Cuddos for me!

Written on JUNE 30th

I know we all have those times, where life seems to be throwing down a challenge every day and sometimes more than once a day...I get un-enchanted with life sometimes..

Growing up was a struggle for me because I didn't want to grow up!  I created this life within a life where everything was wonderful I made my connection with Nature and Animals 

And it has served me well my whole life.  Sometimes I get annoyed with younger people who seem to think we older folks should be at home in our rocking chairs...Oh please get real we are gonna be out here as long as we still can put foot to ground.

  So out in Nature real life is just white noise that you turn off...Im in my ruby slippers.  Tap Tap Tap and then Im in this forest...looks enchanted to me!

So  you work on a solution to one problem and you no more than take a breath ...here comes the second challenge of the day...or it could be the 4th or the 5t

Not a pretty picture....we have so much work to do to get beyond THIS^

OH but wait, I'm in my Happy Place and there lives this tiny little bird barely bigger than a Green Bean, his feathers are like jewels and he flies at the speed of light, and if you're really still he will look at you, and for that little moment you are in awe...of what is before you...

This little open spot made me think of a one of those vortexes that you jump through and ...BAM you 're suddenly transported someplace out of this world.


                                                                                  PLAY

 I'd wish for one where we live in harmony with our environment and where you may sail away on a really big lily pad...Wish I had thrown something down for scale, this pad is at least 13 inches in diameter. 

On this boat I could shrug off anything that makes my hands tingle and kills my butterflies. The butterflies become dragons that can attack....they suck blazing meteors right out of the atmosphere, and that's where fire breathing dragons come from...and if you catch one you can hold it by the tail and use it like a ray gun!  I just made that up of course but wouldn't that be really something to see?

No one is a rock...cause look what happens to rock over time....it turns to sand.  

in my happy place sand has birds the color of the rainbow sitting on it so nothing to fear here...the Painted Bunting makes me think of Sherbet  and then when I read the label, HF corn syrup..yuk.

Maybe you can stand on someone else's rock, it keeps you afloat when the seas are rough and you just need to catch your wind before you sail off into never never, that special place...the double crested cormorant is taking a rest while he figures out his next move. 

 stand very still and the white noise won't find you, be berry berry quiet...don't draw any attention sssssshhhhh...Great Egrets are master of their universe. 

 

if only my Mantra would stick...until I can figure out how to cope with real life with the white noise...I'll just keep as close to nature as I can, my happy place...

The golden years are merely a homophone for olden years...yep Im old! And yet in my own little world  I'm still 12 or 13 chasing butterflies through the fields and then right there on the ground in front of me is youth, a young bird of bright orange red sitting directly behind a tiny pine tree... promising a future of hope and full of starry eyed wonder...

Summer Tanager

I wish for Unicorns and Fireflies, and little girls can jump on the back of a bird and fly over the world ...and if she doesn't like what she sees...she  can use her ray gun dragonfly to blast it to smithereens.  Ooops no electricity, lets just live in the dark till we really figure this thing out!

Birds are flying machines..."jump on he says I can show you a view like you've never even dreamed of...just ignore the white noise, it's not here in dreamland"..

Hop on this Eastern Kingbird

Fairies and toads live under the moss...I've imagined, they can hold their breath for days, hours, minutes...maybe a lifetime!

What's under this mossy water??? Maybe its the entrance to a magic place..

Fairies may hitch a ride on the back of biwinged dragons....and be taken to the Garden of Corn Blue Flowers, 

ripe with pixie dust 

 sprinkle that dust as the Navajo sprinkle the corn pollen and it changes stix into snakes the color of fresh summer punch...lemon and lime sherbet...Sugar Free

 I think there is a lot of magic here...under each lily pad a small universe is created. Those little bugs that go round and round and snails and water spiders all on one lily pad, and here there's thousands of lily pads. 

 birds with spiky hair the colors of the rain  forest rise up out of the waters...like a Phoenix Rising, he stands...with sort of a goofy look..teehee. 

 Unmoved and no tail must be a new visitor to our Planet

Green Heron

Ripe Fruit is so inviting...

A Pixie can sleep in the petals of a swamp flower
safe from all the White Noise...

It's never too late or you're never too old to imagine the world the way you would like it to be, mine may sound  a little far out there but in the words of John Lennon Imagine all the people living for today...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope some day you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Hopefully you know a place where you can go to be away from people and still be able to enjoy a day out of the house and out in Nature. 

 You got this one life,,,

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 Trump and his gang of cut throats continue to put emphasis on making him look good to  his supporters and his chance to win the election and not on people's lives.  What a fool he is and all who follow him are even more so for the writing is on the wall!  He will sacrifice YOUR kids for his cause.  What is his cause you ask? MONEY that is all he cares for.  Yes we need a strong economy but how can we work if we have sick kids at home or parents dying in hospitals? We should do the one thing we know that works,,,,stay as far away from each other as possible, when you can't wear your protection and clean your hands immediately upon leaving a store. 

People who have had the virus can and are getting it a second time.  We were led to believe that the heat of Summer would halt the virus that not only did not happen it has stepped up! I would advise people to NOT be mask less in any public situation.  It is actually the only deterrent we have at this point. In our state a month ago we had like 4 deaths per day now it's double digits per day...

WE all have to do our part to get things under control if we leave it up to someone else how does that make a difference?
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NOV 3RD is our New Independence Day!  Just having  some decent leadership may help it may not but at least we will go down trying not denying. 

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure

Every Place is an Island

July 4ths Buck Moon

I suppose I could spend my meager income on artwork, books, or dust collectibles, but I'd rather use my resources to capture an experience...not create a dust collection.  I have everything I need...my small goals, like a stamp in this paperback book, it's like Geocaching.  You arrive there and then you locate the ink stamp which is sometimes not that easy to find.  Once in hand you flip to the proper page, line up the stamper and press! Then you're off on your adventure.  You have your life experience.  So strange it took only 2 weeks for us to dismantle my Mom's Material world so think about that when you next bring something home to stash away... 

If only we could all live on an Island? Yes I know we do but its pretty big doesn't feel like an island... I used to live on the island of Brooklyn, but unfortunately it was ........ Brooklyn.  LoL, 

My beach view 2004

I enjoyed many sunsets that island you see there is Staten Island.

Mom visited me on my Island, it is a cold Island yes you could enjoy some sunning maybe  3 weeks in August but if the wind was blowing "forget about it"...the beach officially closes there on Labor Day a very short beach season.  

Mom Oct 2006 ;o)

it was nice though without that Ocean view to calm my nerves on my days off from my crazy job I wouldn't have made it through that time in my life without this beach to pacify me. 

... in this post Im visiting a Lake Island  State Park. I had never been here before, I was always in a hurry to get someplace else so never took the exit to visit this park...so today it was my destination for this experience and day of exploring a new place on planet EARTH. 

Dreher Island State Park, on Lake Murray

Here is the small little HQ building, it's right next to the boat ramp...

A small gift shop, some exhibits, and 2 restrooms

While there I did some looking at the birds  and enjoyed a couple of hikes. 

Along this hike there was an Osprey nest with a youngster calling to his parent to bring in some fish...

Play

Under this bridge was a Cliff Swallow Colony..

And not far away was a tiny puddle where they gathered up mud to build and keep their nests in repair..They had their wings up in this fluttering manner 

while they picked up the mud...

Each time I tried to get closer to see over that little dip and get a better look they would all leave, and when I backed up they would return, so I respected their guideline of social distancing..

another  hike 

The shore reveals some nice views...

This lake has 650 miles of shoreline...50,000 acres.  

This dog was having a good day!  Floating around with  his friend on a paddle board.

I hiked over this bridge to my lunch spot...another little island!  I carried my chair with me, I was parked close to the bridge...so nice to sit and relax for an hr, I will be honest and tell you it's hard for me to be still for that long...

What more could you want on a nice breezy day than a shady spot to relax, do a little birding, and have some refreshment...  

Just a wee bit crowded here...

this is my kind of crowd

Lots of small shell to examine during my quiet rest time...Listening to the water lap the shore was very calming to me...



Meanwhile back close to the road a young one with a parent showing him the ropes  out in the grass...

Brown Thrasher 

I had hoped to see Loons, Geese, Grebes, Gulls but I guess they are out over the open water and I was only able to  explore shoreline. 

It was a fun day spent on the Island, and I did do some relaxing!  And got a stamp in my Passport Book.  

And to help us connect more with Nature and people of color, I want to introduce you to Jason Ward if you don't already know who he is, You will be happy you found him and his part 2 series on Meet the Birds of North America will begin on July 12th I think is correct. 
 



People like Jason need our support he is making a difference...we are not all in the position to do what he is doing so let us support him and get the message out there.  So subscribe to his channel...and click the notifications bell and you won't miss any episodes..
 I'd encourage you to binge watch his first season 24 episodes and they are about 15 mins each...NOT only does he go out and actively spot birds he highlights conservation efforts, politics that affect birds, and how birding is NOT just a White, Straight activity. I hope all of you will watch and realize how inclusion is a very big part of  how we as Birders and Conservationists can help to save the environment we love together.

As Jason mentions in one video the Trump administration is opening up oil and gas drilling in Utah, Wyo, and MT that will threaten the prairies needed for the Greater Prairie Chicken, just to name one...and threaten the Artifacts left by previous cultures, and the land needed for our beloved creatures to survive,,,,so why in the world would you give your Travel Dollars to either State??? We must tell these State leaders that we won't travel there until they get it right!!  And Trump is a deaf ear so let's just vote him out, and get on with the really important stuff like

Protecting more habitat and yeah
Let's Make Bears Ears Big Again 

...and if you would like to see my last YouTube release here it is and feel free to subscribe and click the little bell to get notifications...Some of you are my faithful visitors and I do appreciate that so much.  It's another great way to preserve memories, I am no expert and I have no fancy camera or editing gear just seat of the pants stuff...hope you will click on it and watch. I try to have new content about every couple weeks...and my subject matter is all over the place!! I have a new one scheduled to release on Tuesday. 

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

My flag is a wildflower...

or the wing of a bird, or the branch of a tree...and that's the only one I will pledge allegiance too.

(due to a lot of recent spam I am now moderating comments until the spammer loses interest, so sorry please don't let that deter you from commenting)

As birders we have to flock together for the common good...does it ever happen to you, and your birding friends will understand, you're in a conversation with someone and you're out doors you could be like this:
"Yeah I'm reading this really cool article about travel...RED HEADED WOODPECKER, and it's really been fascinating."   LOL if you hear or see out of the corner of  your eye a bird you just shout it out.  Some people probably think Im insane...It doesn't seem to matter who Im with I recall my last employer relaying a story to another coworker...She said "we'll just be driving along and there is Sondra sitting over there calling out birds, today we were on our way to pick up a chair and all of sudden she yells "BALD EAGLE'  right out of the blue.." LOL 

I go to Carolina Sandhills a lot it's close by and it's never crowded and It's big so if someone is in an area you can go to another area. It is a National Wildlife Refuge.   
You have seen me post about it many times and I will probably be making many more posts of my visits to the refuge as I continue to try to social distance.   This is the perfect spot to do that.  

I have a collection of photos I took over the past 4 visits...My reports will slow down now since the heat and humidity is on and gas prices are up again.  BUT I can't just sit inside that is just not me...so I will be out somewhere like this place a couple times a week. 

passion flower with Bumble bees

Northern Bob White Quail numbers are on the rise, which is good! I hear them almost everywhere I go an occasionally they pop up for a quick look.

Northern Bobwhite Quail 

There's several locations in the refuge where carnivorous plants are living...here is a couple I spotted recently...

Green Pitcher Plants  

Yellow Trumpet pitcher plants 

Purple Pitcher Plant

the bloom of the Purple Pitcher

I've also seen more Grey Catbirds than normal...ebird says the count of 8 is high but I saw or heard more than 10 one day..over the entire refuge.  

Most of the fruit is ripe now and birds are enjoying blackberries, plums, and the wild cherry has little cherries hanging all over the place..this Indigo Bunting was defending his piece of the pie! 

along with the Orchard Orioles 

male Orchard Oriole this one has more of an orange look one fellow said it was a Baltimore...but I would want to see wingbars!

The wildflowers are really peaking now and the nectar lovers are out in force...

Insects on Butterfly Milkweed 

Press Play in the middle of the video..

It's always exciting to see other animals out in the wilds, There is deer in the  park, along with Grey and Fox Squirrel, 

this lady White Tailed Deer, probably has young hidden nearby she looked a little anxious they will bed the young down then come back later to get them I was probably right by them and didn't realize....meanwhile this Fox Squirrel was hanging out on tree limb just relaxin'

black fox squirrel 

Raccoon, Beaver, Possum,  Bobcat, Wild Turkey, there is one pond where Beaver are supposed to be active...but I can't figure out how to hike to that section near the back of the pond, maybe in the winter when the leaves die off....on this day I noticed something scurrying around in one of the ponds, 

River Otter!   Three of them! Check them out in the video...

PLAY

OH those cute little ears...omg so sweet. 

 

I didn't want to scare them so I didn't out stay my welcome...and moved on.
 I took a hike on the Woodland Pond Trail.  

 

You can see it on the kiosk above, it loosely follows around the pond...I's about one mile loop.

creek bridge 

the well marked trail

I enjoyed this hike a lot and when the heat and ticks are gone I want  to do it again and go the opposite way to see it from sides.

The beautiful mixed pine forest has the scent of scorched earth and pine sap as this park uses fire to keep overgrowth under control.  Prior to settlers turning our lands into farms these areas were Savannah's with large mature 100's of years old Longleaf pine, with swaying Sedge's and wiregrass and Saw Palmetto's underneath.  Once the trees were cut and farming cleared the land and the forestry became an industry the trees were not allowed to mature fire was not allowed to keep it cleaned and all that changed the PH of the soil, it became a wasteland!

I was watched closely by the Common Yellowthroat, and the Blue Grey Gnatcatcher...while listening to the drumming of a Red Headed Woodpecker.  

Blue Grey Gnatcatcher

Common Yellowthroat

Red-headed Woodpecker

And the still listed as Endangered Red Cockaded Woodpecker...is thriving here

This Carolina Wren threw up his tail to warn others of my approach along the trail 

I wanted this to be an Alder Flycatcher, or Willow but it's an Eastern Wood Pewee, however the lower mandible is very orange...but long primaries and tail  no discernible eye ring so EWPE This one may look as if it's singing but it's not he only made the slightest of chip..

Sometimes a non singing flycatcher (Alder or Willow) is called Traill's Flycatcher, 

because unless they vocalize you really can not tell them apart. 
Something to keep in mind.  

And no forest walk is complete without an Eastern Towhee to sing for you..

The immature Eastern Bluebirds were out in force as I moved from the forest after my hike to a field...where one of the many ponds is located...there is a bluebird trail here meaning many bluebird nest boxes are kept up and every one I checked either had eggs, or hatchlings in it....I think there's like 50 boxes in the park maybe even more...and the most recent checks I see second nestings are happening so I think it's been a very good breeding year for the Eastern Bluebirds.

Flowers all over the place like this Cross Vine that hummingbirds love...along with lots of Fleabane. 

Wild Garlic is in bloom...

This one below I forgot the name of...

TiTi bushes blooming now in the refuge...

Hatpins...and Meadow Beauty lines the edges of the ponds...

Pearl Edge Fritillaries, maybe...

...and most recently when I visited they had drained 2 of the ponds!  Lake Bee I think they needed to work on the dam and they ripped down an old boardwalk that was always flooding....

I had hopes of more mud flat birds and maybe in a few more days some will show I had a Gr Blue Heron and a Great Egret...

PLAY

And some killdeer were running around.  And they also are draining Lake Martin where the photo blind is located...if you recall my hike to there 

No water in Martin's Lake...

Some small fruit of the American Persimmon 

 Bees on ...the Common Buttonbush below

I love the fields this time of year...

So do the Blue Grosbeaks...

Immature or a female

Male...

I hope this post gives you a better understanding of how important protecting areas for wild life is.  Without these big fields with flowers and ripe fruit these insects, birds, and animals would have no place to find food and cover to exist and raise their young.  

Without these wilderness ponds and streams where would those precious otters live?  Hopefully the dams will be repaired and the lakes will refill...there is Plenty of freshwater ponds and lakes here for the frogs and turtles to move to during this reconstruction period...this was not the otter pond being drained...
 just up and downsteam of the ponds that are under going change are numerous other ponds .  So Im not worried about the survival of any of the critters...while they do this work. 

the flowers will produce seeds...

Every season is different there too...soon the migrant birds will do the change around the birds who move South will begin to stage and arrive...Fall fruits and seed heads will be waiting to feed them!  

Now Imagine this place open to Gas, Oil, Fracking, Drilling leases...and suddenly areas are now only off limits to YOU.  They put up locked gates to keep the public away from these leases on Public Lands so now you are out of the loop and roads are busy with big haulers and lots of non caring individuals in 2 ton or larger pick up trucks....they pollute the land, disturb the chain of life, plants are destroyed, trails used by wildlife are disrupted and You are kept in the dark about what's really going on by the fencing, the locked gates, and the private security...The Fascists are now in charge.


Now this next part if you don't care about our environmental and personal freedoms don't bother to read. 

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things on my radar 

  Not only are our freedoms in peril so are the birds and our natural areas as the Trump legacy continues to destroy what protections we have so far kept from the hands of Fascism. Think Oil and Gas leases in our public lands.  He is doing all he can to put the Fascists in charge of all of our natural resources, our National Parks, and our National Identity.  What kind of nation are we?  We have to push back!  We define what kind of nation we are by who we elect.

  So celebrating the 4th of July,  not feeling it...I feel that we have a leader who is manipulating a neo-con right wing party being controlled by Fascism into believing   they are supreme rulers over the  Identity of this country.  They are wrong.  This country has a bill of rights we have a constitution....When a President orders Americans to be gassed and beaten back by military helicopters during a completely legal demonstration, so he can grand stand in front of a church, along with an Attorney General who is taking his orders from this corrupt President, then I fear our Democratic Republic  is in jeopardy.  We need to let him know it's NOT OK WITH US.  If he will do that to citizens how can you expect one morsel of love for the natural world from this man or his party.  There is no love in the man or his party they are liars, and they really don't care.

  I won't be flying a flag until I'm proud of and KNOW what that flag represents.  

No it is not a Happy 4th of July for this country!  If we want to stay free we have to Break the Glass on this one. 

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.