Skywatch Friday

Last evening we had a beautiful clear sky, and I took advantage by shooting the waxing gibbous moon.
To see more sky shots, click on over to http://skyley.blogspot.com.
Happy weekend!

It's Thursday

This shot was supposed to be last, and I don't know how it got here, but I was taking pictures yesterday in a muddy drainage ditch by the railroad tracks and found these tiny polliwogs( Tadpoles). Not sure what kind of toad/frog they are from, but they are pretty small and fairly young since they don't even have their legs yet..I'm thinking they might be from Tree frogs/ most folks know them as Spring Peepers.
Have a wonderful day. I'm going to finish planting my garden today. It is much cooler here and that makes for a much more enjoyable time working outside.

We had a beautiful day for watching trains yesterday. These Canadian Pacific locomotives rolled by around noon pulling a very long freight train. We don't see Canadian Pacific locos very often, so I was ready with my camera.

Along side of the railroad tracks is usually a muddy ditch. Here are some of the goodies I found in and around that ditch..
The Daisies are in full bloom as are the red Clover..

I got lots of shots of this Angle wing butterfly too. He was flitting here and there, but always came back to the same spot. Right on the  mud.

Yellow Vetch grows close to the ground.

I really don't know what this is, but I liked the shape and the green and red colors. Again something growing along side of this muddy ditch.

World Bird Wednesday

I don't often get a chance to photograph a Gray Catbird, so I was a bit excited when this one showed up next to this building one day when we stopped for lunch. It stayed for a while so I could get pictures. I have them around our property, but they never are cooperative and hide mostly in the trees..
To see more birds click on over to http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com, and you can see what Springman has to offer.

Barn Charm

This is a newer barn on a dirt road not too far from our home. I watched them build it occasionally in the past two years, when we drove by, and at first I thought it was a home, but if you look in the front door, you'll see an empty hay wagon. No pasture near by, and no animals to be seen. Not sure what is going on here. Maybe they ran out of money.
To see more barns, click on http://bluffareadaily.blogspot.com/

Memorial Day

Remember them on this their special day, and all they gave to keep us safe.

Sunday

These pictures I took last week on the trail that goes along side of French Creek behind our home. I wasn't able to get down there much last Spring because the great amount of rain we had that raised the level of the creek so high the trail was under water a good deal of the Spring and summer. This year just the opposite has happened, and now that our son has gone down there and mowed everything ( bless his heart) , it is once a again beautiful walk. I'm only including shots from the creek trail, and will post some from the other two trails soon. Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Memorial Day to all.

Weekend Reflections

It's Saturday again and time for reflections. We traveled to my home town of Warren, Pennsylvania last week, and I remember when the steam trains used to carry passengers and freight many times a day over this bridge. I also remember before the era of automated crossing signals, at the area where the tracks cross the road, whenever a train would approach a little man would walk out from his small building and stop all the traffic till the train passed by. Now, this is all gone and maybe one freight train, pulled by a diesel engine, a day goes through this town and the once beautiful elegant railroad station has been torn down. A sad story all too often seen across this great country.
To see more reflections, do click on over to http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com

It's Thursday

Back at the Malek park in Conneaut, Ohio you can see several Canada geese resting in the shade. It was a very hot day.

I found this Bullfrog sitting on the shore of one of the ponds. There is a small piece of Duckweed behind his left eye that looks somewhat like a heart.

Mr. Baltimore oriole in the foreground, and Mr. orchard oriole in the back.

A closer shot of the Orchard oriole. He is so dark. and always sits on this side of the feeder in the shade.

Mrs. Baltimore oriole.

There seems to be an unusual high number of Spittle bugs this year.
Spittlebug, common name for members of a family of plant-feeding insects, the nymphs of which cover themselves with a protective frothy material that looks like human spittle. Spittlebugs, like their relatives the aphids and cicadas, suck plant juices with their needlelike mouthparts. Although the bugs' feeding can distort or stunt herbaceous plants, they are generally harmless. Nymphs and their spittle can be washed off of plants with a forceful stream of water. About 850 species of spittlebugs are known worldwide, and 23 species are distributed throughout North America. They can be found on a variety of plants. Copied from the Internet.

We have lots of wild Phlox too. They attract plenty of butterflies, but on this day I didn't see any.. Just so beautiful.
We're in for a week of very hot temps. It will be a busy holiday on the roads and at the beaches on the area lakes.

World Bird Wednesday

On Monday we visited this cool little park in Conneaut, Ohio. They have a walking trail with lots and lots of shrubs, beautiful flowers, and trees all planted in memory of a family member. There are two ponds too complete with plenty of Canada geese. I only saw the three goslings and this bunch came over to us as soon as we got there looking for a handout. As soon as they discovered we had nothing they swam away.
Click on over to http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com to see lots more birds.

Barn Charm

We don't have alot of really big farms around our area, but this one is an exception. There is some serious farming going on here.
If you want to see more great barns click on over to http://http://bluffareadaily.blogspot.com/ 

Macro Monday

It's time for Macro Monday again, and my Rhododendron bush is nearly in full bloom about 2 weeks early this week. The Bees are here in great number too.
Have a wonderful day, and if you want to see more close-ups click on over to http://lisaschaos.com

Sunday

I have been filling this peanut feeder twice a day, and these guys have been getting more than enough to eat believe me.

This Grackle looks a bit angry don't you think. At least this keeps them off my other feeders.

Walking the dog the other evening I saw a couple Barn swallows sitting on this wire. We have had a family that built a nest on the driveway light up over our garage, but I see there is a hornets nest up there this year, and we'd better remove it before it gets any bigger. So far the swallows haven't been back.

The Tree swallows have decided that the big gourd hanging on the end of my clothes pole might just be what they are looking for to raise their family this year.. They don't especially like it when I hang out clothes, but that's OK, they'll get used to it.

Somehow this orange Azalea escaped the frost we had last week, and is going to be beautiful. We did lose almost all of the apple blossoms though.

Last but not least I still have a pair of Titmice that come every day to feed. Last year the raccoons raided their nest, and they chose another site this Spring, but I haven't found it.
Have a wonderful day all.

Weekend Reflections

Taking a ride around the peninsula on Lake Erie we drove past the area where all the house boats reside. The water was very still and it made for a cool reflection.
We have been blessed with beautiful weather this week, and summer like temperatures.
To see more reflections, just click on over to http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com

Skywatch Friday

Last Saturday while watching my granddaughter play baseball, I noticed this halo around the sun. Caused by sunlight or moonlight being diffracted as it passes through cirrostratus clouds that are usually at altitudes above 20,000 feet. Cirrostratus clouds are composed mostly of small ice crystals that spread out into a thin layer. They are sheet-like, and the sun and moon can be seen through them easily.
Click on over to http://skyley.blogspot.com to see lots more sky shots.