Musk Turtle

I promised to show you the turtle I was watching last week when I saw the beautiful pileated woodpecker.  Well, here he is.  If you look closely, you'll see he's pretty small.  Compare him to the size of the grass blades.  I was intrigued because when he went into his shell, he was completely closed up. His head, legs and feet were all inside with the "doors" closed.

Musk Turtles are mostly nocturnal and are great swimmers.  A bit of trivia, the female has a larger head than the male - proabably to make room for the  larger brain?

Keep Smilin' Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

I thought you might like to see my "partner in crime".  This is Samson our Watch Cat.  Notice the alert manor in which he conducts himself.  He comes each morning and has for the last 4 years.  He's there long enough to eat, clean up a bit and lounge until his food settles.  Then he moves on to other important endeavors.  Although, he is a longtime friend, he doesn't wish to be touched.

I missed a great photo opt last week when he lay on the steps asleep with a hummingbird just above his head feeding from the lavendar plant.  Its that alertness that I find so enduring.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles Mews

Fig Tree

Last post from the Tour de Farms - at least for this year - is this fig tree. It wasn't one of the sites to see on the tour.   I just happened to see it behind a building and snapped a picture.

Did you know that Sumerian stone tables dating back to 2500 B.C. recorded the use of figs.  It is very heavily used in the middle east and Africa for a sweetener in place of sugar.  Being very sweet, they are perfect as a natural sweetener.

Til Tomorrow,

Tweetles

Dutch Bantam Rooster

Another site from the Farm Tour was this beautiful Dutch Bantam Rooster.  He walked proudly among the others as though he owned the world.

There was quite a din with all the roosters crowing.  They were feeling pretty unsettled by the visitors I'm sure.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweedle doodle do

Brussel Sprouts

While we were on the farm tour last Sunday afternoon, I saw these brussel sprouts.  I was really shocked at how they looked.  I don't know what I expected (well I really never thought about how they grow) but I was surprised and fascinated.

While I still don't like to eat them, they were very interesting to see.

Did I leave your mouth watering for some tasty veggies?

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

American Crow

This Crow is doing what he does best - crowing. The American Crow lives in the open fields, forest and roadsides. He eats bug, worms, small animals, grain and even garbage.

The crow is such a deep color black it looks almost blue.

Counting Crows - see how many you can count today.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Stacked Pots

I saw this on the tour and thought it was fantastic. I think it was created by first driving a steel bar into the ground, then weaving the pots by threading them through the hole in the bottom, then filling with soil and herbs. It is watered from the top and trickles down. Pretty cool!

Til Tomorrow,

Tweetles

Just a Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Today, we went to the Tour de Farms and encountered this wonderful goat at the Goat Farm.  Such an intense stare.  We saw many goats and chickens and wonderful produce.  It was a really fun afternoon and I will look forward to the event next year.  I'll be posting other photos from the tour this week.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Coral Snake

Just yesterday I commented that it was really strange that in all my roaming around looking for birds, I hadn't seen any snakes.  And now today, voila, I saw this coral snake.  He was in the street and I think no longer in the land of the living, but I still didn't chance getting too close.  Beautiful colors but oh so dangerous.

Well Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

A Focused Woodpecker

You may think I'm referring to the focus of the woodpecker, but actually, I'm referring to my camera focusing on the bird and the tree instead of the tree and not the bird. (Check out the April 12 post.) I love this one. I was actually watching a turtle, which you will see tomorrow when I heard the woodpecker. So today, I got a two-fer.

He's quite a specimen isn't he?

Til Tomorrow.

Tweetles

Cactus Garden

I'm trying my hand at cacti. Our back porch is so hot in the afternoon I decided to try some succulents. I think they might like it there. Succulents store water in their leaves and are able to survive thru draught periods.

I'll let you know how that works!

Til Tomottow,

Tweetles

Osprey at Dusk

As you might remember, a few weeks ago I published a picture of an osprey over her nest. Just before dark last week, I saw this very large bird at a distance and because of the dim light and how far it was from me and perhaps my less than perfect eyesight, I wasn't sure what I had taken a picture of until I got to my computer. I took about 6 pictures and he was preening in all the others.

Til Tomorrow,

Tweetles

Wild Magnolia

I found this little wild magnolia yesterday. It was much smaller than a regular magnolia. It's also called a wild bay. I wonder if the leaves from these bay trees are the ones we cook with.

Does anyone know?

Til tomorrow,

Tweetles

Cardinal in a Tree

I love the vivid colors in this picture!

Til Tomorrow,

Tweetles

CourtYard

Just finished cleaning up and reburishing our courtyard. It took about 4 days but it was well worth it. The fountain is cleaned and working and ready for all the local birds to take a dip or get a drink. Now we wait to see what wonderful birds will take advantage of this haven.


Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Brown Thrasher

This Brown Thrasher is very well camoflauged to live in the bushes and thickets. You may have to click on the image to enlarge it in order to see it.

The state bird of Georgia is the Brown Thrasher.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Mockingbird

On April 1, I posted a video of a mockingbird singing. I caught this mockingbird just at twilight. I'll keep trying to geta better one.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Pileated Woodpecker

As you may remember, the woodpecker was on my wish list. I finally got one. And it proves two things. I did see one and that I'm not quite there yet as a photographer. But please notice how very sharp the bark is on the tree to the right. Oh well.

This guy is a pileated woodpecker. He's about the size of a large crow. I'm so amazed by how nature works. As he is pecking away at dead trees looking for carpenter ants to eat, he is leaving behind a home for an owl, a bat or other bird species. Pretty cool, don't you think.

Just keep watching. I will capture a better image next time.

Til Tomorrow,

Tweetles

Dove

Its pretty unusual to see a dove all alone. They are almost always founds in pairs. Perhaps Mamma is on the nest. Or maybe Papa in on the nest giving Mamma a little alone time?

Doves are easily recognized by the way fly - darting through the air with sudden dips and by their soft cooing sound.

Til Tomorrow,

Tweetles

Mallards

If you are attuned to your surroundings, you'll see the most wonderful things. Mallards were on my list of birds to find and I hadn't seen any lately. I went shopping the other day and this beautiful Mallard couple were just chillin' in the shade. I took the picture from the window of my car. They didn't seem to be bothered by the notoriety. Just continued to chill.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Suggestions?

Ok! So my blog should be named Birds, Animals, Flowers, Reptiles, Amphibians and Stuff. I just see things that I think are interesting, amazing, beautiful or funny. I keep watching this suggestion box high up in the tree, hoping to catch a bird perched there. But so far, it hasn't happened. I think that might be worthy of Jay Leno.??

When I took this picture, I turned off my camera and was just about to leave when something caught my eye. I turned my head and there stood 3 deer. Of course, when I turned my camera on, the noise startled them and they were off so quickly I didn't even have time to focus. Oh well, now there are 2 reasons to visit that same spot often.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Turtle

In my golf cart travels with camera around my neck, I ran into this guy. He was so enjoying his moments in sun.

I believe that he is a striped mud turtle. There's one that looks very much like him called a painted turtle, but those have red and orange marking.

After observing me for a while, he decided to move on into the woods - at his own pace.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Hawk -Back view

Back when I first started my blog, I uploaded a frontal view of this hawk and as I was looking at the files, I noticed the back view and the markings on his feathers were definitely worth another look.

The intensity of his stare is awesome.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Wood Storks and Geese

If only we all lived in such hamony! Enough said.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Jasmine

This is the first bloom on my Jasmine bush. There will be hundreds to follow. When the bush is in full bloom, it is entirely white.

AND, the best part, the backyard smells so wonderful.

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Owl

I have a list of birds I would really like to take pictures of. The list consists of a Flamengo, Swan, Woodpecker, Wild Turkey and others. The Owl is on that list. Unfortunately, I didn't take this one but my daughter did - two years ago in Jacksonville. I've only seen one Owl outside a zoo and that was about 25 years ago. I'm going to keep looking but I really thought this picture was great.

WHOOO can tell me where to find one in our area?

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Japanese Magnolia

The picture of this Japanese Magnolia blossom was too beautiful to leave out of my blog. Usually, the blooms fill the tree in early spring before any leafing has occurred but this winter was so mild that the leaves never completely dropped.

With all its delicate beautiful this plant is not without peril. Sooty mold is its most common disease and mine has it. The stems of the infected part of the tree are covered with a black power. I continue to prune it off but I just haven't been very successful. Any suggestions anyone?

Thanks and until tomorrow,
Tweetles or should I say bloomers?

Turkey Vulture

When I researched the Turkey Vulture, which I knew nearly nothing about, I was amazed. This bird is one of our most important "resources." He keeps our roadways and highways free of dead decaying animals. His stomach is able to digest any diseased and/or decaying animal without being affected and his droppings are disease free and a natural sanitizer. He is gentle and only dines on dead animals and grain. A turkey vulture can stay in the air for up to 7 hours and fly for 200 miles in one flight because his flight is mostly soaring. The next time you see a vulture on the side of the road hovering over roadkill, instead of being disgusted, just say a quiet "Thanks!".

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles

Mockingbird

This is my first attempt at a video and it was very early in the morning so, for this post, you should listen more than watch. What beautiful sounds the mocking bird makes. I was amazed to learn from Wikipedia, that they not only mimic other birds but insects and amphibians as well. They are fearless birds that will boldly attack larger birds who invade their space. How many mockingbirds have you heard today?

Til Tomorrow,
Tweetles