The State of Louisiana...Belle

Warm greetings from Cajun Country! I'm as happy as a tick on a fat dog. :) Seriously though, I am incredibly thankful for the prayers God has answered after spending 2 years wandering around in the desert. My daughter and I both agree that this is our year, and we are going to enjoy and savor every moment. Here's the "State of Me" bullet points.

• Helping plan my daughter's wedding, though she's so organized, she doesn't need any help. Still, it's fun talking about it with her.
• Making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. (Many, MANY prayers sent up about this issue, as I tend to close myself off when depressed.)
• Displaying my photography in different venues.
• Participating in workshops and photography classes.
• Starting a small vegetable garden.

And the big one...........drum roll..............................

• Opening a booth at a flea market with my friend, B! 

B came up with our name: Bayou Belles. B has been a godsend. She's full of GREAT ideas and we work extremely well together. We have a logo, a Facebook page and a blog!

My cup runneth over. I am so energized every day with all the things I want to do, and there are not enough hours to get it done.

Okay, enough of this chit-chat.

Glimpse into Bayou Belles' space.

A new shrub for my garden: Indigofera

Indigofera with St. Francis statue in background.

Another new shrub: Angel's Earrings.

Planted next to my angel statue. :)

The heart-shaped leaves behind the bird ornament is called Moonflower.

It is vining quickly around my palm tree. I hope to attract hummingbird moths with it.

Bell peppers! Well, a single bell pepper, but the blooms promise many more!

Cherry tomatoes!!

Cucumbers!!

Female House Finch visiting the new feeder.

Linking with

Thanks, Anni!

Opie and the Gang

The first week of January I began visiting Bluebonnet Swamp, our local nature area that sits smack dab in the middle of Baton Rouge. For the next two weeks I observed a goofy-looking O'Possum who liked to amble over to the bird feeders to snack on seeds. I named him Opie. Each day I looked forward to seeing him; he came at the same time every day. The photos of him with his mouth open, appearing vicious, is really just him chewing on sunflower seeds. He was harmless. Unfortunately, Opie did not survive an attack by either an owl or hawk. I will spare you the grisly details. I was very sad.

During the time I was enjoying and studying Opie, I noticed a male and female House Finch missing the top half of their beaks. The photos were sent off by my birding friend to an expert in the field. Turns out they both had Pox which also affects their feet. Sad.

These images are just normal observations. Nothing odd or sad here.

GERONIMO!!!

Buff-bellied Hummingbird
A winter resident

Chickadee who got a little careless with his seed.

Holding tight to this one!

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Sharing with Anni at...

Afternoon at the Swamp

Just some things I observed on a quick afternoon walk on May 13th.

Sparkly dragonfly

House finch right before take-off

It's been a banner year for the Eastern lubbers...or a bad year depending on one's perspective.

Prothonotary warbler with a spider lunch for the chicks.

A pair of broad-headed skinks, male (red head) and female (brown)

Swarms of bugs on the main path. Close mouth, eyes, and nose. Don't breathe if at all possible.

Wildflower

Wildflowers

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. Double D has offered to drive me Jefferson Island to observe the spoonbills and egrets. There should be little babies by now. Stay tuned and thank you so much for your visits!

Edit: This post was selected by Hilary at The Smitten Image in her Phine Photography section. Hilary is a wonderful and generous blogger. Please visit her site if you have time. You won't regret it!

Blind Images

Below are photos taken from inside my chair blind. I am loving that thing, but it is getting a little warm for it now. The link to Amazon has a different price every time I click on it; I purchased it for $75, but as I'm scheduling this post (5/9) it is $69.99. Last week it was $90. Since Amazon is being "playful" with the price, if you want one and don't like the price, wait a day or two.

For such a large bird, the blue jays around here are awfully skittish.
After about 10 clicks he was outta there.

Listening to the click of my camera.

This female house finch was eating my weeds. Thank you!

The female and male are never far from one another. It's so sweet.

The ravenous starling (one of many) who gorges on the suet before my poor woodpeckers hardly have a chance.

The infamous chair blind! Sorry about all the weeds in the garden; I haven't had the energy
to get to this particular bed yet. How do you like my dead branches attached to the feeding station? It's not pretty,
but it gets the job done. Extra seating for birds waiting their turn at the feeder.

Today I advance to the ripe old age of 53!! I refuse to let my age dictate any area of my life. My mom used to say things like, "She is too old to be wearing her hair that long" or "Women over 35 should not wear sleeveless tops" or "That woman is trying to act way too young for her age." Ummm...I am breaking every one of her rules, lol. The plan today is to kayak at my favorite lake in a TANK TOP, my hair up in a clip because I'm letting it grow out. I'm sure she's looking down shaking her head at me. My mom was such a graceful, refined woman, and although we have a strong physical resemblance, our personalities couldn't be any different. If she were alive, she would be praying the rosary the whole time I kayaked in an effort to prevent an alligator attack or drowning. Poor mama.

Since I'm scheduling this post ahead of time, I hope the weather holds up for us. It's not looking too good at the moment. So if you see me making blog visits it means the rain kept me from kayaking and birding. If it does rain, we will go on Saturday instead since I agreed to work for my former boss on Thursday and Friday.

The Reds

Years and years ago when someone in my family was irate about something or someone, my grandmother would say, "He's got the reds." Is that a Louisiana thing? I've never heard it anywhere else, but I've only lived in two states, so I'm not an authority. Also, when I was a youngster, a 'sore throat' was called a 'red throat.' Anyone hear that one?

This post has nothing to do with me having the reds or a red throat; just wanted to display my pretty little back yard birds and I'm running out of ways to title my posts. :)

I guess this is more of a rosy-red. And I only WISH he was a back yard visitor. :)
Roseate spoonbill, Lake Martin, LA

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday and I'd Rather B Birdin'. Thanks hosts!!

Bits and Bobs

It's been an exceptionally busy week working from home. Thank you for your patience as I hobble around visiting whenever possible. Our birding class is going very well, but the first field trip was canceled due to rain. Two field trips are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday this weekend―both start at 7AM! Ugh, we are NOT morning people. At. All.

Male house finch
Did you know birds with thick beaks like finches and cardinals are seed eaters?
I learned that in class. :)

See?

Barbara the barred owl from Feb 15th.

Downy woodpecker.
Their tails are used as a prop to help them climb trees. I learned that in class, too.

Male flowers of the swamp maple.
I did not learn that in class.

Injured ibis from Dec 29th. :(

See how his right wing droops? I think that was his problem. Hope he's okay.
I checked on him two days later and he was gone.

Hope everyone has a fun weekend! I'll check with y'all on Monday.

Beautiful things are never perfect.
(Seen on Pinterest)