An Amazing End to a Day

Nature never ceases to amaze me. This year I seem to be particularily blessed for taking time to smell the roses. Or maybe I am just taking more moments to actually notice them and enjoy the simplier things.

Tonight was no exception. There is a spot we've been going to see Great Blue Herons - one of my favorite creatures. We went this evening to see how many there would be and to see if we could find any new shorebirds.

This location is smack dab in the middle of farm country. Some digging to sell dirt, some broken tile, and nature creates a pond where a farmable field once was. The saying "build it and they will come" is very fitting here. The birds didn't miss a chance to take over the property. I have witnessed many common birds here as well as some new ones for me. The most fantastic has been a Bald Eagle. But, he's a story I should have told a month ago (I'll catch up sometime and post the pics.)

Tonight, even with storms and rain threatening - my sister and I decided to drive to this area and take a chance. If definitely paid off. Upon pulling up we notice 5 heron in the water. Then, continuing looking count a total of 17 in the area. This is a new record for us for this location.
I take pictures of different birds, enjoy the peace of this area. My sister is checking things out. This goes on for about 45 minutes. We spot some new shorebirds (neither of us thought to bring our books - so couldn't identify them there - still working on that).

(Possibly a Short-billed Dowitcher?)

It sprinkles on us a time or two. Then, around 8:30 / 8:40 the sun comes out and makes for a beautiful sunset.

A few minutes later we notice the start of a rainbow, then notice the far end, then the middle develops. It gets brighter after awhile. Then, a faint second rainbow forms partially above the first. Absolutely beautiful. And amazing to see the full rainbow from one location.

Just when I thought things couldn't get more beautiful... a flock of birds comes over the far trees and towards the pond. They fly beneath the arch of the rainbow, towards us, and then to the far end of the pond. Great blue herons - I counted 46!!! I was amazed. A few landed but most flew on. A few minutes pass and 5 more heron arrive followed a few minutes later by a final straggler. WOW!!Each of these black specks is a heron. Absolutely fascinating. So wonderful to see and hear; as they were a vocal bunch.

I returned home with a big smile! Very happy. And thrilled to have captured it on camera.

Spring is Almost Here

With spring comes spring cleaning. My list will probably take all season to complete. Plans are to not only clean, but to rearrange and better utilize the space I have

I am two weekends into my project. So far I have assembled a Sauder wardrobe for my bedroom...
tore down a partition wall....

and painted my spare room....

The spare room is going to be my new arts and craft room with some storage on the side. I do my rubber stamp carving using a drafting table. I set it at the window with the best lighting. I can't wait to get the rest of this room in order so I can relax and carve a stamp.

Slowly it is all coming together. It's exciting to see it change and progress.

Happy Spring Cleaning!!

Let it Snow

Never post this sign in your yard unless you mean it....

We've had 20 1/2 inches of snow in the last 11 days. Not much has melted because we haven't had our temperature above freezing. Now we are getting more snow. So far 3 more inches. Still snowing.

Hoar Frost / Winter Wonderland

This morning in west central Ohio - we woke up to a Winter Wonderland. A beautiful frost had formed on everything.

And I mean everything...I have a stucco home - frost crystals had formed on areas of the walls - particularily on the corners

Even the grass has ice crystals formed to one side

Per Wikipedia ---

"Radiation frost (also called hoar frost or hoarfrost) refers to the white ice crystals, loosely deposited on the ground or exposed objects, that form on cold clear nights when heat losses into the open skies cause objects to become colder than the surrounding air.

Hoar frost may have different names depending on where it forms. For example, air hoar is a deposit of hoar frost on objects above the surface, such as tree branches, plant stems, wires; surface hoar is formed by fernlike ice crystals directly deposited on snow, ice or already frozen surfaces; crevasse hoar consists in crystals that form in glacial crevasses where water vapour can accumulate under calm weather conditions; depth hoar refers to cup shaped, faceted crystals formed within dry snow, beneath the surface."

The following pictures were taken in our City Park. The next few are of our swinging bridge over a creek.

The frost lasted longer than I expected this morning. Probably until about noon. It was a beautiful morning in a lovely Winter Wonderland.

Carvings - My Latest

I had such a busy weekend that after work today I wanted a quiet evening. The end result is a new carving - a hand carved rubber stamp. I had an image set back needed for an LTC I am going to be making titled Ice Dragon.





Following is the result of this evenings work....

Stamped in black he looks fierce. For my LTC I am going to sample different whites and glitters - to get an ice effect. Should turn out pretty cool.

Monarch Butterfly - A Birth Day

This morning - flashlight in hand - I checked on my cocoon to see if there was any change. Didn't look any different than it had from the night before. I knew we had to be getting close. Today makes 3 weeks of being cocooned. Unfortunately, I had to work today.

But, fortunately - my husband only worked a half day. He came home a little after 2:00 to the following sight ---

The Monarch had hatched and he'd missed capturing it probably by minutes.

Why the caterpillar chose to nest on the underside of the carport I'll never know. The poor butterfly had trouble keeping a grip and finally fell to the gravel below.

Knowing that the butterfly shouldn't be touched - my husband used a stick for the butterfly to crawl onto so he could move him to a safer location.

The trellis on the fence was the perfect spot - full sunshine and far enough off the ground for the butterfly to be comfortable.

Sunning - trying to get blood flow into wings and get warm enough to fly.

It's a boy! Notice the black dots on the lower set of wings. Males have them - females don't.

About 4:15, after climbing higher on the trellis - the Monarch took off in flight and went next door to the neighbors tree.

All that is left of our winged little friend....

Happy Birthday Monarch Butterfly. Safe travels.

Monarch Caterpillar - Patience

As you can see we STILL haven't birthed a butterfly. This picture was taken yesterday. The cocoon is looking black - due to the black wings and body of the butterfly.

I was thinking it'd be a few days ago. I've done more researching and it looks like I was just getting antsy. The cocoon has to be completely clear. Yesterday it was close. Today it looks like it is. I have been taking pictures throughout the day because the cocoon keeps changing.

This morning the cocoon was completely clear.

After a few hours - late morning I noticed a creasing in one of the "seams".

Just a bit ago I noticed creasing in the seam above this one. It's almost 1 in the afternoon. Today would be a perfect day for a butterfly birth - as I'll be home the rest of the day to watch and capture some images.

I don't believe I'll get anything done today other than looking out the back window.