What a Pretty Face

  
At some point in life, the world’s beauty becomes enough.
— Toni Morrison 

These guys look like little people flying around with wings. 
 I think they are so unique!

Unknown Butterfly

This little guy is a first for me. I've never seen one of these butterflies before. I looked in my butterfly guide but could not find it ~ so again ~ I need all the help you can give me for ID :)

Updated: Found out this is an Eight spotted forester moth - not a butterfly at all. Very cool!

Graduation Day

Today is the Big Day! Brianna graduates from High School this evening. I am so very proud.

Hope you all have a Wonderful Saturday!

Song Sparrow with Dinner

During a walk one evening I found this Song Sparrow with his dinner. I am not sure if this is a spider or a dragonfly that he has captured for his meal. Whatever it was, I am sure it was tasty. Maybe he had some little ones near by that he was going to share with.

Wishing you all a Lovely Day!!

Beauty in Blue

So many things become beautiful when you really look.
~ Lauren Oliver

Summer Azure Butterfly 

 More Butterfly Images - HERE 

Getting Ready for Take Off

There is an undeniable exhilaration in moment of even the smallest discovery
 ― Graham Moore

 Soldier Beetle spreads his wings
readies for take off
new flowers to discover
(my attempt at haiku)

A Wonder in Red

The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.
~ W.B Yeats

Another amazing creature with a firm grip on a blade of grass! These little guys are so very interesting. They seem to hover over the grass until they find just the right spot to take hold. When I first started blogging I thought these little guys were dragonflies ~ but actually they are damselflies. I'm sure there are many differences between the two but the main one I know of is the way they hold their wings. Damselflies hold them close to their body, while the dragonfly has them wide open.  Id'd by Randy as an Eastern Red Damsel.

Orange Crush

Sometimes I get so caught up in my own problems that I forget how amazing the world is.

Wendelin Van Draanen

I am amazed at what can be found on a blade of grass! 

butterfly art throw pillows

Milkweed and Monarch

Wonder. Go on and wonder.
William Faulkner

 Milkweed is a perfect butterfly magnet and is the host plant for the Monarch butterflies.

  I was ELATED to capture a Monarch laying eggs! - See it HERE 

Treasure Found

Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. 

~ Oscar Wilde

Listening

  Part of doing something is listening. We are listening. To the sun. To the stars. To the wind.
― Madeleine L'Engle

When it comes to gray catbirds, I hear them LONG before I see them. I have one in my front yard that serenades me almost every day during the summer. 
They have such lovely songs!

Very Small in a Big World

Go out, go out I beg of you     
 And taste the beauty of the wild.     
 Behold the miracle of the earth     
 With all the wonder of a child.  
- Edna Jaques 

A Scorpion Fly peeking out at me behind some blades of grass. When I see this I think of what a tiny creature he is in such a great big world. 
Sometimes I feel like this Scorpion Fly.

Red Admiral Butterfly

Red Admiral found.....

He was quite cooperative with me. 
 I was able to get him with his wings up .....

...... and with his wings down. 

 I love it that they take on a whole new look depending on how they have their wings.  

For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are.

~ C. S. Lewis

On a Branch

...the thankful heart... will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings. 

~Henry Ward Beecher

Found on a Summer Walk

I found this neat little skipper during a Summer walk.  I have no idea on the ID of this little guy.

And I found a Dragon :)

Walks. The body advances, while the mind flutters around it like a bird. 

~ Jules Renard

Birding and Bugging

Brown Thrasher poses for me..

Black Vulture looks down on me from above.....

My very first Scorpion Fly .... look closely and you can see the scorpion-like tail.

The seeker embarks on a journey to find what he wants and discovers, along the way, what he needs.

~ Wally Lamb

Sunshine on a Swallowtail

Butterflies are but flowers that blew away one sunny day when Nature was feeling at her most inventive and fertile.

~ George Sand

More images on our FaceBook Page - HERE 

Carolina Wren Stretch

When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life. 
~ Jean Shinoda Bolen

More Of My Carolina Wrens - HERE 

Carolina Wrens LOVE the birdfeeder wreath that I have out on my back deck. This little one is stretching out his neck to see what kind of treats he can find. Not only are they beautiful birds, but they have lovely song.  You can listen - HERE  (go to "sounds" and push play)

Think Positive!

Do you ever have one of those days when things just don't seem right? I have those sometimes and to improve my mood I try to think positive thoughts ~ Here's a few

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results  
~ Willie Nelson

The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible 
~ Anonymous

There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.
 ~ W. Clement Stone 

Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other. 
~ Brian Tracy 

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.

Anonymous

Wishing you Wonderful day! - THINK POSITIVE!

Tree Swallow

I expect to pass though this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to my fellow-creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

~Stephen Grellet

Little Creatures

Red Milkweed Beetle on a Milkweed Leaf

Tufted Titmouse ~ A Pretty Face

Joy is the best makeup.
~  Anne Lamott

I think the tufted titmouse is one of the sweetest little birds. They visit my feeders often and my heart flutters a little bit each time I see them.

 

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

Appreciate Beautiful Moments

 Appreciate every little beautiful moment in every day of your life. Give it a try and you'll see the world from another perspective.

― Thea Kristine May

Two for One

A cardinal and a goldfinch ~ hanging out together on my deck.  You can see part of my "feeder wreath" on the right. It is a grapevine wreath that I sprinkle seeds in and use as a bird feeder. You can see more of the thoughts and inspiration behind that wreath HERE. The images of the two birds hanging out in the same area bring to mind that phrase
 "why can't we all just get along". 
That is what I hope for daily. 
That we can all show each other 
LOVE and UNDERSTANDING 
but most of all ~ that we show each other KINDNESS.

Amazing in the Ordinary

If you touch one thing with deep awareness, you touch everything.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

More Leaf Images - HERE 

A Flying Tiger

Joy, I realized, isn't so much a circumstance you find yourself in but a choice you make
~ Lisa Wingate


Butterflies are one my GREATEST JOYS
 in the Spring and Summer!

More Butterflies - HERE 


 

Lady in Red

When it comes to defining beauty, we need to embrace uniqueness. Remember: it's the imperfections that make the charm.

~ Rebecca Moses

More Ladybugs - HERE 

Fascinated with Bees

By your own efforts 
Waken yourself, watch yourself, 
And live joyfully. 
- Buddha 

I used to be scared of bees. Truth be told, I used to be scared of every kind of bug and flying creature that buzzed. Now they fascinate me. Photography has opened up a whole new world for me. Macro photography allows me to see that world up close.  

A Source of Solace

  
 Nature has been for me, for as long as I remember, a source of solace, inspiration, adventure, and delight; a home, a teacher, a companion. 

 ~ Lorraine Anderson

More Goldfinches - HERE