HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

Per one of my friends back home, St. Joseph's School in Auburn, New York (MY hometown ♥) students sold these flags for Memorial Day raising $42,000 for their school!  This "Field of Hopes and Dreams" was a nationwide project sponsored by the Catholic Church and St. Joseph's was the only school in NYS to participate.  Way to Go, St. Joe's!!
Pictured at Hoopes Park, Auburn New York.  I am proud of my hometown!

A Stroll through the yard...

We are just loving all of the beautiful flowers in our yard that add so much color and enjoyment to our lives!  The Hydrangeas are Lavender this year but were Blue when we bought the bush 2 yrs. ago.  Hydrangea's color is determined by the make up of the soil, I think that is so neat!  The Lilies are so bright and beautiful and our little white birdbath planter sits under the front windows.  It is so full of Pansies with big smiley faces, Vinca vine and a fir tree that seeded itself in the middle-gotta love that!

Thanks for visiting and please go to TWO HAPPY to see my contribution for Pink Saturday tomorrow!  Beverly at How Sweet the Sound is celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of Pink Saturday and there will be a host of contributors to celebrate!

♥Kerrie♥

Wonderful Lilies

I am happy that my lilies got to bloom with this little piece of lattice to protect them from the Mallards and the bunnies!  Last year, the bunny ate every leaf off of the stem!  and this year, the Mallards ate some of the buds on the other plants.  The Canadian geese just love Marigold blossoms so I have to keep them up on the porch railing in a pot to save them!

My daughter gave these to me in a pot one year in a cluster of 3.  They have since multiplied to 6 or 7 plants and are now Orange and Red even though they were all red when they started!!  Nature is so fascinating!

Look at the lilies of the field!  They toil not and nor spin and yet Solomon in all his glory was not robed as well as they are.  And if God provides clothing for the flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, do you not suppose that he will provide clothing for you, you doubters?

Luke 12:22-28        The Book, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc

Have a most wonderful and blessed Day!

What do we watch on TV now??

Another season bites the dust as Derek and Nicole win the trophy for Dancing with the Stars!!  We were happy with the outcome but now wonder what we will watch on TV.  While upset at times with the skimpy outfits the dancers wear, all in all it was good entertainment, colorful and humorous.  There are so little choices on TV any more that I often wonder why we pay for cable at all-ha!  Well I took this picture off the screen last night and then some of Isabella the Ragdoll's reaction:

She passed out when she heard they won as she thought she should have one for doing the Ragdoll Jive!  When she came to, she needed to take to her bed to get over the shock.

Isabella is thinking of starting her own, "Dear Izzy" column with advice for everything under the sun! 

Have a wonderful day and thank you for visiting!

DRAGON FLY VISIT

HOW'S THIS FOR A SATURDAY VISITOR?  A beautiful Dragonfly.

I just love this visitor!  He was approximately 3 inches in length and his wingspan was even wider!  I love the delicacy of his wings and the grace of his body lines.  Nature is so wonderful and intricate!  If we could see Fairies' wings, I am sure this is what they would look like-giggle!

Dragonfly

©Kerrie O'Hearn Marquart

Upon Fairies' wings I fly

And all the pleasures I derive

Are from floating in a gentle breeze

That carries me from lake to trees

And ever, ever upward.

Hovering over the lake, I spy

A large mouth Bass who has me

      In his eye,

But just as he decides to strike

I lift myself from his sight

On my trusty Fairy wings!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kerrie

Black Birds and Sharing the Catch!

This blackbird was so funny fluffing himself dry after dipping in the water!  He was shaking all over like a dog, then fluffing his wings as if to fly but stayed on the branch.  He was quite large but unidentifiable from where I sat at my computer looking out of the window.  He most likely is a Starling.

Sadly, the last little Cardinal did not survive.  This is nature, survival of the fittest but I always mourn anyhow, it is MY nature.

And then came this wonderful smile on my hubby's face as he holds up a Bass he caught off the little lake bank at the edge of the yard!  He brought the Bass to the window and of course I snapped the picture before he released the Bass but got some flash back from the window.  But I love this picture.  After all the testing he has had this week for his cancer, he still has the most wonderful smile!  (He had a Pet Scan, a primary care doc check up and blood draw for labs and did a 24 hr. Urine collection-I don't think I would be smiling-ha!)

  Thanks for visiting and come again soon!  If you are a crafter, pls go to my Kerrie's Krafts 3 blogsite for directions on how to make an Indian seed bead Daisy necklace.

HUGS, KERRIE

Magnolia Monday

When we woke this morning, theMagnolia blossom on the right was still a bud and by 9:30 a.m. it was fully opened and dropping the little pistils.  If we had time lapse photography it would have opened before our eyes!  These flowers take forever to bloom but then are gone within a couple of days.  They are the subject of many a painting or other artwork and I am hoping to paint or draw them.  I will have to look at the pictures though as the blossoms are fading fast.  They are so beautiful!

FYI:  These trees are very large and drop their leaves all year long.  The grass does not grow well underneath.  The leaves are large, waxy and very hearty so they do not disintegrate well into the soil and must be raked up daily.  We do not have one in our yard for that reason and rather enjoy them in the neighbors yards and in the wild here in S.C.

Once again I err...

So here I am with egg on my face, my intended post for this blog was mistakenly put on my Kerrie's Krafts 3 blog!  Pls. click on the link to see a lovely message with picture, Thanks!!!!

Cardinal first flight...

GOOD SATURDAY MORN.... The baby Cardinal took his first flight and then perched in the pine near his nest.  So Sweet!

Yesterday afternoon, hubby was digging some roots out of the back yard and the "teenage" baby Mallards were right there with him begging for a handout! All the baby birds and ducks are growing up.  It is amazing how fast they all develop from egg to adult!

Picture was taken through the window over my computer and so has reflection in it but I liked it anyway-ha!

Have a wonderful Saturday!  Don't forget to visit Pink Saturday participants at How Sweet The Sound http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com where almost 200 participants are showing pink on their blogs today!

And here are the lovely Grand Dogs who are spending the weekend with Grandma and Papa

 
 
 
 
   
Have a wonderful day! Come back again soon!

Blue Jay Dilemma continued

SO HERE WE ARE AGAIN!  The little Blue Jay that fell from the crow's beak, is a little lame but hopping and exercising his wings.  He is able to get around to all of our yard and the neighboring yards to find seeds, bugs and his parents are still tending to him.  His sibling was also around all day yesterday and was flying just enough to explore the bench, the little lily pond, etc. when he FELL IN!

So of course we dried him off and wrapped him in a kitchen towel where he stayed until he was dry.  As you can see, he was quite content.  The parents kept feeding both of their little adventurers and by supper time they were off on their own again!

We just feel so blessed this year with all the wonderful observations we are able to make with the birds and fowl.  Nature is so amazing!

I had trouble posting comments today and now it is working again, I know many others were experiencing this also when I posted to Blog Forum.  Hope this is all corrected by now but if you do not see your comment posted as yet, that is why.  Thanks!

Don't forget to visit my other blogs-the links are in the left sidebar

 Kerrie

Chickadee adventure!

TODAY IS CHICADEE ADVENTURE...

This little guy was fluttering with little short wings against the den window.  I love the way you can see the yellow on his baby beak at the side!  So precious.  His Mama was darting around the roof area keeping an eye on him and I think he was seeing his own reflection, mistaking it for another sibling.

Isn't he just so sweet??  He stayed there for a long time and we did not see exactly when he left but he definitely could fly quite well at this point.

It always makes me want to paint or draw when I see the pictures we take of these beautiful little creatures.
Also, finally captured a shot of the adopted baby goose.  You can see in the picture how much larger the family's goslings are than the adopted one is.  I think it is so neat that the mother accepted him into the family!

Wouldn't it be nice if human families were as accepting?  Also, we have observed that the Canadian Geese Mom and Dad stay together throughout the whole rearing process.  Mallards are devoted until the eggs are hatched and then they hang around with other males and leave the Mama to care for the young and at the mercy of other males approaching her.  When this happens she gets right up on shore and runs!  While fleeing in the water, she is able to dive under and come up many feet away from the pursuer, it is so interesting. 
   Thank you for visiting and come back often.  I know that most of you know Sherry from Country Wings In Pheonix.  Please pray for her as she is in the hospital as of last night.  She had pneumonia but then got worse. Thanks!

You're Nobody 'Til Somebunny loves you!

BLUE JAY DILEMMA

This morning the baby Blue Jay had a harrowing experience!!  A huge black crow was being chased and screamed at by 2 adult Blue Jays.  My hubby and dau. went outside to see what the commotion was about and followed the sky chase around to the front of the house.  When the crow got over the pavement, he dropped something.  They went to investigate and it was a baby Blue Jay!  They picked it up and put it under a bush and the parents tended to it.  He amazingly hopped to the back yard of the neighbors and finally snuggled in at the base of the house and snoozed, seemingly no worse for the wear!  I never knew that crows would do such a bold thing, I only knew they stole eggs but this was shocking!

Can you just imagine being picked up by a crow and taken away??  The poor parents were in a panic!

On a happier note, we have Orange Crowned Warblers (if identified correctly) taking up residence in the bird box/Squirrel box remodel!  They have been so busy and we read that if the nest is too deep that they will fill it with anything to get the height and then build the nest.  And that is exactly what they are doing.

This is the male

This is the female

View from inside the nest box through the wide hole made by the gnawing Squirrel.  The squirrel came to look and the Warblers dive bombed him and he left immediately- ha!

We are just so blessed to be able to see all of this wonderul wildlife and birds in our own backyard.  Hubby enjoys it immensely and takes an abundance of pictures.  He is napping now as his back is really giving him pain and we are wanting to catch it before it becomes a Multiple Myeloma Pain attack.  He is having a rest from chemo for the whole summer hopefully, depending on his lab tests every month.  Keep those wonderful prayers coming, they are greatly appreciated!

Kerrie ♥