Ruby Tuesday

Folks I'd like you to meet Matilda ( Tillie). She is one of my Bantam Silkie chickens, and is the mom of Tweetie the orphan chick I raised in our basement. This gal weighs less than a pound, and has an attitude 4 times as much. A good egg layer she is, but a good mom she isn't. She will sit on her eggs, hatch them out, then abandon them. Hence the orphan chick we had in our basement, and by the way he is getting cuter every day.
Happy Ruby Tuesday, and if you will click on over to Mary/the teachs' site http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com you can see lots more images with RED.

Macro Monday

Wild Blackberries are plentiful this year.
Happy Macro Monday everyone.
If you want to see more closeup images, click on http://lisaschaos.com/ .

This and That

My walks on the trails lately have been a bit shortened. The mosquitoes have been so persistent and really feisty! No matter how much spray you use they still harass you till you finally say OK, I give up and head back to the house.
I did spot this pretty Bluejay feather laying on the ground. This is a female Alfalfa( Orange) Sulphur Butterfly on Joe Pye Weed.

Another one in the grass.

Lots of tiny flowers on Spearmint. Sometimes I use a "brush"
made from a bunch of spearmint leaves dipped in melted butter then brushed over grilled chicken as it cooks. So delicious.

I never took a close look at a spent Queen Anne's Lace. There is lots of detail.

Down on the creek trail is this tall group of dried hay grass.

As usual, the Wild Cucumber flowers are everywhere.

I have a Fairy Rose plant that is now doing well since the Japanese beetles have almost disappeared. These flowers are about the size of a quarter.

Last Thursday we took a ride to Chautauqua Lake and way out on the water I spotted this Double Crested Cormorant along with 3 others. Not such a good picture, but I don't see these very often, so you have to take what you can get while you can..

More hot weather, but the humidity is lower. Wonderful!

Have a super and restful Sunday.

Weekend Reflections

Passing by a door window, I just had to take this shot of the older looking store fronts across the street.
Happy Week-end Reflections everybody, and if you click on over to James' site http://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com you can see lots more reflections.

Skywatch Friday

We've had plenty of these threatening clouds lately, but very little rain. There was a large flock of Turkey Vultures circling above too looking for a meal. If you look closely, you can see a partial halo around the sun.
Happy Skywatch Friday, and thanks to all who help with this meme. Click on http://skyley.blogspot.com/ to see more sky shots.

Hot and Steamy

Dropping by the feeders this morning was a flock of juvenile Blue jays. They sound so funny with their crackling calls, and they seem to like all the suet I have put out for the woodpeckers. Out on the trail I see the Teasels are plenty this summer.

A wild Aster, but I don't know which one, because there are so many. A surprise when I uploaded the picture is this cute little green bug in the lower right hand corner. Of course my name is right over it... Sorry

These tiny flowers are beginning to show up everywhere, and they are called Virgin's Bower, a member of the Buttercup family also known as the Old Man's Beard.

More Asters.

I noticed while I was on the trail a large flock of Turkey Vultures circling way up high searching for something dead no doubt.

Speaking about the trail, a neighbor from up the road has begun clearing some ground up past the end of our property down on the creek edge but on the opposite side. When I was down there this afternoon he was there operating a dozer, and scared away all the wildlife. I can't actually see him from the trail, but the noise chases away anything in the area. Guess I'll have to take my walks earlier.

These Glads are in full bloom now too. I only have a few white ones.

Guess that's about all for today. More heat and humidity in store. We stacked a little wood this morning before the heat got to us, and I'm going to can a few tomatoes from the garden tomorrow. They ripen at different times, so I'll do a little at a time.

Of deer, ducks, and birds

All these images except the first one were taken at home. This buck happened to raise his head for a picture as we drove home from a train watching day. Those antlers are covered with "velvet" Down on the creek trail I was just about to head back to the house when I heard a splashing noise in the water. This doe and fawn had come down for a drink. The flies were really bothering them, and the fawn kept jumping and kicking as it ran through the water.

Back at the house the House Sparrows are still at it. Feeding these big babies. They all are very capable of taking care of themselves.

I saw this Great Blue Heron too, so I felt excited that this one didn't fly away , and when he did move it wasn't very far from his original resting spot.

This says it all. "Don't take my picture!"

Shooting into the sun

This afternoon in the same area I saw these 2 immature female Wood ducks. They didn't fly away either, and I think they did see me.

Folks, it's another hot and humid day. According to the weather guys, 5 more days of the same in store. We're beginning to stack wood, but only work a short time during the morning when it is cooler. One thing, the sweet corn has been fabulous!