30-Jun-2019
Good Vantage Point
Normally, turkey vultures are seen roosting in trees and spend their time searching for carrion, soaring overhead in circles with wings upraised. This one was in a tree during the day, perhaps having spotted something below.
"If youve gone looking for raptors on a clear day, your heart has probably leaped at the sight of a large, soaring bird in the distance perhaps an eagle or osprey. But if it's soaring with its wings raised in a V and making wobbly circles, it's likely a Turkey Vulture. These birds ride thermals in the sky and use their keen sense of smell to find fresh carcasses. They are a consummate scavenger, cleaning up the countryside one bite of their sharply hooked bill at a time, and never mussing a feather on their bald heads."
04-Jul-2020
Not a Snake in the Grass
I have never posted this photo I shot in the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area back before I broke my hip. As I walked a trail through part of the wildlife area, I almost stepped on this turtle. It was a complete surprise to see it a ways away from any water. You can tell that my presence didn't seem to alarm it. Even when I got down for a closer shot, it just sat there. Quite an unexpected treat!
02-Jul-2020
Let's See You Stand on One Leg Like that and Stare!
The power of concentration that a Great Blue Heron displays when stalking a fish is impressive. You can see it in its eyes! The heron is quite successful at fishing too, I have watched them many times stand still at length until diving into the water and coming up with a fish. At times, the fish was so big that I didn't think they would get it down. But they succeeded. A huge bird that never fails to impress me!
20-Jun-2020
Daylily In Bright Sun
Daylilies are wonderful flowers, among my favorites. They seem to be easy to grow, and can be seen growing wild along roadsides and in meadows. They also have an interesting history.
The American Daylily Society has this to say about the daylily - "The scientific name for daylily is Hemerocallis, most recently considered to belong in the plant family Asphodelaceae. Notice that the preferred spelling is daylily as one word. Many dictionaries spell it as two words. The word Hemerocallis is derived from two Greek words meaning beauty and day, referring to the fact that each flower lasts only one day. To make up for this, there are many flower buds on each daylily flower stalk, and many stalks in each clump of plants, so, the flowering period of a clump is usually several weeks long. And, many cultivars have more than one flowering period."
https://daylilies.org/daylilies/faq/
28-Jun-2020
Barn Swallow
The Barn Swallow is one of two types of swallows I have seen, if I haven't forgotten any. According to the 'All About Birds' website, "the barn swallow is the most abundant and widely distributed swallow species in the world." It is distinguished by its cobalt blue and orange-brown colors. It normally has a white chest and white spots on its wings. Another distinguishing feature is its long forked tail. For some reason this one seems to have some orange on its chest.
26-Jun-2020
English Lady
Back in the 1960's Carol did this pastel chalk painting of a art piece on a postcard sent to her. She believes the picture on the card was of a painting in a San Francisco museum. Perhaps someone is familiar with that painting. About the same time, she also did a Spanish lady she copied from a box a perfume bottle came in. I love that one too! She used to draw quite a bit and also wrote. She even wrote a story based on the life of one of her grandmothers.
The pastel sticks are not round like a color crayon but instead are square. Carol still has some. She doesn't do much artwork any more, which is a shame because she is very talented, IMHO.
20-Jun-2020
Country Living
It really is quieter in the country, away from the busy streets and the noise of the city. It can be restful and calming if one takes time to relax once in a while, sitting on the porch and rocking in the swing. I love this pretty setting on my daughter's porch.
11-Jun-2020
Carol's Beautiful Rose
Carol love rose, and who doesn't? Most people enjoy them in their yard or garden. Carol's favorite is the yellow rose, which she used in our wedding so many years ago. I will have to ask her why she didn't plant a yellow rose when we moved out here in the country. Oh well, a rose of any color is pretty!
10-Jun-2020
Landing Pads
Now, this is the kind of landing area we should be using. The flyers that land here won't miss the airport because they couldn't see it! 😉 It was nice to catch one in midair and one already landed. I saw this scene along the road out in front of the farm.
17-JUN-2020
Caught In The Act!
I just happened to walk by when one of Angie's hens tried out the porch carpet. 👣👣 I didn't tattle.
25-May-2020
RADIANT RHODY!
There are a few rhododendrons on the place here, this one greets visitors to the farm. Rhodies love shaded areas and that is where this one is, in the shade of a large tree. I love the radiant pink color.
10-Jun-2020
LORQUIN'S ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY
At first, the hairy body of this butterfly threw me and I wondered if it was a type of moth. Some of them too have colorful wings. But I did find the identity, and it is a butterfly.
I learned some interesting information on Wikipedia (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorquin's_admiral), "Lorquin's admiral (Limenitis lorquini) is a butterfly in the Nymphalinae subfamily. The butterfly is named after Pierre Joseph Michel Lorquin, a French naturalist who came to California from France during the Gold Rush, and made important discoveries on the natural history of the terrain." Who would have known?
About the description, the website says, "The Lorquin's admiral has brown-black wings, each with a row of white spots across it. Its forewings have orange tips. Wingspan: 47 to 71 mm; females are generally larger than males."