Saturday Critters #640

During my most recent visit to Lake of the Lilies, 

the lake had thawed but some of the winter ducks were still hanging around.

The lake itself is lined with a curated collection of pretty, unique, custom built homes, 

that defy the cookie cutter standard.

- Male Bufflehead Duck -

A small sea duck that breeds in Alaska & Canada and migrates in winter to Northern North America.

- Female Bufflehead Duck -

- Lesser Scaup -

A small North American diving duck that migrates as far south as Central America.

It is also known as the "Little Bluebill" because of its distinctive blue bill.

- Hooded Merganser -

The Hooded Merganser, this is the female, is a species of fish eating duck.

The duck is striking in appearance, both sexes have crests that they can raise or lower. 

- Common Merganser -

A large sea duck living in rivers and lakes that eats primarily fish.

- Male and Female Mallard Duck -

A common dabbling duck that thrives in wetlands.

Mallards are very social ducks that feed on water plants or small animals.

We see them here year round.

Sharing today images with Eileen at 

Viewing Nature With Eileen 

for Saturdays Critters

Bits & Bobs...

I wasn't sure what "Bits & Bobs" meant, so I "googled" it...

 "Bits & Bobs"

 is a common British idiom referring to small, miscellaneous items, 

odds and ends or various minor tasks...that's great, perfect for today's post.

If you have followed my blog for any length of time, 

you know I print my blog into a hard covered book about every three months.

The company I was using stopped offering the service and in my search to find another, I discovered

PixxiBook

This company has been great in all areas, layout, picture size, color 

and the quality of the cover and pages.

The only drawback, 

I find the website a little difficult to navigate but their customer support is outstanding.

Inside...

You give them the dates you want to include in your book, and they do everything else.

They lay out each page and design the cover.

On average, one book, which includes 3 months, costs about $ 120.00 or less.

The pages are not numbered,

 but in the above picture you get an idea of the thickness of each book.

Next up...

Butterflies Watercolor Coating Book

8 of the pages have penciled drawings of butterflies.

Also included are 8 blank pages.

Contained in the spine of the book is a paint brush/pen that you fill with water.

With that, you wet the paints that are on the left.

These are the instructions they provide.

I was excited to share this with you guys, I have not tried it yet but I will keep you posted.

There are 6 different themes and they can be purchased on Amazon.

I have been coloring in this book as well.

I finished coloring my birds and started the butterfly.

Happy St.Patricks Day

from Howe Street Beach

at the Jersey Shore in Point Pleasant, New Jersey

Spring Has Sprung But Will It Stay...

 On Wednesday, I opened every window in the house....

the temperature was 70 degrees outside and I could hear the neighborhood children laughing and playing.

It brings me comfort and reminds me of when my boys were young and playing in the yard.

How do you feel about daylight savings time...I have a love/hate relationship with it.

I really enjoy the longer days and feel the benefit from the extra sunshine.

But...the longer days make me feel like I should be "busier" in the evening, settle down later.

I like when the sun goes down earlier, when the house gets dark and the busy time of day has ended.

I can settle in with my knitting and a little fun television.

On Thursday, this happened...

So I turned my attention to my little inside garden.

All of my plants needed a little love and attention.

I always save my egg shells, dry them out and share them with my plants.

It makes them happy.

This is my Thanksgiving/Christmas Cactus.

I think it is a little confused as it has 2 blooms on it.

Maybe it blooms for St. Patrick's day as well.

I pruned everybody, cut off the dead stuff, fluffed the soil and fed them all.

This Flaming Katy is full of flowers...

and my Cyclame has lot's of new leaves and 2 buds which are now flowers.

I have a lot of Green Onions that have supplied me with Chives all winter long.

Everybody's back in their spots, I have 2 confused cactus...

soaking up the sun now!!

I Just Want To Go For A Drive...Destination Unknown

And when I say "destination unknown", 

that usually means somewhere by the beach, or the inlet.

We drove through the town of Point Pleasant Beach, 

home to the Beach by the Jetties,

and the Sweet Shop on the Boardwalk for a Sweet Treat.

Cappuccino truffles

Next up, the Inlet where we watched the Rachel Hailey come in.

This was the first time I have ever seen this commercial fishing boat.

We watched this commercial fishing boat come in from the ocean and park along the dock.

There were a lot of these... 

Ringed-Billed Gulls

And...

There are so many pretty Murals in Point Pleasant, most with a oceany vibe.

It was a slow paced, relaxing drive...taking everything in.

The temperatures were in the 70's, the sky was blue, with not a cloud in sight.
This was all about the journey and had nothing to do with the destination!

Harry Styles

- I love music -

 When I cook, clean, create, or knit...music brings me so much joy.

It lifts my spirits when they need lifting and motivates me when I need motivation.

It soothes my soul.

A few years ago, I fell in love with Harry Styles, his music and his personality...

He is kind, humble and he gets emotional when he talks about the people who love his music.

He talks about his devoted fans...how he could not do what he is doing without the fans.

They are a dedicated group that follow him and he always talks about how much he appreciates us. 

He recently released a new album, his 4th album...

"Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally"

and performed the new songs from the album during a recent concert.

One Night Only - Manchester 

I was able to watch the concert Sunday on Netflix.

The hubs bought me an early birthday present.

2 tickets to his concert, on my birthday, September 19th at Madison Square Garden.

We have really good seats, I plan on bringing a sign, I hope he sees it.

In the meantime...I am reading these books the hubs bought me for Christmas.

They focus on not only his career, but his youth as well.

He is a very "forward thinking", "unique" person and I really like that about him!

It's Happening

 An awakening of sorts...

the days are longer, the temperatures are warmer and the birds are singing louder.

The bulbs we planted in the fall are popping up through the earth.

It's time to turn to the garden, clean up the beds and do a little pruning.

The Crocus bloom first...and yesterday they looked like this.

The Daffodils are making an appearance and will be blooming soon.

The Swans have returned to Lake of the Lilies...

and the Osprey have returned to Spring Lake captured here with it's half eaten fish.

There was not one cloud in the sky yesterday...the sky was this blue.

And the sunsets lately...

have taken my breath away.

Spring is coming and it's going to be great.