red poppies and tulips for Ruby Tuesday

While here in the east my red poppies are starting to open after being bathed in thewarm, sunny, sun each day. It has been a different experience for these red tulips shown below. It was a snow bathing they received on this weekend past at my brother Roger's place in Airdrie, Alberta.It is safe to say that I prefer living in the East. Great picture Roger. Lets hope you don't have the opportunity to take many more like it. (ie: snow!)





Happy Ruby Tuesday to all. Ruby Tuesday http://work of the poet.blogspot.com/ is a meme hosted by Mary, the Teach, that celebrates red. To see more contributions to this meme or to share your own red for
Ruby Tuesday please click on the url for Ruby Tuesday on this page .

A few yellow things for Mellow Yellow Monday

above, yellow pond lilies in a pond. please click to enlarge to enjoy its beauty more.

In the top photo we have a glimpse of the setting sun's rays at the end of a beautiful day.

I caught this Swallowtail butterfly just as it was pushing off from having been feeding on this lilac blossom. Below is a Rosy Maple Moth

which I found clinging on my house unnder our outdoor light by our doorstep yesterday morning.  I found 12 of them!. I was surprised at finding so msny at the one location.  We have  a few silver Maple trees and apparently that is their vegetation of choice.  The soft mellow yellon on this mot'h's head and under body make it a very attractive creature! as you can see from the pictures below. Having found 12 of them at my house I was not really surprised to find over 100 clinging on the public building across the street from our house.  I have seen many at this location before.  I guess its their season!

Happy Monday to all. To view a wonderful variety of yellow-themed photos from other bloggers around the world, just click on the link below
mellow yellow

Wild Lily of the Valley Shadows for Shadow Shot Sunday

Looking at the full Moon!

If  you click on the picture above to enlarge it you might think you see two witches on their brooms flying across the night sky.  This is the sort of result you might get when you take pictures of the moon on a windy evening through trees with their leaves all in motion  You never know what you might see if you put your imagination to work.!!

Lilacs and swallowtail butterflies for CameraCritters

FRom swallows to swallowtail butterflies.  This is a moment I wait for each year as soon as our Lilacs come into bloom.I love to see the Swallowtail butterflies feeding on the Lilacs Also this year I have

seen Red Admiral butterflies feeding there.  How beautiful they all are, the Swallowtails and the Red Admirals.

Critters is a meme that features critters, any kind, any size. To see more of this meme please click on the CC logo which can be found on the right sidebar on this page or pleaseclick here.http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

about my header photo above.

HAPPY IN MUD

IN THEIR MANSION IN THE EAVES

CLIFF SWALLOW LOVE.

Cliff swallows build their nest from mud pellets gathered in a mud puddle. I have watched them do this.  They return to this same location each year.  You can see the outline of their nest built here previous years which had been removed by the building owners.  This nest was built new this year.

Our green world for Green Thursday.

 This beautifual green background serves as home to many of nature's fascinating creatures. in this case a tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird seen here at its favourite perch in our bird feeding area ,which we have named Bird Alley. Our bird visitors are down this year in numbers and variety.  It is so important to keep the world green for their survival and existence. A Happy Thursday to all enjoying our great green outdoors today.

My Nature Finds for Outdoor Wednesday

Another bird visitor today in Bird Alley .  A Grey Catbird.  It didn't show up until late afternoon a little after 5 pm.  It is the same bird that was here yesterday morning I think. Its appearance looks as if it may have been ruffed up a bit at the back of its neck as a fluff of feathers look a bit noticeable there. That is not a common characteristic of a Grey Catbird.

Hoping to find the elusive Spotted Sandpiper I drove to the river early this morning, before most everyone was up, but the mosquitoes were.  I think the overnight rain increased their ferocity.  ouch!  I haven't seen the spotted sandpiper recently, but I did see

an Eagle on the opposite shore this morning.  I think the flash on my camera alerted it to my presence and it flew away downriver..

  Their are lots of dead gaspereau floating back down the river providing food for scavengers.
My most recent observations have been of wildflowers.  Most noticeable are

patches of wild Lily of the Valley.  This is such a delicate looking little plant.

I think the entire out of doors is covered by these

I

white fluffy globes of Dabdelions going to seed.  I find them very attractive and photogenic I ejoy taking pictures of them..
Also coming intobloom increasingly more each day are

these Lupines above.  Soon they will be everywhere sharing their beauty with the roadsides and fields and meadows and hillsides. And not to forget my flower garden, soon my large poppies will be opening .  This one shown here is already beginning to show some of its red glory enclosed in this

tightly packed poppy bud shown above
 It is going to be another glorious day today in the beautiful outdoors.

  The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds continue with their constant feeding outside our windows.

Outdoor Wednesday found at  http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ is a delightful meme that invites you to share the outdoors with others. The theme encompasses the outdoors, a topic within the theme of your choosing. to learn more of this meme or to share your view of the outdoors please click on the 'outdoor Wednesday' logo on the right of this page. Happy Wednesday outoor gathering to all

Today's nature experiences

This female Ruby-throated Hummingbird came and perched in front of my window as I was having my morning coffee.  It stayed, and stayed and stayed.  Also while there a male hummingbirdwith its red throat came to feed from one of the feeders there.  and a beautiful gentle looking Gray Catbird stopped by for a visit.  I didn't get a picture of the gray Catbird but it will probably be back.  We have a large amount of wild Rose bushes that Catbirds favour and one year a pair nested there. We could hear their" meows" all that summer in our garden as the catbirds perched on our fence daily I hope each year that we will have a nesting pair again. And speaking of nesting pairs we have a pair of Cliff swallows directly across the street from our placeThis picture below of them both in the nest side by side

was taken yesterday morning.   Today my goal is to get a picture of a Spotted Sandpiper which I saw by the river on Friday.   I haven't seen them there since, maybe this mornning.. Now I'm off to find the Sandpipers and who knows what else?

A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird for Ruby Tuesday

If you double click on this picture you can see the red bib of this male hummingbird in more detail.  It looks like a layering of scales.  The female Ruby=throated Hummingbird (as seen in the headert above does not have any red at its throat. The photo of the male hummingbird was taken a few years ago . This little bird was picked up from the street where my neighbour had found it lying.  We assumed it perhaps had encpuntered a car and so waslying stunned on the road.  We could see that it was still breathing and so our neighbour lay it on the edge of our birdbath birdbath until it recovered and flew away, restored to good health after its mishap and that is how I got such a good closeup.

Happy Ruby Tuesday to all. Ruby Tuesday is a meme hosted by Mary, the Teach, that celebrates red. To see more contributions to this meme or to share your own red for
Ruby Tuesday please click on the HIGHLIGHTEDRuby Tuesdaywords on this page .

yellow wildflowers for Mellow Yellow Monday

These two yellow petaled wildflowers are growing in my yard.  the first is an old childhood favourite a Buttercup,often used to determine if I liked butter or not.  Remember? , a friend held it up to your neck and if the buttercup created a yellow shadow, then, yes, you liked butter.  I think that is how it used to go. Isn't this blossom beautiful? It is so shiny its as if it were shellacked! Buttercups seem to be early this year, and they seem to be so fat and lustrous.  The second yellow wildflower, shown above, Yellow Wood Sorrel. always grows in the same flower bed each year.The many clumps of heart shaped leaves tell me there are many more blossoms to come of this Yellow Wood Sorrel wildflower. This is s tiny, lovely, 5 petal  flower that decorates my flower bed..

Happy Monday to all. To view a wonderful variety of yellow-themed photos from other bloggers around the world, just click on the link below
mellow yellow

Star flowers everywhere

I went for a walk this morning in a stand of old Pines trees locally known as, yes, you guessed it, "The Pines."  The forest floor of the Pines is covered with Pine needles and old leaves, and wildflowers.  Today I found many beautiful Star Flowers there!

  My walk was accompanied with the cheerful sounds of warblers playing their tatalizing games of" hide from the camera." The air was filled with fragrance from the many wild trees sharing their beautiful blossoms like this wild apple tree growing from the hillside by the river.

And what can be more beautiful than the bountiful presence of dandelions in their many stages of growth and regeneration?

It is a wonderful day today.  Me and my camera plan on spending a lot of it outdoors.  maybe I can catch some of those elusive yellow butterflies.  I hope so. Have a great day everyone!

Reflections of Woodstock, NB for Weekend Reflections

The town of Woodstock, New Brunswick is reflected so prettily in the Upper Sint John River in Carleton County.
Weekend Reflectionshttp://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com/:is a meme where you can view beautiful reflections captured by others. Just click on the logo on the right to see what others have captured with their cameras. Today promises to be a fine sunny one, I hope you fare as well with your weekend weather.

Looking Around Outdoors.

I discovered on my evening walk that a Cliff Swallow has built its home and taken up residence in it across the street from me.  You can see  the mud outline above its nest the remnants of last year's nest.Usually they also build around the corner of thebuilding.  The old nest at that location was taken down last fall by the owners of the building after it was vacated.  I shall have to watch there for their rebuilding.  They are quite industrious birds building their nest of mud  layered together one row on top of each other.                                           

I also found quite a springy , green grasshopper on the railroad ties as I was walking alongside the rail tracks

 

I also noticed that the Lupines are beginning to come into bloom.  Soon the gully between the railroad tracks and the parking lot above will be full of their colourful spikes.  There is so much to check up on and see. I shall have to retrace this walk early tomorrow morning.  Until then.  Ann. 

Flowering Trees for Outdoor Wednesday

Its that time of year again when our backyard trees just ooze beauty, fragrance and pollen!  The pollen gives me allergy problems, but the beauty  is so spirit uplifting. Above is my most favourite.  We just bought this tree last year and have been awaiting its remembered beauty all winter long..  Its an ornamental flowering Japanese Cherry and is very beautiful in its pink softness.
Another ornamental tree is our flowering crabapple.  We have three of these, one of which is a weeping variety.  They are just coming into blossom now and their beauty is unparalleled in our backyard..

Annother prennenial favourite is the Llac.  Ours are about in mid-bloom right now.Soon they will be decorated with feeding Swallowtail butterflies which it attracts in numbers each year.

 To more cherry species are sharing their blossoms in our back yard.  An old favourite of mine which we have had for several yaers now is this Purple Sand Cherry.

 

And this last cherry though not least in its beauty will bear luscious beautiful looking fruit, tho not so great tasting as it is a sour Cherry and the birds devour them as soon as they ripen.

Bordering our property are a line of Apple trees belonging to our neighbour.  Each year it is a treat to watch Cedar Waxwings eating the blossom petals.  Although the blossoms are blooming now, I haven't seen any waxwings feasting there yet this year.

Outdoor Wednesday http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ is a delightful meme that invites you to share the outdoors with others. The theme encompasses the outdoors, a topic within the theme of your choosing. to learn more of this meme or to share your view of the outdoors please click on the 'outdoor Wednesday' logo on the right of this page. Happy Wednesday outoor gathering to all