Still here!

I've missed blogging and I've missed my blogging friends. A huge THANK YOU to those that checked in on me in my absence. I did not mean to be gone so long, but life suddenly became a bit overwhelming and I needed a break from just about everything, only doing what was absolutely necessary.

Chance is still with me, but the Vestibular Disease has taken a toll on him and us. He wouldn't eat anything for a while so I cooked chicken and rice for him. He tried to humor me, but soon after, threw it all up. My next move was offering canned food. He gobbled it up like there was no tomorrow and most importantly it stayed down. We took him in for follow up blood tests and learned that his liver is severely compromised. He also has cataracts and hearing loss. The vet said Chance is on borrowed time...he's 14, after all. She said to give him all the canned food he wants and keep him comfortable. I pray the Lord will take him when it's time, to spare me having to make "that" decision. Ooops, here come the tears.

My beautiful and loving Chance in 2011.

Let's see...what else have I been doing? I worked for my former boss for ten days which left me very tired. But it was so nice to talk to some of my clients. We have the nicest customers!

I also enjoyed a few fishing excursions with my dad. Caught a 5 lb. bass, which made my dad so proud he took it to the taxidermist to have it mounted. Exactly an hour after I caught the 5-pounder, Daddy caught a 6-pound bass. It was one of the best fishing days we've had so far.

A couple weeks ago Double D and I purchased new bikes. We have been riding around our neighborhood every day. I love riding so much better than walking or running. The most distance we've covered in one ride is 5 miles; the goal is to get up to 10 miles. I installed an app called Runkeeper that stores all the details, such as average mph, speed, distance, GPS coordinates and calories burned. It's a great way to get us moving.

One more thing I'll mention is another app called Day One. I use it to journal my prayers. Often I find that my thoughts are so easily distracted that I can hardly put one coherent sentence together in my head. However, writing my prayers helps me focus. I figure God must love the written word since he gave us the Bible. I think doing this has finally solved my prayer problem.

Well, I've prattled on enough. If you're still here, below are images of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail that visited my lantana on August 8th. Surprisingly, I really love the black and white versions! I will catch up with everyone this week!

Blues from the Blind

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial weekend here in the U.S. God bless our military.

Double D and I birded on Saturday (spotted the painted bunting and yellow-breasted chat!), and Sunday afternoon I drove to my dad's in Mississippi so we could fish early on Monday morning. A very relaxing few days. Regular blog visiting to resume today to see what you've been up to. :)

Since I haven't had time to process my photos from the weekend, here are more images of the Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting from inside the tent blind on 4/24/2014.

Blue grosbeak cracking a seed

Indigo bunting getting concerned about my camera clicks.

Edit 8:55PM: A few of you asked about the metal band around the bird's leg. Our local nature center has a banding program to provide important scientific data such as studying bird demographics, identifying important habitats, monitoring the physiological condition of birds, and identifying declining species. I always answer questions asked, but your email address must be enabled on your Blogger profile. Thanks for the comments and questions! I love to get both. :)

Sharing with Anni at

Prothonotary Parents

After visiting Jefferson Island last Saturday we made time to go kayaking at Lake Martin. There was still enough light to bird when we were finished paddling. Upon entering the boardwalk a young woman was standing on the middle slat of the boardwalk fence, leaning against a tree for support, pointing her camera down toward the water. Four prothonotary warbler chicks were sitting in a rotted cypress tree that was jutting about 3' out of the water. The parents were returning to the nest every few minutes with caterpillars and all sorts of insects. It was really neat to watch.

Here you can see a hungry baby in the lower left of the frame. Baby bokeh!

Look how wide the babies' mouths get! Dang, that's a hungry young'un.

I think this might be Dad since he is a brighter yellow

This is probably Mom with her darker yellow feathers. She and her mate never stopped feeding.

Dad again! I was impressed with their devotion to their chicks. Oh how I wish the light had been better that day!

I included this photo because I learned how to use the Radial Filter in Lightroom 5.
There is a great tutorial here if you have LR5. Basically you select an area in the image
that you want lightened or darkened for subject enhancement. It's really an easy process!

Cheers to the weekend! I hope it's as beautiful in your area as it is here. We found out where the yellow-breasted chats are, so Double D and I plan to scope out the area on Saturday.

It's Alive!

I'll get to the "It's Alive!" thing in a minute. First, I want to show you the new bird I was able to photograph on May 3: the black and white warbler. Cute little thing, but fast as lightning, and high up in the canopy. What a challenge! But one that I enjoyed.

Here is one of many weird blobs we saw while kayaking at the park. I asked one of the park employees what it was and she said it's some sort of marine life that thrives off algae. I said, "It's alive?" I was feeling guilty for poking the crap out of it with my paddle. It felt spongy and bouncy. She said not to worry that I didn't hurt it. But I read on Wikipedia that it has nerves and a digestive system! It's called a Bryozoa. I'm sure they're very primitive, but still. The one in this photo was about the size of a mini-trampoline and we saw others even bigger than this one. It looks like it is adorned with snowflakes. Weird, the things you find existing in the world. I'm always amazed at God's creation.

Cheers to the weekend everyone!! See y'all on Monday.

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.

Hungry Passerby

On April 26th a male, rose-breasted grosbeak came to my feeder. I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked out the back door. Instinctively, I grabbed my camera, nervously shoving the memory card in its slot and checking my settings. These were shot hand-held from a pretty good distance because I was afraid of spooking him. I was hoping for another opportunity to get shots, but he never came back. Oh well, sometimes you just have to take what you can get!

The only shot I got of his backside.

The feeder he is perched on has been an effective one for keeping squirrels out. Too much weight on the perches brings down a door that closes off access to the seeds. I've had it for several months now and it really works. It was on sale at our local garden center.

Regal

On May 5th we paddled at Greenwood Community Park, then birded afterwards. I was blessed with two neat birds that afternoon: the Eastern Kingbird (below) and the Black and White Warbler (future post and lifer). They were both occupying the same tree. What alerted me was their calls. I had not heard those sounds before, which made me stop and wait. That birding class really paid off. These shots will not be as crisp as my bird blind shots; however, I am happy with them. The light was a bit harsh in some instances, too, but I am no longer striving for perfection. Just a decent shot will do! My goal is to photograph every bird on my life list.

Have a great week everyone! Thank you for stopping by.

Thank you, Anni, for the wonderful meme!

Bluer Than Blue

This indigo bunting is a 1st or 2nd year male in the molting stage. Ornithologists spread the wing feathers out and study them in minute detail, observing colors (or lack thereof) and patterns. It's all too complicated for me, so I will just enjoy them at whatever stage of life they're in. :)

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday. Sorry I'm a little late.

Wishing a wonderful weekend to you all!!

New Lifer and a Birthday Wish

Conditions were perfect, the light great, me in the bird blind, and there it was: the glorious PAINTED BUNTING. Numero uno on my wish list. BUT there was a problem and it's going to make me sound like a spoiled brat...it was an immature male! Now he's pretty too, don't get me wrong; however, I really had my heart set on a mature, adult male. Is that too much to ask? I waited in that sweltering bird blind for an hour. Since I was about to pass out, I had to give up, although I have not given up completely. I will be back!

No offense little man, you're cute as a button.

A shout-out today to my wonderful, caring, amazing husband: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I have downloaded "When I'm 64" by The Beatles on his phone just to remind him how old he is every time he gets a call, which is frequent. Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64? The answer is YES!!! I love you so much! (I can't believe I used to think 64 was elderly. My, how advancing through life changes our perspective as we go along.)

Sharing with Our World Tuesday.