And BAM...Summery Spring has arrived...

Almost all of the trees are leafed out by now. The undergrowth of the forest which includes Barberry bushes, Honeysuckle, Raspberry, Gooseberry, and other prickly things all are in blossom or getting ready to blossom.

The grass and weeds in the Meadow have sprung to life this past week. The yard grass has a life of its own seeming to grow inches each night.

Our friend Jason came out for Mother's Day with his fluff balls...

his intent was to give me time to do what I wanted on Mother's Day.

This next series of shots is from my morning out in the forest. The last shot is of one of my favorite trees that flowers. The Hawthorne tree. The flower buds still weren't quite open. I was able to spend a little more time by this tree to discover that there were six or seven little ones growing under the forest canopy.

Color me happy.

Whoops...an Allosaurus???

Jason had come to give me coverage for Rich on Monday night. Olive's Track Team had a Conference Meet at their home field and I had volunteered to come and photograph the kids doing their things.

It also meant that Rich had to be comfortable enough with Jason to allow him to help him undress and put him to bed. Rich and Jason said they had it covered and off I went.

I donate my time and the photos. I give Olive the shots and she hands them off to the Head Coach who lets the kids have their photos. 
The last time I did this the Head Coach received feedback from the students. They asked to have my name and wanted to know how much I charged. 

I had set up the ground rules ahead of time.

I remain anonymous and they get their shots.

I did get to see a few students that I'd seen the last time I'd done this. Six hours of running about on a hot spring night 'shooting' action shots was pretty fun.

My favorite event to photo is the hurdles. I only tried them one time myself, but never quite got the hang of it.

The meet went on until after dark so the 'shooting' got a bit trickier as the night went on. Still, I had great fun pushing the limits on my camera. Even with a high ISO and panning, I got a bit of motion blur. However, this was the last event and it sure was an exciting one.

Another coach suggested I try photographing the triple jump and pole vaulting ... along with some of the other events if I wanted more cool action.

I'm game to try it one day.

I probably pushed the boundaries of activity and sleep a bit. By Tuesday I was totally wiped out between being up long hours doing fun things, farm things, and having fun at the track.

When Shay came out for 4 hours of Respite care, I went to the upstairs bedroom and turned a fan on high and slept for most of that time.

Below. A photo from the Meadow back to the forest pasture. I'll be opening this gate and letting the gals out onto more grass for the summer.

[Taken in Infrared...well, because it is that time of the year!]

I have a lot more work to catch up on the outside and yard.

Birds and blooms....

I prefer not to 'shoot' the birds at the feeder, but sometimes they are so fun and so wild, I just can't help myself.

I love the action shots best even if the background shows my paddock with the ugly fence and ground behind it.

These goldfinches have been absolutely wild this spring!

On some mornings I can get out and walk in the neighbor's meadow to the east of us. It is a huge meadow with the forest surrounding it.

I can hear Brown Thrashers, Crows, Robins, Orioles, Wrens, and many more birds. When I reached the far eastern edge of the meadow, I looked back and there was Sunshine my 28 year old mule watching me from her pasture.
 

I stood quiet for a long time and was so surprised to see an owl! I'm pretty sure it is a Barred Owl. He/she is near a spot where we used to find Owl Pellets.

Eventually, it flew away.

These Palm Warblers are making nests in the multiflora rose bushes. Aren't they smart? They pick the worst and nastiest thorny spots to keep their nests safe.

I don't have a very good shot of the Catbird but they were singing back and forth across the meadow.

This is the time of year when I want to be out in the meadow or forest every single morning.

This was another 'nap' time foray. I was back home before hubby woke up and quite pleased with what I was able to find.

The wild apple trees are just starting to show color and blooms.

The forest is exploding with Virginia pinks and other flowers. But I'll have to get to them tomorrow. I need to get a lot of farm work done today.

Enjoy some birds and blooms....

Observations

I've always enjoyed the birds. My grandmother was one of those who could ID a bird by their song.

We'd be picking berries and she'd cock her head and say "Bluebird" and nonchalantly continue to pick.

I'd look around to spot what she'd heard and sometimes she'd point the bird out to me.

Grandma had a pet Robin. Nope, I am not kidding. She had found a robin fledgling and raised it successfully. The Robin would perch on her shoulder and hang out with her any time she was outside. Eventually the Robin flew off and we wondered if it would return in the Spring.

She called the Robin Hubert.

And Hubert did return the next year. 

I thought my Grandmother Pearl was the most amazing person on earth. She knew so much Stuff. Now I am beginning to understand how she got to know stuff. 
She observed. She also kept detailed notes every day on the weather, what birds she saw and anything else that Nature provided. She was a Naturalist, a Master One at that.

Over the past year or so, I've found myself becoming an Observer myself. I've had more time on my hands due to the Pandemic and being a Caregiver. 

Last night found me outside late observing the Catbird. I think this is the first year that they have come to our yard or it is the first year that I've taken time to notice.

Her color is not something that makes you go Wow, but she is so interesting. She/he find grubs and arthropods in the yard. So I would say they are pretty helpful birds and good to have around. I enjoy 'her' calls and watching her. 
Last night she followed me around the yard as I was checking on my shade garden.

I am pretty sure that she wasn't actually following me, but looking for her fledglings to feed. And, it could have been a He as they both share the duties of caring for their young.

I've grown quite fond of the Catbird. I didn't know it was related to the Mockingbird and Thrasher families until I did some digging. My dad's favorite bird to listen to while he was living in Virginia was the Mockingbird. Try as I could, I never got a decent photo of one for him. We did enjoy standing on the Commons Trail and listening to their songs though.

I do enjoy Orioles and after the Dog Attack [previous post] Charlie and I spotted a nest along the road. I had to drive by there this morning to go get milk, so I parked and watched for the Oriole. 
I stayed in the car and shot out the window so as not to disturb them too much.

Most of the shots were the common bird shot. 

I was pleased to snatch a shot of the Oriole scolding me!

I'm still going to blame Aurora for directing my observation powers in a new direction this year.

The used lens is not super easy in dim light. 

However, I did get the not quite full moon before the clouds obscured it. Handheld shot...so okay...

happy dance!

I think I'll take it out tonight for the rise of the Strawberry Moon?

I could not get this doe for the life of me...

On my way back to the house I stopped to take a look at the milkweed on the corner of two roads...

So. I can get a fair close up of insects with the lens, I can get a nice shot of the moon, but running deer at dawn? Nope.

Oh crap. IF you are still reading this I have one last observation to give up.

The bird that leaves BIG holes in trees. Here it is in action.

Pileated Woodpecker.