Happy New Year With Some of 2018 Favorites Shares~

~HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE~

The image above is one of the most favored of the paintings that I created this past year.  I completed over 100 and gifted nearly 70, sold a few and kept the balance.

It's been a really rough past month and I am still feeling the affects of the RSV that I was diagnosed with.  My husby also got ill, but not with RSV thankfully.  He was out of commission for 2 weeks, and I am just about out of the woods at 5 weeks tomorrow.  We never celebrated our birthdays, or our 49th anniversary YET.  

In this post I will share some of the favorite shares from this past year

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

http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com/

Anni at:

http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.com/ 

I'd Rather Be Birdin'

 Linking to I'd Rather B Birdin' 

   

Angie at:  

Mosaic Monday

https://tentoesinthewater.blogspot.com/

 Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global 

   http://communalglobal.blogspot.ca/

& 

Stewart for:

Wild Bird Wednesday

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

Red-tailed Hawk~

 We had a nice number of wee Carolina Wrens born in one of our nest boxes last Spring~

They are beautiful creatures these Red Foxes, but they are also a great nuisance~

Our local pair of Red-Shouldered Hawks last Spring~

They had 2 eyas that were thriving really well and were about 2 weeks from fledgling stage, when tragedy hit...a mother Raccoon took them both for her 3 babies.  One eyas died and I was able to save one of them~

The young eyas was in a bad way with a bad bite to a tendon, but after excellent care from Chuck Culp with Wingspan of Kentucky would 12 weeks later, be freed back into the wild~

 Icing on an old rusted fence row made for a very lovely image~

A juvenile Red-Shouldered Hawk~

A few of our White-tailed Deer herd~

Black Swallowtail butterfly~

A buck at dawn on a light snow covered earth~

A single Eaglet fledged this past July.  The nest tree fell 2 weeks later and after 9 years the Bald Eagles have relocated about 1/2 mile away~

Female Red Fox~

A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk decided hop hunting would pay off better than wire hunting~

The female of the pair of Bald Eagles that I have kept up with for the past 4 seasons~

An adorable Yellow rumped Warbler~

A selfie taken as I bid farewell to Rosewell Estate, where I had been visiting for 4 years before the state of KY finally SOLD it at a huge steal~

Not sure what the correct ID of this sweet one is~

Last year KY had a few Snowy Owls make there way down from the far North.  This one is my first ever wild Snowy and it was in Nelson County for several weeks and I was so thankful to get to see it~

Can you see the Chipmunk begging for some Carrot from the Groundhog ;) <3 i="">

I love this shot of a Turkey Vulture...it reminds me of ~Count Dracula with his cape over his face~

A few of my Louisville Zoological Gardens images turned out to be pretty swell to me~

The Sumatran Tiger~

One of the Seals taking breaths as it swam~

The male Lion is always a hit at the zoo~

My boy Muff, was lost at the end of this season~

Star and one of her triplets~

Mannie and one of her twins~

Doesn't get much cuter than baby Barn Swallows~

The Red-Shouldered Hawk hen stayed near the nest a good while following her loss~

This was taken when the eyas were very small and just beginning to show on nest~

This is the young male Red-Shouldered Hawk that I had saved.  Remember it had a bite wound.  I am hoping it remains flying free today~

I finally got to meet Zeke the stunning Friesian Gelding that I had seen for the first time the Winter a year ago~

He is truly so remarkable~

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds came for nectar~

This top image, two were fighting over the feeders~

I met my daughter Ashleigh and her husby in New York City for an event that she had contracted as Executive Director of Be Strong which was held at the famed Carnegie Hall~

We took in some of the sites together which was very memorable~

My room had this awesome view to look out on~

St. Patrick's Cathedral~

Ashleigh takes on Carnegie Hall~

I got to meet up with one of my dearest friends Laurene bottom two images while visiting the city~

The famous Pale Male from "The Legend of Pale Male".  This image went viral on Facebook and I was so blessed~

More of my sweet boy Muff...I miss him~

This Red-tailed Hawk was huge, most probably a female~

Lastly, but not least was when a Sharp-shined Hawk decided to spend some 45 minutes with me one afternoon in our backyard.  The first time I had ever been so close to one and it was great fun~

Take care and I shall catch up with you once again next year~