A Nighttime Visitor..

It’s not often, at least for me, that I get a really good chance to take a picture of a rare visitor.  For the most part, they usually disappear faster than I can either get my camera or get outside.  The other night though, I got lucky!

This beautiful Screech Owl was sitting in the Rhododendron outside my living room window.  How close is that, well that glow you see to the left is the welcome candle in my window.  I’ve long loved this tree like Rhodo, it stands right next to my front porch and despite the fact that it was butchered badly by a so called professional landscaper this past spring, it has continued to attract wildlife to it.  Randy wants to cut it down, but after this, it’s one more example of why I don’t!  I was able to go out through the garage and walk very close up to this beauty and take it’s picture.  It sat watching me with those big eyes and I was just over the moon to get such a great picture.  I’ve heard them for years screeching in the night but I’d never seen one this close up.  It stayed there for a little while even after I went back inside and then flew off into the night.
What a wonderful gift!

Cherry Blossoms 100 Years in the Making..

I’ve lived in Maryland for most of my life, we moved here when I was about 7 I think.  In that time I’ve seen a lot of the sites of this wonderful state and of those around me.  One thing I’ve never done is the Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.   I suggested to Randy that we go down and see them and so on March 23, 2012 off we went.  Now here’s what’s funny about this, for starters I picked the100th Anniversary to go and when we went it was almost 90 degrees!  No, I’m not kidding!  We got lucky though as it was the peak time for the blooms, see for yourself!


We weren’t there for any of the festival stuff (had a Caps game that night!) but the really funny thing is that when they had the ‘real’ festivities, the blossoms were long gone. Just goes to show you Mom Nature, doesn’t go by our schedules!

Happy Spring!

Pictures...

I've always loved taking pictures, I've never mastered the art of getting what I see with my eyes to match the image that comes out of the camera though. I got a new camera for my birthday and it makes taking really nice pictures pretty easy. I still haven't mastered the what I see is what I get, but I'm working on it!

So today I'm sharing some of my recent pictures!
Up first the bandit of my feeders! I bought hot pepper bird seed to stop the squirrels from eating it. Guess my squirrels didn't get the memo that they aren't supposed to like their food spicy!

These are my yellow Louisiana Iris blooming in the pond. In the background, my well trained fish that believe if I'm near it means food!

Here we have Ms. Zoe she looks like she's thinking about something really complicated to me.

Then there's Dakota who debates where to lay in the sun and when he gets to eat next...

Finally, one of my favorite birds a Cardinal. They are beautiful year round!