!

For my Eagle-loving pals, I just popped in on the Decorah Eagles.  They are busy working on the nest!!  Since eggs begin arriving in late February, it is definitely time for them to get things prepped.  Both of them were on the nest just now.  There was a slight altercation about something with a little noise and pecking going on... but it was quickly resolved and they both went back to prepping.  It is 32 degrees with snow on the ground there as I type this.  Bookmark this link so you can check in on them this year!!  They should be in & out pretty frequently now.

Just wanted to check in with you all.  Thanks, as always, for stopping by.

Until next post...

LOUISIANA TRAVELS!!! PART II

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Pals!

I have heard from a few of you so I know the Avery Island post was liked.  Thank you for your emails!

So... let's move on to the Sunday following Avery Island when my friend, Charlotte B., and I made our way a short distance to Jefferson Island and the Rip Van Winkle Gardens thereon.  This was a very different environment.  Avery Island was very natural with no real "plantings."  It was just as you would find leaving the island... native landscape.  Jefferson Island has been molded, shaped, and planted for some very spectacular viewing as well as having some native landscape areas.  It is also home to the Joseph Jefferson Mansion which can be toured (we chose to not take that tour) and a B&B consisting of three cottages available for rental.  The web site link earlier in this paragraph can point you to information on those.

We were the first to arrive early Sunday morning.  We entered into the gift shop where tickets were sold for the mansion tours as well as for the ability to wander the gardens at leisure.  We obtained our gardens tickets and headed out.  Wow!!!  What a beautiful sight!  As done previously, I am going to just post some of the best shots with captions, when appropriate.  I hope you enjoy the trip!  :)

Wow!  Beautiful views right off the bat!

Old Rip's Oak planted by Joseph Jefferson 1870

And here is Old Rip's Oak... Magnificent, isn't it?

There were some interesting "yard art" pieces there.

Beautiful settings and plants.

These are Crinum plants.  A flower detail is below this.

Charlotte caught this fellow preening himself on one of the railings.  We were told there are 83 peacocks (and I'm guessing that includes peahens) on the property!!

There were other "surprises" to be found throughout the property.

Charlotte worked very hard to get this great close-up of the water lily flower!!

At the base of an oak tree (and the remaining trunk of another) I found a stone with a small plaque explaining what the two oak trees had provided!

The LaFitte Oaks - In 1923, 3 pots of buried treasure were discovered here

We had a lovely lunch at the cafe which was 3-sides glass providing a view from every table.  Absolutely beautiful... and the food was pretty darned tasty, too!

Charlotte's favorite bird is the roseate spoonbill which resides all over south Louisiana but is not easily spotted.  On our way out, we stopped at the rookery area where Charlotte risked life & limb (and her shoes!) to cross a field of grasses and a ditch full of water to get as close as possible in order to capture the following shot using her camera's zoom feature.  You will notice the spoonbill at the upper left section of the tree and, I believe, another one nearly hidden below and slightly to the right of that one.

If you like interesting facts, check out the info on the 1980 disaster when an oil rig punctured the salt dome beneath Jefferson Island.  It is fascinating and some of you may remember it from national news reports!

I do hope you have enjoyed our little road trip.  Charlotte and I had a wonderful time discovering a little more of this state where we were both raised.

Oops!  Sorry.  As I was finishing and proofing this post, the spousal-unit called me to look at the back patio and check out the bird activity.  There were two or three Brown Thrashers and a plain ol' Blue Jay out back hopping about and clearly unhappy.  The spousal-unit pointed out the snake hiding up underneath the bench against the back wall.  Hmmmm.  Dark snake.  About two feet long.  So we tag-teamed it.  He got a piece of bamboo split at one end.  I got the shovel.  We had seen it disappear behind a bag of garden soil against the wall.  The spousal-unit slowly removed items until he uncovered the snake.  I got as close as I could comfortably to attempt an ID.  Black & grey topside.  Uh-oh.  Triangular head.  We may have a poisonous one... looks like a water moccasin.  Yeppir.  That's my opinion.  The spousal-unit deftly caught its head in the forked end of the bamboo and rolled it up like a piece of spaghetti!!  Poor little snake didn't know if it was coming or going.  He took it out to an area with a tree stump handy and very deftly dispatched it.  He buried the head and tossed the remains over the back fence.  Done.  I won't kill a snake unless it is 1) poisonous, and 2) too close to where I'm living!!  This seemed to be both.  I hope it wasn't just a frightened water snake since they are not poisonous and I would have preferred to leave it alone.  Oh well.  That close, you have to make a choice.

Until next post...

LOUISIANA TRAVELS!!! PART I

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!!  Glad to see you haven't left me yet!

Things have been a little busy but my very excellent friend, Charlotte B., and I took a weekend to do a little Louisiana traveling.  I had always wanted to go to Avery Island, home of that FABulous product, Tabasco.  It is between Lafayette and New Iberia, south of Interstate 10.  We decided to stay in Lafayette overnight Saturday night and left for our road trip early Saturday morning.

I knew there was a little store on Avery Island and some sights to be seen but wasn't sure exactly what to expect.  I was very pleasantly surprised at the lovely environment we found ourselves in on a Saturday morning.  Let me share some photos with you.  It may take a few posts to get them all to you so bear with me.

A LITTLE HISTORICAL INFO

A SURPRISE WAITING AROUND THE CORNER

WHAT IS THAT?

AN 800+ YEAR OLD BUDDHA GIFTED TO E.A. McILHENNY BY FRIENDS!!

BEAUTIFUL STONE BRIDGE THE BUDDHA OVERLOOKS

LOVE THE TREE "SCULPTURES"

MORE "SCULPTURES"

My friend, Charlotte, got this beautiful "sculpture" shot!

Always a fan of flora & fauna, I spotted this beautiful bird alone doing some fishing (it was... not me).  I waited a bit to see if it would fly off and got some really fun shots of its short flight into the shade.

 

Wondered where all of this bird's buddies were... and found them at the rookery!!!  Noisy place, this!

Again, my friend with all of the "proper" camera equipment including a much better zoom lens than my poor little Samsung phone can offer, got a lovely shot of a flying egret.

Back at the Tabasco Country Store, next to the actual Tabasco manufacturing plant, we found a "hot" fish biting on a "hot" pepper!!  Smart fish!  It knows what's good!  :)

So... while we were a little "hot" ourselves (it was darned toasty out there, folks!), we still could appreciate and enjoy the fun and frivolity of Avery Island.  I had always wanted to go and I am glad I did.  Even saw some little gators swimming around in the bayous!  They're cute when they're little.

Next post, we'll go to Jefferson Island and the Rip Van Winkle Gardens.  More photos for you to (hopefully!) enjoy and a little more historical information for you to add to your trivia knowledge.

Until next post...