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







Monday, March 14, 2016

Pairing Up of Twins and Hawks~



Happy Monday, Happy Week and it is going to be HAPPY here too.  
The sunrise above was taken on Wednesday when I was heading into Louisville to receive my final gel injection for the next six months.  Thankful.  As I sat at the stoplight and got the shot above, I felt  newness of hope. That is what we all need every day and so I am going to wish it for each of you as well.  Whatever may be going on in your life, I pray that you can find hope to battle whatever is going on through to completion.  
It takes time and great courage, but you can do it, if you just have the faith~


Remember to double click on the first image, to view a larger slideshow 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/




U-Turn...Silveit was headed out into the dog yard and decided she was not interested after all.  Snow fell last week, but only enough to say it did.
Below are snow Crocus~


Red-bellied Woodpecker, right outside my window~



Two Gray Squirrels playing in the snow, also right outside my window ;) ~



A Blue Jay...ha, and you guessed it, right outside my window~


Across the lane from my home, the female Red-Shouldered Hawk awaited a meal from her mate.  They have set up a new nest in the same tree used the past three years.  Much can change the outcome and so I am being very careful in watching them from a distance for now~


The female above is larger than the male below.  
Mating for life, unless something should happen to one and then they select a new mate~


Our grand-twins turned 7 last week.  Their party was at the Louisville Science Center.  They even made homemade ice cream using nitrogen and lots of supervision from the staff.  The theme of their party was Egypt.  They are quite fascinated with the land of pyramids.  My great grandfather was the first United States Ambassador to Egypt and I will share about that next week~


They made pyramids out of Popsicle sticks and play dough.  Remember they are square on the bottom and triangular on the top ;) ~


Cullen is a minute older than Kerrick and so his photo was taken first here.  My oldest daughter Hillary below on left and her husband Andrew are the proud parents of the twins.  Both are teachers by profession~


Can you count the freckles...I love them!  Cullen making faces and his little cousin following same~


I have been seeing this old silo since 1976, when we first moved out int the country.  They are making a huge mess of this land, while constructing a new highway.  I hope they allow this structure to remain~


Sunrise on Sunday morning, with fog rolling in on my favorite Covered Bridge Road~


The Orthopedic Surgeon said to walk the day following the injection.  It was more like a tip toeing walk, goodness...ouch~



The tree above so beautiful as the sun arose from behind it and a light fog covered the land.  
A Mute Swan that usually avoids me by a large body of water, decided to come closer and take a look-see at me.  It's mate was killed a couple of years ago, they think by a Coyote and so this one is very non-trusting.  I felt honored~




A Belted Kingfisher made a quick pass over~



The Anchorage Trail is where I took my tip toe walk and there was another pair of Red-Shouldered Hawks getting ready for their nesting season as well.  Also a White-tailed Deer that always seems to be alone, though there is quite a large herd of deer on the grounds~




It seems that I can spot them from far and wide.  This juvenile Red-Shouldered Hawk was hunting near where I go to the market.  It seemed quite hungry and also appeared to be a male by size alone~




Spring has arrived, maybe not on the calendar, but when the Spring Peepers begin their all day, all night concert, it sure feels like it has. These were taken two doors from me, but we have them too, just not as many~





Our visiting Praying Mantis Eveas who appeared on Christmas Eve.  Bill and I really enjoy him, yet we know his time is getting short now. What amazing creatures they are~





19 comments:

  1. Hello Mary, you dog is so pretty. Happy Birthday to the twins, it looks like they had a fun party. Awesome shots of the birds and the praying mantis is cool. I have to plant some crocus, they are lovely. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

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  2. What a lovely post, Mary! Cute kids and fascinating critters. :)
    Wishing you good health and a happy new week!

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  3. A beautiful post full of nature as always and oh those boys are so darned cute!!! :)

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  4. There is nothing like a colourful sunrise to inspire one for the day. We seldom see praying mantids and I've even purchased the egg cocoons for our yard - they must get eaten themselves by the birds or go beyond our yard.

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  5. Wonderful series of images.....thank you!
    Happy Monday!

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  6. Happy Birthday to the kids! What fun and how nice to have lots of pics to remember it! Love those 2 hawks posing together. And the Praying Mantis photos are so good my friend. You always treat us to so many amazing sights! Happy Monday! Hugs, Diane

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  7. So beautiful aspects of nature seen from the window or nature's walks and how lovely you said about "newness of hope". Happy birthday to the boys! Wishing you good health and a happy new week!

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  8. A beautiful sunrise--I can see why it gave you hope. Actually it gives us hope for each new day, but I hope your--hip. I think?--sees improvement from the injections. Our kids had a praying mantis for a pet when we lived in Africa. Sounds like an educational birthday party and the kids look like they are loving it.

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  9. I love your two dogs, fabulous. And the Hawks, beautiful. The rest of them are brilliant images.

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  10. Each photo is more beautiful than the next. I don't know which I like most - the first, with beautiful Silveit, the sunrise, the red-bellied wood pecker , the tree in the mist. Lots to enjoy here. I am glad to hear that you are coming along and able to walk 'tippy toe'.

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  11. The grands are adorable. Tho the boys are getting a bit too old to appreciate that word, so dint tell them I said so! I love freckles and funny faces. Great birds and flowers and so glad your treatments are over and that they helped. And goodness, when you said you took a tiptoe walk, I thought you meant around your house ...maybe your backyard. Not the trail! You are so brave!

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  12. Hi Mary ... Just back to answer you comment on my Eagle post. The nest is at least a football field away from the fence on both sides. My little camera has a surprisingly good zoom! No one really knows why Ozzie and Harriet originally chose this nest site do close to civilization, but I suspect it has to do with how near it is to the Caloosahatchie River and fish dinners! The church and ranch were here before the nest was as I understand it.

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  13. The sunrise is so beautiful, and it's good to feel that upsurge of hope. Your twins are such handsome boys, and the bird photos stunning as always.

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  14. Goodness Mary, you do construct some quite detailed blog posts. Switching from family to birds to lanscapes and then taking in insects, animals, pets and goodness knows what in between must take a good degree of multi tasking and planning. Yes, I know, multi tasking is not a male thing.

    It's good to see those kids leaning about Egypt. I hope they will be able to see the country for real some day if you know what I mean?

    As for your pictures today. I think the two landscapes, the fog rolling in and the silhoutte tree are trult exceptional.

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  15. So many gorgeous images, Mary! What a fabulous sky, wonderful creatures and gorgeous grandchildren.

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  16. Mary, You have some great shots. I love the swan, the tree and the silo. Thanks for sharing. Sylvia D.

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  17. beautiful bird shots, as always. hope the shot helps. :)

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  18. Such a lot of stunnings shots! I enjoyed nearly all of them.

    Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment ... Frauke

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