Bluebirds!!!

My husband made a couple of Bluebird houses and within 24 hours, we had a pair coming to visit and check them out. I crouched down on the front steps behind a big plant and was able to catch a few images. 

Dad's on the lookout while Mom investigates.

Mom says, "I think this might be the perfect home to raise our babies in. Come and see!"

"Honey, I think you might be right. There's plenty of room and a lovely view!"

"The tree back here will give you a great vantage point to watch for predators, too."

"I'll go try it out!"

"Yep. This is a great place to keep an eye out for intruders and my blue feathers really stand out among the white blossoms! I am one gorgeous guy!!" 

Matthew 13:32 English Standard Version (ESV)

It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Morning Visitors

Genesis 1:20-23
Then God said, "Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. 
Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind."

My morning view is slightly obscured because of the screen but there is no getting by without it in the marsh! I know. You don't see Marshes in the photo but directly behind the homes across the street is dense Marshland and it's also right behind ours. The mosquitoes and yellow flies love to dine here so for our own comfort,
we must have screen! :-)

We've slowly been finishing our porch and landscaping our yard. As I'm not a big gardener, I don't want too much stuff to tend but I am loving our Black Crepe Myrtle. We have one on each side of the brick walkway and they are gorgeous. The morning is overcast after tremendous storms yesterday. Not the best for photos but I'm offering some anyway. :-)

We have many lovely birds but one of my favorites are the Mourning Doves who come by all day long. They love perching on top of the staff that holds our cage feeder and a thrifted wrought iron chandelier that has no votives. 

I have small peat pots, with big globs of hot glue on the edges so they don't fall through the holes but still drain well, placed in the votive spots and fill them with Safflower seed. The friendly birds aka 'songbirds' love them. The mean birds aka Cowbirds and Starlings, do not. 

Psalm 136:25
He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.

We keep the cage feeder filled with Wild Bird seed and the tiny birds just throw out what they don't want so the Doves, Blackbirds, and Ducks have plenty to eat. I usually fill the feeders every other day. We have a lot of  House Sparrows here. Some even live in the eaves of neighboring homes. But not ours. We made sure all entry points were repaired.

This morning was a great morning for bird watching. We saw a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird!!! I didn't have my camera handy when he came by the first time so we just sat super still and watched him feed from the Hummingbird feeder I JUST hung up on Friday. He then flitted over and landed on a tree branch not far off the porch. He stared and stared at us for the longest time. After he flew away I went immediately to get my camera. I am so glad I did!!!

What I failed to take into account was the fact it is 73* inside and about 80* outside and really humid. My lens immediately fogged up but he was back!! I had to snap the photo quickly or risk missing him. After getting the first one, I quickly wiped off the lens and got a second one.

Hazy but still beautiful!!!

As I was admiring Mr Hummer in one tree, a big Red-winged Blackbird landed in another.

Foggy lens and screen don't deter me though. I still enjoy capturing God's creation especially when the next one is the first I have EVER seen of this bird. I'm not completely sure what kind it is. I'm thinking either a Blue Bunting or a Blue Grosbeak. 

He looked over right at me. Wasn't that nice of him??

If you're a birder, what kind do you think he is?

That's my exciting morning bird watching from my screened in front porch.

Now it's time for food and devotions...one feeds the body and one feeds the soul.

Matthew 4:4

Jesus answered, "It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone,

 but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Have a blessed day in the Lord!

Review ~ A Charm of Goldfinches and Other Wild Gatherings: Quirky Collective Nouns of the Animal Kingdom by Matt Sewell

Published September 5th 2017 by Ten Speed Press

About the Book

A charm of goldfinches, an ascension of larks, a bask of crocodiles, a cloud of bats, a wake of vultures--all of these colorful collective nouns and more are showcased in this enchanting illustrated book by beloved artist Matt Sewell.
Accompanying each illustration is a playful description of each group of animals' personality, quirks, and habits. Sewell's uniquely witty take on the subject and delicately vivid illustrations make for a lovely new addition to his series of collectible books including Owls and Penguins and Other Seabirds. Playing on the theme of collective nouns for animals and illustrated with Matt Sewell's inimitable watercolors, this book makes a great gift for nature and art lovers everywhere.

My Review
5 STARS!!!

A Charm of Goldfinches and Other Wild Gatherings is filled with entertaining depictions of animals and lovely watercolors. I found myself chuckling at the morsels of humor the author incorporates in each rendering but also learned a few things I did not know. Anyone who loves nature or is an artist at heart will enjoy this collection of illustrations. It is truly one of the most charming little books I have had the pleasure of reading. It would make a wonderful gift to share with others and more than likely bring some extra smiles and joy to their life. 

I was given a copy of the book from the publisher through the Blogging for Books program. No compensation has been received. 

~Happy Reading, Y'all~

Notice the Dandelion

~Have a blessed day~

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The Nearly Perfect Plant

I've been a bit absent from blogging as I took a trip to FL last weekend to spend some time celebrating the upcoming arrival of a new 'great' niece. There was lots of food, fun and fellowship accompanied by much laughter, and a wee bit of stepping in the big Atlantic Ocean at sunset.

When I came home, my husband and son had put this beautiful fountain in the front yard.

 One of the plants I will be transplanting into the garden area around the fountain is Sedum, so I thought I would share a picture of some I took a photo of last year.

Sedum

Sedum

Light:

Part Sun, Sun

Type:

Perennial
 

Height:

Under 6 inches to 3 feet

Width:

6 inches or several feet wide, depending on variety

Flower Color:

Orange, Pink, Red, White
 

Foliage Color:

Blue/Green, Chartreuse/Gold, Gray/Silver, Purple/Burgundy
 

Seasonal Features:

Colorful Fall Foliage, Fall Bloom, Summer Bloom, Winter Interest
 

Problem Solvers:

Drought Tolerant, Ground cover, Slope/Erosion Control
 

Special Features:

Attracts Birds, Cut Flowers, Good for Containers, Low Maintenance
 

Zones:

3-10

: : :

My Sedums are numerous and grow both in direct sun and partial sun. They reach at least 2' tall or higher and have white flowers when they bloom. 

Sedum are truly one of the easiest and most prolific perennials in my yard. 

This type of plant makes me happy. :)

What type of plant in your yard is one of your favorites?

Happy Gardening, Y'all!   

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A Gorgeous Spring Day

Weather-wise, it's been a beautiful spring as far as temperatures are concerned. Some years it seems like winter just runs right in to summer but not this year. Cool breezes and lazy days tooling around the yard. With the windows open, I wake every morning to the sound of the frogs, crickets, chickens and birds rejoicing in the sun coming up.

On May 9th, my son discovered these two eggs in a flower basket that I took out of the chicken coop and hung on the edge of our deck swing. I had every intention of planting something in it but it looks like it has made a safe nest for a Mockingbird family.

Then on Monday May 11th, they hatched! 

Aren't they the cutest?!

And boy does that one have a big mouth. Must be super hungry. :)

Moma bird was watching me from a telephone wire as I made the picture of her babies. As soon as I was done, she flew right down there to give them a tasty worm, as evidenced in the bottom left photo. 

Well, sort of. She had it in her mouth but it didn't show up well in the photo.

And as I was out strolling through the yard, I took some pictures of the different flowers and vines blooming. Above Moma bird is some sweet smelling Honeysuckle. On the top right are my Sweet Williams. I just love these flowers. They're so colorful and greet me first thing when I open the front door. The top left is some kind of flowering shrub that has a sickeningly sweet smell and I am highly allergic to it. It's pretty but oh my! It causes horrendous sneezing and itching. The only reason they are still there is because more birds nested in them and I hated to whack down their home. But come autumn, when they are all gone....

How is Spring in your area? 

I hope you are enjoying some beautiful weather!

~Have a great day in the Lord~

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The Last...

Autumn leaves have fallen to the ground.

 

I was pleased to capture these glorious reds in the setting sun.

Even Pine needles look good when the sun is going down :)

A Tree, a Smart Phone, and an App

I was playing around with a new editing App called Aviary that I downloaded for my smart phone. Using the same photo, I tried several effects.

^^^This ^^^is the original, which I seriously don't think came out bad at all. I just have a hard time not experimenting. :)

 

There is a subtle difference using the Lucky effect; sort of like cross processing.

The sepia tone effect, Boardwalk, makes it look sort of old and western-y.

Using the Sentosa effect and decreasing the saturation, gives this one a bit of a chilly feel to it.

To give it a more dramatic look, I used Metropolis, which is their version of a B&W effect.

The App has lots of features to choose from. And you can share on multiple social networks once you're finished editing.

Once I was done, I emailed them to myself, opened them in Picmonkey and watermarked them. I could have done this in Aviary because it has Text ability, but I needed a bit of extra to make my text visible. So, in Picmonkey I used a Tape Overlay sent to the back to make my name more visible. Otherwise, it was lost in the grass. :)

Do you edit photos on your smart phone? If so, which program do you prefer?

To edit or not to edit

Sometimes I'm not sure exactly how a photo needs to be edited. I took this photo on a mountain bike trail at our local park a couple of weeks ago. I love how the sunlight is filtered through the trees, highlighting the mossy area on the ground.

 

I edited the photo to enhance the sunlit moss by increasing the warm tones and darkening the edges.

 

My question is whether or not I should crop the photo, as well. Does the orange leaf detract or enhance the image? Is it too dark? Any comments or suggestions?

The Barn Collective

A Tobacco field and barn.

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There's a bit of a learning curve going on here when I leave comments on your barn post. Sometimes it is leaving my Blogger profile name, sometimes my Wordpress, and sometimes I don't know what it is doing :)

I know, I know...

I need to get some book reviews written and posted. I am working on them. 

But for today, I want to share two more photos.

We're finally seeing some autumn color in town.

Yesterday we had an amazing storm pass by and just miss us. I think the trees look so pretty against the stormy sky.

Well, I am off to work on book stuff.

Have a blessed day!

Tricky catch

My son caught this beautiful male *Eastern Swallowtail Butterfly with a 'Gandolf" move. 

If you don't know what that means, we can't be friends. 

Just kidding! 

We can be friends.

But you really need to watch Lord of the Rings :)

I did a little editing in Picmonkey to give it an ethereal look. 

Totally missed between my son's fingers. 

But it's a fun photo, anyway.

*no butterflies were harmed. he flew happily away into the wilderness after I took the photo.

I also used this un-ethereal (?) version of the photo for my Take 52 Challenge a few weeks ago:

What do you think? Ethereal or not?

Have a blessed weekend!

A Different Perspective

Have a blessed day in the Lord!

Just some pictures...

 Gorgeous Carolina Sky filled with formless, swirling clouds, makes a pleasant sight.

: : :

Taken through the windshield during a deluge of rain while sitting at a red light. This one was featured at Camera Shy for the Abstract Photography – Take 52 Week 28 critique. You can click here to see the video critique.

: : :

Glorious clear sky after four days of dark and gloomy weather.

We are experiencing unseasonably cool weather here in the foothills of NC. 

I am not complaining! For August, it is fabulous to be able to have the windows open. 

That means a lower electric bill, as well :)

How's the weather where you are?


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