Muddy Waters

It's not very often I have a chance to photograph the Barn Swallow. They usually hang around marinas and piers, swooping over the waters at breakneck speeds, making it impossible to capture them with my camera. On May 14th, however, several stopped by a muddy area at Lake Martin, giving me ample opportunity for some shots. I assumed they were digging for insects.

More photos from this trip to follow. I hope everyone has a great week!

Anni, thank you for hosting:

Wiped Out

Boy, oh boy, was it a whopper of a weekend! First, I volunteered with my friend to shoot the Active for Autism 5K Run/Walk. It rained the entire time we were there. But, I am so blessed to have B for my friend, because she set me up with rain gear from head to toe, including a custom-made wrap for my precious camera and lens!

We were each given a list of things the organization wanted photographed. I traded with B because she wasn't happy with her list which contained subjects like trash cans and porta-potties. Yeah, not a glamourous job, whatsoever! I hurriedly got everything marked off the list so I could wander around and practice photographing smiling faces. It was so much fun, y'all! I hope I have another opportunity to do it again.

That's me in the mirror. :)

One of the items on my list was "bananas." Yeah. I know.
So I asked this pretty girl to model for me. :)

I *think* this is a character from Frozen. Anybody know?
I'm so out of the loop.

The children were captivated by the Frozen character, and were singing all the words along with her.

A Fire Chief/Lion? Cute!

That same day we had the HOA social at our house. We served 130 lbs. of crawfish and hosted about 20 people. It was so fun! Double D prayed away the rain and God answered. True story. :)

Poor Double D. This was his 3rd boil and he has not quite mastered
the peeling. He has another opportunity next weekend though!

The next day was beautiful so we made a quick trip to Bluebonnet Swamp. The birds were all hanging out at the mulberry tree, so the shade and thick leaves made it a challenge to photograph. This is a first of season Catbird. The image is not as crisp as I like, but I loved his pose with the berry in his beak. Sometimes perfection just needs to take a hike!

Hope everyone has a great week! I will be by to visit your blogs throughout the day and tomorrow. I'm a bit behind, sorry.

February Highlights

Where did February go??? It seems like the days are whizzing past me before I can take stock of what has taken place. Yesterday I worked for my former boss, including two days last week. And, since my car had a costly repair, the work was timely.

Below are some highlights from February.

Close-up of Barbara the Barred Owl

Bluebonnet Swamp

Preening after spending hours in the nest.

You can hear her cooing to the eggs now. Its' very sweet!

The eggs are due to hatch next week. We are all super excited!!!

Snout nose Butterfly (American Snout)

Bluebonnet Swamp

Spreading its wings.

Rock pigeons on a hill
LSU Lakes

Canada Goose on a small strip of sandy beach at LSU Lakes.

I have no idea what this is. Looks like a cross between a swan and a goose.

A sweet little Chihuahua from the Mystic Krewe of Mutts Parade.

More to come...stay tuned!!!!

My prayers go to Anni at this time. Godspeed, dear girl.

Birds, Blooms and Bees

These photos were captured on the same day in January. The pansy with hover fly was taken at the botanical garden and was the only image I deemed worthy to keep out of the bunch. Feeling disappointed, I returned home and set up my chair blind, first spreading seeds all around and filling the feeder. The male and female cardinals were drawn to seeds on the driftwood; however, I could NOT get ONE bird to land on the angel statue. Too much to ask for in one day, I guess.

Double D talked me into joining the athletic club with him. So! At 8:30 a.m. I will be doing my first spinning class. Yikes! As soon as the rain skedaddles out of town, I will be dusting off the old tennis racket. Life is good! Hope y'all have a great week. 

Visit Anni at

for more birds around the world.

Healing and Living

Hello friends, old and new! I am so appreciative of every person that has visited me since starting this blog in 2007. You all have been so supportive, as well as helped me through some pretty tough times.

Since losing my mom in 2012 and all the changes that year--moving, leaving a dream job, Double D's heart problem, my son's challenges--I am finally feeling like I want to LIVE; truly live and experience all life has to offer. As my mother's example taught me: don't wait to do your living because we are not promised one single day or even good health to enjoy the days!

I've always been a fairly active person, but when 2012 delivered blow after blow, it...well...paralyzed me. Spending time with God and family AND blogging, was and is part of the healing. The deep gashes which ripped my soul apart are mending quite nicely. I am feeling a peace and confidence in my faith that I never dreamed possible. I'm in a good place mentally for the first time in a very long time. God has been faithful.

As with all phases of life, we grow, and sometimes outgrow, certain activities. I'm sure some of you already noticed that I haven't been visiting and posting as much the last few months. Well, I am not quitting my blog and will still be making visits, just not daily.

Thank you so very much for being part of my life. If you would like to keep up with me on a more frequent basis, please connect with me on Facebook. I will welcome you with open arms. Mondays will be my day for blogging so that I can stay connected with my wonderful blogging friends. I hope you will continue on with me.

I found this sweetie at an abandoned home on a large piece of property. These are my best pics to date of the Orange-crowned Warbler. Thank you for looking!

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

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