Gates, Rust, Barn Doors And Nests

- random - 

- lacking a definite plan, purpose or pattern -

- made, done, happening or chosen without method or conscious decision -

 

I enjoy them ALL!

Mr. & Mrs. Sparrow

Every spring, a male and female

House Sparrow

take up residence in this beautiful recycled birdhouse.

I always wonder if it is the same 2 birds.

I received this birdhouse from the hubs

for one of my birthdays.

This is the male, gathering feathers for the nest.

A very familiar bird across North America because of its affinity to people.

Here is the female on top of the house, the male close by to the right.

They are forever aware of their surroundings.

Mister...

The birdhouse came with this authenticity card.

A few more close ups of the male.

There will be babies soon.

Iris

The word Iris means rainbow in greek,

and in Greek mythology, Iris is the goddess of the rainbow and a messenger for Zeus and Hera. 

The Iris is also the name of the colored part of your eye.

Here in New Jersey I see them everywhere.

I do not have any in my gardens but every time I see one, the hubs stops so I can get a picture.

We walked at the reservoir a few nights ago and they had a lot growing in their gardens.

There are 310 recognized species and the name Iris is commonly used for all species.

This beautiful perennial plant, with the correct care, comes back every year,

and have a lifespan of between 5 - 20 years.

They enjoy full to partial sun.

Debbie's Creek

On Mother's Day we took a ride to Debbie's Creek 

to check on the swan we had seen previously sitting on a nest, hoping she had become a mother.

There she was, sitting so eloquently on her nest, 

her mate always hereby.

After a few minutes, this little one snuck out from under her and made its presence known.

A few minutes later, 

she would lift both wings to expose all of her cygnets.

She was proud, watching over them carefully with an immense amount of love.

It was Mothers Day for her too!

It looks like she has 8 cygnets and one egg left to hatch.

I hope to go back today to check on them.

- this was an exciting mothers day for both of us -

Happy Mothers Day

 

Saturday Critters #595

 I do not have much to offer today, I spent a little time with my backyard birds, 

and will share a few of my favorite pictures here.

It was a gloomy, rainy day...the birds were wet and hungry.

- Male House Finch -

- Catbird -

For my Good friend T

The House Finches and Catbirds are very easy to photograph.

I use a zoom lens, these pictures are not cropped,

 this tree is very close to the window I hang out of to take these pictures.

I think the birds enjoy my antics!

Sharing today's images with Eileen at 

Viewing Nature With Eileen 

for Saturday Critters

Having Fun With Postcards

You may have read this story before...

but I have a lot of new followers so I thought I would share it again for those who may not have seen it.

When the hubs and I travel, even on a day trip, we each purchase one postcard...

he fills his in and sends it to me, I do the same and send mine home to him.

We write notes about our favorite part of the trip, and we mail them to each other, before we head home.

When we receive them in the mail a few days later, we have often forgotten about them,

and they are so much fun to read.

Here is a picture of the book I made with all of the postcards.

I used thin craft wood for the cover and back, and binder rings to hold everything together.

Then I tied pretty ribbon to the binder rings.

I glued a pretty, "unused" postcard to the front and back.

If you are interested in making one yourself, I posted a tutorial on how to make the book here.

But really the concept is more important and so fun.

Right now I have 10 or more just held together with binder rings, I need to make another book.

If you decide to do this, 

be sure the postcards are "free floating" so you can read what is written on the back.

If you take the occasional trip, you should really do this.

It is such a fun way to look back and remember the highlights of your trip...

his favorite part and your favorite part.

Ours always seem to involve food and restaurants!

- wanderlust -

- a strong desire for, or impulse to, wander or travel and explore the world -

What Else Is Going On...

 The end of one month and the beginning of the next is busy for me, work wise.

My office is in the house, my work is not hard, but it just takes up time...

there are so many other things I would rather be doing.

Knitting, painting, baking, cooking, playing in my gardens definitely have to take a little bit of a 

back seat right now.

I knit at night, when watching television, so I am able to enjoy knitting almost every day.

Even when I am busy, I start each day completing an online puzzle.

this Mandarin Duck was featured a few days ago here.

I love to color and have had a little time lately to color!

You would be amazed at the number of coloring books and supplies most craft stores offer for adults.

- this one I started yesterday but did not get very far -

I have also been organizing the pictures on my computer...

here you can see, as of May 2nd I have 34,810.

This is an ongoing task to delete images, place those I want to keep into folders,

 and keep my screen saver clean.

But my big news...my butterflies have started to emerge!

If you are new to my blog, another hobby of mine is raising butterflies,

Black Swallowtails

These butterflies have been in chrysalis all winter...

May 6th this first boy emerged...stayed for pictures, then flew off.

May 7th the second, also a boy, emerged, stayed for pictures

 then flew off quickly.

There are a lot more butterflies in our future, 12 or more!