Texas style photography and words
Here are the two studs of our daughter’s Cane Corso breeding business in Leggett Texas.
Whiskey is much larger than Mako he is about 165#s and he just bred his first female Hippo.
Mako is Jeanelle’s number 1 stud people request him for breeding I think he is about 115#s. He just bred Storm again.
These dogs are large dogs but very sweet and lovable. Shady Acres is located in Leggett, Texas.
These Black Eyed Susan were growing on the property in Livingston, Tx.
They were in the middle of the pasture where there was nothing else to outshine them.
Wildflower seeds blow in the wind and the birds plant them but they always end up in the best places where they can stand out.
We put up a lot of veggies in the springtime.
We usually plant 3 kinds of squash so there is always plenty of squash in the freezer.
We seal a meal the fresh veggies this seems to preserve that fresh flavor we love so much.
Thaw it and drain all the water out first this is very important.
I made up this recipe but 95% of the time I like my experiments.
Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a baking dish and place the squash in a ziplock after it’s drained add two envelope packages of Italian seasoning salad dressing mix, salt, pepper, and about 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs shake well in the ziplock to coat evenly.
Place in the baking dish top with chopped onion, fresh parmesan cheese, parsley, and melted butter bake at 375 degrees with foil loosely on the top for 20 – 25 minutes remove the foil to finish baking. Mine took a total of 40 minutes once the parmesan melted I recovered it.
Here is a picture of the completed side dish. We actually loved the flavor of this dish.
The mockingbird anxiously awaits his turn at the deep bird bath.
There are 4 bird baths together but the bigger birds prefer the deep one.
The mockingbirds can be aggressive but so can the blue jays I guess they figured out a system that worked out for them both.
Nature seems to get along just fine even when they do not know I am watching them.
Next door is a little red shed and it shows up good sometimes.
This field had recently been mowed and that’s when it can really show off.
The best part of the country is the free space that is only occupied by livestock.
I love it when the cows are next door.
Callisia Fragrans Plant is also known as a basket plant.
My sister n law gave me a piece about 5″ long this was 6 weeks ago.
Mine is staked up and about 2 1/2 feet tall now. All those arms coming out the side are new babies there are currently 12 of them.
I staked it up to see what would happen because typically those babies droop.
This is one of my new favorite plants and I am about to take some clippings off mine to have more plants.
Share plants with your family and friends it is an excellent way to get a lot of different varieties of plants.
I saw this anole lizard hanging out on the Agave Mangrove plant.
The colors of the plant and the lizard went quite well together.
I have not seen many geckos since the freeze a year ago and that upsets me.
I need to find a location and import some to the house.
The critters in your yard are always watching you but at times they can be quite sociable.
At the bird bath on the side of the house, I noticed some new visitors.
It took me a little while to realize these were juvenile American robins. The color on the chest was for sure the robin orange color but it was speckled this meant they were juveniles changing colors.
There were about 4 of them I could not get a good group picture but this little one was glad to pose.
The birds have been spending a lot of time in our 6 birdbaths without rain there are no puddles so they get water from what we put out.
I love photographing birds they always see you and watch you closely but they do not mind posing.
It was prime eating time and time to throw some seeds around.
These birds make a mess but most of the time by the afternoon the other birds have cleaned up the mess.
This is a juvenile blue jay because he is nowhere near as big as the larger male birds. This is also a juvenile cardinal.
I feed early in the morning in 4 different feeders and there sometimes is a traffic jam. I can look out the french doors and see 3 blue jays, 5 redbirds, a few woodpeckers, dove, sparrows, and chickadees all eating breakfast together.
By nighttime, all the seeds are pretty much gone.
The birds give me the opportunity to photograph them while they enjoy a feast. If I am lucky I get to catch them in the bird baths later.
The sounds of nature and the beauty of the birds are all around us. Listen carefully and you will learn which bird makes what sound.
This year has been very productive for the rabbits.
We had a nest of bunnies in the backyard that the dogs found but we saw them and protected them.
We have 4 medium-sized rabbits I see every evening in the pasture and on the deck.
I saw two just a while ago in the pasture and today there were two babies eating bird seed.
I bought them some Timothy Hay and Alfalfa cubes to feed them. I am sure it’s better for them than birdseed. Jack is going to get me some rabbit food tomorrow. I am also filling water bowls around since this drought is brutal on the animals.
They have probably been watching us longer than we have them. I really do love the wildlife.
Sonya Lira Photography 