Ahh how I love to walk in the wildflowers...

I'm not going to comment but I never made it over to the in-laws ranch Sunday...But I did manage to take a walk on our property and I am glad as there were wildflowers all over....Of course some were quiet small and I really had to pay attention, where others were quiet obvious!

When I got to the back 2 acres of our property the field was covered in White Prickly Poppies...just beautiful!

Every time I see the white prickly poppies I smile...as I remember a time when my Mother was visiting and they were in full bloom...As we were driving she asked me to stop and pick some...I told her I didn't think so...They are called white prickly poppies for a reason...I showed her the flowers and she understood...it would be like picking thistles or thorns...Nope Not me...You have to understand from the time my sister and I were little our Mother was always stopping along side the road to either pick wildflowers or dig them up to transplant into the flower beds at home, this was one time my Mother was NOT going to get her flowers!!

Shrubby Water Primrose

Huisache Daisy (Butterfly Daisy).

White Top Sedge

Scarlet Pimpernel

Phacelia (Blue curls, spiderflower, wild heliotrope)

Spiderwort...

I thought it was a pretty assortment of wildflowers...You honestly never realize how many different wildflowers there are until you get out there and start looking around...some aren't as obvious as others...to me it is like a scavenger hunt with my camera!

I think I am caught up with my photos for the time being...whew! I've downloaded some pretty digital scrap papers from Jen's website and I am looking forward to putting them to good use....if you'd like to take a look at Jen's blog click here...She has a really nice blog with lots of photos and scrap ideas and materials too...

I hope y'all have a great week and thank you for stopping by :o)

Friday, April 17 2009 ~ Wildflowers in the Pasture

It was almost dark Friday evening and I needed some photo therapy...I was headed out the door when I was told we had company coming over, ugh!! So I put the camera down and hurried through the house, picking things up and cleaning...Our company never showed up, sigh and I had a few minutes before dark so I literally ran down the driveway to where I had seen some prickly pear cacti blooming...There was actually a bunch of flowers blooming...I used the Macro lens and the ring flash...

Coral Bean (Cherokee Bean), Perennial Shrub....

it reminds me of little red swords...

The different stages of a bloom on a Prickly Pear Cactus...

Above and Below are Bush Pea (Yellow Wisteria) blooms.

I was playing with the Macro and ring flash as it was pretty darn dark while I was attempting photos and the wind was blowing pretty hard too!

I loved this prickly pair cactus bloom...it looked like a rose...

Critters and Bugs from the Sunday Photo shoot...

I parked at the front of the property and walked to the back and spotted a bunch of does taking a siesta under a tree...By the time I had the camera up there was only two left...I love seeing the deer and watching them...Of course they don't like seeing me, lol...

Bee on a blossom.

Damselfly at the creek.


Hoovering Texas Long-legged fly and Bee Fly on Blossom...I didn't see I had captured the hoovering fly until I brought the photo up on the computer, cool!

Bee fly on blossom.

I found a Hawthorne tree in bloom and it was covered in Bees, Wasps, and Hornets...too Sweet!

A hornet or wasp on Hawthorne bloom.

Honey Bee on Hawthorne bloom.

The wind picked up and I was not having much luck so that is all the bugs and critters I took photos of...

Birds, Birds, Birds....

I've been taking bird photos the past week just haven't had time to edit them...plus I had to look up a few too as I didn't have a clue as to what they were...

Wednesday, April 14 2009

I'm pretty sure this is a female Oriole, now as to what type of Oriole I am not sure....I am thinking maybe a Scotts Oriole female...I was walking in the pasture and saw her in the tippy top of a tree...she was not making a sound but just sitting there....I didn't see the male and she sat there for a bit while I walked around taking photos of her...good bird! Now to bad she didn't fly down and sit a bit closer to the ground, lol....

Buff Bellied Humming bird at one of my feeders...I loved how I captured the wing in mid-beat.

Sunday, April 19, 2009 Coleto Creek

This is a Green Heron. I spotted him down to the creek Sunday. I just took the camera and no tripod or equipment so I could sneak down to the creek and get some photos before the birds flew off...I also saw a Great Horned Owl, he flew off before I could get a photo and I saw a hawk...but he flew off too...

As I was watching the Heron the Green Kingfisher pair came and chewed me out...I was able to get a few photos of the female. She wasn't in my direct line of view and I didn't want to move too much and scare her off...I am thinking they have a nest in that area of the creek. I am hoping it was high enough up on the bank that it did not get flooded out...They burrow in the creek banks and build their nest in the burrows...I wish it wasn't so dark down by the creek so my photos would come out better...I know it would help using the tripod but that also scares the birds off...

Sunday, April 19 2009 at the House.

Sunday evening at the house I sat outside and laughed at the hummingbirds...They are in full migration and the males are fighting....I watched one pair go straight up in the sky battling and then all of a sudden they came right straight down on top of my head...I just about hit the ground...silly birds....They sound like miniature fighter jets the way they whip through the air

This Buff-Bellied Hummer is the one that came in a month or two ago...I can tell as his beak looks as if it was broke...it's healing and looks much better...Do you remember him Mom?

The ruby-throat hummer below has been named Lazy...he likes to sit on the Aloe stems and feed on the Aloe blooms...No flying for this guy, he'd rather sit and eat!

I was trying to catch the throat colors of the ruby throat hummers...not an easy thing to do as these little guys are quick!!

We have the buff-bellied Hummers, Ruby-throat and Black chinned...it's hard to tell the Ruby-throats and Black chinned apart...I'm hoping to get a photo of the Black-chinned Hummers as soon as the hummers settle down a bit...

Thanks for stopping by...stay tuned as I have more wildflower, bugs, and critter photos coming soon....

Coleto Creek...

Yesterday (Sunday) I went down to Coleto Creek and took some photos...It was beautiful and I got some great photos....

The creek looking East...

It was crystal clear and you could see the sunfish/bluegill nest....
Then today I went back down to do some work on the property and WOW!!!
In 24 hours quiet a change...we didn't get much rain Saturday but they did West of us...can you tell....

It's a muddy swollen Creek....I couldn't stand where I stood on Sunday to take a photo as it was under about 3 ft of water...it's just amazing that it rained upriver Saturday...and it didn't get here until Sunday/Monday night...what a mess...


This is the gravel/sand bar that normally only has water flowing on one side, now it has water surrounding it...and the kids pool that is normally ankle to knee deep is 3 to 4 ft deep...it is supposed to crest tomorrow and then go down...Amazing the power of WATER!!

~Michael and Julie~

There are a few photos that I have taken over the years that stand out in my memory....

The above photo was taken yesterday and I was truly amazed when I saw it....

It's my son feeding Julie bird a carrot....I love how that one little carrot captures the attention of both of them....they are both so intent on that one little carrot and didn't even notice me!! YES!!

It's a priceless moment and I captured it!!

Julie will be 22 on May 5th and she looks so good for her age...I hope we have many more years with her and I am glad Michael is able to share her with me...She's been a good horse and we love her...

On another note...

I am going on 72 hrs without a cig...YES!! I've had my moments but feel pretty good so far...I've been avoiding the activities that trigger my urge for a cig...one of them being...talking on the phone...Sorry Mom, but be patient with me! If I am able, I try to sleep as much as possible or stay busy, busy, busy...I've taken quiet a few nature photos last week but haven't had a chance to edit them...soon I hope!! Thank y'all for your support, it means a lot to me...and I will do this!!

If y'all have been reading the news there has been some flash flooding in the area....Not in our general area, so we are okay...but there have reports of 4 inches or more all around us...It seems most of the rain has gone North or South of us...My rain gauge happened to get turned sideways in the first wave of rain and wind so I do Not have an accurate count of how much rain we received...I would guess maybe a little over 1/2 an inch...Not much, but better than none...

I am off to the in-laws ranch for some photo therapy...Y'all have a good rest of your weekend and a beautiful start to your week!!

Visitors...

Jeremy and Kathy brought the kids over Saturday evening and we got to spend some time with the newest member of their family, J.J..

It was so nice to have them over for a visit...and Grandma got to play with the camera and the kids...Yea!!

Jeremy has a fetish for a camouflage outfit and I obliged by taking photos of J.J. in it for him...but the photo I enjoyed the most from the photo shoot was the little feets...

J.J. was such a good little one...We set him up in one of the recliner chairs and he sat there like he owned it...he was perfectly happy and content and didn't mind one bit sitting there by himself...

Grandpa was enjoying cuddle time with J.J.

Kathy with her daughter Lexi

I think Dad is totally in love with his son!

Michael and Nina coloring...

Nina is Kathy's oldest daughter. Michael and her got along really well and enjoyed playing together.

J.J. watching Grandpa...

YeeHaw!!

I had forgot about this little cowboy hat Michael had...Jeremy found it in the back bedroom and we all got a good chuckle out of J.J. wearing it...He's so sweet!!

We we really enjoyed the visit and spending time with the Grandkids!!