Saturday, January 7, 2012

Just For Fun

I know I haven't been around for a little while, but I am back now!!  To start my return to the blogging world I want to share some photos I have had --ready to share with all of you.  They are pretty much unrelated --they are all just for fun! 
First I want to share my favorite tree, well ok,  ONE of my favorite trees.  It reminds me of the one that is often shared by Pam at Tales from the  Microbial Laboratory.  I need to make an accurate ID of this oak.  The leaves were so tattered this year after the cicadas it was hard to be sure.  The lichen and moss are so thick on the trunk it is hard to see the bark.  When I asked my husband to stop so I could take a picture of my favorite tree, he said, "You are going to have to be more specific".  Hahaha

 
I will take many pictures of this tree over the course of the year.   


 Next, another owl sighting.  This was the week in between Christmas and New Year's Eve.  The exciting part of this sighting was he was across the street from our property, next to the septic field/ meadow.    After I feed the dogs their evening meal I take them for a walk.  Since the oldest dog is almost 18, we don't walk too far.  We were at our turn around point and I saw the owl.  Of course I didn't have the camera.  I hustled to the driveway and saw Charlie outside, called to him, and he took the dogs so I could run down the driveway to get the camera.  Yea!!!  The kids came out and saw the owl as well, life in the Wild Kingdom. 

Here is a close up.  Isn't he grand?
 Another fun adventure was another walk along the shoreline.  The mosses, lichens, and other fungi growing on the exposed tree roots are always cool looking.



Another find along the shore was evidence of our beaver.    This limb was about as big around as my arm and roughly 6 feet long. 

 About 600 feet up the shoreline was a tree whose roots were exposed on the bank.  Apparently the beaver thought that root would be a great addition to his den.   I am keeping an eye on my trees!!!

And finally a night visitor --seeking a taste of the suet on bird feeders.   These guys are not pretty.


 Many thanks for coming back to read my postings.  Hear's to a new year and a better blogging habit.


©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

19 comments:

  1. What a beautiful creature that owl is! Great shots! I love Charlie's response when you asked him to stop so you could photograph your favorite tree! He knows you well;-) I hope you are able to remain free of beaver damage too close to your property. They are cute critters but can do a lot of damage in their efforts to make their dams! The photos of the mosses and lichens are cool! I hope to do more blogging (and visiting) this year, as well.

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  2. Great shot of the owl, Janet! I hear owls around our property at night, but I've never seen one here during the daytime. I have seen possums here, though--you're so right; they're not very handsome creatures. One thing I don't have to worry about here is beaver damage--I hope they don't find your trees! Their work on those logs is pretty amazing.

    Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

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  3. "Just for fun" is a legit topic. Welcome back!

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  4. How wonderful Janet. The Owl looks so regal.It is beautiful. I hope it decides to stay close by for you. You better watch those Beavers girl. LOL!

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  5. I've heard owls in my trees but have never seen one. Lucky you to catch such a great shot. Our dogs helped evict the possums that had been roaming our garden. So glad to have you back!

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  6. Beautiful tree! Very cool on the owl too. Hopefully it will stick around and keep up with pest control. We could use a few here with all these voles. Happy New Year to you!

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  7. Hello Janet,
    Great to get a daytime photo of the owl!
    I only see them at night and not very often. I have a few shadowly photos of owls, but not one that you can see clearly. I'll keep trying.
    Best wishes for the New year!
    Lea

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  8. I love seeing owls! We had a snowy owl one time here in TN which is very unusual. I saw an owl camping on time in the Smokeys and once I thought I saw one in the woods out back but that's about it. It's always fun to see the wildlife!

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  9. Janet,

    Barred owls should be common where you live. I hope you get some great owl calls from up close, they are exciting to listen to. The call is "who cooks for you"

    Don't see hedgehog fungus fitting this one, I'll have to get out my big mushroom book.

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  10. That Owl certainly is grand! We've always had Barred Owls here but this year a pair of Great Horneds have showed up too and caused a re-shifting of territories among the raptors.

    Without knowing anything about the oak I'm going to take a wild stab and say Post Oak, just because of the silouhette of the tree. Could be wrong but oh well. lol

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  11. Hi Janet, I share your enthusiasm for owls. Why are they so rare to see I wonder? The other day, I was dropping my husband at his work, when we saw a snowy owl in the headlights of the car. He was sitting on a low fence post, watching over a vacant field. The car lights frightened him and he took to the air. What a magnificent creature! He was huge with a broad wing span. He flew off like a ghost in the night.

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  12. You were lucky to spot such a beautiful owl!
    I have grow to love owls more and more since they take care of the mice around here.
    Cool possom picture.

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  13. I loved all the photographs. We had a 'possum in our garage last year. Fortunately he didn't bare his teeth at us, just slowly walked out.

    How lucky to have seen (and photographed) the owl. I love them.

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  14. Hi Janet - That's a cool collection of things you've shared. First, an 18-year old dog. Wow. How lucky you are to have shared all this time together. I understand old dogs and short walks - we lost Tanner in Nov. and just got a new pup last Mon! LOVE the owl-he's so distinguished looking. I sure wish we had moss and lichen here. It's so garden-fairy magical, but it would look like fried food here! Welcome back to reading and blogging-I'm glad to be here, too. Happy New YEar.

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  15. Great photos. How cool to see an Owl!!

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  16. Jan, He does know me well! He has been very patient about stopping for all my picture taking.

    Rose, We have seen the owls in the daytime though they are sitting quite still and watching for food. I hope that beaver is far from here!

    Les, thanks!

    Tammy, Owls are so cool to see. A real treat. Our dogs found one possum and just sniffed it. Of course the possum was playing dead.

    Tina, I like this tree! We could use a lot more owls and hawks to help with the small rodent issue.

    Lea, I wish my photo was a bit clearer...had to zoom in a good bit.

    Dave, I think Snowy Owls are so pretty, haven't seen any of those here. Wildlife is amazing.

    Randy, Yes, they are quite common and we hear all sorts of calls from the Barred Owls. Some of the territorial cries are pretty wild.

    Sweetbay, We had one Great Horned Owl last year, but haven't seen him this year. Post Oak was one of the possibilities on the tree ID.

    Jennifer, Your owl sighting is really neat.

    Rosey, thanks! I am thrilled when I spot an owl.

    NCmountainwoman, thanks so much.

    Diana, It is a mixed collection of things in this posting. yes, an 18 year old dog certainly makes you take s----l---o---w walks!

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  17. Oh, that owl is gorgeous! Sure wish we had some around here. As for opossums.... well, let's just say I'm not a fan and am not sad when I see them on the road, never to cross it again. Glad you're back!

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    1. On My Soapbox, isn't he grand? I am not a fan of those ugly oppossum either!

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