A Second Look--June 17, 2015

Here are some things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Day lily

Mushroom

Hydrangea

Lady's Mantle

Blanket flower

Yellow, white, and red clover

Redbud tree seed pods. I never realized until I saw them yesterday, that the little, tiny redbud flowers produced such big seed pods.

Hosta or the deer's breakfast yesterday.

The bluebirds are building another nest in this box for a second brood. The bluebirds sit on top of the box a lot to guard it. There has already been a wren that has tried to use this box.

Passages

The last two weekends, I have been traveling to mark two family passages--a wedding and a funeral.

One was a celebration with anticipation of a life to come.

The other was a celebration with sadness for a life that will be missed.

Both brought together families with flowers and tears.

A Second Look--June 10, 2015

More summer like weather this week. Hot humid days with evening thunderstorms. Fortunately the mornings have still been cool. This weather has brought out the summer bloomers--the flowers that bloom most of the summer, and the spring perennials are pretty much done except for a lingering flower here or there.

As predicted, the baby bluebirds had already fledged by the next time I looked in the nest. So, I decided it was time to clean out the nest boxes to prepare for more broods this summer. But an interesting thing happened on my way to clean out one of the boxes. I found more baby birds. We have three boxes. One had the bluebirds, one had a full wren's nest with no eggs and one had half a wren's nest with no eggs (or so I thought). Wrens are known for having decoy nests or extra nests to fill up nesting sites to keep other birds away so I didn't think that much about the extra wren nests without eggs. As it turns out, the nest that I thought was only half done had babies in it. It was built up high enough that I couldn't quite see into the bottom of it. I had it half way pulled out before I spotted the birds. I quickly put it back in place, so I didn't get a chance to see how many birds were in it. After I left the area, I saw the mother come and check on her brood. I think they're all okay.

Here are a few things this week I saw

 during a Second Look.

Day lily (Stella Dora)

Hottuynia

Spirea

Lamium (purple dead nettle)

Astilbe

Blanket flower (gaillardia)

The deer have been eating the coneflowers before they have a chance to bloom.

Coreopsis

Marigold

The baby wrens are in this box. I had a hard time closing it back up because the twigs that the nest was built from fell into the sides.

A Hike in New Hampshire

Over the weekend we went to my nephew's wedding in New Hampshire. The wedding was not until 5 PM on Saturday, so we decided to take advantage of a little free time that morning and go for a hike. We heard about a Blue Job Mountain that was only a half hour away that supposedly had wonderful views with a hike of only a mile or two. That was a perfect fit for our open morning.

The morning was cool, but the sun was shining and there was a nice breeze. We started from the parking lot on the trail to the fire tower which we could climb and maybe see a couple of states away if it were clear.

The trail was wide and gentle with trees and little underbrush to the sides. Everyone had a spring in their step as we started our hike.

We saw wildflowers. 

and a woodpecker tree.

and cairns that marked the trail.

As the trail got steeper, we hiked over flowing tree roots and rocks.

Eventually we made it to the fire tower. Ward took these pictures from the top. I only made it to the first level because the tower seemed too rickety for me to go any higher.

While Ward, Wally, and Theo were climbing the tower, I talked to a person who lived in the area. She told me about another ridge close by that had a great view and was well worth the hike if we had another hour to spare. She gave simple directions to find the ridge as well as directions from there back to the parking lot. 

So we were off.

Our first landmark was a pond which we found with no problem. But then our troubles began.

It turns out that there were many trails near the pond  Almost as many as the ubiquitous blueberries we saw. After some discussion, we chose what we thought was the right one.

But we couldn't seem to find the ridge we were looking for. However, we did find this turtle which we declared was the trip mascot. Talking about the turtle distracted us from all the bugs around--mosquitoes, black flies, and little brown ones. They were all biting.

Eventually, we saw another cairn which meant we were back in "trail civilization". And it was a good thing too because I was getting pretty cranky from the wandering among the rocks and bugs. All the while my pace was getting slower and slower.

Our goal was just to make it down off the mountain when we stumbled on our panoramic destination that we had been told about at the fire tower. It really did have a great view. However, it was too late for Wally. He got too hungry, which for Wally means he got sick. I'm not sure how much he appreciated the view from behind the bush where he was throwing up.

But, "All's well that end's well". We eventually made it back to the car hot, sweaty, tired, and bug bitten. However, we seemed to forget about most of that after we got a good lunch at Little Miss Sophie's. Luckily, we found this place much faster than we found our way off the mountain.

Meet Strayer

And Learn a Little More About Me

One of the fun things about the A-Z challenge was finding new blog friends. One of the ones I met during the challenge was Strayer at her blog, Cat Eyes—A Cat Woman's Photos. Stayer's mission in life is based on her love for cats. She takes care of stray cats by both getting them fixed and addressing their medical needs. She does this with a lot of hard work and little money. She blogs about her adventures in capturing the cats, medical fixes, and cat behavior. However, she also posts about her interesting past which includes both some good and bad parts. Recently, I particularly enjoyed her post about her adventures on her first motorcycle. That post brought out some equally interesting stories in the comments. When you have a chance, you might give her blog a visit and learn about the important work she is doing.

Strayer nominated me for the Liebster Award which is a way for bloggers to introduce new people to their blogs. While I won't be doing the nominating part of the award, I will answer the questions that Strayer asked as part of the process because I always find it interesting to read the questions and answers that go with these awards.

Cats or dogs? I think the answer to that is obvious—cats. However, I do enjoy dogs. Most of them are so easy to please and always have a tongue-hanging-out-of-the-mouth, happy expression.

Your favorite book? That's a hard question because I have liked so many. However if I had to pick one right now without thinking too much about it, I'd pick the Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I love the awakening of the garden as well as the awakening of Colin with fresh air and hard work.

Your Favorite Movie? Once again a hard question, but I'll say, Singing in the Rain. I love a good musical. Just thought of another one—To Kill A Mockingbird. I love everything about it especially the character of Scout.

Mass transport commute or your own car? I drive most places I go because mass transport is not available. However, I took the bus to work for the five years I lived in New Orleans.

Eat in or eat out? I prefer eating in. However, I'm perfectly okay if I am eating take out while I'm eating in.

Noise or silence: Definitely silence. I can't be around too much noise/music/conversation, etc. until I need to get away. My brain seems to get overstimulated from this.

Crowds or alone: I don't mind a crowd as long as I don't have to figure out how to maneuver in it. If I'm already in place, I like the energy of a crowd. I also like my alone time.

Have you ever been to a county fair? I have been to one many, many times. I grew up going to one every year and have gone to the local one for most of the 18 years we have lived here. I have sometimes shared my fair visits on this blog.

Jet ski or kayak? Kayak. I have never been on a jet ski and I'm not sure that I'm coordinated enough to manage one. I have done some kayaking, but I've done more canoeing.

TV or book? If I'm honest, I'll say TV. Some think of TV as a wasteland, but I think of TV as a relaxing activity where I can usually find a program that makes me laugh. I also love to get lost in a book.

City or country? No doubt about this one—country. I love to be in the out of doors with space around. I have been the happiest when I have been living in this setting. However, I worked in a city for several years and enjoyed what it had to offer. I would often go out at lunch or after work to the big department stores, fancy restaurants, and tourist attractions. However, I was always glad to leave it in the evening.

Thanks to Strayer for the nomination and providing these questions for you to learn a little more about me.