Don't hate me because I'm beautiful...

My sister in-law, Bernice, is always hamming it up for the camera. I had these photos from the get together on Oct. 10 and decided to put together a whimsical digi layout of her...she'll probably scream at me but I don't care...This is "Bernice"!

Credits:

Fruit Loop Sally kit called "Room Service"

Template designed by kristins scrapdesign

WordArt tag designed by Trixie Scraps Designs

Tonight and a couple of Digital Layouts

Credits:

ChrissyW designed the template, click here to go to her blog

Leaves and paper from a kit called "falling for you" designed by kreations by Kami

~

I decided to work on some digital layouts tonight. I haven't been in the mood to scrap but tonight the bug hit me....If you click on them you can read the journaling.

Credits:

Kit called Jinx.

Michael was helping me with his layout. He didn't like the bats at first but then decided they looked like the bats in a Scooby Doo cartoon and told me it was okay.

~

I'm not sure what has gotten into Michael tonight but he was being extremely helpful. He did the dishes tonight and then took a shower by himself, brushed his teeth, brushed his hair and even read his AR book 3 times until he made no mistakes...Sheesh it was so nice! He totally amazed me tonight! As I was tucking him in tonight he told me he was practicing for when he was married and would do everything for his wife, Ekkkk...I told him that yes he needs to help his wife but that he did not have to do everything for her, lol...That's my boy!!

October 18 Butterflies & Companions Part lI

I spent some time out in the yard on the 18th with the Macro lens. It is just unbelievable all the butterflies, caterpillars and bugs that are out and about! I took so many photos I decided to put them in two separate posts!
Enjoy what life looks like in our yard in South Texas!

Western Leafcutting Bee.

They line the cells in their nest with fragments cut from leafs, interesting (you learn something new everyday!)

Skipper

Peacock butterfly on a wild mum with another butterfly on a different mum bloom.

A different species of skipper.

A spotless lady bug beetle

Honey Bee

Hey whats this? A Mosquito, UGH!! Little darl'in! Why he's looking on a Wild Mum for dinner I have no clue!

I know I know another Peacock Butterfly...They're just all over the place and they're beautiful.

Giant Swallowtail.

They are huge and also very shy. This is the closest I could get to the Big guy and he/she sure is beautiful.

I was tickled when I captured these two butterflies...One in flight and the other on the Mum...

Painted Lady...she's beautiful too!!

Every day I see different butterflies and caterpillars. The butterflies have been pretty busy and fluttering here and there making it difficult to get a decent photo...but I'll keep trying as soon winter will be here and the butterflies will be gone, sigh!

October 18 Butterflies & Companions Part l

I spent some time out in the yard on the 18th with the Macro lens. It is just unbelievable all the butterflies, caterpillars and bugs that are out and about! I took so many photos I decided to put them in two separate posts!

Enjoy what life looks like in our yard in South Texas!

Gulf Fritillary

Gulf Fritillary

Flys

Unidentified Caterpillar

Pipevine Swallowtail

Unidentified Caterpillar

Ahh My favorite, Peacock Butterfly

Not sure what species of beetle this it but there are a lot of them in the Wild Mums.

Possibly a checkerspot caterpillar but honestly not sure. Still thought it was neat.

Another unidentified caterpillar...I really need to get some better reference books :o)

Michael and I were trying to raise some caterpillars but after a few tries and not having any luck, we gave up!

Red tide...

Michael had asked me last weekend if we could go to the beach...I told him not this weekend and after looking at the TPWD website next weekend doesn't look good either....Sigh!!

October 21, 2009 afternoon
Texas Parks and Wildlife staff were out on the water today in Corpus Christi, Port Mansfield and South Padre Island.
The team working Corpus Christi Bay near Naval Air Station Corpus Christi reported throat irritation and coughing due to the red tide aerosols but saw no discolored water or dead fish.
A second team surveyed the back side of Mustang Island, Packery Channel, the JFK Causeway area and the Upper Laguna Madre along the Intracoastal Waterway. Aerosols were milder than they have been in recent days and no fresh dead fish were found in Packery Channel or along the back side of southern Mustang Island. Some of the homeowners’ canals along the Upper Laguna Madre and near the Whataburger on Padre Island were visited as well; aerosols were found but no fresh dead fish.
The third team was dispatched to the Port Mansfield area. Mild aerosols and stressed gizzard shad were encountered in the lower Laguna Madre near Port Mansfield. A small fish kill was investigated along the northern shore of Mansfield Pass that was comprised of hardhead catfish, mullet, spot croaker, and spotted seatrout. Densities were approximately 30 fish per 15 yards. Large numbers of birds feeding on the dead fish in the pass.
Moderate aerosols and cell counts continue to be found along the South Padre Island beaches and at the windsurfing flats. Many of the fish that were stranded yesterday along the beaches up to the Mansfield Pass appear to have been picked up by the tide and moved south. No fresh dead fish were found along the beaches today.
October 21, 2009
Rangers at Mustang Island State Park report no new fish washing ashore within the fee area. Rough surf is causing mild to moderate aerosols. Discolored water can be seen along the park’s beach, possibly also due to the surf conditions.
Aerosols persist at Padre Island National Seashore.
TPWD biologists are in the Port Mansfield area today investigating reports of fish kills.
Yesterday biologists surveyed a 9-mile portion of the South Padre Island beach north of access road 5 for dead fish. The fish kill was mostly comprised of anchovy, hardhead catfish, Atlantic bumper, Atlantic croaker, and mullet. Seen in smaller numbers were grouper, snapper, jack crevalle, snook and tarpon.

Ducky!!

I went to check out the weather tonight to see what the 10 day forecast was and noticed they had a weather alert for our area...Lovely...Guess I'd best hurry up and get the property shredded as it looks like we might get a wee bit of rain....

Issued by The National Weather ServiceCorpus Christi, TX 3:21 pm CDT, Mon., Oct. 19, 2009
... HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...
A STRONG STORM SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS TEXAS WILL COMBINE WITH ABUNDANT TROPICAL MOISTURE FROM HURRICANE RICK IN THE PACIFIC... AND A COLD FRONT... TO PRODUCE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. RAIN WILL BE ON THE INCREASE BEGINNING WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AS MOISTURE SURGES INTO SOUTH TEXAS AND INTERACTS WITH THE FIRST DISTURBANCE.
DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE FROM RICK WILL MOVE ACROSS SOUTH TEXAS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY AND WILL INTERACT WITH THE COLD FRONT TO PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE COASTAL BEND WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS NEAR 3 INCHES POSSIBLE.
RAIN CHANCES ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE BEHIND THE COLD FRONT THURSDAY NIGHT... THEN WILL DECREASE THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING AS A DRIER AIRMASS FILTERS INTO SOUTH TEXAS.

Rio & Shaggy

I've been having problems with my Cockatiel "Rio"...She's bored and she's plucking herself bald...A bald bird is NOT a pretty sight! She was not hand raised and is not friendly, so I can't take her out and carry her with me. She's a WITCH!! She is aggressive and loves to bite, grrr. I've tried and tried but you get to a point where you've had enough...Rio is Rio and she is who she is and I doubt she'll ever change. She is a beautiful Cockatiel and her coloring is called Latino...She's even prettier when she has all her feathers, lol...I've been buying her treats and toys and moving her cage around the house to no avail...She is lonely and bored.

The other day I was headed out of town and was passing a feedstore that I don't frequent when I realized Julie needed feed, ugh! So I whipped the truck around and went in to the feed store. Upon entering I saw a couple pairs of Cockatiels in some cages. Out of curiosity I went over to take a look. Wow, they were gorgeous! The price was right too. I sat there and watched them for a few minutes. Then went and talked to the sales person. The Cockatiels had just been brought in by a breeder recently. Yes they were hand raised and they were youngsters...I sat there and debated and debated...We didn't really have the funds but we don't have the funds to keep buying Rio toys and treats either...I really liked a small Cocktiel that looked young and was a beautiful Pied color...So I splurged! I thought Fred was going to be a wee bit upset with me, sigh! Not the first time! I arrived home and got the bird settled and isolated in a cage next to Rio's and then called Fred. I figured I might as well get it over with, lol. Well he loves Rio and I honestly think he was glad I got her a companion.

When Michael got home from school he spotted the new bird first off and was so excited. He asked if it was his bird since I already had Rio...Ekkk. I brought a new bird home and now I was losing him, boohoo! I had to agree with Michael I had Rio so I told him yes the new bird is yours. He was was loving it.

He named him Shaggy, ugh!! Yes after Shaggy on Scooby Doo, lol. I'm hoping this bird is a male (fingers crossed). I help Michael and let him take Shaggy out and talk and play with him. Shaggy has been really good with Michael and is a lot more pleasant than Rio is, thank goodness.

Michael had to get the Powershot out and take photos and of course I followed suit with the Rebel...lol. Then he asked me to share the photos with the world...Michaels saying for put them on your blog Mom!

So may I introduce Shaggy to y'all...

Michael's photos of Rio (Yellow-Latino) and Shaggy (Pied).

Michael's photo of Shaggy!



My photos of Rio and Shaggy. If you look closely you can see Rio has no feathers under her wings, sigh!! Hopefully with Shaggy for company Rio will stop plucking her feathers out!!

Shaggy!

As I sit here and write this post Rio and Shaggy are sitting on the top of their cage and chirping back and forth. It's taken some adjustment for Rio having Shaggy in her cage but she's calming down and behaving herself.

Swainsons Hawk

Michael and I had to make a frozen coke run this afternoon and I spotted this Extremely LARGE Hawk sitting on the electric post at the beginning of the driveway when we returned. I had the Canon Powershot in the truck but I honestly didn't think he'd sit there while I stopped and pulled the camera out but he did...Sheesh he was big!! Absolutely gorgeous too! I just hope he doesn't go after our chickens, eeek...I'm glad I had the powershot in the truck but really wished I had had the Rebel Xti and the telephoto lens just to see if the photos would have been better.