FALLing Fast for Autumn!

November!  Can you believe it?  I have been enjoying every minute of Autumn in Central NY and yesterday was no exception.  Head in curlers (yes, I do that occasionally-ha) and a kerchief to cover them, I took my little Lilly Chihuahua to Hoopes Park in Auburn, NY.

 I have been walking in this park since I was a teen and this day I was remembering when I skated with my Bill on the pond when frozen so long ago when dating...

 The fountain now silent for the winter...

 The beautiful Gazebo with the wonderful colors of Fall all around...

 The little stone bridge over a small stream...

 And of course the many Mallard ducks that reside here year round were basking in the Autumn sun.

I love the stones that line the pond and all the beautiful leaves on the many species of trees!  I pick some up, some Oak leaves as I have always done when walking with my little children so many years ago....

Oddly, I do not remember the twisted trunk of this tree.



 And I take home my treasures to draw later on and photogragh them on my lace tablecloth.  I am at peace.
 I passed an older couple more than once going around the Pond and I observed them perching on different benches as they walked hugging and holding hands... I asked were they "still in love?" or "new" in love?" And the woman answered, "still in love." And the man added, "isn't that wonderful?"  They were like my Bill and me and though Bill is gone from the earth now, I am still in love...♥♥♥

My wild heart to yours...

 

  Kerrie

My Mallards

 I do love my Mallard ducks so much and I love studying their behavior and the beautiful patterns of their feathers.  I have lived in this house for almost 8 yrs now and they come back every spring.

By feeding them a few bread cubes now and then, they will bring their babies back to see me when they hatch, also.  Of course that is a delight!

Their feathers are so gorgeous!  Mallards mate in the water and although they partner for life, young males will still try to catch the female belonging to another.  Boys will be boys! Ha!  So she flees taking to the air and her mate follows her in her flight.

I am so ready for Spring.  To see my beautiful Azalea photos, please visit my Two Happy blog
http://beaver-kerrie.blogspot.com 
Thanks for coming and please leave a comment.

Today is my Birthday and you can see a new poem on my poetry site, http://kerriespoems.blogspot.com  Thanks!

My Wild Heart to yours....

BEAUTIFUL REFLECTIONS, MALLARDS AND JASMINE

Now you know how much I love my mallard ducks and this is the male hanging around.  The female does not come every time with him now so she must be setting on her nest when he comes alone.  He calls to me when he sees me because he knows I will feed him a few pieces of broken bread.  

I tried to catch him with his wings aflutter but all I got is the above picture as he was so quick-ha! 

 He is so beautiful, notice the curl of feathers at the end of his tail.

The yellow floating on top of the water is the pine pollen.  It is always very heavy here and is playing havoc with my allergies this spring.

Beautiful reflections from the budding Maple Tree across the pond. 

Enter the water, Mr. Mallard.  Perfect!

A beautiful wild Confederate Jasmine blossom and bud growing on the bank of the lake.  This grows prolifically in the wild here in the South, but is also sold at Lowe's and Home Depot in pots.  It is a climbing a vine and will quickly cover latticework or arbors.  I once trained some around my front light post, it was beautiful.

I hope you have enjoyed a visit to my corner of the world today and come again soon.  And leave a comment, I love them!

My wild heart to yours...

January Critters

What a beautiful Saturday in SC!  Chilly but warm in the sun.  This morning I am joining Pink Saturday again over at Beverly's at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com

 At the bottom of her post will be thumbnails of others that have posted and you can also add your blog pictures if you like.
  
My flowers are still blooming in the Pedestal planter.

There are Marigolds, Vinca Vine, Petunia, and a sprig of Asparagus Fern still blooming! 

I love the lone Vinca blossom in periwinkle blue next to the pink Petunia.

And the Camellia Bush is still loaded with buds, and the fallen petals make a carpet underneath...

the fowl are all here to breed again and my visitors all day today were a Mallard Couple, Canadian Geese and a Lone female Merganser.  I love them all.

I love the sun hitting his back

 So beautiful!

Female Mallard. This couple comes every year.

Here is the male Mallard preening...

And here is the lone female Merganser.  Very unusual to find her without a mate.  She dives for great distances under water to search for food.  So much fun to watch!

She is so pretty.


Thank you so much for joining me for Pink Saturday and do come again soon!

My wild heart to yours...

UNTAMED CAT AND MALLARD COUPLE

There are always wild cats in our neighborhood and I love watching their antics at the lake.  Today one came and was down at the bank of the little lake drinking just a foot or two away from the Mallard Couple.

 Lovely reflections....

 Mr and Mrs. Mallard, my resident couple :)

I think this is a female cat, she is so pretty.  The male cat that I have posted pictures of previously is black and white.
Always something new in my backyard wildlife studies.  The squirrel was here at the same time.  Love all the critters!

And the squirrel watched from the Bradford Pear Tree all the time I was taking the photos.

Thank you for visiting.  I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with great food, friends and family.

My wild heart to yours...