Red Buds and Red Birds Coming in February! (A Garden Photo Blog)

Hi Everybody:

Come in for a Nature Break! We have arrived at the last day of January 2012! This month seemed to fly by.  January in South Texas this year has been mild. It is 65F outside right now. My American Red Maple Trees are in full bloom. The red flowering quince is spectacular and in full bloom. One elm tree has budded out. So there is every indication that Spring has arrived at Kates Cabin Bird Sanctuary! A freeze is expected on Saturday, so we will see what happens!
I would like to remind all of you to take notice this Spring of all the wonderful trees and flowers bursting forth with New Life. All life on Earth is important and connected. Make time in your busy life for yourself to go on personal retreats for a day, an hour, sometime even a few moments will do; just to give yourself time for reflection.

Your photostudy tonight is of some of the things I am looking forward to in February! The Texas Redbuds will be the next tree to give us a show! Then the peach trees. Already activity around the Sanctuary is increasing with the arrival of new birds everyday and the insects returning. Roses are popping out everywhere. The next 2 months is the greatest for my woodland garden featuring the flowering Dogwood Trees. We will have a very colorful time here on blogger this Spring. Happy February!!  Enjoy.

The following photos are from last spring here in my garden. The Redbud Trees produce the flower first in spring, before the leaves come out.

http://texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/ViewAllTrees.aspx

The great link above shows all the Texas Trees including this Texas Redbud.

Goodnight to All-Thanks for stopping by the blog!  Be Good to Yourself

........this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek





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Rambo Comes Home for Spring! (A Birding Photo Blog)

Hi Everybody!
Please come in for a short Nature Break to see Rambo, my red-shouldered hawk. She has just returned for Spring Mating and Nesting!  Her boyfriend is here. They have already mated 2 times that I have heard, but could not see in the trees.  Your photostudy today is of Rambo. She flew from the mating tree to this tree top pictured below. Spring is in the Air in Texas today!

Greetings to All from Rainbow Creek!

I hope you enjoyed Rambo.  When I find where she is building the nest, I will have more photos!

Check out the link below to learn more about these Hawks:

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/redshoulderedhawk/




Thanks to everyone who comes by to see this Blog!  To my GOOGLE+ friends, this is to inform you that I have been directed by Google not to post, comment or add to my +brendasue watson  google+ account. I do not know why and have yet to hear back from my requests for communication.  Just wanted you to know that I am not avoiding you or not adding you by my choice. I hope to have this resolved soon. I invite you to follow this blog to get the posts, if you are following my birds!

Also, I have 2 new photo galleries I have opened  at Photobucket and Flicker,so please check them out-Way cool galleries with much better photo and slideshow option than with google.

I have now opened accounts on facebook, twitter, my space and linkedin--so if you are any of those social places--connect with me as I am new to all of this!!!!!

I am looking to connect with Nature Lovers and Artists around the World to network ideas to make our Earth better than what we have done to it!





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....this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek- Keep smiling till we meet again!

Friday Night Special: 2 for the price of one! (Garden Photo Blog)

Hi Everybody!  Welcome and Come In for a Nature Break!


I hope your week has ended and you are planning a nice weekend. I wanted to give you an idea about something to do. If you have a park, arboretum, river, lake or even a beach, I would like to suggest that you spend some time with Nature for yourself. Just go off away from the crowds of people and just start exploring. Take a little camera with you (or phone cam) just in case you see something you might want to identify later on the internet with the answers. Personally, I am submitting my bird photos to the Index for identification. Educating yourself and your children about the world around you is very important. If you establish a routine of once a week or so just go off and get lost in Nature. You may not even see anything at first. Start off with rocks or trees. In time you will begin to see things that were probably there all along! Nature has camouflage for all the creatures. If you live around noise, it will take you awhile until you begin to hear things in the woods. I can only tell you that you will begin to see and hear and Know what is around you. Connecting with the Earth will bring a different rhythm into your life. From experience, I Know: you will find peace and harmony being one with Nature!  You will learn a new respect for the Earth and its beauty. Two things I know you will not find in the woods:  clocks or money!!  


Let's move on to your Friday Night Special--Two for One!
I bring you two birds tonight for your photostudy. The first one is a baby male Cardinal. They are brown when first hatched. After a few weeks they begin to grow in the red feathers. For awhile they are spotty and goofy looking in a cute way! This guy likes the weather vane  outside my kitchen window.
The second photostudy is of a Mockingbird. I spotted this bird at the edge of the woods  looking for insects in the brush. Note how he blends in with the sticks! This is my first mockingbird to come to the Bird Sanctuary. He has been here for 2 weeks now, so we will see if he stays or migrates on. The baby spotted Cardinal hatched in a nest in my back yard. The Cardinals live here year round.


Enjoy the photostudies. Stay as long as you want. I have provided links, if you want to know more about these birds. Thank You for your visit!


Have a good weekend and I will see you back here on Monday!

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_cardinal/id/ac

Part 2-The Mockingbird

Here is a link to more info on the Mockingbird:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockingbird

Partial Text from:
http://www.lsjunction.com/bird.htm

The Texas State Bird

Ask any Texan, and you will no doubt learn that the mockingbird has the prettiest song of any bird native to North America. That's perhaps the chief reason the "mocker" was adopted as the state bird of Texas in 1927.
The song of the mockingbird is, in fact, a medley of the calls of many other birds. Each imitation is repeated two or three times, then another song is started, all in rapid succession. In the above sample audio file, the songs of four distinct species were recorded in the span of about seven seconds. It is common for an individual bird to have as many as 25-30 songs in its repertory.
The mockingbird is also known as a fierce protector of its nest and environment. It is sometimes seen swooping down on a dog, cat or predator that may be venturing too close to the bird's protected territory.
The mimus polyglottos, as the mockingbird is known scientifically, is about ten inches in length, including its relatively long tail. It has a light gray coat and a whitish underside. Its wings and tail are darker gray with white patches.


That's All Folks!!


Hope you enjoyed the photostudies. If you get out to the woods, be careful and have a good time!  Let me know what you find!

See you back on Monday.




.....this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek




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Brugmansia-The Deadly Angels of Rainbow Creek, Part 2: Grand Opening

Hi Everybody!  Welcome to Rainbow Creek and this Photo Blog!    
Nature Break!




Yesterday, I shared the Angel's Trumpet Flowers with You- The big, white, bell shaped flowers that open at Night. Today I am sharing the same flower, but these are (yellow) buds as they twirl open!! These views were captured before sunset as the opening process begins. The (tropical) plant is taller than I am, so I am looking up as the flower is hanging down. My back yard has many trees, so I get odd shadows in the setting sun that you see displayed here. I keep these plants in a fenced off area as they are toxic to humans and animals. They freeze back in the winter here in S. Texas.

I have pasted part of the text from the following link last night ( you will see if you scroll down) so you may refer to it for further information on this interesting plant!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugmansia


I am very excited that my photos will be in the Google Search as images for this plant.  I try to enhance them with creative editing options.  When I was younger, I had to photo identify flowers and insects that were dull looking and usually dead.  My grandchildren will see bright colored images when they looks up this flower!
Thanks so much for coming in to my mini Nature Class!!!!


Enjoy!

By the time they are opened all the way, they will be white as seen in last night's post!


That is it!  Class Dismissed!!
Please follow or say hello by comment or 1+ anytime. Then I will see You!
Have a good day and I will talk to you tomorrow!



....this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek!



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