Color in the Rain

It was a little dry here, but the past few days have made up for it.  Which is good! Things are really starting to sprout and the moisture helps the insects thrive... which gives the birds something to eat.  So, I'm thankful for the rain! Sometimes I'll go out walking without my camera when there are rain showers, and sometimes I just put it in a plastic baggie and take it along.  Of course, there are lots of things I can take pictures of from inside my dry house.

First... color in the rain outside my window.  The rose-breasted grosbeaks are back!

In fact, they are back in abundance.  There are 3 males in the next photo (one is in the feeder).

The lady grosbeaks are back, too.

Can you tell she had been eating grape jelly?

Both she and her mate are quite fond of it.

Mr. Oriole has to wait his turn.

A downy woodpecker seems to like the jelly quite well, too.

I think I've got a bunch of 'sugar addicts' here!

Another beauty making an appearance this week is a white-crowned sparrow.  (Not eating jelly though).

Now let's go out into the damp woods and see what colors we can find there.

There are lots of pretty yellow violets.  And some white ones, too.

The white flowers of the shadblow trees are pretty against the blue sky (yes, we did have some blue sky one day)!

There was such nice light that afternoon, highlighting the shadblow and the new leaves just coming out.

I am jealous of the bluets in my neighbor's lawn.  Maybe this will be the year I remember to transplant a few or gather some seeds to sow in our lawn.

I think there are enough to share.

I prefer to call them Quaker Ladies.  The little old Quaker ladies in my family were (mostly) diminutive and sweet like these flowers.

I found one more color in the woods.... some pale pink Squirrel Corn.

It's also a delicate spring wildflower.

It won't be long before its grey-green leaves disappear under the shady canopy of maple leaves.  So take a walk in the rain and find some before they are gone for another year.

















 

Come with Me to the Pond!

We have baby geese!  

My husband told me there was a pair of Canada Geese up at the pond with babies.  So when I went for a walk yesterday morning, I was sure to sneak up there so as not to scare them!

They were in the grass on the right side of the pond when I arrived, but (sneaking up or not!) it didn't take long for the parents to shepherd their young'uns into the water.

I stood quietly and watched, and they soon got used to me being there.  

The parents had their job cut out for them looking after the 7 babies, because the babies seemed to go about their business without a care in the world (as little babies should).  

That's okay, because the adults keep their eyes on them at all time... good thing they have necks that allow them to turn their heads almost full circle!  And, there were two parents to wrangle them into line if needed.

It seems in every family, there is one child who stays very close to mommy...

...like the little one right under her.

The babies did a lot of pecking along the shore.

They also seemed to watch their parents.  The parents preened and the babies watched (well, some of them).

Hey, everyone, pay attention!

They got in and out of the water a few times.

Mama ate... and the babies watched. 

"You mean we're going to have to stick our heads underwater like that someday?"

Finally, for some reason, the one I think was Papa decided they should all get out of the water and go up in the grass.

So I decided to leave them and go check out the Marsh Marigolds.  Sure enough, they were blooming nicely in the thicket up above the pond.

In the trees above the Marsh Marigolds, there was a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers! 

 How I love this time of year.... geese babies, wildflowers, and warblers! 

Church in the Woods

This is post #200 on "This Is My Father's World."  It's been very enjoyable for me to share with you the things I've seen in 'my little place in His world' for almost 3 years now! (My first post was on April 28th, 2013).  

I'm not planning on stopping... at least not at the moment.  I read awhile ago that to have a 'good' blog, you should post on a regular schedule so your reader know when to look for something new.  Well, my feelings about that are that it's MY blog and I'll post when I have something I want to share!  Sometimes that happens as often as a couple of times a week, sometimes once a week.... sometimes less often than that.  (By the way, you can follow by email or subscribe to posts if you want to know when a new one is published).

While often I 'work hard' on a post (maybe I should say I put a lot of time into it) I wouldn't exactly call writing this blog 'hard work'!  However, this being my 200th post, I decided to 'take it easy' on this one!  I've previously written about the subject of hepaticas several times before, so if you want to read more about them, you can click here or here (which was way back on Post #2).  

But, now you can do what I did Sunday morning in our woods...  relax and enjoy the first Spring-blooming woodland ephemerals.

If you go to the woods to find some hepatica for yourself, be sure to wear old clothes and get down good and close to enjoy them!  The next photo is what you'll see if you only walk around!

My post is titled, "Church in the Woods" because since my husband wasn't feeling well on Sunday morning, we didn't go to church.  At least, we didn't go to our church building.  I, however, went to church in the woods... praising God for the absolutely beautiful April morning and thanking Him for making hepatica flowers.  I may have even suggested to Him that instead of the typical mansion in heaven, I'd be very happy with a little house in the woods surrounded by wildflowers.  Maybe they could be in bloom all the time, instead of just a week or so in April?

PS - My last post, "Swamp Things - Morning and Evening" was one that took more time to write... and I think maybe many of my regular readers missed it because they, too, were outside enjoying the nice weather! (It had only half as many 'hits' as usual).  So click here if you want to read it.  Thanks!

Mallards...They're 'Just Ducky'

We've been waiting for wood ducks.  While we have heard them, and seen some circling overhead, we  haven't seen them swimming around in the swamp yet this year.  Hopefully, they are just being 'wiley' and will nest in the two boxes I cleaned and added fresh wood shavings to a month ago.

We do have a pair of mallards that I've been seeing regularly.  So, I decided to embrace the mallards and not worry about the wood ducks.  Even though mallards are common, there must be some interesting things I can learn about them!

Any kind of ducks can be difficult to photograph.  Besides the obvious reasons-- they are often at a distance, out on the water... AND moving.   There are other reasons as well.

Preening is one.

While it is fun to watch mallards preening, it does make for some weird-looking poses.

Ducks need to preen quite often, to maintain their waterproofing.  The preen gland they have near their tail provides the oil, which they rub with their bills all thru their feather.

 After preening comes nap time.  That doesn't make for very good photos either, so I'll include the Canada geese to the left and painted turtles to the right of our sleeping Mallards.

Another problem with photographing them is that one or the other of them usually has their head underwater.

 If it's not the hen, it's the drake.

Or-- one or the other has their tail in the air.

They act this way because they are busy eating things in the water.  One of the things I learned about Mallards is they are not fussy eaters.  I read that they eat aquatic insect larvae, earthworms, snails, and freshwater shrimp.  This is what I read, mind you.... I doubt they are eating shrimp in our beaver swamp!  During migration they eat agricultural seeds and grains; and in city parks they eat handouts from park-goers.

While ducks can be difficult to photograph, sometimes I get photographs of them and don't even know it until later.  I was so excited to see a great-blue heron on March 26th, that I didn't even notice the Mallards!

Of course, the hen has her head in the water!

Meanwhile, nap time is over and our drake gets back in the water and begins to swim away.

 Can you see him now?

The hen seems not to be in a hurry, which is nice because the drake was in front of her in the other photos.  She is more subdued in coloring than her mate, but she is beautiful, too.

When she does swim away, she is well camouflaged.

Although her bright mate can hide pretty well, too, when conditions are right.

Our mallards may be 'common' -- in fact, they are the most abundant and wide-ranging ducks in North America, but I'm glad this pair choose our swamp for their home.

I can't finish this post without sharing some of the other interesting things I read about them.

The familiar 'quack' we attribute to ducks?  That's the female mallard.  The males also make sounds but theirs is a deeper "mek" or "whak".  When you hear a female persistently quacking, it may mean she is choosing her nesting site.  (I heard ours doing this at 5:30 one morning... I hope she found a good spot!)  Also, did you know that she will pluck down from her own breast for nest lining?  Now, that's a good mother!  Also, she lays more than half her body weight in eggs!

Mallards are social when they are not nesting, gathering in large flocks called "sords".  That's a new word for me.  Migrating flocks have been clocked flying at 55 mph!

Next time I watch our mallards, I'll have a better appreciation for their species.  Although, what's not to love about any ducks?  After all, the word "ducky" has these meanings:
1.) darling, cute
2.) satisfactory, fine

I'd say our mallards fit both!