Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Up Into the Willow

I took this shot yesterday. I aimed the camera up into the willow tree in our backyard. Pretty neat perspective with the wide angle lens.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Great news! Our tree swallow couple found the new bird house this afternoon. So far so good. No conflicts between the tree swallows and the bluebirds :0) I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

A bluebird couple have taken up residence in one of our back yard bird houses. We think their eggs have hatched because we found remnants of blue egg shells near their nest. Also, the male and female were bringing insects to the bird house. I've read that blue birds can lay up to three clutches of eggs in a season. We're still waiting for our tree swallows to start nesting in another box we put up. The bluebirds and tree swallows have been fighting for territory over the past month and we're hoping now that the bluebirds have babies to take care of, the tree swallows can start nesting. One good sign, I noticed the female tree swallow checking out the other bird house this afternoon. Stay tuned!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Jessie cat is enjoying her "lion cut." She's had it for almost a month now and I bet her fur isn't an inch long where it was shaved. I hope the cut lasts through the summer months. It's so much easier for her to take care of and it's so soft.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Friday, April 19, 2013

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The led light I was using for this light painting was a little brighter than I intended. So bright that you can see me to the side of the tree doing my thing. By the look on my face, you can tell I'm really into it :0)

Sunday, April 14, 2013

I did these two light paintings in the cemetery behind our house. The orange cast in the first picture is what they call "light pollution." Gives the picture an eerie look.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The battle of the bluebirds and tree swallows continues. The birdhouse in this picture is being occupied by a bluebird couple. They have already built a nest in the box, but try and tell that to the tree swallows. In this photo you can see a female tree swallow poking her head out of the bluebird's house. She was checking it out until the bluebirds came back and ran her off. Terry bought another birdhouse yesterday and we put it up yesterday afternoon. This morning I've already seen two or three tree swallows checking out the new box. Hopefully they will nest in the new box.  We're keeping our fingers crossed :0)

Monday, April 8, 2013

Mr. Bluebird

We have a bluebird couple building a nest in one of our birdhouses. It's the same birdhouse that our tree swallows have been nesting in for the past two years. The swallows and bluebirds have been fighting over who is going to occupy the birdhouse. For now, the bluebirds are winning. Terry went out at lunch today and bought another birdhouse. Hopefully the tree swallows will make their home in the new box and everyone can live happily ever after. Stay tuned!
Male bluebird. Gorgeous colors!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Jessie's New Do

No, this isn't a lion, it's our 17 year old cat, Jessica. She usually takes pretty good care of her grooming. Her hair got really matted around her chest and neck area. Usually I have been very successful in cutting out the mats myself, until yesterday. My luck ran out and I ended up snipping Jessie's skin along with the mats. I felt horrible! Took her to the vet to get checked out and they ended up giving her what is called a "lion cut." Thankfully she didn't need stitches, but they did glue the cuts to shut them. They also gave her an antibiotic shot. Bad thing is they had to give her anesthesia so they could shave and glue her. It was a long, stressful day for both of us. We ended up keeping her inside last night because it was chilly and she was still under the influence of the anesthesia. Happy to say that this morning she is back to her old self and if it ever warms up I'll be letting her back outside. Her hair will grow back out, but she seems to be enjoying her new do. Moral of the story is don't ever try to remove cat mats with scissors. Always leave it up to the pros :0) A funny side note. When I brought Jessie in from the vets our male cat, Bullet, didn't recognize her with her new hair cut. He immediately bowed up and his tail and the fur on his back was puffed out. It was funny!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

More Macro

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin. ~ Matthew 6:28

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Lilies

When my mom passed away last April, a friend of ours gave me and my sisters some pink lilies. I planted mine in a big pot and they're starting to come up. I can't wait to see them in full bloom.