The Barn Collective, December 31, 2017

Tishomingo County, Mississippi, USA, December 3, 2017

We have had a lot of cloudy, rainy days in December.
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Your birds for today are...

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, December 11, 2017

a female Eastern Bluebird and...

Lee county, Mississippi, USA, December 26, 2017

the male Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis.

Have a blessed day!

and

Happy New Year!

For more barn photos, visit Tom for The Barn Collective: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Willy Nilly Friday, December 29, 2017

Willy Nilly Friday 5, Sky Watch Friday, and Saturday's Critters

1. Oh Ho, the Mistletoe! (Sky Watch Friday)

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, December 26, 2017

Here in the United States, Mistletoe is a parasite plant that gets most of its nutrients from its host tree. It is usually not noticeable until the trees lose their leaves in the Winter.

Birds spread the seeds from one tree to another. In many countries it is a Christmas tradition for couples to kiss under the mistletoe.

Our weather, 6:00am Friday morning: Clear skies, 20F (-6C)

2. Deer (Saturday's Critters)

Shiloh, Tennessee, USA, December 24, 2017

Santa's Reindeer?

No, they are White-tailed Deer. But I saw them on Christmas Eve, so that should count for something!

After a brief glance back at me, they moved out of sight into the woods.

3. Good Food

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, December 27, 2017

Chef Salad from Mugshots: ham and turkey roll-ups, tomatoes, boiled eggs, crumbled bacon, and croutons on a bed of lettuce with honey-mustard salad dressing.

4. The Most Unusual Thing I have Seen This Week

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, December 25, 2017 

Peacocks on the lawn!

Peacocks and Pearls: Ladies Apparel and Accessories

5. One more Christmas Photo

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 28, 2017

I enjoy sending and receiving Christmas cards!

Have a wonderful week-end!

Happy New Year!

For more weather-related photos, visit Sky Watch Friday: Click Here!

For an interesting variety of photos, visit Willy Nilly Friday 5: Click Here!

For more animal photos (on Saturday), visit Saturday's Critters: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Good Fences, December 28, 2017

Good Fences, Thankful Thursday, and Little Things Thursday

Good Fences Around The World

McNairy County, Tennessee, USA, December 24, 2017

When I zoomed in to get a closer photo of the horses, I got an excellent photo of...

...the top two strands of barb wire!

Try again. That's better!

Thankful Thursday and Little Things Thursday

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, December 26, 2017

Today I am most thankful for our religious freedoms.

Have a wonderful day!

For an interesting variety of photos, visit Little Things Thursday: Click Here!

Let us know what you are thankful for, visit Thankful Thursday: Click Here!

For more fence photos, visit Good Fences Around The World: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Yellow-shafted Flicker, December 27, 2017

ABC Wednesday and Wild Bird Wednesday
Y is for Yellow-shafted Flicker, a North American Woodpecker

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 8, 2017

Yellow-shafted Flickers may be seen across most of the eastern half of North America. At one time it was considered to be a different species than the Red-shafted Flicker of western North America. But since they breed indiscriminately where their ranges overlap, the Yellow-shafted and Red-shafted are now thought to be the same species: Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus.

This Flicker was eating berries from a vine growing on a pine tree in front of my house. I took these photos through my living room window.

Have a great day!

For more on the letter Y, visit ABC Wednesday: Click Here!

For more bird photos, visit Wild Bird Wednesday: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Christmas Card, December 25, 2017

"Love came to a stable on that very special night
to bring us out of darkness into His glorious light." - DaySpring Cards

Merry Christmas!

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Please visit Through My Lens: Click Here!
and
Our World Tuesday: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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The Barn Collective, December 24, 2017

The Barn Collective

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 3, 2017

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Your bird for today is...

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 12, 2017

...female Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus

Merry Christmas!

For more barn photos, visit Tom for The Barn Collective: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Willy Nilly Friday, December 22, 1017

Willy Nilly Friday 5, Sky Watch Friday, Floral Friday Fotos, and Saturday's Critters

1. Winter Sky (Sky Watch Friday)

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 16, 2017

The crops have been harvested, the trees are bare, and the Winter rains are beginning.

2. The Most Unusual Thing I Have Seen This Week

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, December 21, 2017

Christmas wreaths made from cotton bolls are the closest we will get to a white Christmas this year! (This restaurant is owned by a cotton and soybean farming family).

3. Great Blue Heron (Saturday's Critters)

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, December 14, 2017

If you are looking for Great Blue Herons stalking their prey around the edges of lakes and ponds, look up in the nearby trees, too!

4. Poinsettia (Floral Friday Fotos)

I went to a community Christmas party last Saturday and won one of the table decorations!
Poinsettias are native to tropical countries and may be difficult to keep alive in colder climates.
If this one lives through the Winter indoors, I will move it out to my porch in the Summer.

5. Joy To The World!

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Our book club held a Christmas ornament exchange at our December meeting. I did not think to take a photo of the ornament I gave, but this is the one I received. Joy To The World!

Merry Christmas!

For an interesting variety of photos, visit Willy Nilly Friday 5: Click Here!

For weather related photos, visit Sky Watch Friday: Click Here!

For more flower photos, visit Floral Friday Fotos: Click Here!

For animal photos (on Saturday), visit Saturday's Critters: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Great Blue Heron, December 20, 2017

Wild Bird Wednesday and Wednesday Around The World

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, December 18, 2017

Great Blue Herons, Ardea Herodias, are the largest of the North American Herons. They stand motionless or wade slowly through the water searching for fish, their main source of food.

They are my favorite birds; their stillness makes them easy to photograph!

Have a wonderful day!

For more bird photos, visit Wild Bird Wednesday: Click Here!

For an interesting variety of photographs, visit Wednesday Around The World: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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The Barn Collective, December 17, 2017

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, December 14, 2017

There are cattle in the pasture, but none of them wanted to be in my photo!
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Your bird for today is...

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 8, 2017

...a Wren on my front porch. It could be the same one that built its nest in one of my hanging basket plants on the porch in the Summer.

Have a blessed day!

For more barn photos, visit Tom for The Barn Collective: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Northern Cardinals, December 16, 2017

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 3, 2017

Feed the birds!

Have a great week-end!

For more animal photos, visit Eileen for Saturday's Critters: Click Here!

For more bird photos, visit Anni at I'd Rather B Birdin': Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Willy Nilly Friday, December 15, 2017

Willy Nilly Friday 5, Sky Watch Friday, and Good Fences

1. This Week's Weather (Sky Watch Friday)

Ballard Park, Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, December 14, 2017

Sunny, but cold and windy

2. Wildlife

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, December 11, 2017

Turtles enjoying a sunny day at a small pond near the Natchez Trace Parkway.

3. The Most Unusual Thing I have Seen This Week

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, December 8, 2017

This is NOT a real deer! It is painted on the back of a truck!

4. Beautiful Horse (Good Fences)

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, December 13, 2017

It is interesting to see the old weathered posts still standing next to the newer metal posts of this pasture.

5. Christmas Gift

I bought a pretty winter scarf to give my sister-in-law for Christmas, and then among all the Santas and Snowmen in the store, I found this lovely gift box for it.

Have a wonderful day!

For an interesting variety of photos, visit Willy Nilly Friday 5: Click Here!

For more weather-related photos, visit Sky Watch Friday: Click Here!

For more fence photos, visit Good Fences Around The World: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day December 2017

Northeast Mississippi, USA zone 7

After our nighttime temperatures dropped to 21F (-6C) I was afraid I would not find any blooms. But I did - a wildflower blooming in the shelter of our porch!

Foliage Follow-Up Day

And when I checked the Hellebores, I found new growth - a promise of blooms to come!

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

To see gardens around the world, visit Carol for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: Click Here!

And remember that tomorrow, the 16th, is Foliage Follow-Up Day: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Wilson's Snipes, December 13, 2017

Wild Bird Wednesday, Wednesday Around The World, I'd Rather B Birdin', and
ABC Wednesday
W is for Wilson's Snipe

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, November 27, 2017

Wilson's Snipes, Gallinago delicata, are migratory birds that we see here in the southern United States only in the Winter. Their Summer breeding grounds are in the northern United States and Canada.

They use their long bills to probe the water and muddy shores for insect larva, earthworms, snails, and other small invertebrates. 

This one pulled something (a worm?) from the ground, walked a few steps to the water's edge, and dipped it in the water before eating it.

Have a Wonderful Day!

For more on the letter W, visit ABC Wednesday: Click Here!

For more bird photos, visit Stewart for Wild Bird Wednesday: Click Here!

For an interesting variety of photos, visit Wednesday Around The World: Click Here!

And on Saturday, please visit Anni at I'd Rather B Birdin': Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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The Barn Collective, December 10, 2017

The Barn Collective and I'd Rather B Birdin'

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 3, 2017

My husband turned the car around so I could photograph this barn. I was afraid that if I waited even one more day it might be gone.
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Your birds for today are..

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 8, 2017

Yellow-shafted Flickers (see the yellow in the tail feathers lower right)

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 8, 2017

You may know them by one of their other names:
Northern Flicker or Yellowhammer Woodpecker, Alabama's state bird.

Have a blessed day!

For more barn photos, visit Tom for The Barn Collective: Click Here!

For more bird photos, visit Anni at I'd Rather B Birdin': Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Willy Nilly Friday, December 8, 2017

Willy Nilly Friday 5, Sky Watch Friday, Floral Friday Fotos, and Saturday's Critters

1. Pickwick Lake (Sky Watch Friday)

Pickwick, Tennessee, USA, December 3, 2017

Sunday was a beautiful day to be outside: mild temperatures with partly cloudy skies. But on Tuesday we got 3 ¾ inches (9.5 cm) of rain followed by colder temperatures.

The towboat "Long John" with a barge was anchored near the shore at Pickwick Landing State Park. In the background is the highway bridge over Pickwick Lock and Dam.

2. Mailbox

Pickwick, Tennessee, USA, November 6, 2017

A fisherman lives here!

3. Pansy (Floral Friday Fotos)

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, December 7, 2017

Since we have had below freezing temperatures, I was skeptical about finding a flower in bloom yesterday. But, look! A Pansy, Viola tricolor, defying the cold!

4. Wildlife (Saturday's Critters)

Booneville, Mississippi, USA, November 30, 2017

"I know I put those nuts right here."

"Close to these fallen limbs."

"How did these leaves get so deep so fast?"

"Maybe it was a little farther north."

"Found them!"

5. Christmas Cards

I am spending this morning getting my Christmas cards ready to mail.

Have a wonderful week-end!

For more weather-related photos, visit Sky Watch Friday: Click Here!

For more flower photos, visit Floral Friday Fotos: Click Here!

For an interesting variety of photos, visit Willy Nilly Friday 5: Click Here!

For more animal photos (on Saturday), visit Saturday's Critters: Click Here!

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