Good morning to the morning glory vine and flowers.
This flowering vine really puts on a show.
My sister gave me this one and it is in a pot but and I have it wrapped around a small oak tree.
It is one of the first things I see in the morning when I step out the back porch.
Sometimes it is the little things that can put a smile on your face in the morning.
This beautiful succulent is called Purslane or Portulaca.
It is an annual it works well in pots or planted in a flower bed.
The flowers bloom like crazy as long as the sun is shining but they close up every evening.
This plant is a good bang for the buck for instant, fast-growing color.
These two Black Bellied Whistling ducks come by every morning and every evening.
They eat some of the seed I put out and stay a little while. They never seem to mind me taking their pictures.
I changed the sign while editing just for them since they whistle instead of sing.
I love these ducks and I look for them most mornings. I need to give them names like maybe Fred and Ethel. When I talk to them they just look at me like they understand.
We have so many birds in this area of Texas but one of my favorites are the small Eastern Bluebirds.
I caught them having a pool party at the bird bath. I know these are juveniles because their blue is very limited. The adults are a lot bluer and their chest is a darker orange color.
They can splash a lot of water out of a birdbath really quick. At one time there were 4 in at a time with others zipping around waiting their turn. I even saw a few adults supervising.
I am glad I was able to sneak back into the house and grab my camera to get a few action shots.
Nature never ceases to amaze me the beauty is all around us we just need to take the time to notice it.
Spider webs have always intrigued me.
Amazingly it only takes a spider about one hour to create their masterpiece of this silk thread.
This type of spider web is called an orb web and they are quite noticeable in the early morning with the dew on them.
Last week we had spider webs all in the grass and the trees in the backyard.
Just think if a spider can accomplish this beauty in one hour what we can accomplish in a day if we really try.
If you listen when you are outdoors you can hear the sounds of birds all around.
You can even learn to distinguish the sounds of different types of birds.
Sometimes you can even hear baby birds. Hawk babies are very loud when the mom and dad are bringing them food.
These pictures were taken at our daughter’s house way up high in a pine tree. There were actually three babies but only two wanted their pictures taken. Lucky I had my 400mm lens with me otherwise there would not have been any pictures.
I am going to try and get a few more pictures this week. I figure these baby hawks are 3-4 weeks old and they leave the nest at six weeks old.
Nature is all around us we just have to open our eyes to see it and enjoy its beauty.
We have been out to Brazos Bend State Park in Needville so many times over the last almost 40 years.
Last Friday our daughter Jeanelle and her 4 kids and I went out there for a bike ride. The weather was beautiful.
We saw about 20 alligators, I have no idea how many different birds.
For the first time ever we saw a family of river otters. I was able to grab a few pictures of these cuties.
We think it was a mom and two babies. As you can see in the second picture the larger one has a wound on its back. From what I have read these little boogers can stand their ground with an alligator.
Keep your eyes, wide open and nature will always surprise you with something you may not have seen before. If you are lucky you might just get a picture of it.
