SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - BLUE JAY AND HIS IMAGINARY FRIEND

Tinkerbell was not impressed. She said Blue Jay is away with the fairies again.

Thanks for stopping by friends.

Have a great weekend!

For our international friends to translate.

1st Photo: It's quiet around here. I am not used to this.

2nd Photo: It's just me and my imaginary gecko friend, Tinkerbell.

3rd Photo: Tinkerbell? That's all you could come up with?

4th: Photo: I'm great company. I offer snacks. At which Tinkerbell said, oh boy!

Tinkerbell was not impressed. She said Blue Jay is away with the fairies again.

5th Photo: Not a bad place to be on a Saturday Morning at the birdfeeder.

MORE OF THE WASP NEST AT WALNEY - 8-4-25

As I write this (8/6/25 at 3.52 p.m.) it is 77 degrees F. (25 degrees C). The cooler temperatures have been wonderful, with hardly any humidity. No doubt the temperatures will be rising again but we have been making the most of it.

 On the 4th we went to Walney Pond. Above you can see the wasp nest I added to my collage I shared here. Gregg spotted it first - I fondly call him 'eagle eyes' as he sees these things before I do. This nest was at least a foot in diameter and a foot-and-a-half long. Very active as we could see its residents going in and out of entrance holes. It is in a tricky area and is not even ten feet from where everyone walks and low, head-height. We worry about children playing in the area, and have envisioned someone running into it, perish the thought! We have already gotten in touch with the appropriate department at the local government center. Hopefully it will be taken care of soon and we will keep checking as we often pass by. I looked as we drove off. If you know where to look it can be seen quite clearly, but not immediately obvious when closer.

I took several photos using the zoom lens and found it fascinating to look at when on the larger screen of my laptop. Clever and amazing these nature's engineers. Not sure what kind of wasp or maybe a hornet? Any experts out there? I've looked online and seen similar, maybe the one at this link.

Last shot further along the pathway from the other side. It is also quite close to the edge of the pond.

A couple of more photos and that's it from this area.

Next we drove to the Visitor Center just up the road. 

Common milkweed were growing among all the Black-eyed susans, not only in the flower beds in front of the house...

but also in the separate round butterfly garden. 

First I wanted to share something else. I saw a flurry of movement on the steps of the house and if you look on the far right of that first step you will see...

a skink, possibly a five-lined skink which are the most common lizards in northern Virginia, according to what I found out at this website. Please let me know what you think if you check it out.

Another much smaller lizard crawled out of that larger crack on the right but wasn't as brave as its larger companion. It disappeared immediately.  

I saw a bug on this Black-eyed susan and couldn’t find a lot of information but identified it as an assassin bug. Once it forms full wings, its back will no longer be visible. Also found a clearer photo of it here.

Here's a closer look. I had a hard time focusing.

Onto the Black-eyed susans.

One last photo for today taken of the flower bed in front of the old house that is now the visitor center.

There will be more flowers soon.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day.

A NICE WALK AT WALNEY

 

Hello Dear Friends!

A collage of photos from our latest walk at the visitor center and the pond today. I was hoping to see hummingbird moths. I didn’t see them but there were other things that kept our interest. 

It was a lovely day, in the low 80s and not too humid. I will have the larger photos and explain more when I can put a post together. Lots of lovely nature. I feel so good getting out in it. It's like a tonic and a breath of fresh air all rolled into one.

More photos either tomorrow or at least within the next few days.

I hope you all have a great day, wishing you peace and thanks for stopping by. 

SATURDAY MORNING NOT AT THE BIRD FEEDER?

"And maybe some hand lotion?  All this swimming has really done a number on my hands."

It's been so hot the birds have been scarce, especially as I put the bird feeders away for the hot summer months.  They will be over later when the sun starts going down, to drink from the water bowl I put out.  I still have loads of photos to share of our chatty birds, but I didn't have time to put a post together. They will be back next weekend.

As for our alligator friend above, I have shared it before.  It was taken in the Everglades back in 2014, and as I reshared another post from there yesterday and for those who may remember it from before, I hope you won't mind another repeat.  I will be transferring an old post at least once a week for a while.

Enjoy your weekend!

EVERGLADES A FEW YEARS AGO...

At least one day a week for a while, I thought I would share old road trips we have taken over the years.  This one was back in 2014.  We went to Florida, to the Everglades.  I have never seen so many alligators in my life, to the point that I was more than a little leery. Most of the time we were looking down at them, but a few had made it to the pathways where we walked.  I don't ever remember their number, a lot more than the previous trip we made a few years before, it seemed to me anyhow.  

They seemed to be thriving.

It is around this time that they start looking for mates.  The sounds they were making were surreal.   What we at first thought all those years ago as very loud frogs, were in fact the sound of alligators calling to each other, and it was loud!  We heard similar sounds on this visit, though they weren't quite as noisy.  

I was startled to find a couple of alligators right next to the trail we were walking on.

They were on either side.  You really had to be aware of your surroundings.

Do you see the Great Blue Heron on the left of the picture below, among the bushes?

We saw this large group at the end of one of the boardwalks.  We were a lot higher than this looks.  

A few of the tourists were getting too close to get a photo op in my humble opinion.   I came across a man whom I thought was very unwise.  He was asking his wife to take photographs of him with their two young children by one of the alligators right next to the trail.  The three of them were hunched down to get the alligator in view.  I couldn't hear what the mother was saying, but I could tell by her expression and the sound of her voice that she wasn't happy, and in the meantime he was telling her to take the photo, which she quickly did. Later as she and I were walking towards each other along the same path, we were passing the spot where the two alligators were on each side.  We both were 'tight-rope' walking in the middle of the path, and as we looked at each other while keeping an eye on the alligators, in the universal language of the eye-roll which spoke volumes, we smiled and laughed nervously as we passed one another, and then walked on in the opposite direction.  

They are wonderful creatures, however, and it was awesome seeing them in their own natural habitat. You just have to be sensible and treat them with the utmost respect.  

As I walked by this big fellow I remembered the Ranger right next to us, telling someone that they aren't as slow as they look, they can run 20 miles per hour on land.  

So, it is important not to take them for granted.  Sleepy they may look but not really.   You just have to use your common sense.  Many of these photos were taken with a zoom lens.  I was not as close as it looks.

We did, however, have a tremendous time making our way along the Anhinga Trail, and then walking along the boardwalk.  They are an incredible sight to see.  

On reflection, if I saw an alligator at the side of the trail like we did, I would head in the opposite direction.  I can't move that fast these days.  Frankly and you may think I am being overly cautious when I say this, I wouldn't want to take very young children here, no energetic toddlers who feel the need to run.  I did see 12-13 year olds, being escorted by Park Rangers.  These alligators all seemed as though they were resting or sleeping ....

but several had their eyes open, and seemed as interested in us as we were in them.

I am not sure if we will ever get back there, but I'm very glad we got to see them on this trip.

You feel like prehistoric times haven't disappeared at all.

Apologies for the groaner!  I read it somewhere and I couldn't resist using it for my logo.  The author was marked unknown.