Friday, June 28, 2019

Willy Nilly Friday, June 28, 2019

Willy Nilly Friday 5, Sky Watch Friday, Wildflower Wednesday,
and on Saturday, Saturdays' Critters, and I'd Rather B Birdin'

Click on the photos to see them at their best!

1. Hot and Humid (Sky Watch Friday)
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 25, 2019
Our weather this week: hot and humid with a few afternoon showers.

2. Beautyberry (Wildflower Wednesday, the 4th Wednesday of each month)
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 23, 2019
Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, is a shrub native to the southeastern United States. The delicate pink blooms are often overlooked, but they are followed by bright, bold purple berries!

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 19, 2018
It is a good understory shrub that is easily propagated and requires little maintenance. The blooms provide nectar for butterflies, and the berries are a valuable source of food for wildlife.

3. The Most Interesting Thing I have Seen This Week
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 24, 2019
The Hummingbird Moth, Hemaris thysbe, got its name from its resemblance to a hummingbird when it is moving fast around blooming plants (a broad little body with what appears to be tail feathers, fast beating wings, sipping nectar from flowers). The flower is Buddleia, Butterfly Bush.

4. White Horse (Saturday's Critters)
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 4, 2019
When we were kids and we had the hiccups, our mother would say, "Where was the last white horse you saw?" Trying to remember the last white horse distracted our minds from the hiccups, and the hiccups would stop while we were thinking!

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5. Canada Geese (I'd Rather B Birdin')
Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, June 9, 2019
Do you remember this photo from a couple of weeks ago?

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, June 26, 2019
Look how they much those goslings have grown in 17 days!

I will be away from home for a few days (a family reunion in Arkansas). I will visit your blog when I return.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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

For more native plant photos, visit Wildflower Wednesday: Click Here!

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

And on Saturday,
For more animal photos, visit Saturdays' Critters: Click Here!

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

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

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Thankful Thursday, June 27, 2019

Thankful Thursday and Little Things Thursday

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 24, 2019
I am thankful for flowers that attract butterflies!

Buddleia is commonly called Butterfly Bush. I forgot the exact name of the one I have, but the blooms look pink in bright sunlight and almost blue in the shade.

All five of these butterflies were visiting at the same time!

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I am thankful for flowers and butterflies!

Have a blessed day!

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

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

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

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Great Blue Heron, June 26, 2019

Wild Bird Wednesday and My Corner of the World

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, May 5, 2019
Great Blue Herons, Ardea herodias, are all-year residents in many parts of the United States, and visit southern Canada in the Summer months. They eat fish, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, and insects.

Have a wonderful day!

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

For an interesting variety of photos, visit My Corner of the World: Click Here!

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

Sunday, June 23, 2019

The Barn Collective, June 23, 2019

The Barn Collective, All Seasons, and I'd Rather B Birdin'

Alcorn County, Mississippi, USA, June 21, 2019
an old but well cared for barn.
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Your bird for today is...
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 22, 2019
… a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female). Only the males have the ruby red throats.

Have a blessed day! 

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

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

For an interesting series of photos, visit All Seasons: Click Here!

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

Friday, June 21, 2019

Willy Nilly Friday, June 21, 2019

Willy Nilly Friday 5, Sky Watch Friday, Floral Friday Fotos
and on Saturday, Saturday's Critters, and I'd Rather B Birdin'

1. Rain! (Sky Watch Friday)
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 17, 2019
Driving home Monday afternoon, my husband stopped beside the road so I could get a photo of these ominous-looking clouds. There was only a light sprinkle of rain, ...

… but as we drove on, the rain was so intense, the windshield wipers could not keep it cleared away!

2. Million Bells (Floral Friday Fotos)
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 11, 2019
Million Bells, Calibrachoa (pronounced ca-libra-KO-a), look like tiny petunias, come in a variety of colors, and attract bees and butterflies. Their sprawling growth makes them an ideal plant for hanging baskets or to add a cascading effect to containers. If you buy them already flowering at a garden center here, there are usually different color plants together in the same container.

3. The Most Unusual Thing I have Seen This Week
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 17, 2019
Eastern-Eyed Click Beetles, Alaus oculatus, have two spots on their heads resembling large eyes to scare predators away. And the white speckles on their wing-covers help them hide in leaf litter on the ground.

Eastern-Eyed Click Beetle on its back 'playing dead'
They can flip over onto their backs, making a clicking sound as they do, and fold up their legs and antennae to 'play dead' (and then with another clicking sound, they flip over again when the danger is past).

Here is a clearer view of its underside as it clings to a leaf with its front legs and unfolds its antennae.

4. Muskrats (Saturday's Critters)
Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, June 9, 2019
Muskrats, Ondatra zibethicus, are North American rodents that spend much of their time in the water. They are able to swim underwater for about 15 minutes, and can close their ears to keep the water out!

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, June 16, 2019

Their diet consists mainly of plants, but also includes fish, frogs, small turtles, and other aquatic animals.

5. Killdeer (I'd Rather B Birdin')
Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, June 16, 2019
Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous, are North American plovers, widespread across the continent. They are Summer visitors to Canada, and Winter visitors to Mexico and the Central American countries, but in many parts of the United States they are year-round residents.

Have a wonderful day!

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!

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

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

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

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Thankful Thursday, June 20, 2019

Thankful Thursday and Little Things Thursday

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 18, 2019
I am thankful today for easy to grow flowers!
The tiny insect with super-long antennae is a Katydid

Portulaca grandiflora (common name Moss Rose), is a low-growing plant that grows well in almost any kind of soil (except very wet). The cylindrical leaves store water so very little supplemental watering is needed.

And it is a profuse bloomer with a wide variety of colors available. I bought a pack of mixed colors!

Have a blessed day!

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

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

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

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Eastern Bluebird, June 19, 2019

Wild Bird Wednesday and My Corner of the World

male Eastern Bluebird, Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, June 10, 2019
Eastern Bluebirds, Sialia sialis, can be found in the eastern half of the United States and southeastern Canada. They eat insects, wild fruit, and berries. Male Eastern Bluebirds have blue heads, backs, tails, and wings with a rusty-orange breast. The females are bluish-grey with a pale orange breast. You can attract them to your yard by putting up nesting boxes for them and offering mealworms in your feeders.

Have a wonderful day!

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

For an interesting variety of photos, visit My Corner of the World: Click Here!

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

Sunday, June 16, 2019

The Barn Collective, June 16, 2019

The Barn Collective, I'd Rather B Birdin', and All Seasons

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 16, 2019
This barn has a fenced-in pasture, but I did not see any livestock.
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Your birds for today are...
Shiloh, Tennessee, USA, May 27, 2019
… Brown-headed Cowbirds, Molothrus ater. A male...

Shiloh, Tennessee, USA, May 27, 2019
… and a female

Have a blessed day!

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

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

For an interesting variety of photos, visit All Seasons: Click Here!

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

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, June 2019

The northeast corner of Mississippi, USA zone 7b

A recent purchase, Wax Begonias for my front porch. At the same time I bought three hanging baskets of Geraniums, but they are not in flower today.

Althea, Rose of Sharon, is a large shrub, or you might call it a small tree!

Hydrangeas

Gardenia shrub, very aromatic

My Gladiolas are just beginning to bloom. I bought a package of mixed color bulbs last year..

.. and I can hardly wait to see which colors bloom next!

Coneflower 'Pow Wow Wild Berry' has a multitude of buds ready to open.

Butterfly Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa.

Just about everyone here has Day Lilies in their yards, and if you drive out in the country you may see them growing beside the road ditches (lovingly called Ditch Lilies!)

Bleeding Heart Vine, Clerodendrum thomsoniae. This is a tropical vine that I grow in a pot so that I can move it indoors in the colder months.

male American Goldfinch and two females, Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 13, 2019
And if you would like to have the music of birdsong in your garden, provide food and water.

They enjoy a cool drink of water on a hot day just as much as we do!

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

To see gardens around the world, visit Carol at May Dreams Garden: Click Here!

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

Friday, June 14, 2019

Willy Nilly Friday, June 14, 2019

Willy Nilly Friday 5, Sky Watch Friday,
and on Saturday, Saturday's Critters, and I'd Rather B Birdin'

1. Cooler temperatures! (Sky Watch Friday)
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 12, 2019
We are enjoying cooler temperatures this week, but the heat will be back this weekend. Do you see the tiny object in the sky just above the treetops? It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman? ...

It is either a powered parachute or a powered paraglider. I don't know the difference between the two terms.

2. Favorite Photos of the Week
Canada Geese, Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, June 9, 2019
Mother, Daddy, and the little ones!

Come on in! The water is fine!

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3. Farming
Lee County, Mississippi, USA, June 13, 2019
Making hay while the sun shines!

This is the first year I have seen farmers bundle a lot of bales together...



… and load them on a truck with a fork-lift, though it may be more common in other parts of the country.

4. Butterfly (Saturday's Critters)
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, May 28, 2019
I did not know that a butterfly could look intimidating until I got this view of a Silver-spotted Skipper!

5. Phoebe (I'd Rather B Birdin')
Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, May 28, 2019
Eastern Phoebe, Sayornis phoebe. This cute little bird is nesting on my front porch! She keeps a close eye on me when I am out there watering my flowers.

Have a wonderful day!

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

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

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

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

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