mint / brand new

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

Mint ice cream is my favorite - so refreshing on a hot summer's night. / Taylor's getting her table setting together for her new apartment living. The vintage napkins (in "mint" condition) and the bird plates she picked out at an antique mall, the cute yellow plates are from World Market. I wish I was the one getting new dinnerware. I've been using the same plates since 1984. Hmm... something's wrong with this picture.

show / tell

solo post - L, Nikon

I don't have any adventures to share, or stories to tell or even any good photos to show you. The work hours have been long, so it's pretty much been work and sleep. Well there's eating in there too but nothing very exciting, except... there was dinner at my parents the other night. My dad had sourdough bread right out of the oven and it was the best ever. There was corn on the cob, chicken, roasted potatoes and beets, plus he had made a pecan pie – best thing of the week so far. We ate dinner as we watched the birds outside their bird window - the little wren was going in and out of the bird house and the flicker had come to eat suet my mom had hung, the little chickadee was drinking water from a cup filled with fresh water every day. And very briefly we saw a hummingbird. Taylor laughs at my fascination with watching birds and the fact that I always have a camera around my shoulder. I told her that I always had it because I was always trying to get that one great photo of a bird and have yet to get it. She said, "here give me the camera" haha
Since there's still no great bird photo to share, I'm going to have a little 'show and tell'.
Taylor and I went to a nice art festival the other day and I made two purchases. The two little espresso cups caught both of our eyes so I decided to get a pair. She picked out one with more wood knot texture and mine has a special imprint for the thumb - similar but both unique. They are made by Regina Wolff from Atlanta and her work is really exception. I was drawn to it because of the glazes she uses and because her work is inspired by nature. Another artist that is inspired by nature is Jeri Landers. I had seen her books before and liked them but didn't have a child to buy them for. This time I decided why not just buy it for myself. When she asked, "who is it for" I hesitated and said "me". Then she wrote, "For Leslye. Please have tea - Sharp at 3... with Mrs Whiskerkins and me!" and drew a little picture of a bunny. When my niece and nephew come to my house they like hunting and counting all of the bunny things in my house and yard. This book will keep them busy - there's supposed to be 400 bunnies in the book, many of them are hidden.
I enjoy going to art festivals. Do you?

passion / patience

L - scannography / guest image from my brother


I've been trying my hardest to get some good photos of the birds in my yard, but without success. I have the passion for it, maybe I just don't have the staying power. My brother, on the other hand, does. He sends me an incredible photo of a bird almost every day. This one of the robin tending her nest happens to be one of my favorites that he has sent but there are so many more. He has bluebirds and chickadees nesting, beautiful bright yellow finches and expressive little titmice,mockingbirds and woodpeckers, and many of this robin tending her nest at the next door neighbors. He's gotten them feeding, flying into and out of their nest, with beaks full of nesting material, even fighting. I have been amazed at his eye. Patience and persistence certainly pays off.

distinctive / distinct

solo post - L, Nikon

Taylor has been missing in action lately so I'm having to go it alone. Truthfully she said her computer has been acting up - making it difficult for her to send me photos, so I'll give her a break. Thank goodness I have a lot of photos to pull from. The bad thing is I'm not sure what to share. I told you a little bit about my Easter weekend. I went to Callaway Gardens and on the way there stopped at the Wild Animal Safari. If I had been a couple of days earlier I might have fooled you into thinking that I had indeed set out to travel the world. There were animals from all over the world and I was face to face with them - literally. If you're not prepared with a slobber towel you'll be sorry. You can see some of my 'up close and personal' shots on my flickr.

The zebras were one of my favorites. Did you know that a zebras stripes are as distinctive as fingerprints are in man? To me they are a bold and striking. / For a few hours on Sunday I tried desperately to get a decent photograph of the bluebirds moving in. I set up my tripod and waited patiently behind a tree. They came and went many times but I never did get a good photograph of them. I've also been trying to learn the different bird calls by using my iBird app. I think I can recognize the bluebird's song now. Each bird call has a distinct sound but when you hear close to a dozen different species singing in the backyard it's difficult to distinguish them. Towards the end of the day I decided to just lie in the hammock and listen. I heard one call that I had never noticed before and after searching my iBird app it seems it was a Eastern Meadowlark's song - yet I have never seen a Meadowlark. I would be thrilled to see one here.

By the way, the book on my hammock is a different sort of book than I expected. I have to say I was immediately drawn to the beauty of the cover and the illustrations inside. I read the brief description: "blessed with moments of beauty and the insight to recognize them as such, Sam Keen translates the marvels of the natural world to the language of heart and soul. He asks us to turn our eyes skyward and see what we discover." and this verse on the first page: "Arise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." - Song of Solomon 2:10-12. It seemed a good purchase for my bookshelf. It's an interesting read but as it turns out Keen seems to discount God in his nature sightings - a surprise to me and frankly a disappointment. Oh well there's parts of it that I enjoy and it is pretty on my shelf.

bird watching

solo post - L

"My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather." - Loire Hartwould

refresh / reuse

solo post - L, Nikon

I sometimes have a sense of sadness after Christmas - the packing up of Christmas and the closing of a year can sometimes feel a bit depressing. But after I get started taking it all down, the sun starts to shine a little brighter in my home, I smile and get a feeling of rejuvenation - a sort of refreshed feeling comes about. It feels good. Take a deep breath and breathe new life into this new year - there are a lot of possibilities ahead and they are attainable if I put my mind to it.
It's all cleaned up and there is a sense of calm and peace in the house. It's very cold out there but my fire is burning and it's cozy in here.
And another thing that makes me smile - I take the popcorn/cranberry garland outside for the birds to enjoy.
Hope the New Year is off to a beautiful start for you all.

red head / red headed

solo post - L
A red head wearing red! Isn't that supposed to be a no-no? T bought this dress at a vintage store. It's the only red piece of clothing she's ever owned I think, but when she puts this dress on I think she looks striking. (As her mother, I can say that). This photo was taken on our way from a reception to my cousin's river house in Kentucky. There was a black bull in that field and we thought the contrast would be a cool photo, so I pulled over. T got out of the car and the cow ran away, not casually walked, but ran as if he was scared of that red dress. Funny, I always thought bulls charged red. Not really, they just charge because of the motion of the cape. Red is just used because it's bold and striking, cattle are actually color blind. Anyway, I like this photo. / "An unmistakable bird, the Red-headed Woodpecker is striking at rest and in flight, showing its colors of red, black, and white." I got to see this beautiful bird up close in a very neat structure on the proptery of Shaker Village. Along one of the nature trails there was a bird blind made for easy observation of birds. We entered this building in the middle of the woods that had one way glass on it. Within a little while all types of birds where feeding at the various feeders that were set up. We saw purple finches, blue jays, red-winged black birds, chipmunks, squirrel and this red headed woodpecker. The variety of birds was not that unusual but it was neat to be able to observe them without scaring them off.

fly / flight of fancy

Sorry for all of the bird photos lately, but I was excited yesterday when I saw that I had captured this bluebird in flight - heading to the new bird house my dad built. There are 5 other bluebird houses, all mounted at the specified height on trees in the back yard (it is said that bluebird houses should be mounted 5 ft off the ground) and I think this one is higher than that, but I guess the new construction is appealing - no previous tenant's mess to contend with.
Next I'll try to capture the cardinals. They usually build in my azalea bushes. Did you know cardinals mate for life? / work still in progress

p.s. When I saw T's pic for today I chose the bluebird photo that I took yesterday to put with it, so I have to admit, it wasn't truly synchronicity this time. - L

busy

solo post - L click to see larger (the bird is a little camouflaged)

Just yesterday I saw a blue bird at the bluebird house, a chickadee gathering bits off of the crepe myrtle tree for a nest, this tufted titmouse checking out the Martin House, and I been hearing the woodpecker every morning too.
The little titmouse checked out several of the holes in this martin house and then flew away so I don't know if she decided on it or not. I wouldn't think the she would like this location because according to research they don't usually build in birdhouses - they like natural cavities in trees - and they like their nest to be up high, more than 8 ft. But because the martin house is up high maybe it has some appeal to her - we'll see.
I can tell the birds have been busy at work finding new homes and building their nest - there is a lot of activity going on in our yard. I just wish that I had the time, and the patience, to figure out where they each are building. I'll keep trying.