Just nature photos from Eileen

SWF>>>>Backyard sunset

2011-08-04T04:16:00.000-04:00

Here are some sunset photos from my backyard and a youtube video of the same sunset with the sounds of a cardinal and some very loud frogs.

The sky and clouds turned a fiery orange color and ended with some pretty pinks. I alway enjoy watching the sunsets from my deck. It is a wonderful nature show watching the sky, listening to the birds and the frogs.

To see more beautiful skies from around the world check out : Skywatch Friday. Thanks to the hosting group of Skywatch: Sylvia, Wren, Sandy and Klaus. Thanks for stopping by to see my skies. I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

My neighborhood...the reservoir & watershed

2011-07-31T19:05:00.000-04:00

This is my post for Mosaic Monday and That's My World

I am showing off my neighborhood which is surrounded by a reservoir and watershed area. My house along one side and the front is just about connected to the watershed. It is like having a park right outside my door. I can walk out of my yard right to the fireroads and to the lake. During the 21 years living here, hubby and I have found our favorite parts of the lake and the watershed that we enjoy. Today, instead of walking to our favorite spot we drove to another part of the lake for a walk.

The watershed and lake are owned by Baltimore city and is one of three reservoirs the city uses for its drinking water. The watershed extends 7 miles east to west and 10 miles north to south. 55 percent of the watershed is located in Baltimore County and is 24,000 acres. This lake sits behind the Prettyboy Dam and the Gunpowder River. Permits are given for Bow hunting in the watershed property September thru January and you can boat and fish by permit. Watershed rangers are now patrolling the three reservoirs. Their main battle lately is the teenage drinking and swimming. It is illegal to swim in the reservoir or ice skate in the winter. Some people enjoy mountain biking and horseback riding on the fireroads. The local Sierra Club has marked miles of trails for hiking. I have always enjoyed looking for birds and seeing the various species of wildlife. My bird club is helping to do a study on the effect on breeding birds at a clear cut and thinned section of the watershed. It is a three year study to see what grows back in the clear cut area, how much damage the deer are doing on the new growth and the effect on the breeding birds.

This huge black rat snake was curled on top of a broken pine tree. It raised its head and looked at us as we walked past.

This has become another of our favorite spots to walk. The fireroad and trail winds thru these tall pine trees and the trail stays next to the lake for a good distance.

To see more wonderful mosaics and photos please make sure

to visit Mary's Mosaic Monday and That's My World. Thanks to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of That's My World: Sylvia, Wren, Sandy and Klaus. Thank You also for visiting my blog and post. I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

SWF...Simple Pleasures

2011-07-07T03:16:00.001-04:00

For my Skywatch Friday I am showing the skies I see on my way to work. The sunrise is one of my SIMPLE PLEASURES. The photos start out close to my house and the last one is about ten minutes from my house during my drive to work.

The moon setting over the corn field.

The sun is rising and the sky is looking gorgeous.

To see more wonderful and beautiful skies from around the world check out : Skywatch Friday. Thanks to the hosting group of Skywatch : Sylvia, Wren, Sandy and Klaus. Also thanks for stopping by to see my skies. Have a great weekend!

Backyard blooms

2011-07-02T19:51:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July to all my blogging friends. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday weekend. And I hope all the Canadian bloggers had a Happy Canada Day!

I am linking up with Today's Flowers with shots of my backyard blooms.

This hibiscus was a surprise on my plant the flowers are two different colors and the blooms are doubled.

This plants flowers have a darker pinkish color and a salmon looking color on this same Hibiscus plant.

These sunflowers are growing from the birdseed I was feeding my birds.

I just love sunflowers.

Just one of the Purple Coneflowers I have growing in my yard. It will be a treat for the birds in the fall.

This verbena on my deck is called Strawberry Charme.

A Fritillary butterfly on my lantana

I hope you enjoyed my backyard blooms. And to see more beautiful flowers please visit Today's Flowers. Thanks for stopping by to see my flowers. And thanks to the hosting group of Todays Flowers: Santilli, Denise, Sandy and Pupo

SWF...Sunrise

2011-06-16T03:45:00.001-04:00

For my Skywatch Friday I have some shots of the sunrises I have been seeing on my way to work. These shots are from different days. One is from my backyard before leaving I noticed some pink clouds in the sky.

Early morning view of my skies looking west before leaving for work, I have been pulling over to view the pretty sunrises.

A capture of the sun rising above the tree line and I like how the fog is rolling over the field and trees.

The tower is in front the rising sun.

On the next day the clouds block the rising sun but there was still some pretty pink color in the sky!

Another morning another pretty sunrise.

Same morning as the photo above just further down the road.

I hope you enjoyed my sunrises as much as I did. Seeing these beautiful sunrises on my way to work really makes my day. I often wonder how many other drivers even notice the beautiful skies, they all seem to be in a big hurry.

Please visit Skywatch Friday to see more beautiful skies from around the world. Thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Wren, Sandy and Klaus. I also want to thank you for stopping to see my skies, I hope you all have a great weekend.

SWF.....Backyard sunset

2011-06-09T04:04:00.002-04:00

For my Skywatch Friday this week I have a few shots of a stange looking sunset seen from my backyard. It started out kind of blue and catching the rays shining across the sky, but then it turned this weired orangy color. These photos are straight out of my camera. So I did not fool around with the colors. I do change the size of the photo to put it on my blog post.

I did zoom in closer to the clouds in the sky and I saw this weird orange color. I am use to seeing the pretty pinks and even yellow. But this orangy color is strange.

I hope you enjoyed my skywatch post and to see more skies from around the world visit Skywatch Friday. Thanks to the hosting group: Sylvia, Wren, Sandy and Klaus. Thanks for stopping by to visit me and I hope you all have a great weekend with pretty skies.

SWF... backyard on a windy, stormy day

2011-06-02T04:19:00.003-04:00

For my Skywatch Friday I have some some photos and a video from one evening last week. The sky was dark and stormy, the trees were staying back and forth from the wind. I was worried about the herons nest in one of these trees. I hoping that the herons and nest would be OK. I am still hearing the herons in these trees so I am sure they made it thru this bad storm.

I also made a skywatch video where you can hear the wind and see the trees swaying back and forth. Here is my link to Eileen's youtube skywatch.

First the sky looked like this, a beautiful blue and a large white cloud heading my way.

The winds were picking up and the Turkey Vultures took to flying these skies.

Before I knew the sky was covered in dark and stormy clouds and it was very windy. On my video you can hear my windchimes. Having all these tall trees around our house is scary sometimes when the wind is so strong. I am hoping one never falls on our house.

There was small hole in the clouds, just enough to let me see the sky was still blue. It was a fast moving storm with little rain.

Soon I was seeing more blue sky and the wind and storm had passed us by just as quickly as it came.

I hope you enjoy my stormy skies and to see more beautiful skies from around the world check out Skywatch Friday. Thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Wren, Sandy and Klaus. Also, thanks for stopping by to see my post. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

My flowers for today

2011-05-29T04:07:00.001-04:00

For Today's Flowers I have some of my backyard flowers and a few that are on my deck in pots. This year the Clematis is looking good and I am really happy with the Zinnias in the pot on my deck. Hubby also planted some pansies that seem to be doing good.

Zinnia's on the deck

Some potted Lantana on our deck

My favorite the Clematis

Some Petunias and more Lantana

Some Pansies and a frog who likes gardening

I hope you enjoyed my photos and to see more beautiful flowers click on my link here Today's Flowers

Thanks to the hosting Santili, Denise, Sandy and Pupo. Also, thank you for visiting my post and blog. I always appreciate the comments.

Backyard Blooms

2011-05-22T08:31:00.000-04:00

For Today's Flower's and Mosaic Monday I am showing my pretty irises. They are one of my favorite blooms. The color is a pretty purple but sometimes in photos they look blue.

I look forward every spring to see the beauties in bloom. I hope you enjoy them too.

I hope you enjoyed my Irises and to see more beautiful flowers please visit Today's Flowers and to see more wonderful mosaics and photos please visit Mary's Mosaic Monday. Thanks to the hosting team at Today's Flowers and thanks to Mary for hosting the fun Mosaic Monday.

Also, thank you for visiting my post and blog. I appreciate your comments. Have a great week ahead!

SWF>>>Sunrise in my backyard

2011-05-19T04:18:00.001-04:00

For my Skywatch Friday I have a post of a sunrise seen from my backyard. It was a cloudy and foggy morning. But the sunrise made the clouds and fog look a pretty pink color. It looked so pretty, the pink was all around me. What an amazing sight. I hope you enjoy.

I have included my skywatch video sunrise on youtube

To see more beautiful skies from all around check out Skywatch Friday and thanks to the hosting group of Sylvia, Sandy, Wren and Klaus. Thanks for stopping by to see my skies.

Today's Flower and Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T03:36:00.001-04:00

I thought I would link up with Today's Flowers and to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day.

These are some the the flowering trees and flowers around my yard.

Our blooming Dogwood tree

Weeping Cherry Tree

Not sure what bush this is but it is growing in between two large Forsythia bushes.

Bleeding heart and a few other flowering plants on the side of our house

White Azalea bush

A closeup of the Azalea

Creeping Phlox near the pond

I hope your enjoyed my blooms and flowers. Make sure you visit Today's Flowers to see more beautiful flowers. Happy Mother's Day to all and thanks to Luiz, Denise, Pupo and Sandy for hosting Todays Flowers. Also, thanks for stopping by to see my post. Have a great weekend.

SWF......Backyard sunrise

2011-04-28T05:05:00.001-04:00

For this weeks Skywatch Friday I have some early morning skies from my backyard. I also have my sunrise on youtube click here Sunrise and the sounds of my backyard birds . I enjoy listening to my yardbirds while watching the sky. Some of the birds I heard were the Titmouse, Bluejays, Crows, White Throated Sparrow and a Pileated woodpecker.

It was a cloudy day but there were some spots of the pretty blue sky breaking thru. Some sections of the clouds turn a pretty pinkish color during the sunrise.

"My favorite weather is bird chirping weather." Terri Guillemets

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for leaping greenly spirits of trees and

for the blue dream of sky and for everything that is natural, which is infinite, which is yes." quote by E.E. Cummings

I hope you enjoyed my skywatch and to see more beautiful skies

from around the world click here Skywatch Friday

Thanks to the hosting group of Skywatch: Sylvia, Wren, Sandy and Klaus.

Also, thank you for visiting my post, I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.

SWF.....Frogs and the sunset

2011-04-21T03:32:00.001-04:00

For my Skywatch Friday I have my gorgeous sunset from last night. There were pinks and blues and they are some of my favorite colors to see in the sky.

I love to stand on my deck and listen to the frogs. There are some nights were they sound so LOUD. You can turn on your speaker and listen to my frogs while watching my sunset.

This is a link to my sunset video on Youtube Frogs and the sunset

I hope you enjoyed my frogs and the sunset and

to see more beautiful skies from all around the world click here Skywatch Friday

Thanks to the group at Skywatch : Sylvia, Wren Sandy and Klaus. ,thank you for stopping by my blog and for commenting.

Earth Week, EARTH DAY, April 22, 2011

2011-04-19T17:38:00.000-04:00

I am linking up this post with various meme's please try to visit them : Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday and Nature Notes

What are you doing on April 22, 2011? It is EARTH DAY! I visited various websites that have wonderful suggestions on what you can do on Earth Day. The Nature Conservancy suggest going on a picnic that includes 5 easy choices: eat smart, eat local, eat sustainably, eat green and eat out. A picnic on Earth Day sounds like a great idea to me.

My mosiac photos are of a Purple Finch in my backyard habitat, visit a National Wildlife Refuge like Chincoteague NWR, the Bald Eagles have made a huge comeback after the banning of DDT, plant some trees, find a nice place to have a picnic, cleanup a stream or river.

This is the reservoir just a walk away from my house and a great place to have a picnic.

The Nature Conservancy also helping Fernando Veiga to plant one billion trees in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil.. One dollar plants one tree. Click on the link to donate your dollar.

I say plant a tree and stop the deforestation!!!!!!!

According to the WWF website the United Nations have declared 2011 the International year of the forest . WWF plans to work to increase and strengthen the protection of the worlds forest. Plant a tree to help clean the air and keep the skies blue. Not only are trees pleasing to the eyes, they help to remove pollutants, they fight soil erosion and conserve rainwater. Here is another great link is Arbor Day Foundation .

Let's keep the pretty skies BLUE

Here is a link to help protect your watersheds Adopt your watershed. Stream cleanup sounds like a great idea, you get to be outside enjoying the sunshine and if you like to bird you might see some great bird sightings. 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of National River Cleanup. My hubby will take a trash bag along on his walks to clean up the areas he likes to hike.

The Wilderness Society has some great suggestions too, volunteering on trail maintenance or leading wildlife tours in the refuges. Monitoring wildlife is one of my favorites and eBird makes it easy to record your bird count. Most of my ebird counts have been from my backyard and the reservoir's watershed around my house.

The National Wildlife Federation Certified Backyard habitat is a website were you can learn how to make your backyard into a wildlife habitat. My yard was certified years ago, it is easy to provide food, water, shelter and a place for the birds to raise their families. My pond attracts frogs, birds dragonflies and other critters.

One of the many frogs in my backyard pond

The Eastern Bluebird nest in one of my bluebird houses in my backyard habitat. At one time the Eastern Bluebird population was decreasing, thanks to the many Bluebird trails and housing their numbers have increased.

How about Pick 5 for the Environment here you are given many choices to pick from, simple easy ways to take action. Some actions that I like are protecting your water from pesticides, planting a trees or many trees, learning about the native species in your area and recycling is probably one of the easiest things my family does and last but not least please do not litter. Collecting rain water is another great idea.

I also would like to link Linda Lear's website in memory of Rachel Carson a scientist and an ecologist with my Earth Day post. Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring " spurred a reversal in the national pesticide policy. The book led to a ban on DDT. Thanks to the ban we are enjoying an increase in the population of Bald Eagles. Pesticides have a negative impact on our health and environment. Rachel Carson has some award winning books The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea and here is a a link to a few of her ebooks

Just a warning in case you already saw this post ( I did change a few of the photos) I added this post on to my Viewing nature with Eileen blog also. I feel Earth Day should be recognized by all and hopefully some of you will do one action or more I listed above. Even if it is just one action it could make a difference.

Thanks to all the meme hosts and thank you for stopping by my post. Have a great Earth Week and Earth Day!

SWF......Chincoteague Island NWR

2011-04-14T05:01:00.002-04:00

For Skywatch Friday these are some sunset shots I took this past Sunday at Chincoteague Island NWR. Hubby and I took an overnight trip to see the birds, ponies and the beautiful scenery.

Watching the sunset is another great part of going to Chincoteague after seeing some great birds during the day.

I hope you enoyed my sunset and so see more beautiful skies from around the world click Skywatch Friday

Thanks to the hosting team at Skywatch Sylvia, Wren, Sandy and Klaus.

Also, thank you for stopping by my skywatch post.

SWF....Bombay Hook NWR

2011-04-07T03:45:00.002-04:00

For my Skywatch Friday photos I am showing the sunset I saw at Bombay Hook on March 19. It was the same day we saw the Supermoon. I thought the sunset was beautiful, the sky turned a pretty orange color and the reflection was so colorful.

I love seeing colorful sunsets and on this day I was not disappointed. Below the reflection looking like a cross really looks gorgeous.

We watched as the sun disappeared behind the trees.

I hope you enjoyed my sunset and to see more beautiful skies from around the world make sure you visit Skywatch Friday. Thanks to the hosting group of Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Thanks for stopping by to see my skies and I hope everyone has a great weekend.

SWF......from all over

2011-04-01T05:17:00.000-04:00

For this weeks Skywatch Friday I have various pic's from my backyard and all around the state of Md.

I love skywatching, the clouds, the colors can be just amazing. I hope you enjoy my skywatch and to see skywatch photos from all around the world click here Skywatch Friday

Thanks to Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Klaus and Fishing Guy for hosting this fun meme. Also thanks for stopping by to see my Skywatch. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Today's Flowers

2011-03-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday everyone, I am so HAPPY to be seeing Today's Flowers. Spring is really here FINALLY! I am not a winter person and I started wishing I could retire early and move to Florida or some place warmer.

I took some shots of the Snowdrops during one of my recent walks.

These are wildflowers but I looked up Snowdrops and it is said that their main benefit of planting is they they show up early. They can be seen even seen poking thru snow and in the south they can bloom all winter long. A cute description is that they resemble three drops of milk. Hardy for zones 2-9 and they are great for rock gardens or under trees

And the daffodils were seen at the National Zoo in DC last weekend. My daffoldils are still working their way out of the ground but soon I will be seeing them in my backyard.. YEA!!!

The flowers below were also seen at the Zoo but I am not familiar with their name. Does anyone know the name of these pretty flowers?

I hope you enjoy my Spring flowers and to see more beautiful flowers click on Today's Flowers. Thanks to the hosts: Santilli, Denise, Sandy and Pupo. Also, thanks for stopping by my Today's Flowers post. I hope everyone has a great Sunday and a wonderful week ahead.

Goldie Girl and some memories

2011-02-26T05:40:00.008-05:00

I am linking up with Pet Pride for the first time with this Goldie post. Please visit Bozo's blog and Pet Pride
I chose my Goldie Girl to be the star of my Camera Critters this week. She is so cute when she gives me her little happy growl. The one thing she loves to do is to go for walks. These are pic's of Goldie Girl at different times of the year.

She loves to swim and fetch sticks

She love to rub her face in the snow

I often think of and miss our old dogs... so in memory of Maui, Sunshine and Daisy.. Maui was a 125 lb chocolate lab..a big boy and one of Sunshine's puppies.

Sunshine.. was our first dog. A yellow lab and very spoiled. Mike never had a dog growing up so Sunshine was his first dog. Needless to say I turned Mike into a dog lover too.

Daisy a Golden Retriever was our second dog.. great company for Sunshine and a very special dog. One of my favorite memories of Daisy was when Sunshine had a litter of puppies Daisy went into the puppy box and laid down and tried to feed them. She was such a loving dog. Sometimes I would take Daisy to visit my mother who at the time was in a wheelchair..Diabetes had really done a number on her health. Daisy would climb on my mother who was sitting in her chair and give her a hug.. her paws would be hanging over my mothers shoulders. It was a sight to see because Daisy is not a lap dog as you can see in the photo below. She is a big dog. But, my mother just loved the attention and was a dog lover like me.

Daisy had one litter of puppies and Sunshine had two litters. We had so much fun with these puppies and it was so hard letting each one of them go. Some puppies were given to my friends and family, it was nice because we were able to visit with them. When the dogs were older we turned the puppy room into a nursery for my son. When the room was ready for Brian with new carpet and decorations and the crib, I was amazed to see Daisy go into the room and lay under the crib. She was getting ready for Brian too.

The three together..Sunshine, Daisy and Maui.

Daisy, Maui, Sunshine and Sierra.. Sierra was one of Daisy's pups and was given to my father.

This my Camera Critters post and I hope you loved all my doggies. Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting Camera Critters and thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

SWF>>>Backyard sunset

2011-02-10T05:15:00.017-05:00

Sometimes we have been seeing some pretty skies, not all the gray and snow clouds that we have been having. These are some shots of my most recent sunset from my backyard.

To see more beautiful skies please visit Skywatch Friday and thanks to Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Thanks for visiting my Skywatch and I hope you all have a great weekend.

SWF...skywatch from my backyard

2011-02-03T15:09:00.000-05:00

These were some early morning shots of the sky around my backyard. The pink color is one of my favorite colors and in this case the pink looked pretty. I hope you enjoy my Skywatch Friday

Thanks for stopping by to see my skywatch and please visit Skywatch Friday to see more skies from all around the world. Thanks, also to Syliva, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus for hosting Skywatch Friday.

SWF.....Assateague Part II

2011-01-27T09:44:00.002-05:00

This is a part two of my skywatch from Assateague Island from our New Years Eve visit. Assateague Island is one of my favorite places to visit. Sad news from Assateague recently one of the wild ponies was mistakenly shot by a hunter. It is just a shame they even allow hunting on the wildlife refuges and the National Seashore Park.

Here is a link to an article on the shooting Wildlife refuge pony shot

I thought the sunset looked fantastic. The clouds and colors were just beautiful.

To see more beautiful skies click here Skywatch Friday Thanks for stopping by my skywatch and thanks to the great hosting team at Skywatch Friday. Have a great weekend and enjoy the skies.

SWF..Another backyard sunset

2011-01-20T11:54:00.001-05:00

Here is another backyard sunset for my skywatch entry. I had thumb surgery the other day and I am typing this one handed. A short post but, some beautiful shots of my skies taken on 01/02/11.

I hope you enjoy my skies and please visit more skywatch entries at Skywatch Friday. Thanks to all the host and to you for stopping by.

SWF..In the neighborhood

2011-01-13T04:19:00.001-05:00

These are some shots of the sunset I saw this past weekend. We were on our way home from dinner and Walmart. I love sunsets and I just had to pullover to take some quick shots. I know they look similiar but they were taken at different times and places along the road.

To see more beautiful skies from around the world click here Skywatch Friday

Thanks to the great hosting team of Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus

Also, thanks for stopping by my Skywatch post! I hope everyone has a great weekend.

SWF..Sunset

2010-12-30T04:15:00.004-05:00

First I want to wish everyone a very HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

Since the time change I have been enjoying the sunet on my way home from work. The skies have been just beautiful lately and I wish I could remember to take my camera to work with me more often. Watching the sky has become one of my favorite things to do. Participating in Skywatch Friday is something I look forward to each week.

The sunset was setting in the distance but up close this flock of geese taking off from the field.

There is just enough room on the side of the road for me to pull over and snap a few photos before cars go flying by. I really loved how the clouds were outlined with the bright sunlight.

Again Happy New Years to everyone and thanks to our wonderful Skywatch hosting team of Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Also, thanks for stopping by to see my skies. Click on my link to see more beautiful skies Skywatch Friday

SWF...

2010-12-23T03:40:00.000-05:00

For my skywatch this week the photos are a joint effort from hubby and I. I took the first shot of the moon rising. And my dear hubby took some pic's of the lunar eclipse. I woke at 4am to get ready for work and at that time hubby was going to sleep. So I took a few more shots of the moon towards the end of the eclipse.

This is the moon rising over my street. I thought it looked beautiful.

Next shots are ones my hubby took of the eclipse.

The moon setting

I hope you enjoyed our photos(me and hubby) and to see more wonderful skywatch photos from all over the world click here: Skywatch Friday

Merry Christmas

2010-12-19T10:46:00.010-05:00

I wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

This is my way of giving special thanks and Merry Christmas to all the wonderful hosts : Mary of A little Red House, Sally of Blue Monday, Drowsey Monkey, Mary the Teach, the group at That's My World and Skywatch which are Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus, and 2sweetnsaxy from Watery Wednesday, Susan from Outdoor Wednesday and Michelle of Rambling Woods and the Holleys at Scenic Sunday and Luiz's Today's Flowers hosts are Luiz, Denise, Sandy and Pupo. I wanted to give my appreciation to all these great people and bloggers for letting me have fun throughout the year participating in their fun memes each week all year long.

These are just some of the beautiful Christmas scenes my family and I saw over the last couple of weeks. Some were from Longwood Gardens, some from the Baltimore Harbor and a few from my Christmas tree this year.

The Poinsettias at Longwood Gardens are lovely

This red and white display looks beautiful

And the lights at Longwood Garden are beautiful at night

The Christmas Boat Parade of lights was cold but fun

Pretty blue reflection from Baltimore's National Aqarium

These are a few of my favorite Christmas decorations on my tree

The Bird Watcher ornament

And of course Santa Claus

So I wish my bloggers friends and all our lovely hosts and hostess a very Merry Christmas so I am linking up with multiple memes ...check them all out Mary's Mosaic Monday and Sally's Blue Monday and Drowsey Monkey's Mellow Yellow Monday

and Mary the Teaches Ruby Tuesday and That's My World and 2sweetnsaxy's Watery Wednesday and Susan's Outdoor Wednesday and Michelle's Nature Notes and the Holleys at Scenic Sunday and Luiz's Today's Flowers

SWF..sunrise

2010-12-16T03:51:00.000-05:00

A couple of sunrise shots from my neighborhood and backyard. I love the fiery color when I zoomed in on the sun on the neighborhood shot. The photos from my backyard the colors are the pretty pink and blues.

Zoomed in on the sunrising

The sky from my backyard

I hope you enjoyed my skies and

To see more wonderful skies from all around the world

click here: Skywatch Friday

Thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus

Also, thanks for visiting my skywatch.

SWF..Backyard sunset

2010-12-09T04:16:00.000-05:00

These sunset shots are actaully from a few weeks ago. I love the colors in the sky during the sunset it is just a beautiful thing to see. I hope you enjoy the sky and colors as much as I do.

Thanks for stopping by to see my skies and to view more skies from all around the world

Click here Skywatch Friday

Thanks to the Skywatch host: Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus

Christmas Boat Parade

2010-12-05T20:22:00.000-05:00

On Saturday evening, my hubby, hubby's cousin, my son and his girlfriend and I had our birthday celebration at the Phillips Seafood Restaurant at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. My birthday was on Dec 2, my son's is coming soon on Dec 7 and hubby's is Dec 10 so we celebrated all the birthdays together. We picked a restaurant located in Baltimore's Harborplace so we could watch the Christmas Boat parade after our dinner.

Everything was perfect, the dinner was great and timed perfectly to see the Christmas Boat parade, we also were able to listen to the Tuba Christmas taking place at the Harborplace.

My mosaic is of some of the sights we saw at the harborplace and the Christmas boat parade. I am linking up with Mary's Mosaic Monday and That's My World

Thanks to the great host of these fun memes and I hope you enjoy my post.

Hiking the reservoir trails

2010-12-04T09:23:00.002-05:00

Hubby and I have enjoyed living near our reservoir for the last twenty years. We have been able to walk to the lake enjoying the birds and critters along the way. Just recently we have heard that the city wants to close the reservoir trails to all users. As far as I know hunting would still be allowed and cutting the trees down is OK too. But hiking and birding is a NO-NO. Living here next to this beautiful place would be very sad if we were not able to enjoy it. I think we will need to find a new place in a new state in our retirement years.

This is a copy of a letter that talks about hiking in Maryland and the trail closures at all three of the cities reservoirs.

http://www.lochraventrailaccess.com/trans/TrailsSummitCorddry.pdf

These are some of my photos taken during my fireroad walks around our reservoir and watershed.

Pink Lady Slipper seen along the trail

Bald Eagle flying over the reservoir

Juvenile Eagle seen off the fireroad

A fisherman at the reservoir

I can not imagine the City's reservoir police giving out citations and tickets to all the families that are at the Loch Raven reservoir feeding the ducks, geese and swans.

Below is a link to a post I did showing the ducks, geese and swans being fed at the Loch Raven reservoir.

http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-from-loch-raven-for-watery.html

I am linking up with Scenic Sunday I hope you enjoy my photos and click on my link to see more beautiful scenes.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to the Holleys for hosting Scenic Sunday.

Longwood Gardens Christmas

2010-11-28T16:29:00.000-05:00

Are you ready for some Christmas?

This weekend, hubby and I visited the Longwoods Gardens Christmas display. Longwood Gardens has a lovely display of flowers and Christmas lights. A great place to go several times a year just to see various flowers in bloom. We walked the Christmas tour inside the conservatory twice and also made the rounds around the outside light display and train garden.

My mosaics are made with some of the flowers we saw and of the christmas lights on display at Longwood Gardens.

It was a chilly night to be outside but the Christmas light display was one of my reasons for going. You had to walk around outside to enjoy them. There was also an outside concert going on, a little too chilly for me to sit ouside for any length of time.

This is my entry for Mary's Mosaic Monday and Mary the teach's Ruby Tuesday and That's My World

Thanks to the wonderful host of these fun meme's and thank you for stopping by to see my post.

SWF..Sunrise at the reservoir

2010-11-04T04:00:00.003-04:00

I am up early on the weekends and this past Saturday I was filling my bird feeders when I notice the sky was turning pink. So I got my camera and drove down the street to the bridge so I could watch the sunrise. There was a thick fog over the lake and it looked really neat. These are some of the shots I took of Saturday's sunrise over our reservoir.

The was the first shot looking back up the road and towards the west.

Below, the fog was so thick I could not see the trees one the other side of the reservoir. This is looking on the right side of the bridge.

This is looking on the left side on the bridge.

While I was taking photos, I had to keep walking back and forth on the bridge because trucks were constantly crossing the bridge. I think the bridge could use a paint job, what do you think.

Back in my yard I took a shot of the moon.

I hope you enjoyed my sunrise over the reservoir and to see more gorgeous skies

from all over click here Skywatch Friday

Thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Also, thanks for stopping by to see my post.

Walk to the lake

2010-11-02T08:24:00.000-04:00

These are some shots from our walk last Sunday. This is the front section of our lake which is really the city's watershed and resevoir. We can walk from our house to the fireroad to get to the lake. There were a few spots along the lake where the trees were really colorful.

I am linking up with 2sweetnsaxy's Watery Wednesday please click on the link to see more watery shots.

Thanks to 2sweetnsaxy for hosting this fun watery meme and thank you for visiting my blog.

SWF Moon watch

2010-10-28T05:06:00.001-04:00

These are some shots I took of the full moon setting. I was able to watch the moon from my deck before leaving for work.

Looks like a spooky sky with the clouds around the moon, perfect for a Halloween post.

Happy Halloween, These are my skywatch photos and to see more wonderful skies from all around the world click here Skywatch Friday

Thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Also a big thanks to you for visiting my blog and skywatch

Backyard Skywatch

2010-10-07T05:18:00.001-04:00

These are moon and sunrise shots from my backyard on Sept 25. The moon was big and there were some clouds around it which lit up beautifully with the moonlight. Next came the sunrise with the clouds still around they became pretty in pink clouds. It was a beautiful start to the day.

I zoomed in on the moon as far as I could go with my CanonSX20IS

These are my skywatch photos and to see more beautiful skies from around the world click here:

Skywatch Friday

Thanks for stopping by my post and thanks to the hosting team of:

Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

River walk

2010-10-03T18:13:00.000-04:00

These are some shots taken closer to home on a trail that follows along the Gunpowder River. It is part of the Gunpowder State Park. The river is popular with fisherman, kayakers and people tubing in the summer. The trail along the river is pretty with some red fall colors and some yellow flowers.

This is one of my favorite pic's of the river, I love the sunlight shining on the river in the distance.

I am linking up with Mary's Mosaic Monday and Drowsey Monkey's Mellow Yellow Monday and Mary the Teach's Ruby Tuesday and That's My World. Thanks to all the great host. And thank you for visiting my blog and post. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Skywatch Friday

2010-09-03T06:34:00.000-04:00

These are some shots from my backyard skywatch last night.

My Skywatch Companion

To view beautiful skies from all around the world click here Skywatch Friday

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus

Pink Saturday..Miracle Party

2010-08-27T17:19:00.011-04:00

My Pink Saturday post is dedicated to The Katillac Shack .

This is a special post for Kelee is hosting a Miracle Party starting Aug 27-29 so please visit the link for more information about the wonderful Design Angels. I hope you all can join in on the Miracle Party and the reveal of Colette's makeover. God Bless Colette, I wish her well and all the best. Colette's story is in the September issue of The Guidepost.

The Guidepost facebook link and my facebook Eileen's facebook

This is my PINK Saturday post and to see more please visit Beverly at Pink Saturday click on my link to go see more PINKS. Thanks to Beverly for hosting Pink Saturday and helping with the Miracle makeover party.

I have found some beautiful quotes about giving and reminds me of the all the giving that is being done at the Kelee's Katillac Shack and Colette's Miracle makeover party.

Here are some of my favorites quotes as a tribute for Kelee's Miracle Party for Colette.

"A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that give you roses" ~ Proverb

"Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness" ~ Seneca

"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never now how soon it will be too late" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Open your heart- open it wide; someone is standing outside" ~ quoted in Believe - A Christmas Treasury

Thanks again to Beverly of the How Sweet the Sound and to you for stopping by my blog. Have a wonderful weekend.

Skywatch Friday

2010-08-26T05:02:00.000-04:00

Cloud watching from my backyard. I liked the different shapes and colors of these clouds. Happy Skywatching.

Thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Click on my link to see more beautiful skies and Thanks for stopping by my Skywatch Friday

More pinks from Longwood Gardens

2010-08-19T21:11:00.002-04:00

My SKYWATCH now follows my PINK Saturday.

The Katillac Shack is hosting a Miracle Party starting Aug 27-29 please visit the link for more information about the wonderful Design Angels. I hope you all can join in on the Miracle Party

This is my PINK Saturday post and to see more please visit Beverly at Pink Saturday and another cute blog I found is Seaside diaries of a kimberline I hope you can go and visit Sara's blog.

I took lots of photos of the flowers at Longwood Gardens. I hope no one is tired of seeing these pretty flowers. I know I could never be tired of seeing beautiful flowers.

I hope you enjoyed my PINK SATURDAY and thanks for stopping by. Big thanks to Beverly of How Sweet the Sound for hosting Pink Saturday.

Skywatch Friday

2010-08-19T12:55:00.002-04:00

These are some of my skywatch photos from Longwood Gardens. We enjoyed a beautiful day with puffy white clouds and a pretty blue sky.

I hope you enjoyed my Skywatch Friday from Longwood Gardens. You can click on my link to see more wonderful skies from all over the world.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Longwood Gardens

2010-08-17T18:12:00.000-04:00

I have more photos from my visit to Longwood Gardens. They have some of the best water fountains I have ever seen. I am linking up with Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday.

At certain times of the day they put on a show with the water fountains. There are nights when the water fountains put on a colorful show and they have music playing. I have to go back to see one of night shows with the colorful lights and fireworks.

Thanks to 2sweetnsaxy of Watery Wednesday and to Susan of Outdoor Wednesday.

Also thanks for visiting my blog and post.

Longwood Gardens..Just Pinks

2010-08-13T18:10:00.003-04:00

I took a lot of photos during my visit to the Longwood Gardens last Saturday and I am showing some of my favorite PINK flowers for Beverly's Pink Saturday. Thanks to Beverly for hosting this fun pink meme andI hope you stopped by and visit some of the Pink Saturday post. One of my favorite post from last week was my visit to Jen's blog called The Bird in boots. She has a great post on the Biltmore Estate and gardens.

Some flowers that are a hot pink, these remind me of raspberries. I do not kow their name.

I hope you enjoyed my flowers from LONGWOOD GARDENS , my two post below show more from my visit to Longwood Gardens.

Thank you to Beverly and thanks to you for stopping by my blog. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Longwood Gardens..Watery Wednesday

2010-08-10T05:13:00.006-04:00

For my Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday

Congrats to 2sweettnsaxy for her 100th Watery Wednesday post!
Photos are from Saturday's visit to the Longwood Gardens. Besides all the lovely flowers they have numerous fountains, lakes, ponds. The Italian watergarden they say is inspired by the Villa Gamberaia near Florence Italy. The pruned ivy, trees and the green lawns surround the pools of water.

I just love this frog

Water cascades down the steps

Water fountains line the ivy wall

I hope you enjoyed my watery post and if you are ever in the area LONGWOOD GARDENS is a wonderful place to visit.

I have a post showing some of the flowers from Longwood Garden following this post.

Thanks to 2sweetnsaxy for hosting Watery Wednesday and Susan for hosting Outdoor Wednesday thanks for stopping by.

Longwood gardens

2010-08-08T19:26:00.001-04:00

These are some of the flowers hubby and I saw at our Longwood Gardens visit on Saturday. It was a beautiful day to stroll around the gardens. I saw so many beautiful flowers, there was no way I could pick any favorites. I loved them all.

I am link up with Mellow Yellow Monday and Ruby Tuesday I hope you will visit both of these fun memes.

We spent most of the day arriving at Longwood Gardens at 9:30 left around 3pm. I still feel we did not see all of the gardens and the beautiful flowers.

I hope you enjoyed my Mellow Yellow and Ruby Tuesday post. Click on my links above or on the sidebar to visit these memes and to see more of Drowsey Monkey's Mellow Yellow Monday and Mary's Ruby Tuesday.

Thanks to both of the host and to you for stopping by to see my post. I hope everyone has a great week.

Pink Crape Myrtle

2010-08-06T16:23:00.018-04:00

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY!!

For this weeks Pink Saturday I am showing off my beautiful pink Crape Myrtle. This year my crape myrtle seems to have more blooms and has gotten huge. I have been noticing everyone's Crape Myrtles this year and they all look beautiful. Maybe it is just me but they seem to look even more gorgeous this year.

A new blog to me and one that I keep going back to is Mary's A Breath of Fresh Air. I have to tell you I love her pinks but Mary's African Safari pictures are just awesome. I have been dreaming about taking an African safari someday and for now I am emjoying her photos and posts about her trip. Wow! If you like animals as much as I do or traveling I would highly recommend visiting Mary's blog.

I hope you enjoyed my Crape Myrtle and thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend.

Special thanks to Beverly of How Sweet the Sound for hosting Pink Saturday.

Backyard Sunset..Skywatch Friday

2010-08-05T12:31:00.003-04:00

These are some sunset photos from my backyard
and to see more beautiful skies from all over click here Skywatch Friday

I enjoy watching the sunset from my deck and I hope you vist Skywatch Friday

to see more skies from all over the world.

Thanks for stopping by for my skywatch and thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

NCR/Heritage rail trail

2010-08-02T17:32:00.000-04:00

Friday evening hubby and I decided to take a walk on the Heritage trail. This trail is actaully part of the NCR rail trail that starts in Maryland and goes 41 miles to York, Pa. We have walked the Maryland NCR trail many times and decided to walk the Pennsylvania trail. New Freedom is only a short drive away. An added incentive to walk on the New Freedom trail is a Bonkeys ice cream cone. The best ice cream found near the MD-PA line.

I liked this clock and the landscaping around the parking lot for the bike trail.

The restored New Freedom Train Station is a museum and there is also a cafe if you would like a drink or somethig to eat.

This caboose is cool looking.

Along the trail there are some large trees and a small stream.

The flowers were looking pretty along the trail too.

This is my entry for Ruby Tuesday click on my link to visit Mary's Work of the Poet and to see more of Ruby Tuesday.

also I am linking up with That's My World

Thanks to Mary and the hosting team of That's My World and for visiting my post today.

Pink Double Impatiens

2010-07-30T17:44:00.003-04:00

For this weeks PINK SATURDAY and Todays Flowers I am showing my beautiful double Impatiens.

Visit with Beverly to see more beautiful pinks.

Visit Today's Flowers to see more beautiful blooms.

The impatiens are one of my favorite annual plants and this year we planted two double impatiens and they are a lovely PINK. I love their continuous beautiful PINK blooms.

Thanks to the hosting team of Today's Flowers, Santilli, Pupo, Denise and Sandy.

Thanks for stopping by my Pink Saturday and thanks to Beverly for hosting Pink Saturday!

Skywatch Friday

2010-07-29T17:41:00.001-04:00

To see more wonderful skies click here Skywatch Friday

These are shots of the skies over my house taken a few days ago. The clouds were really cool looking and then I thought I saw a slight glimpse of a sundog. Then the sky turned a pretty pink with the sunset.

Here comes the color.

Thanks for stopping by to see my skywatch and thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Pinks and blues

2010-07-22T16:15:00.001-04:00

With my sunrise post I am hooking up with Skywatch Friday and Pink Saturday!

One morning the skies above my yard were filled with pinks and blues. This was another morning I took my camera to work to take the sunrise photos along my route.

My photos start off with the sky looking west above my yard. The pinks and blues were just gorgeous. I think my pretty pink skies are great for my Pink Saturday. Thanks to Beverly the sweet host of Pink Saturday. I had a nice visit at Stephanie's blog Queen of Dreamz a beautiful blog check it out. Click on my Pink Saturday link to see more pretty pinks.

To see more beautiful skies from all over click here: Skywatch Friday

Again, I am just amazed at how pretty the sky can look, the clouds and colors are just amazing. Everyone should take more time to admire their beautiful skies. Thanks to the Skywatch hosting team: Sylvia, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Thanks for stopping by to see my skies.

Mimosa for my Pink Saturday

2010-07-16T14:33:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Beverly of How Sweet the Sound for hosting Pink Saturday. Show us your pretty pinks.

and

Thanks to Claudia the host of Friday Finding Beauty

We have several young Mimosa trees in our yard and I just love these trees. The pink blooms are beautiful and the blooms attract butterflies and hummingbirds. There was a time when there were so many butterflies on our mimosa tree it looked like the tree was moving. Any tree, bush or flowers that attract wildlife is beautiful to me.

One of my favorite blog visits from last weeks Pink Saturday was Wings of Eagles. I loved the butterfly on the flower photo and I just love the title of Schotzy's blog.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and thanks again to Beverly for hosting Pink Saturday and Claudia for hosting Friday Finding Beauty.

Skywatch Friday

2010-07-15T12:24:00.002-04:00

I hope no one minds more of my sunrise photos, but when I see such beautiful skies I am just amazed.

These again started at my yard and different spots along the road on my way to work, maybe ten minutes apart from beginning to end.

Please click on photos for a better viewing of these shots.

I zoomed in on this one. The color and clouds are amazing.

To see more beautiful skies from all over click here: Skywatch Friday

I hope you enjoy my sunrise photos and thanks for stopping by. Special thanks to the hosting group of Skywatch Friday: Sylvia, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Butterfly mosaic

2010-07-11T20:32:00.000-04:00

I walked around my yard earlier today and was able to catch these Swallowtail butterflies and the hummingbird moth on my buddlia bush.

I am linking my post to Mary's Mosaic Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday

Click on the links to visit these fun memes. And special thanks to both of the host.

Thanks for stopping by to see my mosaic of butterflies and buddlia.

Sunrise Skywatch Friday

2010-07-08T12:59:00.001-04:00

You can click here to see more skies from all around the world Skywatch Friday

These shots are shown in order starting as I was leaving my house and along the way down the road. Maybe ten minutes apart from start to finish.

Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed my sunrise.

This was another morning that I was happy I carried my camera to work with me.

Thanks, also to the hosting team of Sylvia, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Sunrise ..Skywatch Friday

2010-07-01T12:57:00.001-04:00

Click here Skywatch Friday to see more wonderful skies from all over.

I have been carrying my camera most mornings now on my way to work. So these are some shots from June 15. I stopped my car in various places along the way where I can see a good view of the sunrise. The first photo starts with looking at the clouds in my yard looking west, they were turning a pretty pink.

As usual you can click on the photos for a larger image.

Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed my sunrise. There are morning where I am just amazed at the sky and colors.

Thanks, also to the hosting team of Sylvia, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Klaus.

Backyard Skywatch Friday

2010-06-24T18:13:00.000-04:00

To see more skies from all around the world click here Skywatch Friday

I love these cotton ball clouds, these are skywatch photos were from my backyard.

I hope you enjoy my skywatch as much as I did. Thanks for stopping by

and thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Sandy, Fishing Guy, Wren and Klaus.

Sunrise for Skywatch Friday!

2010-06-17T12:25:00.013-04:00

Lately I have been carrying my camera to work with me, the sunrises have been just awesome. These shots are from June 4 and my first stop was down the street from my house. The clouds were turning a pretty pink. I would stop a little further down the same road and take more shots. I have picked certain spots along the road that give me a great view of the sky and sunrise. All of these spots are no more then ten minutes from my house, so you can see the sky changed as I was driving. Luckily I haven't been late for work and I will pull over if any cars are behind me.

In a few years these trees below will be blocking my view.

This horse farm has planted these trees along their fence. Isn't a fence enough? They are not even my favorite trees.

Some day I have to show some more scenes from this corner. There were many movies made in Maryland and they used two old houses that had old style storefronts right on this corner. To mention a few of the movies were Runaway Bride, Boys and Guarding Tess.

To see more skies from all around the world click here Skywatch Friday

I hope you enjoy my sunrise as much as I did. Thanks for stopping by

and thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Sandy, Fishing Guy, Wren and Klaus.

Skywatch Friday

2010-06-10T12:16:00.001-04:00

From two weeks ago, the sun was setting as we were driving home from our day trip to Shenandoah National Park. I had to pull the car over to get these shots. The red color of the sun and sky was so pretty.

To see more beautiful skies from all over click here Skywatch Friday

Thanks for stopping by to see my red skies and special thanks to the hosting team of

Sylvia, Sandy, Fishing Guy, Klaus and Wren

Another backyard skywatch

2010-06-03T12:46:00.001-04:00

For Skywatch Friday I am sharing some skywatch photos from my backyard. They were taken in April when my Redbud tree was blooming. The clouds formations were cool. These were taken all on the same day but at different times. I hope you enjoy my skywatch.

To see more skies click here Skywatch Friday , thanks for stopping by to see my skies.
Also, thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Sandy, Fishing Guy, Klaus and Wren.

Backyard pond

2010-06-01T12:06:00.002-04:00

These photos are of my backyard pond. Right now it is filled with white and pink waterlilies and some cattail plants. There are a lot of tadpoles and the frogs and birds seem to enjoy it.

Thanks for stopping by to see my Watery Wednesday and my Outdoor Wednesday
and thanks to 2sweetnsaxy and Susan for hosting these fun memes.

Backyard Skywatch

2010-05-27T12:48:00.001-04:00

These are some skywatch photos from my backyard. I really liked how the clouds looked.

To see more wonderful skies click here Skywatch Friday and thanks to the hosting team of Sylvia, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Klaus

Thanks for stopping by to see my skywatch

My backyard blooms

2010-05-21T15:06:00.005-04:00

This is my post for Susan's Outdoor Wednesday and to see more: click here OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY and thanks to Susan for hosting Outdoor Wednesday.

These are a few of my backyard blooms so far this spring. I arranged the pictures in order of the blooming times. My hubby is the one with the green thumb. I am lucky that I get to go and pick out the flowers and he is wonderful at planting them.

Creeping Phlox

Dwarf Iris

Bleeding hearts

Dogwod Tree

Redbud tree

Azalea

Not sure what this blooming bush is called. Can anyone tell me what it is called?

White water lily

Clematis

Rhododendron

Pink Water lily

Siberian Iris

Another species of Clematis

Another species of Iris

Petunia

I have been enjoying all my spring flowers, the spring flowers seem to all have the same color scheme. Now, I am looking forward to finding and planting more flowers that will bloom thru the summer.

Anyone have ideas for color all summer long?

I am linking this post to Claudia's

Friday Finding Beauty Claudia's Friday-Finding Beauty

Thanks for stopping by to see my backyard blooms.

Skywatch Friday

2010-05-06T04:58:00.001-04:00

These skywatch photos start from the sunrise in the morning to the sunset the same night. I took the sunrise shot on the way to Delaware. It is of the sunrise over our lake and a shot of the moon. The sunset shot is on the way home the same day.

Sorry, if you saw my That's my world post below the first two shots are repeats. I have found a quote that is fiting for my photos.

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes" Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bombay Hook NWR, Delaware

Thanks for stopping by to view my skies and thanks to the hosting group of Skywatch Friday

Fireroad walk..My world

2010-05-03T13:06:00.005-04:00

This is my entry for Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday Thanks to 2sweetnsaxy and Susan for hosting these fun memes.

I am not sure if I mentioned in a previous post that I live next to a watershed area that includes a reservoir for the local city. It is all just a walk out my door. Hubby, my Goldie Girl and I like walking on the various fireroads around the reservoir. I am usually always looking for birds but I enjoy looking at all the plants, ferns, trees and bushes growing in the watershed next to our house.

This was a shot from yesterday's sunrise over the reservoir and a shot of the moon reflecting on the lake.

Early this morning we took a walk on the fireroad, the photos below show some of the scenes We see along the fireroad.

Ferns growing along the fireroad

Wild Pink azalea

Hemlock trees grown along the fireroad

Wild White Dogwood

Some of the fireroad trail goes thru a large group of Pine trees.

Wildflowers along the fireroad, or should I say weeds. Either way I think they are pretty.

Sky reflecting on the reservoir

More ferns

Unknown bush, looks similiar to honeysuckle

Goldie Girl

This is my world and my entry for this weeks : That's My World

Click on my link and check out more of our world and thanks to the hosting group of That's My World

DC World War II memorial fountain

2010-04-27T13:22:00.002-04:00

For this weeks Watery Wednesday I continued with the DC area and the World War II memorial water fountains. During our visit to the Cherry Blossom festival we walked around the memorial. One side of the memorial is the Pacific side and the other the Atlantic side and in between each state is represented. A lot of tourists would stand in front of their home state to have photos taken.

The water fountain is really nice.

Thanks for stopping by to see my watery Wedneday and

to see more please click here: Watery Wednesday

Thanks to 2sweetnsaxy for hosting this watery meme.

DC, Reflecting Pool.. Weekend Reflections

2010-04-17T04:57:00.000-04:00

During the Cherry Blossom festival we walked all around the mall area and the monuments and memorials. The reflecting pool is one of my favorite places to see.

The Reflecting pool

It is not possible to get pictures without people, it was a popular weekend to be in DC. But I like this picture below because it shows the capitol building.

You can see some of the Jefferson Memorial reflected in the tidal basin.

Thanks for stopping by to see my reflections

and to see more reflections visit James's Weekend Reflections

Tidal basin, Watery Wednesday

2010-04-13T17:48:00.003-04:00

For this weeks Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday I am adding some more photos from our visit to the Cherry Blossom festival. See precious post for more of the Cherry Blossom Festival and trees.
The tidal basin area was very crowded and there were many paddle boats out on the water. The Cherry Blossoms were all along the water as were the crowds of people.

A crooked Jefferson memorial.

A sleepy duck

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to 2sweetnsaxy for hosting. To see more water click here Watery Wednesday

Thanks to Susan of Southern Daydreamer for hosting Outdoor Wednesday

Cherry Blossom festival

2010-04-12T05:23:00.001-04:00

Last weekend we became one of the many tourist at the Cherry Blossom festival in DC. I could not believe the crowds. Although we should have known when we we arrived at the metro station there were metro police controlling crowds of people and were only letting so many people in at a time to buy their metro tickets. This was my first time and my last going to the cherry blossom festival. I do not like such huge crowds. The Cherry Blossoms were beautiful and I was very happy to see them at least one time.

The dark pink blooms are my favorites.

Even after living in the area all my life and this was my first time seeing the Cherry Blossoms and visiting the Tidal basin area. I have seen all the other memorials and monuments though, the mall area with the reflecting pool is my favorite part to visit and I love the museums. Thanks for stopping my world and blog and thanks to the hosting team. To see more of the world click here That's my world

Skywatch Friday

2010-03-18T14:24:00.002-04:00

Lately, I haven't had to leave my backyard to see some beautiful skies. On one shot I captured a few turkey vultures flying around. I like the way the clouds looked on this evening.

More beautiful skywatch photos can be found here at Skywatch Friday Thanks to the wonderful hosting team of Skywatch Firday.

Also thanks for visiting to see my skies and my blog.

Skywatch Friday

2010-03-11T14:32:00.003-05:00

Here is another skywatch from my backyard. I watched the sky as the clouds turned a pretty pink color. The pink skies are my favorites and I have been lucky to see some beautiful skies lately.

For more wonderful skies click here Skywatch Friday

Thanks for stopping by to see my skies and thanks to the hosting team of Skywatch Friday.

Skywatch Friday

2010-03-04T14:17:00.003-05:00

I have another set of Skywatch Friday photos from my backyard. The header photo and the ones below are from the same day. I love the dramatic clouds.

To see more wonderful skies from all over go and visit Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by to see my skies and thanks to the hosting team of Skywatch Friday.

Weekend Reflections

2010-02-19T18:00:00.000-05:00

These shots are of my son's aquarium. I noticed one day I was watching the fish and the window is reflected on the aquarium. The first shots were during the day looking at the aquarium and the last shot was looking at the window and seeing the reflection of the aquarium.

To see more wonderful reflections go and visit James and his Weekend Reflections

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my reflections and thanks to James for hosting this fun meme.

Skywatch Friday

2010-02-18T13:56:00.002-05:00

This is another sunset series from my backyard these were from Jan 14. I thought the colors and shape of the clouds look cool.

Thanks for stopping by to see my skies and to see more beautiful skies click here Skywatch Friday

Also a special thanks to the hosting team of Skywatch.

Skywatch Friday

2010-02-11T12:22:00.001-05:00

Is it just me or are Fridays really rolling around pretty fast. I am not complaining because I love the weekends. I have been seeing some fantastic sunsets from my backyard these photos are from Jan, 22. The clouds lit up beautifully. At times I am stunned just at how beautiful the clouds and sky can look.

To see more beautiful skies go and visit Skywatch Friday

These photos look much better if you click to see the larger image.

Thanks to the hosting team of Skywatch Friday

and thanks to you for stopping by to see my Skywatch Friday.

Todays Flower

2010-02-06T15:31:00.000-05:00

Sorry these are from my archives, it is Bee Balm. I planted the Jacob Cline Bee Balm in yard mainly to attract hummingbirds. The plants spread easily and I planted in an area where it could spread. The hummingbirds just love it. Another reason why I am looking forward to spring.

Thanks for stopping by and to see more go to Today's Flowers

and

Thanks to the hosting team of Luiz, Denise, Laerte and Valkyrien

Skywatch Friday

2010-02-04T11:59:00.003-05:00

These sunset shots were from my backyard on Jan 13. On the way home from work I am always checking out the sky and clouds to see if they would make a great sunset. On this day, I just knew we were going to see a fantastic sunset. And I think I was right on.

As always please click on the photos to see a larger image.

To see more great Skywatch photos from all over go and visit Skwatch Friday

Thanks for stopping by to see my skies and thanks to the hosting team.