The woods are only a step away from my back door as you can see by the photo in the sidebar, "Our Cottage in the Woods." So I walk into the woods often to take pictures. When I snapped these I stood very still and watched a bird land right above me. Of course I took his photo and he is in the collage on the right. A friend of mine identified him as a yellow billed cuckoo, a bird I had never seen.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states that he is a very shy bird that is heard more than seen. You can even listen to his call at this web site. It was quite exciting for me to realize I had actually photographed a bird I had never seen before now. And this was sooooo close to my back door!
I am joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Join us and view all the lovely mosaics!
I am enjoying taking pictures of flowers. These are in the planter on the rail of my deck. The raccoon completely dug up this planter and I had to start over. Aren't they a lovely color?
I'm joining Claudia for Finding Beauty Friday.
My favorite breakfast is not gourmet fare but it tastes just as good. It's a pork chop biscuit from Hardee's, without the gravy. Doesn't this biscuit look good?
The pork chop is tender and has lots of pepper on it. Yummy!
The sad thing is I am moving to Connecticut where there are no Hardee's!
Just out my back door on the deck railing, this begonia greeted me cheerfully this morning. It survived two attempts by the wildlife, either raccoons or squirrels, to dig it up and is thriving. The first picture is natural.
On this second picture I used a watercolor filter. It does look a little like a painting. Mr. B always likes the natural ones best, but I have fun adding filters.
There was a squirrel on the railing and I took some shots of him. I must have 500 cute squirrel pictures. I can't resist them!
I had lots of fun this spring taking pictures of flowers. These coral azaleas were among my favorites. What a gorgeous color! I just couldn't get enough of them!
Join Little Red House for this week's Mosaic Monday and enjoy all the beautiful pictures.
To my great disappointment our yard at the new house in Connecticut is overrun with mosquitoes. Since we moved from Maine many years ago where mosquitoes were terrible, we have not lived in places where they were a problem (New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia). Even though we live in the woods in Virginia and by a lake, I can lie in the hammock all day and see only one mosquito.
So after living "mosquito free" it is annoying to have the problem again. We do plan to put up a bat house but I read that can sometimes take a year before they move in. I found a web site advertising "Mosquito Barrier" a garlic based liquid. Has anyone tried this?
My son-in-law has read that planting mints and marigolds near the house is a natural deterrent. Certainly worth a try. There is no standing water in the neighborhood. There is a river down the hill but it is moving water and not swampy.
I love to be on the porch, and work in the garden as well as take photo walks. Pesky mosquitoes will hamper these activities. Also Mr. B has a serious reaction to the bites. Our cats go in an out and sometimes not quickly so the door is held open. I would appreciate any suggestions!
The weather has been really hot and humid in Virginia. Today is more pleasant with drier air and temperatures in the seventies. So I pulled myself out of the hammock and went for a walk with my camera. Each time I start out I wonder if I can find anything new and different to photograph on this walk I have made hundreds of times.
Here is today's shot made in a neighbor's yard. I like the way the sun was highlighting the side of the wheelbarrow, and I like the diagonal line the handles make. A dry brush filter took out some of the detail and made it look more like a painting.
And you thought man's best friend was a dog? Here is Mr. B getting his daily dose of sports news with his companion, Cindy. Sometimes he pulls the other desk chair up close to this one so she can nap and he can pet her. And sometimes she likes to lie beside the keyboard.
Maybe he could teach her to enjoy sports so he would have someone to discuss baseball, football and soccer with! Cindy follows Mr. B around the house and tries to share every chair he sits in!
It has been another warm week in Central Virginia. The leaves and the grasses look like mid-summer. Farmers already have their first cutting of hay down.
These are closes ups of my irises. Isn't the veining lovely?
I love the way you can look inside the flower!
These are gardening shoes I bought in early spring. I wore them to Connecticut and learned they are also good in the snow. They are rubber like and waterproof. The inside is felt and they may be too hot to wear in the heat. I like how easy they are to slip on compared to having to lace up sneakers.
Be sure and visit "Tootsie Time" and Flaunt Your Flowers Friday. You'll love seeing what she has in the greenhouse!
I'm also joining Cluadia at "Dipity Road" for Finding Beauty Friday. Her photos are amazing!
I was on a nature walk today and focusing on tiny flowers on the ground. Then I happened to look up and saw this. Can't you imagine this as the front door to some bird's or animal's house and there is even a porch! Lovely!
So remember - look up too. You might be rewarded by seeing something unusual.
Mr. B had a dentist appointment and I went along for moral support. My support did not extend to going inside! Instead I spent the time taking pictures. The early heat has really rushed the blooms, including the trees.
The two pictures on the right are of the Presbyterian Church. All the photos were taken on Main Street. I'm joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.
This lovely miniature rose bush was our gift to each other on Valentines Day. Mr. B and I found it at Lowes on the half price rack and "splurged." And who says romance is gone after forty-four years of marriage? Ha! It brought some much needed color to our sunny window sill in the midst of a very snowy winter in Virginia.
It bloomed and thrived, but all too soon the blooms were finished.
It continued to live on that windowsill until warm weather.
Now, minus its red paper wrapper, it is basking in the heat and sunshine on the back deck. It has put on new growth and seems very happy. I'm hoping it will bloom again.
Has anyone had luck with getting a rose like this to live and continue to bloom? Any chance it will be blooming next Valentines day?
I often hear the screeching cry (kee-ahh) of a hawk in my yard. One spring a pair had nested in our back yard very close to the house but I never saw more than a head poking above the nest. So one morning recently while I was enjoying my hammock and a good book, I heard the familiar cry (actually I am hearing it as I type this). I looked into the trees to find the source - and I found it! I excitedly ran to get my camera and here is the result.
After studying the pictures and the bird book, I think this is a Red Shouldered Hawk. Notice the striped tail and wings and the reddish color on the breast. He is one of the larger hawks.
He (or she?) very obligingly sat for about fifteen minutes. We had just had three days and nights of heavy rain and I wonder if he was drying himself in the sun. He kept holding his wings out and spreading his tail. These pictures were made from my front porch at a distance of 200 yards using my optical zoom. 
I often hear and see him fly across my front yard and I hear him in the woods. Sometimes I hear him in the trees but just can't spot him. Seeing him that morning was really special! It reminded me that Mr. B and I aren't the only ones who live on this spot!
See what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has to say about the Red Shouldered Hawk. Be sure to listen to the cry.
I'm joining Claudia for Finding Beauty Friday.
The sad thing is I am moving to Connecticut where there are no Hardee's!
There was a squirrel on the railing and I took some shots of him. I must have 500 cute squirrel pictures. I can't resist them!
Join Little Red House for this week's Mosaic Monday and enjoy all the beautiful pictures.
Maybe he could teach her to enjoy sports so he would have someone to discuss baseball, football and soccer with! Cindy follows Mr. B around the house and tries to share every chair he sits in!
Alea at "Premeditated Leftovers "(one of my favorite blogs) told me about Flaunt Your Flowers. So for the first time I am joining Tootsie at Flaunt Your Flowers Friday. She has a lovely blog and I look forward to more "Flower Fridays." And thanks Alea for the hint!
The two pictures on the right are of the Presbyterian Church. All the photos were taken on Main Street. 
It bloomed and thrived, but all too soon the blooms were finished.
It continued to live on that windowsill until warm weather.
Now, minus its red paper wrapper, it is basking in the heat and sunshine on the back deck. It has put on new growth and seems very happy. I'm hoping it will bloom again.
After studying the pictures and the bird book, I think this is a Red Shouldered Hawk. Notice the striped tail and wings and the reddish color on the breast. He is one of the larger hawks.
I often hear and see him fly across my front yard and I hear him in the woods. Sometimes I hear him in the trees but just can't spot him. Seeing him that morning was really special! It reminded me that Mr. B and I aren't the only ones who live on this spot!
