Pictures of Spring

I was very surprised this morning to see this opossum when I took Buddy out to his pen. I'd already taken Sugar and Honey out, and they were barking up a storm. I saw at least one more opossum on the ground in the branches below that tree, and my nextdoor neighbor reported seeing 3 opossums about 100ft. away from this spot in his yard this morning as well. I assume the same group. Very unusual to see them at 9AM. Usually I see them just after dark.


I drove Joey to school this morning, and we left early so we could take pictures on the way.

On John Adams Road, I took several spiderweb and Queen Anne's lace pictures.

Then it was over to Barber Bridge Road to take Oxeye Daisy pictures. Today, I saw a white crab spider on the daisies. I found him fascinating and took bunches of pics of him trying to get a really good shot. Apparently, this spider does not build a web but instead lives on flowers and preys on the insects that visit the flower for food. This spider can change color/has color variations based on the type of flower it's living on too.

We had rain overnight, so the daisy petals glistened in the sun.

I hope to be back out taking more pictures tomorrow...Saturday morning.

The rest of the pics, and there are more, are here.

NC Zoo Trip

The boys and I went to the NC Zoo today with Madi. I'd been wanting to go back to the zoo for a few weeks now, so I'm glad we were able to make the trip today. The weather was iffy. It even sprinkled on us a few times on the way there, but after an initial sprinkle at the entrance, it was clear the rest of the day. Cloudy though, and that's a good thing 'cause the zoo can be too hot on a very sunny warm day.

We started on the Africa end and moved to North America...our usual route. The kids were REALLY interested in the bronze statues near the elephants:-) I could barely keep up with them posing...serious. Too cute!

We were especially pleased to see the lion awake for a change. We only saw the male. The female was not visible although Joey swore she was laying in the grass.

I had warned the kids to not fight over who could sit in the stroller. It's a 2-seater. Part of the time they compromised and took turns 2 riding and 1 walking. Joey decided it was easier to let Johnny sit on his lap. Madi let him sit on her lap some too. A few times they bickered, and I made all 3 of them walk. I still wanted the stroller to lean on;-)

Over in North America, we were just delighted by the animals that swam before us in front of their windows. The river otters have put on a good show most trips, but this time Willie the polar bear was awake and swimming too. What a delight!

We had our usual mid zoo ice cream break. Yum. We almost did the carousel this time, but it clouded up (?rain) and I decided to press forward to North America (it's at the midway point) instead of potentially wasting precious time waiting to ride.

I think one of my best pics today is the anole with his throat all puffed out, and he was a native zoo dweller and not in an exhibit!

So, we got there around 10:45 and left around 4:30. 5 ours is about right to see everything. The only thing we didn't do was go in the tropical plant 'house'. They had a special orchid show going on, but I just didn't feel like seeing tropical foliage today. More animals! (the kid kind included)

I'm probably leaving something out, but you get the gist. Ask the kids what they thought if you see them...

The rest of the pics are here.

Coffee & Crepes Photography Show

Last night, I hung a new set of pictures at Coffee & Crepes in Cary. This is my 3rd show. Thank you Terri for giving me this wonderful opportunity again.

The theme of this show is Birds and Butterflies.

My artwork will be up for about a month. And, if you get a chance, come see me Friday night at 6 for a Meet the Artist/Cary Art Loop event.


The rest of the wall hanging pictures.
Pictures in the show.

Durham Museum of Life and Science Butterfly Bash

Joey, Johnny, Madi, and I went to the Durham Museum of Life and Science today for their Butterfly Bash event. The weather was really nice if not just a tad hot by midafternoon. The kids behaved really well. And, there were a lot of extra things to do today on top of the really cool things that are always going on at the museum.

Madi was sweet on both boys a lot today. Johnny in particular was all smiles about it.



This is a picture of the butterfly parade. The guy on stilts fascinated the kids.



They had chalk for the kids to draw butterflies or whatever. The kids always like this type of opportunity to show off their drawing skills. They got me involved tracing bodies like we've done before at home and at the zoo.





Joey drew mom a swallowtail like she's been taking pictures of. Is that not too cute?!?



We saw Ranger Greg in the Explore the Wild exhibit today. He pointed out several neat things to us in the Wetlands area including this frog.



Conductor Richard taking train tickets.



The tunnel:-) Yes, they were LOUD. Say what?!?





I just like this picture of Madi. It looks like she's in some fairy tale dreaming of wonderful things.





We went to the butterfly house at 3 for the release. What a swarm of people today. But, we were lucky and all 3 kids got to hold a butterfly. Joey is lucky about getting them and then passing them on.

All of today's pics are here.

More Sights of Spring

The boys and I continue to enjoy the sights (and sounds) of spring. We went to Frog Fest at Crowder Park on Saturday and had a wonderful time. We also went to Bass Lake Park and canoed. Sunday, we were at Crabtree Lake Park and then Duke Gardens. Besides enjoying what's going on in our own yard, we've really enjoyed all the things going on in the local parks. We've seen butterflies and gorgeous flowers and even extra friendly herons. Hopefully we have several more weeks of wonderful spring weather ahead of us before the summer heat settles in. I'll be taking pictures regardless... :-)

Springtime in NC

On 2/24/09, I had 500 robins in my yard. We have about an acre. That's a lot of birds. They spent that day and several before and after eating every holly berry they could find. It was very cool to watch them. There were a few cedar waxwings mixed in with them. The birds also frolicked in the 3 ornamental ponds in my yard.

Most nights we have 1-3 opossums eating around and under our bird feeders. The kids and I shine the flashlight through my office window to see if they are out there, happy, and eating. If we go out, they just go up one of the trees and hope that we'll go away. Did you know that opossums are the only North American marsupial. Yep, they have a pouch for their babies.

Daffodils are always a sure sign of spring. I think they call this one sunny side up:-) or some egg name.

We are lucky to have a pair of white breasted nuthatches in the birdhouse on this pine tree in our front yard. I learned that nuthatches like pine trees. I guess this location is a natural spot for them then. I see lots of activity in and out of the box for 3+ weeks now, so hopefully we'll have babies soon and maybe more than 1 brood.

Prior to 1 month ago, I don't know that I'd ever seen a cedar waxwing. Well, I have now! At the Wal-Mart in Fuquay, at Danny and Christine's yard, and at the Cary Crossroads mall, I've seen hundreds at a time. They also like berries. They are such a cool bird with their bandit mask.

Cedar waxwings eating a holly berry off the ground

Cedar waxwings eating juniper berries.

Christine and Danny have bluebirds in their usual bluebird box. Last I knew, the count was 4. We see the bluebird sitting on these pinkish white eggs. Usually the eggs are blue, but we read up, and about 4% of bluebird eggs are this color. There are several theories why, but they aren't entirely sure why this variation occurs. The article went on to say that the 'babies' would be fine and not albino or anything.

The shot below is a hemaris diffinus moth that looks like a combination of a bee/hummingbird. He was sharing the yoshino cherry with various bees and butterflies.

Every year in march the swallowtail butterflies find their way to the new yoshino cherry blossoms. It is a delight to watch them and take pictures of them.

St. Patrick's Day Party

The kids and I celebrated St. Patrick's Day with some of our friends on Saturday. It was a typical holiday-themed craft party held in the garage. Good friends, good food, and lots of green with some orange mixed in. The kids constructed a Shamrock Bunny, decorated wooden shamrocks, and made silverware windchimes. Fun stuff! We danced, read books, searched for pots of gold, and played Bingo.

Whether you're Irish or not, take time tomorrow to be festive. I actually do have some Irish in my family from my mother's mother:-)

All the pics are here.