From the Archives

I started this post a couple months ago, then promptly forgot about it. Since I haven't posted in over a week, I thought I should go ahead and put it out there, even though these are winter pics. This Saturday I'm going to a dedication of a local nature preserve, so I hope to have some colorful photos to share. Hope everyone is well!

2/5/11

Nob Hill Greenbelt
The day after the big snow/ice storm

2/5/11
Nob Hill Greenbelt
Grackle

2/5/11
Nob Hill Greenbelt
Nutria walking on ice just below the water's surface.
As soon as he began to walk, the ice gave way, then he swam.

2/4/11
Nob Hill Greenbelt
House Wren weathering the snow

1/30/11

Nob Hill Greenbelt

Ring Neck Dove

1/28/11
Josey Ranch Lake Park
Northern Shoveler

12/8/10
LSU Lakes - Baton Rouge, LA
Egret in a live oak (my favorite tree)

12/8/10
LSU Lakes - Baton Rouge, LA
Snowy Egret

Warning

Oh, y'all, I am in deep trouble. You see, I asked my new blogging friend, Henrietta Hassinen, where she got her awesome vintage photo frames that she posts on her blog. I had hoped she might share with me either the actual frame file or a simple link where I might download it.

Henrietta was generous enough to share the link, but it came with this caveat: I have bought the picture frame from here http://www.designerdigitals.com/ Don't freak out when you go there:) My first reaction was like I WANT TO BUY EVERYTHING.

I thought to myself, 'heh, I'll be fine! Don't worry about me!'



Before I could finish saying "Holy cow!" I had purchased five templates from the store. FIVE!



I'm really afraid to go back there. Now I am forced to warn you, too. When you enter that place, be very, very careful. In fact, it's best if you ask a trusted friend to hold on to your credit card while you browse. See, that's all I thought I would do is browse. Pfffttt! Forget about it! Hopefully, you don't have your credit card number memorized.


The only other thing I need to warn you about is that some of the files are png only and some are a combination of transparent pngs and the layered PS/PSE files. I'm not as crazy about the png only files, so if that is important to you, make sure you look for that in the description.

You have been warned.

Note: All photos were taken at the LSU Rural Life Museum.

Feeling Springy!

Spring has got me going in full gear. Also, on my nature walks with Chance, I'm discovering new plants and learning new things about old ones. Even though we had a bit of a cold snap and some drizzly weather today, we still planted two new trees. Mud is everywhere, but our trees look amazing. We didn't get to put the Maple exactly where we wanted because of a gas line, but it really looks great where it ended up. Productivity and hard work definitely leads to a feeling of satisfaction. The real test will be if I can get out of bed tomorrow morning. :/

Below are some of my favorite photos from the week:

Double-petaled impatiens. About 1" in diameter, they look like miniature roses.

Mesquite Tree
Once I learned about all the wonderful attributes of the Mesquite tree, I no longer loathe it. You can read more about what I wrote here.

Chinaberry Tree 

Eve's Necklace, also known as Texas Sophora
So named because of the small black "beads" that form in fall. You can barely see one off to the right. They hang like a strand of pearls. Very poisonous.

Asiatic lilies for my garden. I bought yellow, orange and red. It's a riot of color. We were too tired from planting the trees to get these in the ground, but they will be going in sometime this week.

Autumn Blaze Maple
Our new backyard tree! The leaves are really a brighter green than what's shown here. In the fall, the leaves will turn a fiery red. Can't wait!

Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry Tree
This is another tree we purchased this weekend for the garden. It's an ornamental tree that shouldn't grow too wide or too tall. The branches "weep", cascading with small white flowers. If I can get it to look like the photo on the tag, it should be a show-stopper!

This mockingbird kept coming around as we were digging the holes for the trees. He wasn't afraid at all! We soon realized he probably wanted the worms and grub worms we were uncovering. There were so many! I guess his appetite for worms outweighed his fear of humans.

Okay, so that's a recap of last week. This week I get my first horseback riding lesson! Hubby set it up for me on Thursday evening. I'm beyond excited. Hoping I can get a little photography in also. Don't worry, I won't be riding and snapping photos at the same time. I'm not that coordinated. I know my limits. :)

Tweeter Board

My new blogging friend, Jillsy Girl, is having a challenge on her blog called Tweets Around the World. This has nothing to do with Twitter; basically, she's trying to get 50 different types of birds on her "Tweeter Board" for the month of March.

Go check it out and see if you can help her add to it. As of this post there are 32 birds. Let's try to help her get 18 more. Hurry! There are only 6 days left! I thought I had a new one to add, but she already had a Carolina Wren. Darn! It'll be a hardship on me, but I'll probably go out this weekend to try to help her out. Ha ha, kidding on the hardship thing!!!!

Chance

Chance has always been a mama's boy. Since our Golden Retriever, Spenser, passed away in 2008, we've become even closer. He looks to me for cues about everything: when to eat, when to potty outside, for walks, for bedtime. He usually doesn't make a move unless he clears it by me first. Chance is the epitome of a velcro dog.

Yesterday as I put on my tennis shoes and clothes to get ready for my nature walk with my camera, Chance knew that if he played me the right way, he would get to go. Yeah, he played me like a fiddle with those sad brown eyes and hopeful expression. Off we went to the wooded area that runs parallel to our street.

I'm a huge proponent of leashes, especially in neighborhoods. But when we got to the woods, something told me Chance would really enjoy being off-leash for a while. Against my instincts, I took the leash off. As soon as the leash was removed, his face lit up and he began to explore. Have you ever seen a dog beam with joy? It's a beautiful thing, man.

I love this dog. If ever there was a soul mate from the animal kingdom for me, Chance has to be it. He is the gentlest creature in the world. My chihuahua, Sparky, is pretty mean to him a majority of the time and Chance patiently puts up with it. I keep telling him he's bigger and he should let Sparky know it, but he'll quietly take Sparky's violent outbursts by turning his head or moving his paw away. Gentle Ben has nothing on Chance.

Chance never strayed far from me at all. If I felt he had gone too far, all I had to do was call his name and he'd come trotting up to me with a look on his face that said, "Yeah mom, I'm here! Need something?"

Perpetual motion. Even though this shot is out of focus, I love how he is eagerly putting that nose to work. Though what he would do if he caught a rabbit or something would be interesting to see. I can't imagine him harming a soul.