Even though I’m seeing lots of bluebirds these days, they are proving to be very challenging to photograph! The one above cooperated by staying put for a little while, but his position in the available light left a lot to be desired. Still, I kind of like that thin crescent outline of light on his breast and belly.
I’m paying more attention to the small grove of sassafras saplings. Right now there is a patch of pretty violets surrounding their trunks. By April other wildflowers will be blooming there.
We checked on the sandhills pyxie-moss and found it still blooming, in spite of all the grasses, pine needles and cones, and assorted leaves trying to cover it up.
Two weeks after the controlled burn the cinnamon ferns are coming up!
Look who we caught making himself right at home in the birds’ tray feeder.
Who robbed the Woods —
The trusting Woods?
The unsuspecting Trees
Brought out their Burs and Mosses —
His fantasy to please —
He scanned their trinkets — curious —
He grasped — he bore away —
What will the solemn Hemlock —
What will the Fir tree — say?
~ Emily Dickinson
(The Poems of Emily Dickinson, #57)
What a great photo of the bluebird — and thank you for pointing out that crescent of light (I’d have missed it!) I like the pyxie-moss and the windflower. The golden ragwort, too, is eye-catching. So happy you’re posting these Spring photos for me to enjoy, Barbara!
Thank you, Debbie! It’s so good to know you’re enjoying my springtime journey along with me. 🙂 I’m always conscious of the light and how it affects my photography. Spring and autumn are usually the best, the sun isn’t too bright or too dim, just perfect for the seasonal colors.
Wow! Your spring really is coming along. We’re not quite as far into here although we’re getting there. That’s a beautiful shot of the bluebird. 🙂
Thank you, Robin! I’m loving all the bluebirds we have here. 🙂 It is amazing the difference a few hundred miles makes as springtime climbs up the latitudes.
Funny squirrel, lol! Beautiful blooms and gorgeous bluebird! Spring has sprung!!
Thank you, Donna! It was good to finally capture a bluebird holding still and catching a squirrel up to his tricks. 🙂
I so enjoy your photos and your thoughtful poems and quotes that accompany them!
Thanks so much for letting me know, Anna! I do so enjoy looking for words to go with my pictures.
So many pretty flowers. I’m looking forward to a similar green explosion coming our way!
When spring finally gets up to you it will be like summer down here. We might hit 90°F on Friday!
😲 Wow, 90º!!!
The average high in April should be about 72°F. Sigh…
my mouth watered by the lovelinesses you present 🙂
Thank you so much, Leelah! I hope all is well with you. 🙂
That beautiful, not to mention cute and plump, Bluebird posed for you nicely Barbara. I’m envious of all the early colors you are seeing here at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens. That Bluebird may just make his way into next year’s gallery? I saw a touch of green today, some Barberry Bushes at the house, but nothing else in the way of leaves, nor bulb early bloomers … you’re way ahead of us, so I am just enjoying yours. Did you add that fat furry bird in the birdfeeder to your Bird Life List?
Lol – that fat furry bird was such a character!
We may be enjoying spring now but I am conscious that we will soon be paying the piper soon with brutal summer heat and humidity. The weather folks say we might hit 90°F on Friday — ugh. I’m happy you can enjoy my spring and I’m looking forward to enjoying yours when it arrives. 🙂
That bluebird was so pretty. I will have to see what birds I have collected by November to see which ones might make the cut. Right now the female red-bellied woodpecker that I took right after I submitted last year’s pictures is among my favorites. (https://www.ingebrita.net/2024/11/beloved-mourning-doves/)
My neighbor has a tray feeder hanging on a six-foot shepherd’s hook. The first day he hung it up last Fall, I came home from walking and there was a Fox squirrel sitting there happily munching seeds, just like you have here. I had my bag in my hand and didn’t want to risk opening the storm door and it being spooking off, so I hung the bag in the crook of my arm, fished for my camera out of my pocket. I finally got myself ready for the shot and it jumped off – a disappointment for sure! I swear it thought I was creating incriminating evidence!
I popped back at that post and that was a nice series of shots of that female red-bellied woodpecker. I’d submit that young lady’s poses for sure! I saw Rex, the male red-bellied woodpecker this morning scamming peanuts from the squirrels. I should have had my camera but it was so cold and grayish so I left it behind.
Oh Barbara – 90 degrees already – ugh to that! It’s too soon for that much heat and humidity. Hopefully it doesn’t hang around long and you can get out again while all the Spring-y wildflowers are blooming.
Those squirrels are pretty clever and they seem to know what we’re up to as much as we know what they are up to. 😉 Too bad you didn’t have your camera for the red-bellied woodpecker. We used to have one in Connecticut who would visit our suet feeder several times a day. We would hear him announcing his arrival before we saw him land on the feeder. We are getting some woodpeckers on the seed cylinder feeder we put out here. We like it because you don’t have to put lose seed into it, just stick a seed cylinder on the spike and it’s been there for weeks. I think we might get a shepherd’s hook for it, though, to get it closer to the window. It’s hanging from a tree branch right now and is too far away to see the birds well, let alone photograph them.
That red-bellied woodpecker swooped down multiple times, so I would have had multiple opportunities. I had a pair of downy woodpeckers there a couple of weeks ago. That’s nicer if you’re not having to replenish the seed daily and the birds know it’s there so you get traffic to the feeder.
The squirrels are a wily bunch. Years ago we had “Sammy” who was a squirrel that went to three houses, back and forth each morning, to ensure he didn’t miss any treats. He’d return after his “rounds” to start working on the bird feeders … calisthenics to get to the food. Marge had a gazebo and she hung the feeders from one post … well, she might as well have just handed him the birdseed bag as he hung upside down, tipped the feeder over and went to town. 🙂
The squirrel photo is perfect. It goes to the essence of squirrel-ness. We don’t have blue birds around here, but have blue jays that are mean-spirited little buggers.
Thank you, Ally. I love your wording, “the essence of squirrel-ness.” 🙂 It’s been a real treat having so many bluebirds to enjoy seeing down south here, though I do miss my sassy blue jays.