Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Sixth Blogversary, and Lots of Firsts~


~Six years of blogging from Tingsgrove and beyond~
A few fun statistics that can go along with this entry would be that as of today, this is my 1,093 published post, since the birth of the blog.  There have been 167,784  page views and since tracking visitors began the second year, I have had 32,328 visitors to share my blog with. To date there are 10,067 published comments, which always are so very much appreciated and they continue to encourage me.  Many blogs get way more traffic and comments, and yet, I feel enormously blessed to have the visitors that I have. Many of you have become such great friends and that means so much to me.  Thank you for the generosity of your time in writing your thoughts about my entries.

Above is this season's nest for the Red-Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond.  Once again this season, the hawks used the nest tree across the lane from me.  Two wonderful neighbors Wilma and Nikki have allowed me access to their land and I am forever grateful to them and their kindness.

The first "first" happened this year, at least as for as my witnessing nests and the rearing of these beautiful eyas.  Always in the past the adults take food to nest and tear it in pieces for a couple of weeks, before allowing the young to do it.  This year because of a branch that broke into the nest, the adults had a difficult time, even brooding the eggs.  When it came time to feeding them by a couple of weeks of age, the food would just be dropped into the nest and then the young would have a go at it, taking turns, and sometimes one got nothing.  There were 3 eyas this season.  All thrived and have fledged as of a week ago~



Remember to double click on the first image, to view a larger slide show presentation after you have read the narratives~

I will be linking up with Judith for:

www.lavendercottagegardening.com

&

Stewart for:
   http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/



Above, the female has just been brought in a meal by her mate on the right...this particular meal was frog legs.  By the time one can see the little ones, they are by then a couple of weeks old and down covered~


The lovely white down is lost and beautiful feathers rapidly appear, and they mature so quickly, it is just amazing.  The transformation is so incredible to watch every season~


One of the fledglings was in a low tree just across the creek from the nest tree.  I did not see it until I was right in front of it.  This was the third eyas to leave security of the nest~


This beauty was the first one to fly, just less than 2 weeks ago~


This was the second eyas to leave the nest, all big and brave ;)  It was trying to get past that little branch sticking up and made it's way finally...



All 3 are quite lovely~


It will not be long and they will not spend time together.  Yesterday afternoon, one of the adults brought in a meal and all 3 went to grab it at the same time.  They are very respectful of one another and will never try and take a meal once it has been snagged~



Not their parents, but beautiful adult Red-Shouldered Hawks~



Our loss of Bill's Dad, my father-in-law on March 25, still seems surreal today.  He was such a huge part of our lives.  
My husband, Dad and our five grands~


Another wonderful first.  I have known Theresa Dettmer for a few years and yet with her living in Iowa and we in KY, we had never met one another, until last September.  Our paths crossed, as she is a breeder of Long Coat German Shepherds.  What a sweetness it brought to us when my husband, our 2 dogs and I got to meet her and her husband Rick, finally at last.  Our Silveit was getting to see her "Momma T" and Rick for the first time in 2 years.  What gracious, wonderful people~


Icelandic Horse, Coopers Hawk and Red-Shouldered Hawk~


Just me and my beautiful dogs Meaka on the left and Silveit on the right in single snaps~


And my first time at seeing a live Great Gray Owl.  Homer lives in a rehab facility, and he is so handsome.  What a thrill that day was~


Another first, was that we went to Canada for the first time, what a gorgeous place.
We saw Grizzly bears for the first time alongside Black Bears and Western Red-tailed Hawks, which we had seen before~


I was so blessed in being able to visit a Bald Eagles nest along the Ohio River for the past 6 months and to keep up with their 2 eaglets.  WOW, it still just seems unbelievable, such beauty and majesty~



The 2 eaglets fledged two weeks ago~




An American Kestrel stilling over a field near the Bald Eagle nest site~


This was the first Merlin, that I had ever seen.  It was at Cox's Park in Eastern Jefferson County, KY, when on it's return from migrating South~


My dear friend Sandy alerted me to a Great Horned Owls nest back in early March and I was so happy to be able to observe the 2 owlets and adults for a couple of months~





Some of the songbirds that visit Tingsgrove will be scattered throughout this posting~


One day when picking up my twin grandsons from their school, I noticed the charm of this old grocery store in Skylight, KY~




Some of you may remember that we had nearly 20 American Cardinals in the same part of the yard one Winter's day~




Some of my favorite Summer and Spring images that were shared~






Autumn seems to be a favorite season of many of my family members and friends~



The migrating Sandhill Cranes were once again high in numbers near Radcliff, KY last Winter and I got to view them twice during their time there~




The famed Hermitage Horse Farm in my county where Queen Elizabeth has visited a couple of times~


Last February ending and early March, I got to fly down to visit my youngest daughter and her husby in Florida.  I saw a lot of great tropical birds~


I saw the beautiful Anhingas for the first time while visiting Ashleigh and Matty.  
What a wonderful looking bird~


Many of these birds were my first as well~


Our neighbors have a Groundhog den on the same location as the Red-Shouldered Hawks.  Henrietta is what they named her and she had 4 cubs. To make sure they did not become hawk fodder, I fed them extra food for a couple of weeks~


I get the Bird KY alerts and saw back in May that a pair of Mississippi Kites were beginning to nest in Cherokee Park in Eastern Jefferson County KY.  I was fortunate enough to locate the male 2 weeks ago. What a handsome bird~




I have gotten to observe several raptor nests this year and this one is of a Red-Tailed Hawk pair located in Cave Hill Cemetery in Eastern Jefferson County, KY. They also had 2 young ones~


That is all in the sharing for now, but I wanted to say once again, thank you all so very much for inspiring me to keep on sharing.  You make my heart smile~


31 comments:

  1. Congratulations for blogging six years! And it sounds like after all this time you are still enjoying many firsts! Wonderful!

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  2. Hello Mary, what a great post. And congrats on your blogiversary! I enjoyed all your photos and your look back. A fabulous post. Have a happy Wednesday!

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  3. What an amazing and wonderful variety here in this post...happy blog anniversary! : )

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  4. Happy sixth, Mary. Such a knock-me-down post. Where would I begin to espouse superlatives? Wow.

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  5. Happy Sixth Anniversary! I am just overcome by your fabulous nature photography. I feel like I have just been on the best vacation. You have the talent to bring all the wonders of nature to your page. Thank you for such a lovely visit.

    Big Texas Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

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  6. Happy 6th anniversary! And what an amazing blog it is. Your photos are fantastic! I am very sorry to hear of the loss of your father-in-law. They leave a void that is hard to fill. My deepest condolences.

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  7. Mary, your photos of wildlife and the mosaics you create are always so beautiful and I thank you for all you do to capture them, edit, and share with us. Happy 6th anniversary of your blog. Time flies doesn't it? Have a wonderful weekend.
    Blessings, Pam

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  8. Fantastic shots of birds in action.

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  9. Gorgeous photos, Mary!
    Happy sixth anniversary and many joyful blogging years to come!

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  10. I'm stopping by to wish you a Happy Sixth Anniversary Mary. How time flies when we have such fun!

    Your stats are most impressive and also a testament to the content of your blog whether that be the photos or your always informative commentaries. You somehow manage to combine and intertwine your love for nature your love for your family and friends far and wide. It's a hard act to follow for fellow bloggers.

    I'm wishing you all the best for the next 12 months and beyond of ever more blogging.

    Have a great weekend.

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  11. Extraordinary!!

    Your blog is worth rejoicing a special anniversary to be sure!!!
    Loved all your collages today...from fledglings' first flights to your beautiful family!!

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  12. a very nice and interesting post. You have done a great job creating it. Thanks!

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  13. 6 years blogging, and it shall be many more.

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  14. A beautiful collection of photos as always and congratulations on 6 years of blogging - it goes by quick doesn't it! The Groundhogs have to be my favourite today as I was so excited to see one when we visited family in the US - the cubs are absolutely adorable. Thanks so much for sharing you beautiful images and bringing a little joy into our lives.

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  15. Wow, lots of great images in this post! Congrats on the 6 years anniversary ;-) My favorties images form this post are the Great Horned Owls familly one's!

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  16. What an amazing post, Mary. I am so impressed at the patience you must have to capture such wonderful photos and then edit and put them into posts. Congratulations on 6 years! This was a great review. I'm sure each day there are memories of your FIL as he lived with you--and I'm sorry for your loss. I know from you that he was a wonderful man.

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  17. Dearest Mary; Congratulations on your Blogversary♡♡♡ What a wonderful series of pictures of nature; thank very much sharing with us with great collages♪ Among the bird, owl has special meaning in Japan. I'm not forcing you to read but just let me paste the url of my post about it p:-)
    http://orchidenglishblog.blogspot.jp/2013/04/owl-fukuro-symbol-of-good-fortune.html

    My father past away last Nov. (last of my immediate family), how gorgeous your grandchildren are! I wasn't blessed with a child but blessed with warmhearted husband (38 years p:-)
    Thank you SO much for stopping by with kind comment;
    Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*

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  18. Such an incredibly wonderful post!!! Congratulations on 6 years of blogging!!! It's hard to believe I started 8 years ago...Have a wonderful week!

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  19. Congratulations on your 6th anniversary of blogging and for still finding amazing first to capture through your lens. Terrific post!

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  20. Congratulations on 6 years of blogging Mary. You have a gift when there is a camera in your hand and I always enjoy the birds, wildlife and your precious dogs that you share.
    Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday.

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  21. Incredible, Mary! Well done. I love your barn shots as well as the wildlife. I am thinking of trying to use my fiber art to show barns and buildings. Your shots are very artsy!

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  22. Congratulations on six years of blogging. You have so many beautiful photos in this post, I don't know where to start. But I did love seeing the baby groundhogs. I'm sorry about the loss of your father-in-law,

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  23. Oh my. An extravaganza of animal photos!

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  24. Well you have outdone yourself Mary....happy 6 years and many more as you bring such beautiful pictures and mosaics...you are gifted! I hope you and your family find solace with your loss...I still miss my dad after all these years.

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  25. Your photos always amaze me, Mary. They are just wonderful! Happy 6th blog anniversary! Your grandchildren are darling.

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  26. Six years! CONGRATULATIONS andmany more years. This is an extremly full and interesting post with a wide variety of subjects that you have photographed. There are so many gorgeous images adn I was going to commment but it would be unfair to pickout just a few! Thanks

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  27. Happy 6th birthday Mary. It has been a delight and a pleasure to "meet" you and get to "know" you over here in blogland. Your posts are always so enthralling, but I think you have outdone yourself Mary with this post. So many wonderful images and memories I couldn't possibly pick a favorite. So I will just wish you many more happy years of taking photos, enjoying your birds, and your family, and blogging! Hugs from over here in Australia.

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  28. A wonderful, sweet and beautiful blogoversary post! Your photos are incredibly lovely! I always enjoy my visits!

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  29. Congratulations are due! Six years in Blogdom is a long time. One of your posts is like spending extended time in a Wildlife magazine. Oh the multitude of amazing birds you share. I was struck by how many ways one little branch in a nest changes things. Glad that the hawks were able to fledge well. I can hardly imagine seeing one cardinal in my yard...twenty would be quite amazingly amazing. Here's to many more happy years of blogging!

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  30. Congrats to you! It's wonderful to have the stories and fun to chronicle our journeys over the years. It takes time and dedication to do this but also it requires a passion. I always love your mosaics that you put together. One of my favorites was the Barred Owl you had in your yard a couple years ago. It's amazing what we see when we just stop in our own area and look. And that's what I like about your blog. Thank you for sharing and may you continue another 6 years and beyond! PS. The blog is like a photo album of our lives. I'm sorry for you and your family's loss. It's never easy saying good-bye to the ones we love.

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  31. Dear Mary,

    Congratulations on your 6th blog anniversary! I have enjoyed visiting your beautiful Tingsgrove, and all those wild and wonderful creatures who inhabit its gorgeous surroundings, from your beloved red-shouldered hawks and eagles, to the pretty flowers that beautify the landscape, it's all so amazingly photographed and documented by your brilliant photography and interesting words. Thank you for these most magical mosaics; they've been a glorious escape from my very busy routine, these past few months, and especially, these past two weeks.

    Wishing you many more joyful years in blogland, and I look forward to catching up with your recent posts.

    Miss you!

    xoxo
    Poppy

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I enjoy each visitor to "Red Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond" I truly appreciate those who have become followers to my blog and really am encouraged by the wonderful comments.
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Thanking you~