Purple Wisteria, April 29, 2015

ABC Wednesday
P is for Purple Wisteria

Prentiss county, Mississippi, USA, April 9, 2015

Have a beautiful day!

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Bearded Iris, April 27, 2015

Bearded Iris, Prentiss county, Mississippi, USA, April 21, 2015

Have a wonderful day!

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Carolina Jessamine, April 20, 2015

Carolina Jessamine, Prentiss county, Mississippi, USA, April 8, 2015

Have a wonderful day!

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Sunset for Sky Watch Friday, April 17, 2015

Lee county, Mississippi, USA, April 10, 2015

We've had a week of rain, with more rain still to come.

Have a beautiful day!

To check out the weather around the world, visit Sky Watch Friday: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day April 2015

Northeast Mississippi, USA, zone 7

Daffodils, Prentiss county, Mississippi, USA, April 14, 2015

We still have a few clumps of late-blooming Daffodils.

Hellebores

The blooms on the Hellebores have faded from pink to white.  The first buds appeared in January, so they have been hanging on for 3 months.

Dogwood

There are a lot of Dogwood trees in our area, and I am happy to have a large one at the edge of my yard.

Pink Dogwood

 I think my pink Dogwood tree is getting too much shade.  It has very few blooms this year.

Red Buckeye

It is said that the Hummingbirds follow the Buckeye blooms as they come north in the Spring.  Our first Hummingbird arrived on April 4th just as the Buckeye blooms began to open.  (We put our Hummingbird feeders out March 20th so we were ready for them).

Snowball

The Snowball blooms are still just a little bit green.  In the next few days they will expand and turn completely white.

Double White Clematis

 The promise of things to come.  The Clematis is loaded with buds this year.

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

To see more blooms in gardens around the world, visit May Dreams Gardens:  Click Here!


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Of Hawks and Mockingbirds, April 11, 2015

Lee county, Mississippi, USA, April 5, 2015

Last Sunday's skies were overcast, but when I saw this Hawk on a highway sign I decided to try to get a photo. 

To my great surprise a Mockingbird attacked the Hawk!  I know Mockingbirds aggressively defend their territory, but I had never before seen one challenge a Hawk.

 I guess we know who is 'King of the Hill' now!

Have a Great Week-end!

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Muscovy Ducks, April 8, 2015

ABC Wednesday, Wild Bird Wednesday, and Water World Wednesday

M is for Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy Duck, Cairina moschata, Ballard Park, Tupelo, Mississippi, USA

Muscovy Ducks are native to Central and South America, but are moving northward into the United States. Though they are tropical birds, they have adapted well to colder climates. I made these photos at a park where they are used to people being around. In some parts of the world Muscovy Ducks are raised for food and are sold as Barbary Ducks.

They eat grass, water plants, small fish, amphibians, reptiles, and insects. Males are larger than females, and their wattles are larger and a darker red. I think the first photo is of a male, and this one is female. Both sexes have claws on their feet.

I was laughing out loud watching this one enjoy its bath!  (I never thought about ducks having tongues, but of course they do.)

Hope you are having a beautiful day!

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Tree Following April 2015

It is the seventh of the month and time for Tree Following photos.  Lucy at Loose and Leafy is the host.  To join in the fun, just pick a tree and photograph it as it goes through the seasons.  Post photos and text on your blog on, or somewhere around, the seventh of each month, and link up with Lucy's blog. This year I am following an Ornamental Pear tree, Pyrus calleryana.

March 18, 2015, Prentiss county, Mississippi, USA

The Ornamental Pear began to bloom mid-March.  In this photo you can see a gap on the right side where a section of the tree broke in a storm last year.

Each bud produces a cluster of blooms.  The strong fragrance attracts bees, wasps, and flies for pollination.

Pine Sisken amid the blooms

Pine Siskens will eat tender young buds as well as insects.  I'm not sure which was the attraction here, but I saw them in the tree quite often while it was in bloom.

March 29, 2015

Now the flowers are losing their petals and the leaves are coming out.  Hopefully a lot of the flowers were pollinated so there will be plenty of tiny fruit for the birds in the Autumn and Winter months.

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

To see who else is following a tree, visit Lucy:  Click Here!


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Happy Easter! April 4-5, 2015

Violets, Prentiss county, Mississippi, USA, April 3, 2015

Happy Easter!

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Sky Watch Friday, April 3, 2015

Lee county, Mississippi, USA, Sunday, March 29, 2015

From looking at cloud photos on the Internet, I think these are a type of altocumulus cloud that are called undulatus.  They have several common names: billow clouds, windrow clouds, and wave clouds.  They brought us thunderstorms and rain Sunday night.

Have a wonderful week-end!

To check out the weather around the world, visit Sky Watch Friday:  Click Here!

And on Saturday, visit Scenic Weekends:  Click Here!


NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.