Texas style photography and words
I see the ducks all the time they wander around in the pasture.
They are in the trees and the feeders eating the seed.
My favorite thing is to see one of them in the duck house. I feel sure they are nesting but have yet to climb a ladder to look in the house and check it out.
My friends the duck couple need names.
Our garden has been doing great this year that is until all this rain hit us the last few weeks.
To much rain makes the ground soggy and when the sun comes out it steams the plants so they go through a spurt of looking like heck for awhile. Hopefully the tomatoes survive it seems like we waited so long for good tomatoes.
We have given away about 100#s of produce so far mainly yellow squash, zucchini squash and cucumbers. We have put quite a bit up in our freezer and eaten squash 2-3 x a week since it started making. We eats lots of cucumbers and tomatoes as well. I made some zoodles to put up as well.
We put up 7 quarts of dill pickles yesterday that is only the start.
We share a good amount with Jacks brother, sister n law and mother n law. My mother n law loves tomatoes.
This pic is from a few days of picking this was not quite all of the squash and cucumbers but it was enough to make a good picture. We had eaten a few tomatoes already as well it is so hard not to eat them they taste so so good.
Jack has put a lot of time into the garden this year and it has really paid off. I think we have 53 tomato plants maybe more. My favorite tasting one is the mater sandwich and beef steak.
Planting a garden and watching it grow brings us both great pleasure. Sharing with friends and family makes it even better.
Getting to photograph the harvest really makes my day.
On Thursday my cousin Sam’s wife Suzanne passed away she was only 64 years old.
She was more like a older sister to me than a cousin in law. I call her my sister cousin.
Suzanne had been in and out of the hospital numerous times over the last few years. She had some health issues but she was always able to fight back. I think this time her body was to tired to fight.
After my dad passed away she was the one person who was always there to listen to me and let me cry on her shoulder. She was close to her dad and had lost him a couple of years before I lost mine. Anytime you have someone who has been through what you are going through it always helps.
She was always doing things for other people and trying to bring a smile to someone’s face. Her faith was very strong and she would let you know it.
I will miss her so much we loved talking on the phone and making each other laugh. We could always brighten each others day when we were feeling a little down.
I believe there are Angels put on this earth to help guide others they leave their mark on each person they touch this was Suzanne. I am so glad she touched my life in a way I will never forget.
Love you girl was always the last thing we said to each other when we hung up the phone.
We put up this duck house at least 3 years ago and the only two thing I have ever seen in it was a squirrel and a woodpecker.
Tuesday for the first time a pair of Black Bellied Whistling ducks checked out the housing. This couple looks young so they have probably not nested yet.
In years past the ducks have been here daily for months at a time sometimes groups of 8 to 10 would show up.
This couple started showing up about 1 week ago and checking out what we had for breakfast.
Now they are checking out the accommodations and seeing if we have free shampoo and soap.
Life is good and everyday with the wildlife is a new day for pictures.
We finally started seeing the Eastern Bluebirds again.
This pair is nesting in an older birdhouse that is 20ft off the ground. This is very unusual for these birds because normally they like around 5ft off the ground and we have several houses just right for them that no one is nesting in.
I am guessing they love the height or the look of this worn out birdhouse lol.
I am so glad the Eastern Bluebirds found their way back after the freeze. I know a lot them died because they were caught off guard with the freeze in our area.
We provide housing, birdbaths and food for our feather friends it is very nice to see them back again. This pair posed for a picture together.
Monday we started the foundation work on our house.
Our oldest son Joshua was able to get a much better bid than we were able to get. He and his wife flip houses and build new houses for their side business so he has a few connections.
They have been putting piers around all 4 sides of the add on and tunneling between the old and new slab. We can get it done for $11,000.00 instead of the $15, 890.00.
It is crazy to think you can not even put down new flooring if your slab is off a few inches. One step always holds up the next.
The noise that is involved is crazy when they are pounding in concrete piers to the tune of 17 – 18 per hole x 35 holes its crazy. When they start lifting the house the walls start cracking, eeking, squeaking and then the big BOOM like a earth quake that is when its being leveled.
The cats and dogs are neither one fans of this whole thing and today is our 6th day of doing this but they should finish up tomorrow.
We are looking forward to this being over with so we can start on the next projects.
This is most likely a 2nd. year male Indigo Bunting molting.
It takes them several season to get to a full blown blue with no brown.
I have truly enjoyed these birds in our feeders and I have learned quickly they love the black oiled sunflower seeds.
They eat at the feeders they are not grab and runs. I find piles of sunflower seed shells in the feeders.
Wildlife comes in lots of colors but our eyes are easily drawn to the brighter colors because those colors stand out against the greens and browns of nature.
Look in your yard and find something in nature that captures your attention and take a picture.
This was our first year for onions and this was our only onion bloom it is a 10/15 onion.
Not all onions bloom and the bloom is where the seeds are at. If you get no blooms you either buy more seeds or onion sets for the next planting.
These blooms are similar looking to garlic blooms just different color flowers. These two pics were taken 2 different days so you can see the progress of the changing flowers.
All gardens have beauty even before the harvest.
I kept seeing this bird out the French doors in the feeders but I had no clue what kind of bird it was.
I had to ask someone that had connections with others who were the experts.
It turns out this is a Rose- breasted Grosbeak this is a female the males are quite opposite they are black white and red. I only saw this one bird.
They migrate through our area. I was able to get pictures for a few days of this beauty.
That is two birds I have never seen before that I have gotten to capture on camera during the last few weeks. Life is GOOD!
This female redbird was glad to see some birdseed in this feeder.
I love it when the birds are molting so they have those fuzzy feathers in the pics. The wind was blowing a little so it really accented her feathers.
She was quite curious about my camera so she posed for a few shots as she was eating some black oiled sun flower seeds.
The wildlife in our area is as curious about us as we are them.
Sonya Lira Photography 