Happy Sunday!

Two posts in one weekend. What has gotten into me? The equation is as follows:

Overwhelming number of photos + rainy day = blog post! 

I am also suffering from a little disappointment, but this too shall pass. Sure wish I didn't bruise so easily, but nothing I've tried has changed that part of my personality. Being ultra-sensitive really sucks sometimes. Okay, I'm done whining. The sun is starting to come back and my redbud trees are bursting. They are begging to be photographed. Later gators!

Lake Pontchartrain and the Causeway Bridge, 3/8/13

Red-headed woodpecker, Fontainebleau State Park, 3/8/13

Yellow-bellied sapsucker, Fontainebleau State Park, 3/8/13

Eastern Bluebird, Fontainebleau State Park, 3/8/13
I had no idea they could rotate their heads like that!

I chased this little cutie all over the park entrance until he finally got enough of my nonsense and disappeared for good!

Turtle party, Blackwater Conservation, 3/6/13

I finally had some time to play with Jill's pretty little American Goldfinch. I'm not too good with textures and embellishments, but here is my submission. Check out She Who Carries Camera for Creative License Fridays! This should be a fun new meme and something different. 

Grunge Polaroid frame by Heather Green
Texture by Shadowhouse Creations

Fontainebleau

After I scheduled my previous post, my aunt called to let me know about a couple of state parks good for birding. One of them was Fontainebleau State Park. This is the most visited state park in Louisiana, with over 300,000 visitors per year. Fountainbleau has over 2,800 acres and was once an old sugar mill. It is located on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain and also bordered by Bayou Cane and Bayou Castine. As soon as I read that there are over 400 different species of wildlife, including birds, I asked Double D if we could go to Fontainebleau instead of Lake Martin. Being the happy-go-lucky, good ol' boy that he is, of course he obliged. Enough chit chat. Come see what I saw!

Double D spied this bald eagle twice on our hike. It helps to have a second set of eyes when birding.
For this shot we were about 30' away from the tree.
That's the closest either of us has been to a bald eagle. Easily the highlight of the day.

Red-headed woodpecker. Had several opportunities for shots, but he was always very far away, thus the subpar shot. :(

A pavilion that looks over Lake Pontchartrain. The Causeway Bridge is in the distance.

I'm 99.99% certain that this is a Swamp Sparrow. Interestingly, they only winter here.
They live year long on the East coast and parts of the Great Lakes. 

Hurricane Isaac tore up several areas of the park, including Alligator Boardwalk.
Seems to me this should have been repaired by now. I'd also like to add that all the bathroom facilities
were boarded up. Kind of disappointing. Doesn't the state carry hurricane insurance?

Eastern Bluebird. Oh, I have so many of these. You'll likely be seeing him a few more times. :)

After hiking 4 miles with no lunch (only breakfast) we wanted to stop off at Friends Restaurant in Madisonville for an early dinner.
Unfortunately, Hurricane Isaac caused damage there, too, and unfortunately we didn't find this out until we pulled into the parking lot.
We ended up at another seafood restaurant nearby, and I was delighted with this deluxe seafood salad which included
lump crabmeat, shrimp and crawfish. I even peeled the bug and ate the tail meat at the end!

No dinner is complete in Louisiana without enjoying a big honkin' slice of bread pudding. We shared, of course.
Don's Seafood Restaurant has my favorite because it has NO rabbit poo (raisins), but has white chocolate cream sauce. YUM!
I think I earned this indulgence after all the hiking. Now my knee is hurting, so I think I'll go rest now.

Please visit Madge and her wonderful meme. Thank you so much for hosting!