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







Friday, April 14, 2017

Happy Spring, Happy Easter, Happy Holidays~





Sunrise over a field of Henbit.  
Fields of Henbit dot the area where I live this time of year.  When I see it's arrival, I feel very happy.  What about you...  
What is one of the first signs of Spring that makes you feel very happy?  
A promise of hope, new life, new opportunities.  I love the newness of colours that always without fail turn out in their full glory.  Some may fade very quickly, while others linger for the entire season.  I have a few that will arrive early and not leave until the first frost in mid Autumn and those do make me very happy too. 
We have birds that are nesting from the wee Chickadees to the Bald Eagles and Hawks.  Next week I will share about the nests of both the Bald Eagles and Red-Shouldered Hawks near where I live.
This is for Christians, our Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday celebration.
For those who celebrate this special day, I hope that you have a blessed time with family and friends gathered~

~HAPPY EASTER BLESSINGS~

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

I am joining in the fun with Eileen at:
Saturday's Critter

Anni at:
http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.com/ 
I'd Rather Be Birdin'
 Linking to I'd Rather B Birdin'

    
Maggie's  MOSAIC MONDAY
                                              https://normandylife.blogspot.com/


Stewart for:


Above...my neighbor Sue gave me the gift of the bird planter and I filled it with Sedam.  Below is our home of going on 36 years.  Soon the canopy of green shall fill out and spill out over the two and a half acres~












My neighbors all seem to have Lilacs. I have a Lilac bush as well, and yet after many years, I am fortunate just to get green leaves to grow on mine.  The purple Vinca, the Spring Beauties and the Indian Hyacinth are mine though ;)~


Can you see my hawk nesting platform that my husband built?  I hired someone to place it up in the tree and yet the hawks have not yet decided to try it out~


The second nesting platform is below just beyond the dog yard, straight up in the tree the runs along the fence going back. HUGE SIGH  That particular nest platform was also a hired out to place and they put it in the wrong tree while I was away, even though I showed the tree to three of their crew on three different walks... They refused to move it ;(~


Can you see the platform yet?


My Survhee Pipka kit-cat.  I almost lost her a couple of weeks ago due to my own human error.  I have never purchased liquid Flea protection for the large dogs, only for her.  I use chewables for the dogs.  
I opened up the tube and put the oil on her fur.  Something immediately seemed off.  There is usually only a few tiny drops and yet this time, it kind of poured out.  I had washed my hands and poured my coffee and it still bothered me enough to get the container back out of the garbage pail.  It was intended to be used on a canine up to 80 pounds.  I was frantic and immediately moved into action because it can be deadly to feline friends.  I used shampoo mixed with vinegar and rang up my Vet.  They told me that I needed to get her to the 24 hour ER service promptly.  
The half hour drive seemed to take hours.  Once we arrived they said that I had done the right thing to bathe her.  They cared for her and once she was OK to go...I paid my $162.00 learning experience fee and brought her back home.  The photo was taken the afternoon after her big ordeal.  
Very thankful heart.  Survhee Pipka is a very special kit-cat to my family!
While at Blue Pearl ER Hospital a man sat near by with a lovely dog. There were other pets in the large room as well. This dog, appropriately named Buddy began to whimper and kept trying to reach me. The gentleman named Steve who owns him said that Buddy sensed I was upset and wanted to come closer. I changed seats and that's when this beautiful dog began to lick my face and made the most precious noises almost like he was trying to console me. You know what? He did! What a sweetheart. Buddy is only 3 and had a seizure Saturday and was being checked over that day.  It turned out to be Epileptic Seizures and with proper medication and continued TLC, Buddy will be just fine~ 


     This is Buddy.  What a precious soul~


Our three Long Coat German Shepherds are doing great and enjoying the Spring weather.  From the front is Meaka, 9 years, Svetka 10 months and Silveit 4~


The younger two Silveit and Svetka both came from the same breeder, our dear friend Theresa out in Iowa~

I always enjoy seeing how this tree changes out on Covered bridge Road~


White-tailed Deer near the Bald Eagle nesting site~


Pretty soon I shall not be able to see the hawks as the canopy of green soon returns.  Here is a Red-Tailed Hawk that I spied on my early morning back road ride~


My daughter Brittany got me a Weeping Cherry tree for Mother's Day a few years ago and I enjoy the delicate blossoms, as well as the fond memories~


A Blue Jay for my dear blogging friend Poppy, one of her favorites.  
Poppy, I also have Chickadees nesting in my nest box.  Photos coming soon~


I have wildflowers growing on my acreage.  Wild Phlox, Forget-Me-Nots to name a few~

The local news had shared a couple of times about 3 Bald Eagles over at a nearby park.  I decided to drive over and see them.  I went everywhere looking, asked about them, but no one seemed to know a thing about them.  I never did find them and yes, I was at the right place.  I did see however a first year Red-Shouldered Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk as well as a man kind enough to let me photograph big catch of Blue Gill ;)~



One Sunday morning I stopped to visit my friend Anne after attending my Bible study class.  I was taken by her quaint little home and the old farmhouse and barn that was on the land behind it.  It seems as though the land and buildings had belonged to her grandparents and so she knew the history well.  The structures were wonderful, with great charm and character~




Baa Baa Black Sheep have you any wool?
They have had baby lambs...oh so sweet.  I adore them~



More flowers growing on this land~

These are the barn structures behind my friend Anne's home~


More of my blooming flowers and my neighbors as well~



I have shared this old structure before and when I passed it the other day, it was nearly totally hidden from view now~


A field of farm working horses and goats and their kids~


I was sharing with Poppy last week that I always enjoy seeing people share yellow flowers, yellow birds, the colour of yellow anything.  However, I have a hard time making yellow objects show their textures for some odd reason.  I went out into my garden the other day and took a few images of some yellow flowers and I thought that they looked OK...after a tiny bit of HDR and sharpening to them~

This old barn has seen it's day and is being taken down after heavy damage from winds and such over the years.  Barn raising used to be a big thing and now they are just coming down~





A bit more of the yellow flowers in my garden~
I was roaming the wooded areas in my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago, trying to find the local Red-Shouldered hawks, when a Cooper's Hawk made a brief appearance~


More Spring flowers on my land, sprucing up things after the long grays of Winter~


I am pretty sure that this is a first year Cooper's Hawk taken at dawn one morning~


Have you ever heard of a Turkey trot...I am not sure what they are, but when I saw this wild Turkey hen running down a field, across the lane, under a fence and into a field on the other side...that was what I thought about.  I never did see what scared her to make it run. They can and do fly, but she chose the land method~



A pair of Red-tailed Hawks sunning at dawn in Oldham County~


Does anyone know what kind of houseplant this is?  I would love to have one.  My friends Sandy and Linda both have them but don't recall what they are~


I just enjoyed this image for some silly reason~




13 comments:

  1. so many lovely photos. Love your pups. Buddy was sweet.

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  2. How funny to see the turkey...trot! Love that big black sheep too and of course your hawks. It's nice to see the redbud trees and other Spring blossoms! Enjoy your weekend! Hugs, Diane

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  3. So much beauty! The Fields f henbit (sounds like a poem!) and its woodlands are just gorgeous. Love the sedum planter and the lilacs! Wonderful shots of the sheep, the old house and that lovely barn. A really beautiful post! Happy Easter to you and yours!

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  4. Mary....with this post, you certainly have enriched our day!! Wow. Where do I begin. Of course I enjoyed all your birds and farm critters/fields/barns....the black sheep was a special treat. And the flowers...how I LOVE Lilacs!!

    Thank you so much for linking in at I'd Rather B Birdin' and sharing this with us over the weekend this week.

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  5. Hello, Mary! what a lovely post for Spring. Your home is pretty. I love your dogs and sweet kitty. I am glad she was ok. Buddy the dog is a cutie too. The lambs are adorable, love the goats and the kids. The turkey was a neat sighting. Awesome Hawks. Great critter post. Wishing you and your family a blessed Easter. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Sunday. enjoy your day and the new week ahead!

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  6. Oh Mary, Spring is just beautiful around Tingsgrove ...every picture brings joy. I'm so glad your beautiful kitty is OK. Hadn't really thought before about how much easier it is to see the hawks when the trees are bare ...that's one good thing about winter! Happy Easter to the whole gang.

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  7. Dear Mary,
    there's so much going on over at Tingsgrove this week, everywhere you look.
    So relieved that your kitcat survived the flea treatment overdose, what a sweet pup Buddy was to give you comfort whilst you waited at the vets.
    I do believe that the Turkey Trot was a dance my grandma used to do as a young girl, I must have a little look on google and see if that's right.
    Happy Mosaic Monday.
    Maggie.

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  8. I want to live at your house! Everything is so beautiful. Happy to read your kitty will be fine -- scary! And to meet sweet Buddy ... lucky for you. So much beauty to see. So glad you shared it with us. Happy Monday!

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  9. I agree with your three Happy Hs! Stunning photos, Buddy stole my heart <3

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  10. Beautiful photos of spring flowers and birds, Mary. Yellow flowers are truly welcome at this time of year, I find. I have trouble photographing red flowers - they always look garish and harsh. I need to practice my editing skills with them.

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  11. Very beautiful birds and lovely flowers. Happy holidays.

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  12. spring IS the best time of the year. When everything is awaken and you find new things everyday. Your post share this beautifully :)

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  13. Fantastic photos of spring flowers, birds and other beautiful animals !!
    Greetings

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