I checked the Bluebird nest in Yorktown yesterday,  and there was 1 little blue egg in it.  Today there are two!!!  Time to start checking every day to see the progress.  I couldn't remember how long it takes, so I asked Siri, and she sent me to VirginiaBluebirds.org and this is what I found out:

 

 

FASCINATING!!!  Go check it out, and watch for yourself.

 

 

Thanks Linda for teaching me about the Wild Birds Unlimited Angelcam.  LOVE IT!!!

 

HAPPY BIRDING!!!

 

My friend calls these little creatures "tree rats."  

 

I know we see squirrels everywhere:  in the yard, on the road, up in the bird feeders, and on and on.  But!!!  They usually run off when you get close enough to take a picture.  Well, this one was so intent on his acorn or whatever, that I was able to focus my telephoto lens and get three pictures.  He was still for at least 15 seconds.  

 

Anyway, I love this picture.  This one's for you, Nick.  ;D

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

When we walked the loop on Monday, it was warm, but there was still a little snow and ice around.  

 

I took this picture looking down into the water;  you can even see a bit of ice on the surface.  See all those dark dots?  They are frog eggs.  We see them every year about this time, and watch as they hatch and grow into tadpoles and then into frogs.  It is fascinating to see the progression.

 

Next time you're down by the creek, be sure to look in the holding ponds.  All three ponds have frog eggs in them.  

 

HAPPY HIKING!!!

 

I didn't know we were going to see a parade.  But we did!!!

 

Five turkeys walked right up our driveway.  And they did it slowly enough for me to get a picture.  I wonder is five turkeys qualify to be called a rafter.  That is one of the four collective nouns for a group of turkeys, according to Siri.  The other three are:  gang, raffle, and jewel.  So, I guess instead of saying we saw parade, I should have said we saw a Jewel.  Nah, it was more of a parade.

 

I love our neighborhood:  Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter!!!

 

HAPPY DAYS!!!

 

Can you believe it?  We still have Zinnias blooming in the garden.  And, you can see that the Sulphurs love them.  I think these are Cloudless Sulphurs, looking at the underside of their wings;  just a guess.  

 

My Stokes Butterfly Book says:  Try to have late-blooming flowers, for Sulphurs can remain active well into fall.  We have zinnias and marigolds in the garden still, so they're happy here.  We've also seen them up at Rosalie's, in her wildflower garden.  Not sure how long they'll last when it gets cold.  

 

I love seeing butterflies any time of year.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

When I saw this the other day, I immediately thought about Halloween spookiness.  

 

We know that Black widow spiders build messy webs.  I thought maybe that's what this is: Black widow web.  But then again...

 

The web is not messy.  See it at the bottom?  It looks pretty neat to me.  I think the messy part is where the spider wrapped up its dinner after it was caught.  Never did see the spider. 

 

What do you think?  Spooky or not?

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

 

It's that time of year, when the Monarchs are passing through.  Love it!!!!!

 

We've seen several lately, in our garden and these up in Rosalie's wildflower bed.  

 

I had a friend in Virginia who worked in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  He said that when the Monarchs are migrating, they fly THROUGH the tunnel!!!  Love that story.  Hope it's true.

 

I hope you see them in your travels;  they are SO pretty!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Hiking up the Creekside Trail last week, we noticed that our friend, the bear, was missing from his tree perch.  We searched the area, and found him IN THE CREEK!!!

 

Jon scrambled down the hill and rescued him from the creek.  He (the bear) was totally soaking wet and bedraggled.  So we squoze him as dry as possible, and replaced him in the tree.  We checked back on him, and he's doing better.  

 

He's drier now, and still a little bedraggled.  But we love seeing him when we're on the trail.

 

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!!!

 

 

 

 

I learned that the Isabella is the most common Tiger Moth in North America.  And that the legend of the weather predictor is just that...a legend.  It says that if there is more black than brown it will be a harsh winter.  And if there is more brown than black, the winter will be mild.  Sounds like a groundhog story.  

 

Anyway, this looks like more brown than black, verifying other predictors of this coming winter.  Let me see if I can find a picture of an Isabella Tiger Moth adult.....Be right back.  

 

 

That didn't take too long.  You still here?  It was worth it, wasn't it?  Cool!!!!

 

HAPPY MILD WINTER TO COME!!!

 

Have you seen this butterfly around lately?  It is a Red-spotted Purple.  The red spots are on the underside of the wings.  It was still for a long time, so I was able to get my camera and take a picture.  

 

We saw it in the grass the other morning, one of those 52 degree days.  Jon moved it to a sunny spot, so it could warm up its body.  I read in the Stokes Butterfly Book that butterflies need their bodies warm to be able to fly.  After basking in the sun for five minutes,  it flew up into the Redbud tree.

 

I love seeing butterflies any time of year.

 

SO PRETTY!!!