Saturday Critters ~ 324 ~

More fun from Sunday - we visited 
Lake of the Lilies 
and saw a few more interesting ducks, Mr. Wood Duck was not there...


Gadwall
Male on the left - Female on the right.
Present here only in winter, my book says the Gadwall is a familiar duck,
but I rarely see them.


Male Hooded Merganser
Swimming way out, the Merganser is a small, oddly shaped diving duck,
with a large head and a slender bill.
The male has a large crest that can be flattened or fanned, it is flattened in this image.



The Female Lesser Scaup was swimming close to the shoreline,
I was able to capture some better images of her.



Another diving duck seen in this area only in winter.





The Male Greater Scaups were closer in today too!


Seen here only in winter,
the Greater Scaup is a bulky, robust diving duck.

Sharing today's pictures with Eileen at Viewing Nature With Eileen

Pt. Pleasant, The Dauntless & The Loons...

This past Sunday, I was at the inlet taking pictures of the Loons

when the Dauntless came in.

No matter how many times I watch this, I still take pictures and find it exciting.

The Dauntless is a "day fishing" boat, 

family owned and operated by Captain Bill who has been in business for over 58 years.

I only saw a few Loons,

the water was choppy and they were difficult to photograph.

The Inlet is right by the boardwalk in Point Pleasant,

it was such a warm day,

we decided to walk up to the boardwalk and see what was open.

I always love seeing the penguin at the Aquarium,

we didn't visit, it was the weekend and I knew it would be crowded.

I would like to go back on a weekday.

A few of the summer games were open.

The Fun House was closed, this Funhouse has been here since I was a child.

There is an area on the boardwalk that is under construction...

isn't it nice that someone painted the plywood barrier.

We ate boardwalk junk food...

sausage sandwiches, french fries and onion rings.

We will have to eat healthy for a month now, maybe two!

How Can I Help You?

I have noticed a few of my birds have a common eye disease called 

Mycoplasma Conjunctivitis 

also called House Finch Eye Disease

Birds infected with House Finch eye disease have red, swollen, runny or crusty eyes.

In extreme cases, the eyes become swollen shut and the bird becomes blind.

This little lady seems to have a more extreme case, poor baby!

I also saw a male Cardinal infected in the same way.

If any of your birds become infected, 

it is best to take down all of your feeders for one week.

Be sure to wash them well and fill them with new seed when you rehang them.

I, the hubs will jump on that today, it's on his hunny-do list!

I have been working on my new shawl a lot this week, it has really grown, and it is looking quite fine!
We are suppose to have thunderstorms tonight, I hope they wake me up so I can enjoy them.
I love when it rains and I really love a good thunderstorm!

Yarn Along

As hoped, 
I have started a new "crochet" project and I am moving along quite nicely.


The Farm Girl Shawl
Created by my good friend Lizzie, who taught me how to crochet.


Crocheted with hand died yarn by
knot house yarns
100% Superwash Merino
The color is Rhinebeck Love Bus
representing the colors of the logo Leanne created for Rhinebeck last year.

I am still working on my 

Irish Hiking Scarf, knit with Cascade Yarn

50% Superfine Alpaca and 50% Peruvian Highland Wool.

This yarn is a joy to work with and I really love the neutral color, it will go with everything.

We rented and watched two movies this week that we really enjoyed.


Midway
A fact based story about the battle at Midway during World War II,
a significant and pivotal turning point in the pacific.
The film, based on real life events,
tells the story of the heroic feats of these leaders and soldiers.

I thought Midway was excellent and I usually don't enjoy war moves.



21 Bridges
This is a good cop, bad cop movie about a massive manhunt
for 2 cop killers...
and shutting down all 21 bridges in Manhattan 
in an attempt to capture them.

I thought they were both going to be good "knitting" movies,
boy was I wrong!
 I ended up watching and enjoying both and only knitting/crocheting a little.

The Male Downy Woodpecker

I don't have to rush to get my camera when this little guy lands in the tree outside my window.

He spends much of the day here with me.

Quietly sitting in the tree, just beyond the feeders...is he waiting for me to see him?

I know he sees me when I open the window, he seems almost tame, unfazed by my being there.

I snap away, he is relaxed and what a beautiful subject!

He winks at me...hehehe...even I don't believe that,

but none-the-less it is a sweet thought!

He is happy, well fed with plenty of water to drink!

We had another beautiful day yesterday, full sun and 61 degrees.

The sign on my front door says...

"Baby It's Cold Outside"
But it has not been cold all winter.

It may be time to switch that sign out, it's 23 days till spring...
but it feels like spring now!

How lucky are we, we've had a very mild winter for New Jersey!

Point Pleasant Beach

The weekend was beautiful...

Not quite the warmth I was dreaming of...

But the sun was out, the skies were blue, temperatures were in the upper 50's.

It felt great to be outside, but just for a bit, it was not picnic weather.

We went for a drive down by the ocean, there was a crisp chill to the air, and a brisk breeze.

We went for a drive by the fishing boats, most were in, they looked so pretty

I thought it would be nice to share some pictures here with all of you.

The Dauntless is a "party" boat...for civilians who want to fish for the day! 

The seagulls follow the boats as they come in and always hang out in this area.

These lighthouses, up on the pier, are new...

there were a total of four.

Lovely "decor" to guide the fishing boats home.

The fishing boats play a large role in the economics of this area. 

It is a way of life here, 
we who live here are rewarded from the fisherman with the fresh catch of the day, everyday!

Wise Words On Sunday

Saturday Critters ~ 323 ~

A brief ride to Lake of the Lilies yesterday turned out to be slightly disappointing.

It started out great, 

as we pulled up, the hubs spotted three Killdeer right away.

I had not seen them all winter and I was excited to snap some pictures.

Killdeer are boldly marked, long legged and are quite a noisy plover.

I saw three, I have seen them here before and I usually see them in pairs.

They feed in typical plover manner,

running at high speed for a short distance, then pausing briefly to pick up food from the ground.

Here is a good look at a Killdeers back feathers, they are beautiful.

Everyone else was swimming/sleeping, mostly sleeping in the "untouchable" part of the lake.
Now...if I could just get in to one of those backyards...

Sharing today's pictures with Eileen at Viewing Nature With Eileen