HAWK visitor this morning

He is so beautiful!  I am waiting to identify him confirming he is a Red Tailed Hawk from our Raptor Trainer friend.  He does not have a dark belly band so I am not sure.

This is as close as I could get to him with my little camera.  Hubby and I were so excited that we were shaking taking the pictures.  Of course the top picture is best with hubby's more sophisticated camera-ha!  I am always impressed with the power and strength of their legs!  After we snapped these pictures, he did swoop down on our side of the bank and went off with something in his mouth.

While we snapped the photos of him on the bank, our resident Mr. and Mrs. Mallard went very close to him with no fear whatsoever!



All in All, a beautiful way to begin our day ☺

Here is the picture of Richard with the Red Tailed Hawk that he brought to see us this last January 2011.  You can go back to that post to see more.  And below is the Intarsia Wood cutout of a hawk that Bill made for Richard as a gift.



Thank you so much for visiting and come again soon.  If you have time, do visit the other blogs of ours, links are in the sidebar.  You might like the post from yesterday on Kerrie's Home Journal and beautiful song by Bette Midler, From a Distance...

Huntington Beach, SC visit...

STORKS, IBIS, ALLIGATORS, SPOONBILL, BUTTERFLIES AND BEES
Last week the weather was just beautiful and we went to Huntington Beach State Park for a visit.  We have a season's pass and when Bill's sister is camping there, we can visit any time.  We went also to see the flocks of Wood Storks who must have been migrating and have been there for several days.  Also Alligators were out.  I got a long shot of a pink Spoonbill which surprised us that he was there at all as they prefer Florida and seldom come this far up the coast.  I wish I could have gotten closer!  Some pictures we took were okay but my daughter was with us and she took some really great pictures with her little camera.

Here is the Spoonbill out on a tiny island in the marsh at Hungtington State Park.  The bird on the right is an Anhinga.

The Wood Stork only has feathers on its head as a juvenile and loses them when they become adults.  There feathers are beautiful but their head looks more like scavenger birds, though they are not.



Notice the little Ibis with the orange beaks on the right and the little Cattle Egret near them.  They are all dwarfed by the huge Wood Storks.

This photo was taken with my husband's camera by our daughter and she used the Zoom lens.

Here is another taken by my daughter.



This is one with her camera of a bee.

I love this Butterfly she took and I have not identified him as yet.  The underside of his wings were silver.

And this last picture is one our daughter took of a Wood Stork that was visiting our little lake in back of our home.  Great Photo!

I sure hope you enjoyed our outing that we are sharing today with you.  Do come back soon, we love having you and love comments!!

BACKYARD FISHING AND CARDINALS

HELLO SWEET PEOPLE!  Hubby went fishing in the backyard lake this morning after the rain.  I smiled as I snapped a picture of him through the window as he has been too weak to cast the line up to now!

Next time I looked up he was grinning from ear to ear and had caught this little fish the first cast.  His smile was so worth it!!

 The Female and Male Cardinal were frequenting the Bradford Pear Tree this morning
and observing everything that goes on at the feeder outside of our window.

I just love their brilliant colors that blend so well with the turning leaves.

Yesterday, these were the visitors to the 2 birdhouses.  They were wrens and one visited the camper house and one the red roofed house.  I love seeing them checking out the digs!  I am wondering if they night roost there this time of year as it is too late for laying eggs.  Very interesting.

Thanks for visiting as always, we love your company and don't forget to leave a comment!

My heart to yours...

Sunday, Sunday...

October is upon us!!  The chill of Autumn is in the air-hurray!  I love the fall so much!  We had a particularly hot and humid summer here in SC and we were really looking forward to cooler weather so we could enjoy the out of doors.  My morning visitor, the Egret was chilled too, with temp at 52 degrees-ha!  He is hunkered down into his soft warm feathers while watching the lake for fish.



He lifts his head for a moment and then hunkers back down.

   It rained a lot last week and the lake is full once again.  It is a beautiful morning.  The Begonia pot that we had bought for the little patio by the lake was knocked over one day and it rolled into the lake where the turtles were attacking it with a vengeance!  By the time I rescued it, they had eaten a good amount of it's leaves so after convalescing on the back porch for a week or so, I hung it in the tree near the chairs and it is beautiful again.

It's Fall, Ya'll!  Enjoy your Sunday and come back soon!

Raking at my childhood home in Auburn, NY.  Age 7 or 8

Camping Trip at Willow Tree

Last week it rained on and off but we did not care!  We were at Willow Tree RV park Monday thru Thursday morning.  It is our favorite spot and we love it so much!!  There is a golf cart path around the entire lake.  We used to walk around it but now Bill is unable to so we rented a cart for 24 hrs. and had fun going through the woods trail, too!

  Our daughter and her fiancee came two of the days and we had great fun with them ending with a fire after dark, roasting hotdogs and marshmallows.  I even played my guitar and we sang the old songs that my kids were raised on.

  

   My daughter cried when we sang, "Dymock's Barn", a song I wrote in the 70's about a place on Skaneateles Lake, NY where we camped every year for hubby's birthday in August.  Back in those days, he never had a vacation from his work so he went to work from the little cottage we rented every day.  A lot of good memories came flowing back...



This is our little home away from home and we love it!  We bought it 2 yrs. ago when I asked hubby what he would like to do and he said he would like to go camping.  It was second hand but in great condition.  It has 2 pop out sleeping areas, a shower in the little Bathroom, stove, microwave, double sink, frig and eating area.  It is our little piece of heaven.  I learned to drive towing it cold turkey and have never had a problem.  It weighs under 3000 lbs. so we can pull it with our Chevy Equinox.  Love it!  And yes, I can even back it up-ha!  Who knew!

  This brightly colored turtle was crossing our path in the woods and was obliged to stop in his tracks while we all snapped pictures.  He was quite large.

Sunset at Willow Tree is always gorgeous...

Laughing in the rain and having a sandwich.  Hubby, our daughter and her beau.

Hubby on a swing at the edge of the lake.

Farewell, Sweet Willow Tree till we camp again....

Thanks so much for visiting to share our camping trip.  Have a wonderful week ahead!

My heart to yours....

I have added a new blog that features only my poetry with some photography by my hubby or myself.  I invite you to check it out sometime and please leave a comment.
Thanks! The Poetry of The Poetry of Kerrie O'Hearn Marquart

Kingfisher and September Moon

Good morning all you bird lovers!

This is a picture of the beautiful KINGFISHER
bird taken by my hubby.  While slightly out of focus, I wanted to show it so you
can see his beautiful crest.

Hubby shakes a bit.  But his camera can zoom in and is more powerful than my own.  See my photos below:

Mr. Kingfisher was perched in the Bradford Pear tree branches and we were thrilled we were able to get pictures of him at all as he is so elusive and quick!  Right after I took these pictures, he swooped down into the water and scooped up a fish and flew away with it.

   This is a Belted Kingfisher and is most common in North America.  Habitat is along streams and ponds.  They are the only small birds small birds that dive headlong from the air into the water.  Recognizable by its large head and loud rattling call.  They have short legs and stubby tails.  While perched, they stand very still and erect.  Despite their bright plumage and markings they are hard to spot because of their stillness.  We were so thrilled to finally get a good shot of him!

These are photos of the September 11th moon at dusk and again later.  Hubby was able to capture these great photos.



And this is how it looked when the evening sky turned to darkness.  You can make out the woeful face-ha!

Thanks for visiting today and do come back again soon.  Have a wonderful day!

My heart to yours....