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




O+O