Merry Christmas

Our backyard this Christmas....

One of our Burning Bushes

In the Spring this burning bush leafs out and is a beautiful green fluffy bush. All Summer this bush positively vibrates with birds in, on, around, over and under the thing. It is just beginning to "burn" this Fall and the leaves at the branch ends have literally been worn off by little bird feet! I'll post a picture of the bush when it is fully engulfed in the flaming red leaves!

Off to do good with Purple Heart

She was a good old car for us for seven years.............

Another report on the dwindling pond

Friday I got a later start on my walk. There was one egret on the pond who flew off in a huff as soon as he caught sight of the crazy lady with the camera. But there were nineteen ducks swimming around and they didn't seem to mind the crazy lady.

Forty Great Egrets on a Dwindling Pond!

It was going to be very hot yesterday so I left for my walk before the sun was fully up. When I got to the pond I was amazed to see twenty-nine great egrets along with about a dozen ducks in the greatly diminished pond. As I stood there taking pictures one of the egrets had enough of me and flew away. As I watched the egrets were catching something to eat and twelve more egrets flew in to make the total forty. For lovely graceful birds they have the ugliest voices... But they were having a great early morning gab fest!

This is a story about snakes with photos Don't look if snakes bother you

On Wednesday I went for my walk in the afternoon. When I got home my youngest daughter said you have to come see what Dad found in the yard... Just outside the front door were four snakes curled around each other in the tops of the quince bushes..... Very odd! On Thursday morning three of the snakes were back in the quinces. In the early afternoon there were at least four snakes maybe more frantically slithering in circles in the back yard. Again very strange. With the abundance of acorns, the extra fat woodchucks and this snake behavior we are thinking it is going to be a long cold winter!!!!

Ducks On The Pond: A short story

As we walked yesterday we saw these ducks on the pond. This is unusual. This is the pond where the geese hang out. The pond across the path is where the ducks usually are. Anyway, There are three adults and one baby duck on a log, one Mamma duck and three babies in the water and one loner off to the side. I started a narration in my head about the day the ducks were having. First off the Loner didn't want to be alone and was trying to figure out how to be friends. The baby on the log was on a time out. The other three babies were on their Mamma's last nerve. I know this because she was heading one way across the pond and the trio was heading the other. She was quacking to beat the band (quite literally there was a high school football game across the way and the Marching Band was loud) She wanted these bad babies over with her as it was bath time... They finally swung around her way and started splashing around with her. In the mean time the Loner had started his approach to the group on the log. They were ready to accept him into the gang. I guess initiation was over and the decision had been made in his favor. The baby on the log came off time out like a hockey player out of the penalty box and he headed straight for his partners in crime. Mamma duck had started swimming toward home and the babies were ignoring her quacks to follow. The Men on the log watched in amusement. The whole scene amused Stephanie and me.

Stephanie and the train

We had just passed the railroad crossing on the trail when we heard the warning bells go off and the barricades came down. We turned around and crossed the grass as close to the tracks as I thought was safe. We waved to the engineer (I always pretend it is my Grandpa driving the train) He waved back really enthusiastically and then we just watched. Stephanie made train noises and clapped. I wish that showed up in the photos but at least you can imagine. It was a great time!!