Texas style photography and words
I love the smell of a good rain.
There is something about raindrops on rose petals the depth of the drops with the bright color of the rose and the definition between the two. It is all about the details.
If you have a good macro lens and a bright colored rose give this a try after a rain.
The Eastern Bluebirds nest about 3 times a year but some of them keep coming back to this same nest in the orange birdhouse.
This bird house needs to be repainted but I have to catch it without birds in it or without birds trying to nest.
I found a great deal for our grandson Andrew some wood scraps for making birdhouses. He loves to build stuff and never has enough wood. Someone had 200 pieces of picket fence cut offs 10″ long by 5″ wide for $10.00 I gave them $20.00 because I felt like it was worth it.
We delivered the wood to him yesterday and all the siblings helped unload. I ordered 4 birdhouses 1 for each of them to paint bright colors for me. We will see when Andrew gets these built but hopefully this weekend.
Providing homes for our feather friends is something I truly enjoy.
I love these little chubby birds they are the yellow – rumped warbler.
This time of year they are all over our decks looking for seed.
Squirly was in and out of the large birdhouse box we had fixed for the black-bellied whistling ducks. They never used it but I have seen squirrels in and out of it several times.
He was on the roof top deck getting a little sun.
There is nothing better than wildlife right in your own backyard posing for pictures.
Years ago my mom gave me some of her big Aloe Vera. This was a very old plant but I am not sure how old.
A few years ago it bloomed then again last year and now there are blooms all over several plants this year.
I have about 8 pots of the Aloe Vera scattered around the backyard plus Jack has about 30 pots in the greenhouse that are ready to be sold.
They are suppose to bloom 1 x a year but I think there are a lot of factors that go into them blooming.
Aloe Vera is very easy to grow and it likes to be neglected and not over watered.
Our two youngest granddaughters who are 6 years old Karina and Sophia love plants so I have given them several of the plants we had rooted. They have airplane plants, ivy, and aloe vera and they have quite the green thumbs like their mom does. They keep them on an Ikea Cart and roll them in and out of the sunshine indoors and sometimes they take them out on the front porch.
A simple plant that has several medicinal uses creates such a beautiful bloom even if it is only one time a year.
This painted tree trunk is in the secret garden it is a hackberry tree they have smoother trunks with no chunky bark.
One day I decided to paint the trunk with acrylic paints this has been a few years ago and it has not really faded much. For me, it was about using the tree trunk as a canvas for a spot of color in the secret garden. This is not the entire tree but it is a section that is about four feet tall and as wide as the tree.
There is an artist who does blue trees that have been done in Houston before but he uses blue pigment instead of paint and only uses one color.
My husband is not a fan of the hackberry trees they fall in line with the tala trees and are known as a junk tree in Texas. He would cut them all down. I like the smooth trunk of these trees. All of ours are planted by the birds on the fence lines.
I am a tree lover and I know how many years it took us to have large trees on our treeless property which was once my father n laws hay field.
The hackberry tree makes a fruit that is loved by winter birds like the cedar waxwings, mockingbirds and robins. These tree also attract several kinds of butterflies.
When I look at a new property it is always the heavily wooded pieces of property that draw my attention. The kind with trails through it where you can get lost in nature and explore the beauty that is all around you.
I think we all need trees in our lives they shelter us from the harsh sun and provide nature a place to hide and build their homes. Trees filter the air we breathe and provide an umbrella in the rain.
I caught these juvenile blue jays in the bird feeders.
They shared nicely with the red birds, doves, and redwing blackbirds. They do not seem to be bullies like some of the older ones are.
Nature puts on a show every day for all of us to see if you miss the show it is because you did not take the time to watch it.
The boxer dogs are doing fine and seem to do quite well putting up with Cricket.
Daisy can get a little sassy sometimes when she gets aggravated at Crickets rough play.
Zoee goes with the flow shes easy going and laid back.
I snapped these pics Saturday while we were in the backyard with Karina and Sophia they were picking up crawdad mounds. It’s a lot easier for the little ones to do all that bending over than it is for us. We did not count but I am figuring since they dumped their bags 5 times there were at least 250 mounds that they picked up.
Zoee seems to think the girls belong to her if they are laying on the rug in the den she is right beside them. If they are in our room watching tv so is she where ever they are she is right there with them.
The beauty of boxer dogs in natural light enjoying the day and they did not even realize they needed to pose.
We have an old dog pen that is in the corner of the backyard that is roughly 15ft x 30ft the grandkids call it the secret garden because it is secluded and you do not know its there.
It is almost hidden the fence has Cana lilies and trumpet vine growing on the fence and towering over the fence is morning glory bushes 8 – 10 ft. tall. On the inside and outside are purple showers. There are spider lilies, day lilies Louisiana iris and paperwhites.
There is a large bird house a few several small birdhouses and bird feeders as well as what was intended on being a tadpole frog pond that needs the liner replaced but it might become a new turtle pond.
Sometimes you get a surprise and the friendly peek a boo squirrel will peak his head out of a bird house I think he is trying to make it his home he is enlarging the hole see the shavings on his face.
There are always birds in there eating the seed I put out and most of them are not that shy.
There is a bench to sit on and enjoy the view you are hidden from anyone seeing you that’s why its called a secret garden.
I truly enjoy the wildlife and I am grateful they like the secret garden.
The birds have been flying all over since the latest rain and cold front.
I caught these two red – bellied woodpeckers hanging out at the feeders. The one on the right looks a bit older than the one on the left I believe they are both juveniles.
Every time I see woodpeckers I think of the woody woodpecker cartoon that was so popular during my childhood.
Nature at its finest showing off for me and my camera.
