The last of the photos from today...

This little guy was flitting all over the place...I think he is a ruby-crowned kinglet as I saw two of them chasing each other and I saw a spot of red on their heads...and from what I've read the red spot only shows when they are excited...but then don't quote me as I could be wrong too!! lol...

Another one I couldn't get a decent photo of...They were rather large (there were two of them) so I am thinking Hairy Woodpeckers but then again they could be Downy Woodpeckers...lol!

On my walk I found this nest up by the pasture....more than likely last years nest!

I then came home for a bit and just before sunset decided to walk the pasture here at the house...

First thing I spotted...A squirrel. He really thought he was hiding from me, lol...

Then I spotted this guy....

A Thrasher and once again it could be a Long billed Thrasher or a Brown Thrasher...I am really getting disgusted with my photos today as the parts of the bird I need to see for identification did not come out very clear...ugh!! But I did have fun and was excited by all the birds I saw...Spring is definitely in the air here...Now if we could get some rain, sigh!!

I decided to play with the sunset filtering through the Oak trees as I walked home...

Good Night everyone and have a Beautiful weekend!

Green Kingfisher

Let me tell you right off these photos are awful....But I was so excited when I saw this pair down at the creek I had to take photos. I've seen Belted Kingfishers and Ring Kingfishers but I have never seen Green Kingfishers...When I was walking down the path to the creek I heard kingfishers (they make a clicking sound) and thought oh cool...just maybe I can get a photo, just maybe....Well imagine my surprise when I spotted them and realized they were Greens, YeeHaw....I had one problem I could see them but there was just too many branches in the way for a decent photo...grrr....I moved a little but didn't want to move too much as I didn't want to scare them away...The female was at the creek drinking and the male was above her keeping watch...

I made a book in grade school about Belted Kingfishers (I think my Mother still has it)...They've always fascinated me.

This was the female after she finished drinking at the creek...

A few seconds after I took this photo they both flew off...Hopefully they are nesting nearby and I might be able to get some better photos later on...and actually they don't build nests in trees but burrow into the creek banks making a long tunnel and build their nest in it.

It doesn't take much too get me excited, lol....

Meadowlarks

We've had Meadowlarks out in the pasture for the past month but they are really skittish and I hadn't been able to get a decent photo...I was hoping with the new lens I could make another attempt...

I liked this photo with the cow and the meadowlark.

From what my bird book says the only way you can tell the Eastern Meadowlark from the Western Meadowlark is by their voice...As these guys were to busy hunting for food they weren't singing and I don't have a clue whether they are Eastern or Western Meadowlarks!!

I think I got some fairly decent photos. They were still a bit too far away but I knew I would not have been able to move any closer or they would have flown off....

Birds in the Morning...

I was sitting here at my desk this morning and happened to glance out the window and our little hummer was buzzing the Aloe blooms....so glad I cleaned the windows the other day, lol...The hummer was a might skittish and I only managed this one photo...

Then the cardinals came...this is a female cardinal and a bit blurry due to the window.

I then decided it was time for a break and took the camera outside. There were birds all over the place...While I was taking photos of Meadowlarks I was being serenaded by a Bewicks wren. He has the most beautiful voice and I love listening to him. I actually thought it was a Carolina wren until I looked over at him and noticed he didn't have the colors of the Carolina. He was sitting on the exhaust pipe of the tractor just singing his heart out!!

Then I looked up and saw this.....

Yes Sir!! It's a cowbird and a horsebird traveling in different directions, lol...Sorry couldn't help myself....

I actually spent the day taking photos of birds...It was HOT today...91 degrees F. and a little breezy...But tonight we have a cold front coming in and tomorrow we are supposed to have wind gusts over 20mph...So I thought I'd get my photo fix today!! Since it is Spring here in South Texas the birds are singing their hearts out and literally all over the place. I saw several birds that I had never seen before....and really enjoyed myself!!

Because of all the photos I took I am separating the blog posts up....

Michael's swimming certificate ~ Digi Layout

Michael finished his first session/class of swimming lessons and received a certificate for his achievement. He was so PROUD and so was I. I was not going to continue with the lessons next month, but found out they are not having lessons during spring break, so we signed him up for next month too. Hopefully he'll stick with it and by summer he'll be swimming really well on his own without a floatation device!!

I found this really nice Digi Photo template at Scrapbooketc.com. While I was checking it out trying to decided if I wanted it I noticed a comment from Jen. She had used it and had a link to her blog to show her example. She also showed how she put her whole digi layout together and I loved the fact that she took the time to show you how she did it, in plan english too. If you would like to check out Jen's blog click here. Thank you Jen!

I also added some word art from Sue Cummings and some stars embellishments too. You can check out Sue Cummings blog here or her items at O'scraps here.

(South Texas Sunset ~ February 25, 2009)

"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit"

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Michael's swimming lesson update

Tia Anana (Aunt Diana) came to watch Michael tonight and he was just thrilled...(I'm wondering if he wasn't showing off for her?)

He is ready and waiting...

As you can see he is also tired of Mamma and her camera, LOL...

Tonight they threw rings on the bottom of the pool and the children had to go get them...Michael did an exceptional job and I was BEAMING...I am so PROUD of him...Last summer he was swimming under water but near the surface...tonight he dove down 4 ft to get the rings and did IT!! The photo above is him surfacing after collecting the ring...

At the end of the nightly lessons they've been letting the kids go down to the deep end and jump in...Michael loves doing it...I caught him in mid-splash again!! The "bigger the splash the better" is what the boys seem to think!!

He has one more lesson and then he is done with this session...We won't be doing lessons next month as we will be gone for a bit...But maybe in April. We shall see how he is doing in school too...He's doing great and I would like to continue until he is swimming really well...He's been doing wonderful in school this month and I am wondering if him taking swimming lessons has made him improve on his schoolwork...This month is almost over with and he hasn't had any frown faces all month...Amazing!!

Going wild with Macro...

I had some time this evening and decided to play with the Macro as the butterflies were all over the new plants I had bought for the garden....These are different types of Skipper butterflies.

To me there is nothing better than getting up close and personal with butterflies!

Working with the Sigma Lens

Today I played with the Sigma lens....

Kit was full of piss and vinegar this morning and tearing through the house...

Jake trying to figure out what Kit's problem was, lol...duh!

Then I went outside to see if I could get photos of the birds...They all ran away, lol...but then as I glanced behind me I found a cardinal drinking...a bit too far for the lens but still no color distortion!

Chipping Sparrow...we have tons and tons of them!

The hummingbird came to the feeder...I wasn't ready for him and had to do some adjustments in photoshop on this photo as it was REALLY dark! Oh how I love shooting in RAW!!

I then glanced over and the deer were up here...I took these photos without moving and if you look closely you can see the woven wire fence that is out of focus.

Texas Huisache

I am getting used to the Sigma lens...I like the fact that there is no color distortion but I have noticed I need to use manual focus most of the time as the lens has a really hard time focusing...Practice makes perfect and I'll keep working on it!!

Grandma meets Malachi

I am in LOVE!! Malachi is such a little sweetie!!

This past Sunday we went to Beeville and we were able to spend some time with Malachi, Erica and Ray....

I think Grandpa is in Love too!!

So precious!

Out of all the photos this is my favorite...I can't help but smile everytime I look at this one. I am truly blessed...do you realize we had two grandchildren born within a day of each other...and they are both healthy...and that I captured both of them smiling!!!

Mom with her beautiful son!

Erica, Ray and Malachi...(Malachi is a week old)