June Events

June was a very busy month. We went to St Pete Beach for vacation at the beginning of the month. John, Lindsey and Mason (son, daughter-in-law and grandson) went with us. We had a great time, we went to John's Pass several times. We went on a sunset cruise, and that was where I shot the photos of the manatee. The next week I went with Jimmy to Virginia (where he is currently working) and explored while he was working. Jimmy and I visited the Settler's Museum of Southwest Virginia after he was done working one afternoon. I took lots of photos on both trips and have shared some of the photos, and will be sharing more as time permits. A friend invited me over to take photos in her yard, and had a great time there. Also, on the way home I stopped and made photos of the swallowtails at some thistle on the side of the road. I started working on a new website for my photography work, and I am close to putting it on the web, but it is still not quite ready. Mid month we had the Methodist Women's annual picnic at our house. I have been to Cherokee Lake twice, with better photo op luck on the first trip. Cherokee Lake is local, so I am sure I will be returning there. I have really enjoyed taking photographs in my own yard this month, there has been so much bird and butterfly activity, and the daylilies are at their peak of blooming. I went to the Oakes Daylilies Festival on Friday, and saw great new varieties of daylilies and other perennials. Spent Saturday planting the new plants. The bluebird above was dazed when I took the photo, (late Sunday evening) but he flew very soon after this photo. He had flown into the clear glass of my transom in my dining room.

Farmhouse at Settler's Museum of Southwest Virginia

We arrived late in the afternoon at the Settler's Museum of Southwest Virginia. We paid, and went through the museum, but it was close to closing time. All the rest of the property except for the farmhouse you just walk around and visit on your own. Since the farmhouse was locked up we walked around it and peeped in the windows. This view caught my eye so much that I took the chance on taking the photo through that dirty old window, straight down the hall. I was pleasantly surprised when I got this to the computer to see it good.

Cup Flower

This photo of the Cup Flower (Nierembergia) was taken at Lake Junaluska when I visited there in May.

Open Hearth Daylily

This daylily I have had for over 10 years, also got it from Oakes Daylilies. The newer introduced daylilies have more ruffle to them. And I, like everybody else, tend to like the ruffles. But this one really does catch your eye out in the yard.

Chipmunk

I was somewhere in the mountains of Virginia, fairly close to Marian, Virginia. Other than that, don't know where I was. Wasn't lost, but probably could not get back to that park again. Posting this one for Alice.

Lullaby Baby Daylily

Lullaby Baby daylily is a very good bloomer, has lots of blooms on any given day. I got this one in 2006, also from Oakes Daylilies.

Deer by the road

Well, I went to the Oakes Daylilies Festival Friday morning as planned. Since I live in East Tennessee this is like going to the neighborhood plant store. I did not take my D-SLR camera (I was going to store). I did have my little digitial in the car. And guess what, on the way home, on the side of the highway, in plan view, is this deer. With the correct equipment this photo would have been so much better. We live and learn....

Tutankhamun Daylily

This is one of the first daylilies I ever bought from Oakes Daylilies. I bought this one around 1995. Photo was taken several days ago in my front flower bed. Still blooming beautifully, the great thing about daylilies. As perdicted I bought 11 new varieties of daylilies at the festival.

Eastern Bluebirds putting on a show

Well, as usual right after breakfast I went outside with camera in hand. Was headed back to see the Mama Bluebird behind the shop that I have been watching & photographing all week. Glanced down toward the birdhouse the swallows have been very active at, and really saw something going on.
Forget Mama bird, and go toward this expecting Tree Swallows.

Boy, was I surprised.

And they were oblivious to me. It was like I was behind that blind I want so badly.

Then I turned around toward my front yard and there was a different set doing the same thing. This is the 2nd set, after being at the front birdhouse, then they finally started dancing their dance out in the middle of the yard.

I finally moved on to my daylilies.

Daylilies - many varieties

This time of year I go out and dead head the daylilies every morning. This is my daylily patch at the front of the property. You can sorta see the guardrail across the road in the background, our property has a bank at the road, but other than that it is basically flat.
The high on Thursday was suppose to be 94. I go out there with my photographer's jacket on, and it gets very hot. The reason I wear it is so I have all my other lens, so I can change from macro to telephoto. You never know what you might miss if you just have a macro lens with you. The other day I went to deadhead and that was when I got the shots of Swallowtail buried in the Hyperion Daylily. Thursday I took lots of photos of the Eastern Bluebirds, which will be posting later this morning. See the blog post of the Eastern Bluebirds putting on show.

After deadheading at the patch at the road then I go back to daylilies in the flower beds at the sidewalk in the front of the house.

Then I move around to the back of the house next to my back deck, where I have a small patch of about 30. All total I currently have around 70 different varieties, but this morning I am going to the Oakes Daylily Festival in Corryton, Tennessee. Knowing me I will come home with about 10 new varieties.

Eastern Bluebird

I originally thought she had 2 worms in her mouth, but now that I have the photos to examine I think she just has one, holding it in the middle. I used my husband's lawnmower's trailer as a blind so I could get a little closer today. I also think she may be feeding caterpillars to her young, cutting down on my butterflies. I guess that is part of the natural cycle. Just one I don't like.

Killdeer

This Killdeer was in our backyard, and did a great job of acting like it's wing is broken.
I watch the eggs for the whole 28 days, as closely as they would let me.

I go out there yesterday, and gone....again.

I have been through this process 4 times now. I can't ever get a photo of the babies, because I never see them. So here I go with my research AGAIN. And one of my books says they are precocial. Which they say means "A pattern of development in which young birds hatch with feathers and are able to move and feed themselves." I guess to get to see the babies I am going to have to camp out there, but I am afraid the adult will attack me if I do that. Hope you liked this educational information.

Swallowtail in Hyperion daylily

It is a Swallowtail. But which kind? I have pored over my book. I thought it was a Pipevine, but the bottom photo appears to show some orange on the topside. Is it the flutter of the wings, and it really is showing some of the bottom? Does anybody think you know with some confidence which type of Swallowtail it is?

more photos of Blue Jay at Cherokee Lake

More photos of the Blue Jay from yesterday.

Muskrat or Ground Hog Cherokee Lake

UPDATE.....Started my research over, several times. I am not sure if this is a Muskrat or Ground Hog. Did not see his tail, and not sure how else to tell the difference. He was close to the lake (Muskrat?), but the photos I find when I go to Google all show a Muskrat with whiskers. I don't see whiskers in this photo. Ground Hogs are plentiful in my area, but have never been this close to one. Does anybody know which it is?????

Usually a Ground Hog is scared of humans, but I was more scared of him than he was of me. I was taking photographs of the butterflies on the wildflowers at the edge of the lake. All at once I heard an awful rustling of the old leaves in the large rocks right above me. I did not see anything and I continued on. Then as I came back by the rustling started again. When I calmed down I saw him. He stayed out long enough for me to take 5 photos, then he backed under the rocks. We were both happy. He because I had not bothered him, me because I got the photos.

Blue Jay at Cherokee Lake

I decided to drive over to Cherokee Lake this morning to see what I could find. For me this Blue Jay was worth the 10 mile trip.
I got there as a couple were putting out the nuts for the squirrels and Blue Jays.

He is looking at me as if to say "Come get it, if you think you can!"

Eastern Bluebird in my garden

The female Eastern Bluebird on the tomato stakes in my garden.

Woodpecker at Lake Seminole Park

These photos of a Woodpecker were taken at Lake Seminole Park in Seminole, Florida. I took the 1st photo of the woodpecker and then he moved. I had to walk down a ways to find a place I could cross the creek to get a view of him again. Then he was hid by the branches.
He did finally move just a little, but I like the 1st photo the best.

Rabbit at the Settler's Museum of Southwest Virginia

This rabbit was at the Settler's Museum of Southwest Virginia I visited last week. He looks like somebody's pet, but he was running loose. The rooster I posted several days ago was from the same museum. In the bottom photo, he thought I could not see him. Rabbits are so funny when they get still like this.

Manatee at John's Pass

Not a great photo, but it was the best I was able to capture. It was just exciting to see them. There were several. We were on a sunset cruise that left the boardwalk at John's Pass. The next day my son had one come within 4 or 5 ft of him on the shore at the south point of St Pete Beach. He did not have a camera, and I was not with him. Naturally!

Eastern Bluebird 'Mama'

I stepped around the back of Jimmy's shop and right in the garden is this Eastern Bluebird with a worm in her beak.She takes it to the top of the birdhouse her babies are in.
She goes back to the tomato stakes,

and appears to be struggling with this worm. She succeeds to get the worm back in control.

She flys back to birdhouse, and appears to be looking at me for advise.

She goes back to the tomato stakes, but either has swallowed the worm, or dropped it.

She finally turns around on the tomato stake to get ready to fly off.

I took 56 photos in 19 minutes, and then the show was over for the morning.