In Search of a Butterfly

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Some years the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies show up too late for me to capture any pictures of them on my Yoshino Cherry tree, but this year with the warm weather, the arrival of the butterflies and the blossoms is syncing up, and I'm very excited.  I spent quite a bit of time yesterday staring at this Yoshino Cherry tree at the end of my yard in search of  butterflies.  I don't know what year I planted this tree...sometime since I moved in in December of 1993...but it's HUGE at this point, and sometimes the butterflies are way up top and it takes a long time to even see them let alone try to capture pictures of them.  Still, I was quite motivated and kept trying!

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I did manage to get a couple of shots that I liked, but not THE shot that I was hoping for.  I ended up liking the shot of the butterfly on the Wisteria in Madi's yard better, so that's what I posted as my daily.  Here are a few of the shots on the Yoshino Cherry.  I'll try again today! Nothing like the pressure of those pretty blooms only lasting a few days!

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Seriously, if I stand out there any longer tomorrow I'm going to be sun burnt:-)

The Kidd Family took in Salvo this week.  He's such a cutie!  He's around 8.

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Bluebird Nesting

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Donnie's bluebird nest now has two eggs in it.  Woo hoo!  Mama bluebird should lay one egg a day until there are 4-6 eggs in the nest.

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I was treated to mom and dad perching on a limb near the box.  Donnie's front porch is on the first level of the house but it's 2nd story high, so it puts me at nearly the same height as the upper tree branches.

This is a shot of the mom.  She is a darker and not so bright shade of blue on her back with the same orangish chest as dad.

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The daily shot and the two pics below are dad who really does have feathers on his back that are that blue.  I did not alter the color.

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If you'd like to try to attract bluebirds to your yard, I recommend a these Homes for Bluebirds from Jack Finch in Baily, NC.

A little later in the day, a red-tailed (hope that's right!) hawk overhead was making a racket and circling repeatedly overhead.

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Please do not mess with the bluebirds!

I stopped and took some tulip shots at the entrance to a subdivision during my travels yesterday too.  Not as pretty as yesterday's shot I don't think but still nice.

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If you have any doubt about the amount of pollen in the air right now, take a look at this picture!  My van was only outside for a few hours!

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Spring's Glory

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Different day but same weather. Seems we're in a 70s streak, so thankful it's not an 80's streak already, with storms kicking up each day.  We have sun either for a bit in the AM or a bit in the PM and then the clouds and rain roll back in.  We'll take the rain.  We surely need it!  The clouds are messing with my spring picture taking, though.

I found myself back at Wal-Mart yesterday and just couldn't resist another trip out to the garden center to see the flowers.

I came away with several shots that I liked including the shot I posted for my daily and these:

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The wisteria in Madi's yard is in full bloom.  Donnie has one bluebird egg now and Christine, Madi's mom, 6 now.  The signs of spring are everywhere, and it's joyous!

Silver Spotted Skipper Butterfly

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I went to look for Swallowtail Butterflies on my Yoshino Cherry Tree yesterday afternoon and walked away this Silver Spotted Skipper Butterfly picture instead.  Still hoping the Swallowtails will show up while the blooms are at their peek this weekend.  The hint of purple in this picture is wisteria.

I took some shots in Donnie's yard yesterday too.  He loves ferns, and his yard is very fern friendly with shade and creek moisture.

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The Carolina Jasmine is out everywhere (near Donnie's driveway in this case) we look too!

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And from my yard fallen Camellia blooms and Phlox mixing together.  I will eventually rake these blooms away to prevent disease under the tree, but for now, they are too pretty.

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Little League practice for the boys keeps getting cancelled due to rain.  We're easily over 2" of rain this week.  However, Johnny did get in his first batting practice last night.  He stood strong with the ball coming from the batting machine and was able to make contact several times.  Way to go!

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Red-Tailed Hawk

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I stopped to look for the red-tailed hawk (really a Red-Shouldered Hawk) this morning and was able to spot him and get a few pics.  This is the best and is cropped very small.

The Yoshino Cherry trees are blooming now.  I sure hope I can catch some butterflies on them over the next week.

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I worked with Joey last night to complete an extra credit science project.  The assignment was fairly flexible and instructed the kids to create a solar system.  Joey ended up designing his own solar system and planet names and then adding in size, position, moon numbers, and temperature to each.  Johnny of course not wanting to be left out designed his own solar system too. Wow!  Both boys took their projects in to Joey's teacher this morning.  I didn't get to see, but I know Ms. Miller was smiling.

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Note:  Don't worry too much about Johnny's eye patch.  We are just exercising the muscles in the unpatched eye.  That eye tends to wander outwards.

While there was sun for a few minutes this AM, it's overcast and raining now.  There are so many photo ops out there and just the wrong lighting.  I noticed last night that my pussy willow tree is blooming.  I hope I can get some shots of it.

Wal-Mart Tulip

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We had a wet and cloudy day here yesterday.  When the boys and I did our shopping at Wal-Mart, we walked through the garden center and noticed that there were a ton of flowers out there!  Here are the runner ups for the daily.

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I hope spring has arrived where you are and that you are enjoying the beauty of spring as well!

St. Patricks Day Parade

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The streets of downtown Raleigh were packed for the St. Patrick's Day parade.  Temps were in the upper 70s, and the sun was out in full force.  It was a sea of green for sure with everyone in a festive mood.  We lined up with the group from Marbles Kids Museum and had a great time marching.  Below you can see the crowd in front of the courthouse as we come up Fayetteville Street towards the Capital Building.

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The Capital Building is to the left here, and we're about 2/3 of the way through the parade route.

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I guess technically I shouldn't have been taking pics while walking in the parade, but I don't do much of anything without my camera around my neck, and it was just too tempting.  Plus, this parade has a very casual feel to it.  Lots of people had cameras and folks on the side would talk to those in the parade and vice versa.

The boys saw several of their classmates during the parade and ran over to give the girls big hugs!  Joey really likes Eliza, and Johnny has a thing for the twins, Lauren and Lindsey:-)

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We even got to see Joey's teacher, Ms. Miller:

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And here's Joey with his parade enthusiasm!

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Behind the scenes before the parade started, I saw this groovy couple.  This float was just a bunch of friends that pick a theme each year, register, and have fun.

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We also saw and heard this wonderful group of musicians play.

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And, after the parade, these girls were waiting to give their performance on stage.  Love those colorful costumes!

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I think it was a very successful day for the Irish and everyone else sharing in the fun for the day!