Photo-a-Day Week 48

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. Ours was quiet, but we are looking forward to a full house at Christmas. Let's see what we had this past week with the photos. 

Day 328-

I bought this planter after one of our Flings. I had seen it in one of the gardens, and I loved it. After a Google search, I found him! I change out the plant material every so often. Currently, there is a pup of a Color Guard Yucca and some 'Angelina' sedum. Our front porch is home to countless Anoles. Seems like every time I take the dogs outside, the first statement out of my mouth is, "Leave the lizards alone!"

I have an Anole on my face

Day 329-

The crescent moon was bright on Monday night. If my ride to bridge had been a few minutes later, I would have taken the photo from my driveway. She was right on time, so I waited until we got to our neighbor's house where we were playing cards. I wasn't sure the photo would come out because as soon as we got out of the car, her motion sensor lights came on. I tucked around the corner of her garage and captured the moon through the branches. It is not easy to photograph a bright moon with a cellphone.  

Crescent moon

Day 330-

The rain came, and there were ripples and splashes of water on the deck. Shadows and light are a great way to show off ripples of water. 

Ripples

Day 331- 

After a light frost, most of the herbaceous plants have disappeared. This little volunteer seemed to appear overnight. The little ray of sunshine made it really glow. I think it is another of the Golden Asters that have been volunteering in this area of the yard. Chrysopsis mariana, a lovely little native plant. 

Golden Volunteer

Day 332-

Not sure if this is the first hard frost, but when I finally rolled out of bed, there was still a good bit of frost on the deck. First frost or not, I love the water crystals. 

Frosty

Day 333-

There was a lot of bird activity in the side yard, and I decided to get the big camera and zoom in to see who was flitting around from branch to branch. Turned out it was a flock of Eastern Bluebirds. I like how this male Bluebird was staring at me from afar. There were a couple of not chosen photos, check them out below. I love Bluebirds! 

What are you looking at?

Day 334-

The bird feeders on the deck attract lots of birds and a few squirrels. The dogs are on alert; unfortunately, they will bark at the birds in addition to barking at the squirrels. Liebling, the German Shepherd didn't used to bark at the birds, but now with Fiona, our Border Collie, there is a lot of barking. We are working on it. 

On bird/squirrel alert

Our not chosen photos are as follows-- like I said before, I love Bluebirds!! I just thought the photo of the one looking at the camera was my favorite. 

On the frosty morning there was also ice on the top of the hose caddy, where there was once ripples of water. 

The skies before the rains and the cold weather were kind of cool. Not used, but still an interesting sky.

This brings us to the end of another week of photos. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. You can comment on Blogger, on Substack, or on Facebook. Thanks for visiting.

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Photo-a-Day Week 16

Happy Easter weekend and  Happy Passover. Spring is in full swing and my garden is popping with new growth and lots of blooms. Let's jump into the photos from this past week.

Day 104-

I love our views. We have no curtains in our living area and two walls of windows. The views of the lake are wonderful. Sometimes there are birds on the deck, Great Blue Herons on the dock, and sometimes a flock of ducks is passing by; there's always something to see. Where do you enjoy your morning coffee?

Morning Coffee with a View

Day 105-

We had a pine tree hanging over our driveway since Hurricane Helene came through at the end of September. This week, we were able to get someone to come and take it down and remove it. Left on the driveway was this tiny pinecone. We usually only see the mature cones once they fall to the ground. 

Tiny Pinecone

Day 106-
Morning light hit the white of these Rain lilies, Zephyranthes atamasca as they were peeking out of the Ostrich ferns, Matteuccia struthiopteris. The white really popped. These ferns really are aggressive in moist areas. I was glad to see the lilies still there. 

Rain lilies and Ostrich ferns

Day 107-

The farm up the street just got this cute little donkey. I assume it was brought in to guard the two Brahman cows in this pasture. I was surprised to learn that donkeys are often used to protect animals in the pasture. 

Guard Donkey

Day 108-

Continuing down the street where the donkey resides, we come to Cokesbury College. This historic building is often used for events at Christmas as well as for weddings (right Pam?). The building was completed in 1854, establishing a women's college by the Freemasons.  The link above gives a bit more information about it. I will add some photos of the interior from an event at Christmas at the bottom of this post. 

Cokesbury College

Day 109-
I need to let you all know, this photo was taken by my neighbor, Debi. We were both trying to get a good photo of this Bluebird and its mate. We were at our neighborhood gazebo for Happy Hour and this pair of Bluebirds were all over Debi's golf cart. They kept flying to the tree and back to the cart. Every time I tried to get a photo, they flew off. Debi was able to get this shot and a few others. I appreciate her sharing her photos with me. 

Bluebird

Day 110-
I was down on our dock as the sun was setting. I thought the clouds and water were rather picturesque. Most sunset photos are vibrant reds and oranges and purples...this one was shapes and grays. 

Sunset

That's a wrap for this week. Below are some interior photos of Cokesbury College from this past Christmas. Debi (the one mentioned above) is playing the harp for an Open House event for the holiday. Enjoy--

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Photo-a-Day Week 4

Welcome back, hard to believe another week has zoomed by. Here is last week's photos, enjoy!

Day 20- A very cold day, clear blue skies. I have had a flurry of Eastern Bluebirds at my feeders and on the deck. As I said last week, I purchased a big box of dried meal worms for them to enjoy. As they wait their turns at the feeders they sit in the tree, fluffed up to keep warm. 

Eastern Bluebirds

Day 21- Mature Bald Eagle, sitting in a pine tree, overlooking the lake. In the winter the lake level is drawn down and we have lots of Bald Eagles taking advantage of fishing opportunities. Always a treat to see our nation's bird.

Bald Eagle

Day 22- As I mentioned above, we have had some very cold temperatures lately. Ice has been forming on the top of the lake. We also got some snow that sat on top of the ice. It made for some interesting photos. 

Snow on ice on the lake

Day 23- Lots of cut crystal in our curved glass curio cabinet. Many of these pieces were either my mom's or my husband's mom. The curio cabinet was also from my mother in law, a perfect place to showcase our treasures.

Cut crystal sparkles

Day 24- As the planets are on the minds of those who like to stargaze, I find myself outside quite often, either getting photos of the moon or on very rare occasions, an Aurora Borealis! Our night sky out the back includes the lights on the other side of the lake.

Evening sky

Day 25-  Our dogs get their food delivered by Chewy and our kitty, Millie, thinks the box is hers. She loves hiding in the box. No one can see her, right?

Box!

Day 26- Long time readers may remember my mermaid table. You can read more about her here, or here or here. I named her Gilmore, after the siren Lorelei, then to Lorelei Gilmore from the TV show, ending up with Gilmore. She still is in our living room. Now that we have grandkids we are extra vigilant that they don't sit or lie on the glass. We did get a lot of fingerprints over Christmas. 

Gilmore

Thanks for joining me again on the Photo a Day posts. Come back again!

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Bluebird Feeding Time

Each morning I put mealworms in a box outside our family room window. This past week we have had quite a show. There are a couple families of Bluebirds who like our mealworms. They are a little skittish, but I was able to get a few pictures of one of the family groups. Here is Dad Bluebird and three babies-- they are cleaning me out of worms!

This first picture is dad in the box and one of the babies on top...



Next in the Crape Myrtle next to the box...



And last --one of the better shots.

What's Kickin' Up the Water and Other Observations

This morning I was contemplating a new post about whether or not to prune the swing set jungle. The bird activity is high in the early morning, so I was trying to get a good photo... when I noticed that SOMETHING was in the creek creating lots of ripples and circles and bubbles and general disturbance. Turns out there were about 6 or 7 Double-crested Cormorant swimming around under water for most of the time. At one point they all took off flying down the creek, returning moments later. The thing that makes divers interesting to watch is that you never know if one is going to surface...or you are watching, glance away, and poof, under he goes! These divers swim semi-submerged...so if you look closely at the photo, you will see a long neck or two or more!
As I was watching the water show, Mrs. Bluebird came to the mealworm house for more worms. I usually put the worms out just before sunrise, and hope the Bluebirds get some. The Carolina Wren is a little piggy, but I don't keep track of who has eaten.



Poor little Mrs. Bluebird wasn't happy to see Newton so close to the window, so she took off. In the birdbath there is a male Bluebird...looking for some water, I really need to refill it. (Newton thinks the birdbath is his personal outdoor water bowl.)



Guess the post about pruning will go up later this week. This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count. Check the link to get details!

Feathered Friends

Today has been busy with birds of all kinds. Earlier this morning we had some Canada Geese swimming down the creek. Seems like every Christmas we have a flock of them that hang out at this end of the creek. As I am writing this there are about six or seven back again. We also had a pair of Hooded Mergansers swimming in the creek. These diving ducks are hard to photograph as they dive as soon as you make any move. I did take one photo of them...but it is so far away that it is difficult to tell what you are seeing.



Later in the day, after I filled the meal worm cup we had three bluebirds come to feed. They had to wait their turn with the Carolina Wrens, Chickadees, and Tufted titmouse. This photo is from the spring, but it could have easily been taken this morning.







The feeders were busy all day with Cardinals, House finches, Downy Woodpeckers, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker....and a host of others.










Then everyone disappeared. I was baking, so I didn't pay much attention to all the activity or lack thereof. Then I looked out the kitchen window. Now I know why they all flew off. Think it is a Sharp-shinned Hawk or a Coopers Hawk.