Eggs and Blooms

In preparation for our next SIPS contest--which the topic is "eggs", I have been shooting pictures of various eggs and now to decide what to enter on Tuesday. Anyway, I decided to share a couple of the images along with some more of the spring flowers that are blooming down our way. This first picture is of a little girl in my flower garden among my bluebells, and she is holding a basket which I filled with eggs. I though she looked very sweet with her lap full.

The next picture is of the "largest?" dogwood tree in Illinois. It is located at Union Chapel Church, east of Dix, IL. It is a beautiful tree, and I am not sure it is the largest but certainly is spectacular. I enjoyed standing under it, just looking up in amazement.

Another "egg" picture--taken among the woodland violets. Loved the pink and violet colors together.

When I see our wisteria blooming, I am reminded of my sister's love for the color purple, for truly these flowers are some of the most magnificent shades of purple and they hang so gracefully in grape-like clusters all the way up the huge oak tree. The rain is now causing them to lose some of their fullness, but their sweet smell lingers in the air. Ahhh Spring, one of God's perfect creations.

Birds and butterflies

Yesterday as I walked back towards our pond I heard the sweetest little sound. There are lots of bird songs in our woodland, but this was a distinct little tweeting, and when I looked toward the song, I was so happy to see that our tree swallows have returned to their gourd. I immediately went back to the house to get the camera to get their picture. They are the prettiest little birds. I think the female, looking out the door, almost looks like a frog in the picture, but she stayed there while her mate went for a flight. I hope we get to watch them raise their young again this year.

This little guy is a baby hawk! I have been watching the nest for several weeks as I walk to the mailbox each day, and his parents have been quarreling at me, telling me that I am in their territory. The nest is high up in an old oak tree, where the large limbs fork. It is made of large twigs and very obvious, as the leaves are not yet out on the oaks. The little guy was peering out, watching me, and waiting for his parents to bring the next meal, I am sure. (I don't want to think that it might be some our other birds, but such is the life cycle, I guess.)

We have bluebirds checking out several of our houses. This pretty bird can easily be seen out our bathroom window. The little birdhouse in the picture is not the one he is using, but he likes the perching spot. The birdhouse pictured is one for the wrens, which we hope to get. Our granddaughter, Katie Rose, helped us hang several houses last month when she visited us.
I know you think I must have done nothing except take bird pictures yesterday, but really we planted and transplanted about 30 small trees. We had received 11 flowering trees from Arbor Day, and that led to all the others we needed to move. Then we moved a large rosebush and trellis to where it will receive more sunshine and be more visible. At the end of the day, we both knew we had muscles that we had forgotten about. As we sat on our deck, relaxing and getting enough energy to move inside for some supper, We had a pair of wood ducks that flew into the trees. I went inside (wow! that took a lot of effort!) and got the camera and took the above shot. It was about 7:30 P.M. and not much light, plus the ducks were about 80 feet from us, so I wanted to share the shot with you. Normally, wood ducks are very fearful of people, and we enjoy watching them on our pond and flying in our woods.

While I was taking pictures of our baby hawk, I noticed this butterfly on my bluebells, and of course had to take some photos. He flitted around everywhere, and was happy to find some flowers. I saw 3-4 kinds of butterflies yesterday. Also our honeysuckle has some flowers opening up, which is a sign that the hummingbirds will be here very soon. They always love the honeysuckle blooms, and usually arrive in April. So much to enjoy on the journey. Today, we needed a break from all of yesterday's yard work, plus rain is in the forecast, so we came to Characters Bookstore/Coffee Shop to use the Wi-Fi and relax. Hope you are enjoying all the birds and beauty of spring.

Easter Blessings

Yesterday--Easter-- we drove south to attend church at Christian Covenant Fellowship. It was a pleasant surprise to see friends from the past and get to worship with them. The above picture is of Connie and I taken after the service beside her car. Connie was in my sister's class in school and we have been blessed to be in church together a lot over the years, although it had been about 8 years since we had seen each other, yet she is my "sister in the Lord" and time doesn't age friendships bonded by God's love. While at the church, we met many friends from years past and it is always a blessing to hear Pastor Ralph tell us what the Lord has spoken to him. He has a way of speaking amazing truths with such simplicity and humor that everyone can understand and pays attention. I wish we lived closer to the church for it feels like "home".

Being in Southern Illinois, it is usually our practice to end up in Carbondale. Yesterday was no different---I wanted to take some pictures and try out our camera which was just repaired. This beautiful wisteria is on the side patio of the Longbranch Coffee House.

On SIU Campus we found the dogwood blooming. They are farther south and ahead of us. It is always delightful to see all the beauty on Campus, and good exercise too!

The squirrels on Campus are so accustom to people that they stop to visit and pose for photos. This little guy was so friendly and you can see him smiling for the camera. I had a wonderful photoshoot with him. Such was our journey on Easter. We sure enjoyed it.

Flowers Flowers Everywhere!

Flowers have emerged and spring is in the air!

The grape hyacinths are so sweet. They are growing in my flower bed beside the bird bath, and the emerging Virginia bluebells. Everywhere I look there is a new surprise each day. Oh to keep the snow away until this fall, but the forecast is for some flurries tonight. I hope these little buds can withstand the frigid temperatures and flakes on their petals.

This is a young couple in front of a church in Carbondale. Springtime causes love to bloom.



The birdhouses are ready and awaiting the nests to be built, and more little feathered friends to hatch in just a few weeks. Daffodils and tulip trees are flowering, and soon all the trees will be green again. Surely God's presence is everywhere for all to enjoy.