One thing I'm learning is we must keep our minds and bodies busy to move past tragedy. I've had 3 straight years of loss, I will say I'm a little bitter about it, but it is something I have to come to terms with somehow....This blog was scheduled to post the day Casey's life ended, so It's getting to be really old news by now. I am trying to come to grips with not having my little friend, I hear him snoring, and I hear his nails clicking on the floor, and yet he is not there...he is in my psyche and it's just gonna take time to adjust I still say, "come on you three." That's how I addressed my canine family, not its back to just the two...
My little family of 3
So 3 weeks ago....
GO HOME.....
GO HOME.....
That's what the Text I got last Tuesday at 5 PM said! It was sent as an Emergency Alert, like an Amber Alert...it was from the State of SC it said GO HOME, AND STAY THERE, THE STATE IS UNDER A MANDATORY ORDER TO STAY AT HOME. Can you believe that?? And half the people are walking around with bandanna's covering their lower face...so it looks like Dodge City. (auto fill tried to type banana's covering their lower face)...I think that would be way cooler what say you?
Before we went on lock down....I went here:
That Sunday we were not under any orders so I drove down to Santee NWR the Pine Island Unit, which I had not visited before. It's a big place and a great place. It was sort of crowded so I had to cross to the other side of the trail a couple times, and once a dog got after me, it was a Chihuahua so I wasn't scared, but the owner informed me that he thinks (the dog) that I am carrying a stolen backpack...OKAY some human traits do cross to other species. The thing was the ankle biter made me miss a good Swamp Sparrow shot and honestly should they allow that small dog to run off leash?
There was good birds and lots of walking I put in about 7+ miles mainly because I got on the wrong trail on the way back to the parking area...DUH...I think some signage would be helpful..the handout had a not to scale and completely useless diagram of the trail.
Santee Lake
This could be an Osprey feather...
I took the woods trail in, and got my FOY Prothonotary Warbler along the way...
And before the day was done I had spotted or heard 3 more...
I got very few birds in my viewfinder that day but I had a wonderful hike
and ended up with 50 species of bird. There was a large colony of nesting Tree Swallow...so since I have all this time on my hands I put together a quick piece of Media of the Tree Swallows...
There was 3 Common Gallinule in this one area...
This guy decided to drive his boat through a flock of 300 double Crested Cormorants...
Poor things had to fly for their lives...
All in All it was a good day, I ended up meeting a guy whose name I see almost every other day on our Rare Bird Lister...he is #1 in our State according to Species seen, I think I'm 69 At least in the top 100. Harold is a really nice person, and I remember emailing him once to ask where exactly he found a bird he reported and he gave me exact good directions and was just really helpful. That was a long time back and as soon as I saw him on Sunday he right away started sharing what he had found and where on that day. I really can't deal with snooty birders. Thankfully he does not fall in that category.
Anyways as I said I didn't get too many birds in photos this Turkey Vulture allowed a snapshot of his backside. So you'll be glad to learn I found a short supply of single TP rolls at the IGA limit 4, so I grabbed up 3 single rolls. I think in this time we all need to show some restraint!
Whats Blooming in the yard??
The knock out roses are opening up...
I have 4 or 5 bearded iris that will bloom this year, and each one will have 3 or 4 flowers on when they open I hope they will all open together...
These butterfly will enjoy visiting
Painted Lady
Happy Earth Day and Happy Birthday John. 💙
Whats Blooming in the yard??
The knock out roses are opening up...
I have 4 or 5 bearded iris that will bloom this year, and each one will have 3 or 4 flowers on when they open I hope they will all open together...
These butterfly will enjoy visiting
Red Spotted Purple
Painted Lady
Aquilegia
Black Swallowtail
Clematis Henryi
What's blooming in your neck of the woods??Happy Earth Day and Happy Birthday John. 💙
PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.
Nice pictures Sondra, that Prothonotary Warbler is a beauty. Our Barn Swallows are seldom seen perched up except prior to them leaving for Africa in the autumn. Its good to see the butterflies out and such vibrant colours. I expect the girls are missing Casey as well.
ReplyDeleteHI Dave, the girls do miss Casey they can't understand why there is no food in his bowl for them to lick out...He sure left a big hole in our little family.
DeleteHello, That gator looks big. I love all your flowers and the pretty warbler and butterflies. Great video, I do not see the Tree Swallows here. It was nice for you to meet the Harold your state's rare bird lister. Do the boaters ride through the flock of birds on purpose, I would be very upset to see it in person. Take care, happy birding. Enjoy your week!
ReplyDeleteHI Eileen...he had room to slowly go past the flock but he did not he plowed right thru them at high speed. JERK!
DeleteI'm so happy you were able to go to this park before the complete shut down. What beautiful birds and butterfly. The Prothonotary Warbler's color is so rich and Tree Swallows are so gorgeous. We have Barn Swallows here but the colors are browns and beiges but their faces are so beautiful. Your flowers are lovely. My weeds are growing nicely again. I hope that idiot in the boat got loads of bird shit all over him as pay back.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of bird revenge..lol. Our parks will be open on Apr 30 afa I know they only extended the school closings and the big groups restrictions.
Deletewe have several species of swallow here: tree, barn, northern roughwing, bank and cliff along with the chimney swifts.
It's good you were able to get out for such a long hike, bit worrying for the poor little dog with gators like that around!! It's always nice to meet a birder that isn't 'snooty' (I know what you mean by that!)! The butterflies are stunning!
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, yes I have met some snooty birders and it's not a pretty sight..lol
DeleteWell normally they are perfectly dressed in LL Bean or whatever so they do look good, but that's as far as the good experience goes. Some people really should not own dogs and I think that couple falls in that group.
Fortunately we are not under any kind of total lockdown, and I am able to get out every day. Even in the foulest of weather I go outside for at least part of the day. I think that being confined to the house would make the situation worse by a good order of magnitude. My neighbour's dog seems to have been born with an annoying barking mechanism that will not shut off. How they tolerate is a mystery to me. I would gladly feed it to the alligator!
ReplyDeleteDon't blame the dog it's the owners fault if the dog barks all the time, they are ignoring something not enough exercise, too much affection, or not putting good behavior boundaries down for the dog to follow. Dogs are pack animals they follow the leaders orders!
DeleteAw, that's a very sweet photo of the three dogs by the fire. Unfortunate about the angry chihuahua. Many dog owners drive me nuts. That shot of the Prothonotary Warbler is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteHi Jen and thank you...I just passed the one week timeline and it's been like an eternity.
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