I've been an avid bird enthusiast and watcher for several years, going on 20 years, perhaps. They always fascinated me while I watched them on hot summer days when I poured bird seed out on the driveway and the English or House Sparrows would come by the hundreds. If something spooked them, it sounded as if there was an explosion of sorts, it was almost scary. They're just little birds, but with their collective wings, they could really make a roar. Then on into the winter months a whole variety of birds would come to the feeders...anywhere from the voracious Blue Jay, which were the ones that intrigued me the most...these Blue Jays will take their seed on a tree branch and crack it by putting the seed (sunflower, btw) in between their feet and pounding on it with their beaks until the shell broke and they could get to the kernel inside, I was often amazed as I watched them swoop in so gracefully on snowy day just before a storm arrived. Then there are the little black-capped chickadees and tufted titmouses, they flit in and out just fast enough to grab a seed and take it to a safe location away from any house cats that may be lurking underneath the bushes nearby.
Today, I looked out the window and saw this beautiful Northern Cardinal along with his mate, these birds supposedly mate for life if I'm not mistaken, much the same as the Bald Eagles do. Here is what I saw...
(Editor's Note: It is really cold out at the time of this photo, notice how the Cardinal has its feathers all puffed out in the breast area.)
Pretty, isn't he? These birds have the most beautiful song, what cheer, what cheer, cheer, cheer, cheer ... well, that's about the best I can describe it to you. You would just have to hear it to appreciate it.
It appears that the birds are going to be around the feeders for a while; there is a tremendous snow pack in place, and more snow is on the way. I also took some pictures of the icicles hanging from the roof over our back-porch...
Oh where, Oh where is our "global warming," the birds might sing...or maybe they have better sense than Al Gore and go south for the winter where they always have for thousands upon thousands of years, since the beginning of time. However, biologically speaking, that would only apply to the insect-eating birds, and birds that thrive on fruits and berries, which are plentiful in the southern United States and South America. There is also the hummingbirds which travel north during mid-spring to raise a brood or two of young and then go back south, these birds thrive on nectar-rich tubular flowers that most bees have a hard time reaching or find detestable, or just aren't abundant enough to produce a store of honey. Hummingbirds have long, sleek needle like beaks with a long tongue that they use for extracting and feeding on the nectar from flowers. These teeny-tiny birds expend a tremendous amount of energy flitting from flower to flower, burning energy as they consume it. So they eat to live and live to eat. Amazing! God is an awesome God! Then there are the seed-eating birds, which were made for the colder regions, and the birds that withstand the harsh winters of these regions.
Ok, I just wanted to post a response to the video that follows, which I tried to do at the YouTube site where it was submitted, but was unable to get my response to go through. Ok...
What really doesn't make sense about all of this, is the fact that these people - the animals rights activist nuts is, they throw out a lot of hatred for hunters when they have no understanding of hunting and the beneficial effects that result of it in return, because they've never hunted, instead, choosing to ridicule thousands of law-abiding citizens who happen to be hunters who enter the woods every Autumn season, which is an important part of America's history, the Native Americans of which, who first introduced and taught the first settlers or Colonies who first landed at Plymouth Rock in the 1500s the art of hunting - teaching them to hunt with bow and arrow, and my, what the age-old tradition has grown into, it's literally amazing the bows and arrows that are on the market today. What was once a simple piece of wood, with strings made of either leather from the tendons (sinew) in the backs of the legs of buffalo or deer and even the mane hair of the horses that they traveled on. They also gathered materials from certain types of plant fibers that were tough and durable enough to withstand the tension that is required to be put on the bow to create the speed, accuracy and force necessary for adequate penetration and a clean kill of the animal being killed for food, for survival. Today's bows are made of mostly fiberglass, and milled from the finest of technologically advanced hardware in our modern era today, with accessories such as adjustable sights, arrow rests, silencers, trigger releases that you attach to your wrist and a device that has two little jaws at the end of it that open up when pressing on the trigger and then close shut when letting off, cams for ease of drawing the bow back that act like rotator joints and now are advanced to where one can hold the bow back for longer period once the bow is at complete draw, this is called "let-off" that ranges anywhere from 65% all the way to 88%...amazing! Even hard for me to understand and I've been hunting since I was a 12 year-old boy. These bows also have poundage adjusters, so that the strength of the bow can be either increased or decreased going anywhere from 40 all the way to 150 pounds...and that would take one strong fellow, let me tell you! I started out with 45 pounds when I first started hunting and later changed to 55 pounds, and when I last changed I was at 70-72 pounds of draw weight...now keep in mind, it took extra care when I deer was in front of me to not spook it away as I struggled to get the bow at full draw...of course, I used finger pads for a while, which made it more painful to pull and hold the bow string, but after I got my new release it converted all the pressure onto my wrist, making it exceptionally easier to pull and hold the bow string. However, later I began to notice that regardless of my practice, which seemed to be a fairly good grouping pattern, I was missing more deer than I was hitting - at the time, I was shooting right-handed, and had shot right-handed for several years. After a year or so of this hit-and-miss or half-accuracy, I decided to check into a new line of bows...so I went to the nearest archery shop to see if I could get a "better" bow and maybe acquire some knowledge as to why I was missing a majority of the deer that I was hunting. Well, as it turns out, I luckily found the right place...when I got there, I looked at all the new bows that were on the shelf, and they even had an indoor shooting range where I could practice some with the new bow, so I inquired with the shop owner about trying out one of the new PSE bows that he had on the bow rack there, and he said, "Sure, this the one you want to try?" And I told him right off that that was the one I wanted, as it was like the last one I had...after a few minutes of practice and hit and miss just like before, I further inquired with the owner about what was going on with my shooting? And the first thing he told me, "What is your eye dominance? What eye are you dominant in?" What?? I said to myself. He said, "Do this - form a triangle in front of you with your hands, pick an object out on the wall and focus with both eyes on the object through the triangle then close your right eye, then your left, whichever eye the object stays centered on in the triangle is the eye that you are dominant in and is the eye you must shoot with, which translates into the correct handed bow you must use." So, I tried it...I looked through both eyes two times, and on both the object was centered on the left-hand eye. Here's the thing though, after all those years shooting right-handed, many of the deer that I missed would not have gotten away had I known this information before-hand. Since I've changed to a left-hand bow, which is the eye that I am dominant in I have not missed one deer that I could clearly see. Needless to say, it was awkward at first trying to get used to the new side, but I will tell you that I'e thoroughly enjoyed it since. I picked out a brand new Hoytusa ZR200 series bow, and it is right on the mark every time and I've taken many deer since. Just recently, there was a deer that I shot at that I could not see well through the sights and I shot over its back, well, the deer ran about 60 feet and stopped to look back at what just happened (it didn't know where I was at, because I was up in a tree), so I knocked another arrow and just guessed at the general area where the deer was standing (which would be a real Indian-style shot), as I could still see the body of the deer in the little light that was quickly fading on the overcast evening. I went back later that night and retrieved my deer with the help of a friend, which took us the majority of the night as I had to drag the deer for 3.5 - 4 miles back to the vehicle. Luckily, I had a cell-phone with me that evening and could call for extra-help...I called my brother about half-way through the drag and told him to bring a rope and water! Water! Water!...Water! I was getting severely dehydrated from the heavy clothes and heavy pulling...and I would take my cap off, unzip my coat and I could see the water evaporating from the sweat like a geyser...I told him to come to the location where he could get to us after we found the railroad tracks just above the river and upstream about 1.5 - 2.0 miles. After a bit more dragging, I seen a little light coming up the tracks and boy was I ever glad to see him and that big bottle of water...then after we got the deer back to his pickup truck, we had to drive back to the hunting location where we had to walk about a mile and a half more where my pickup truck was parked, and I was wearing pretty thin...then we drove back home and hung the deer up at about 1 AM in the morning, I skinned the deer so that the meat would cool-out good for the next day which took about 30 minutes in total. Then off to clean up before hitting the hay, grabbing some cookies and milk and it was 2:00 AM on the dot, sitting there amazed, at the Lord's blessing us with a successful hunt and the strength and safety from a heart-attack or a broken leg getting the deer home. Needless to say, it took a few days to get rested up from that adventure in the middle of the frosty night through the dark hills and hollows. I could not imagine dragging an elk or moose...those are thousand-pound animals that would require heavy machines to retrieve to say the least and would take days to process.
In my response to the person who posted this video:
There is a point to be made in harvesting animals, it would be essentially thinning the herd to make it healthier. Also, it creates a peaceful form of recreation to get away from the hustle and bustle of our everyday stress-filled lives and connect with nature in much the same way the Native Americans did, of course, that was their living, their very survival, and they had to hunt for their food. Much different than today with the ability to obtain meat through the farming of cattle, chickens, turkeys, and pigs (bacon - one of my favorites). The farmer knows how many animals he can afford to raise on his budget, and he also knows how much land he has for a reasonable number of animals to keep on - putting too many animals on his piece of property would create a poor environment, it would overgrazed, or would be too crowded and the animals would become malnourished and diseased from the close proximity to each other through the overcrowded area. This same scenario applies to wild creatures...if we'd allow nature to have its way, there would be little if any deer to speak of. I remember listening to many old-timers on the subject, and every one of them exclaimed that there were no deer at one time in this part of the country, they became overpopulated, contracted a disease and all perished. This, until they introduced them back in the early 70s, and as they began to spread they had one trail that they used everywhere they went, and there were just a few hundred then...then around the year 2000 the deer population had grown to outlandish proportions, there were deer being found in the woods everywhere lying dead from lack of food, they had browsed the tree limbs for their nourishing buds as high as they could reach standing on their hind-hooves, and then there was no more. Now, keep in mind, deer hunting was legal during this entire time, but you were only allowed so many deer per year, like 3 or 4 and then they opened deer season up on the does (female deer) with a rifle...and let me tell you, it has been several years since then, and the deer that remained/remain are much bigger and fat as butter balls now. Very much healthier I must say! That, to me, really just goes to show that the land can only support so many deer in order to maintain a healthy environment for the deer and other species to thrive on. You see, what the animal rights activists don't get, is that everything gets out of balance when one is taking more than its fair share. Now granted, we humans have probably taken more than our fair share of the game species populations...but here is the entire point - you must keep the entire population in check from year to year, for it doesn't take long for them to become overpopulated. If nature has its way, then there is much pain and suffering, and I have seen this pain and suffering first hand. It's not pretty. It's sad!
I would also make the point, that ... if we want to keep our wildlife, then we must reduce the land being purchased through large land companies like Plum Creek corporation creating urban-development, that is essentially, homes being built on prime wildlife habitat...when this happens, it pushes the wildlife in a tighter space, kind of like in our own houses, if we become what are called 'pack-rats' we don't have as much space to move around and occupy in the house and we are prone to an accident happening. Well, that's essentially the way it is with deer and other wildlife when we are encroaching in on their home and we fill it with our homes. Also, the construction of new roads must also be factored in, new roads makes it easier to access deer and increases illegal hunting activities...yeah, you guessed it, shooting deer from a vehicle, which is illegal. Roads also unfortunately create a hazard with vehicles hitting deer and killing them, I don't know how many over the years that I've seen while driving down the road that we lying by the roadside dead...and on an interstate freeway, tractor and trailers hit deer sending them for a loop and creating a mess. Of course, the Interstate traffic people have taken measures in recent years to correct this issue by putting up 9 ft. tall fences in areas where deer are prone to cross the freeway, and this has helped greatly.
So, here' what I would suggest. Ok, there is already National Parks and National Forest areas owned by the government that is free to the public, instead of allowing these land corporations to make literally billions and even trillions of dollars from it by butchering it, the government could expand more of the areas designated for National Forest area and they wouldn't have to compensate Plum Creek or whoever for anything.
You see, good folks, all these new things taking place, like the new serial numbers on ammunition, extra taxes on ammunition, paying an outrageous sum of money to Plum Creek to hunt a tiny 400 acre tract of land is all working to the favor of the animal rights activists and gun/weapon-control advocates, making it to where its going to become almost impossible to hunt in the near future. Well, that's essentially what it all boils down to. I don't know about you, but that makes me one unhappy camper!
That's how communism gets started, my good friends, a little bit at a time, inch by inch, day by day they take a piece of our freedoms away. In doing it in that fashion/order it is correctly termed socialism, but the final goal or result is, as I said, communism-complete control by the State (government) over personal/individual liberties/rights/freedoms. They don't see the very end result, being one of chaos and mayhem with the most lawless of the lawless being the ones with weapons in their hands...whose intent is to take the very life-blood of the most precious of God Creation, us humans. They don't see that, no!
But to get back to the point, they don't see the point either in maintaining a healthy wildlife population through allowing hunting, or the life-long enjoyment of the tradition that is handed down through the generations in families being able to share in God's wondrous fountain of beauty in the outdoors that is a part of hunting. You know, while I'm onto this, for those of you who are hunters like myself, I'd like to share that I received as a gift just before hunting season in 2004 The Sportsman's Bible, which can be purchased at Holman's Bible Publishers that is bound with Denier Nylon for a cover, which you can carry into the outdoors when you go hunting, camping or whatever outdoor recreation you might enjoy...you can purchase one here
Well, I think that's a good place to stop for right now. I will, however, have more to say on it in the future as there is much, much more to it. Needless to say, though, this is an issue that is near and dear to my heart, as I was raised in the deer and turkey woods, and I know that is the same for many others who enjoy the great outdoors, as well. So, I would like your input. If you're a hunter, or know anyone who is a hunter, you or they may feel free to share your thoughts on the issue. Yes, and feel free also to share some of your hunting adventures.
We must all stick together and fight this ever-growing battle in order to retain our time-honored traditions and rights!
Today was the second day for the opening of ginseng harvesting season here in West Virginia, and I thought I would share a little of what I found today. It was a beautiful clear day ... not a cloud in the sky, and a light, cool breeze made it for some ideal walking weather in the ginseng woods.
Here are some photos of the plants I found...
This is a picture of just the plant's leaves:
A wild American Ginseng with the berries still attached:
These are the roots I harvested, after being washed and placed on a paper towel to dry:
Little did I know, that my camera not only took pictures, but will also make movies. I thought...WOW! It would be neat to take a movie of my honeybee colony, they are really going strong now. There are about 250,000 bees in the hive now.
Hope you enjoy it...
All I need now is a tripod so I can hold the camera still.
Don't you wish we could all get along as good in America as these bees do in this box? Just wishful thinking, my friends. No, I know, it'll never happen, because people don't serve their Creator like these bees do, or at least most of them don't.
A friend called yesterday and says "Come quick, Jeremiah, there's a swarm of honeybees up here!!" So, I packed my bee suit, with hat, veil, white coveralls, gloves and all, and headed for the little rascals.
It was pretty fun! Of course, it's always fun catching bees...if you like bees, that is. I first tried the pole with trash bag tied to the end of it, that didn't work too well. Then I tried a pole with a bushel basket tied to the end of it...with the help of a water hose to wet the bees down before I shook them into the basket. It worked! I put the end of the pole with the basket attached to the end of it up against the lower part of the limb where the bees were and give it a shake, and the bees all plopped right into the basket, and so, I brought them down and dumped them into their new home, as you can see here...
When evening came and the daylight was fading fast I went back to retrieve my catch. I attached short pieces of 1x2 boards with screws in them to the hive body and bottom board so that the hive wouldn't be shifting around while in transit, and also a strip of 1/4" piece of 2/4 ripped along the edge to create the closure for the entrance, so the bees wouldn't come out. When I arrived, I placed the hive with the bees in it on the cinder blocks that I laid down for the hive to sit on - two blocks wide and two blocks high, a total of four blocks, which will give them sufficient height from the ground to keep weeds from growing to quickly in front of the entrance, and, to keep field mice from climbing too easily into the entrance.
In the morning, I should find them peacefully foraging for nectar sources. Although, I will probably have to feed them some sugar syrup mixed 1 to 1 mixture (one part sugar to one part water), and this will take approximately eight to twelve weeks of feeding, which will be well into the autumn close to winter. The swarm wasn't very big, not much more than a pound of bees at most, if that much. I don't know if my efforts to save them will help them survive through the winter or not...but I thought the least I could do would be try. A lot of fun nonetheless.
Honeybees are a valuable little critter. They pollinate literally tens of thousands, perhaps even millions of wildflowers, fruits, nuts and berries...just one hive. I think it has been estimated that ... if you take away the honeybees, you lose nearly a third to 2/3s of all crop production. I think it goes something like this...take nine apples, throw away 6 of them, and their is all you would have left if it weren't for honeybees.
The bees are disappearing, everywhere! There is a mysterious disorder or disease that scientists, and apiculturists (bees scientists) are looking for the answer to...they call it C.C.D (Colony Collapse Disorder). The bees just disappear all of a sudden, with no signs of foul-brood, no signs of mites after treating, and no signs of starvation, and the bees don't collect in the bottoms of the hives...they just completely vanish with not a single bee left in the hive.
Here are some other photos of bees working knapweed that I had taken a couple days before...
Much to my surprise, the weather has turned out pretty good for gardening this summer, we've only had a couple weeks of dry weather, but other than that, it has rained in fairly good amounts so that stuff gets a plentiful supply of water. To the left is my sweet corn, "early sunglow" is the type of corn it is supposed to be, not very tall, and not very big ears...so, you can shuck one and plunk it in a small kettle of boiling water as part of your lunch. You can boil an ear-of-corn in as little as five minutes, rub on a little butter, and it is some of the tastiest gardening there is.
These are the tomato plants I staked and tied in order to support the new tomatoes, and likewise keep them off the ground away from the dampness and diseases. They are doing pretty good, as you can see, with several clusters of tiny green tomatoes attached to each vine. Another three weeks and some of these should be getting ripe to eat. I like them either in a salad with lettuce, cucumber, and shredded cheese with Italian dressing added, or just plain sliced with a little salt sprinkled on them. They are good.
This thing here really surprised me; my neighbor gave me some pumpkin seeds, I planted them, and once they came up, they really took off. I don't know if I will get many pumpkins from them, but they are really growing at a good clip, which is primarily what I like about the garden the most - watching things grow.
These are yellow, straight-neck squash...and they sure produce lots of squash. I eat them almost every day, fried with onions, and give some to others as well. Pretty fruits. If you will notice, the two in this photo are growing together (mutating) into one.
These are the eggs in the second brood of bluebirds this year that have nested in this box that I made for them, and placed next to the garden. With harvest time and autumn fast approaching, I do believe this will be the last brood that they'll raise this year. I hope to get a picture of the pretty blue male bluebird someday.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed the pictures as much as I've enjoyed taking them and studying them. Hope you are able to learn a little something in the by and by.
God bless!
Update
As of Monday July 20, 2009, two of the little bluebird eggs have hatched. Not real sure if the other two will hatch or not, they may have been chilled, or were infertile. In about 14 - 22 days, they will leave the nest. They will have spotted plumage as juvenile birds and then molt into their adult plumage in the fall to early winter.
I thought this was pretty interesting, it had rained most of the morning, so I was waiting around for it to quit so I could start mowing when I took a walk by the garden and spotted this large, adult, male Dobsonfly, and I rushed to get the camera before it could fly away. It was still there when I returned.
Dobsonflies live in large, slow-flowing, silty creeks and streams as nymphs, called hellgrammites, and are good for catching smallmouth bass and then crawl out of the water when conditions are right, split their skin and turn into a winged insect...there is a stream like this just a few hundred yards from where I live, and I assume that is where this one came from in pursuit of a mate.
Just thought I would share a little more of God's Creation with you.
I will be sharing some of my other recent photos shortly.
I've been working with honeybees for quite some time now. It all started when I was a boy and would sit down with my Grandfather on warm, sunny summer afternoons, and he would get my attention every now and then as he would spot a honeybee landing on a white clover blossom in the grass, which would remind him of the days when he used to have hives of bees where he used to live in the country side, and how he would smoke them with a bee smoker to calm the bees down before he proceeded to examine the colony for honey. He also handed down to me one of his handy devices, a queen & drone trap, which I will add a picture of in an update. There were many things that my Grandfather shared with me about beekeeping, and needless to say it aroused my curiosity and I had taken interest, and now I continue the tradition that my Grandfather left me on.
I owe much thanks to my Grandfather for his encouragement, help and wisdom in the fine art of keeping bees, but most of all, I want to thank God our Creator for the health and strength to enjoy what He has provided me.
God bless!
Update: This is the old drone trap that my Grandfather handed down to me. Notice the bars...the spaces between them are just far enough apart to allow the worker bees through and thereby trapping the larger drones and queen bees. It is rare that you catch a queen bee, because most of the time the new queens come out during peak egg laying time, which is at about this time in May and early-June, from there on, the queens egg-laying ability will be determined by the number of drones that are present near the hives entrance. In most cases the worker bees will take care of the drone population the closer to autumn it becomes, or the beekeeper can do this his/her self.
These are the honeybees in the wire cage before I put them into the hive that are in the top photo, which I received in the mail on Saturday May 30, which was yesterday. They are called package bees, and the bee suppliers, or apiaries sell the bees by weight - 2 pounds, 3 pounds, 4 pounds and so on. In the center is a queen cage where the queen is separated from the rest of bees in order they can get used to her scent before she is released, but usually has three or four attendant bees, or nurse bees placed inside the cage with her. This is usually done through a slow method of release...in the queen cage, there are three slots drilled on one side of a block of wood and on each end are holes with pieces of cork placed in each hole, and a piece of screen placed over the open side where the three slots were drilled. On one end, where the very last hole is drilled, sugar candy is placed there, and when the cork on that end is removed the worker bees have to eat the candy out before the queen can be set free and start laying eggs, this takes approximately from 4-6 days, depending on how fast the worker bees eat the candy. If the queen is not released within eight days, then the beekeeper can take the cork out on the open end, the end without the candy in it, and let her free.
Last weekend I ventured to the National Forest area, and on the way home I stopped to take a gander at the trout at the Trout Hatchery...These are golden rainbow trout, a result of selective breeding. It's quite a story, but here is the result...
Please take note: The water was not as clear as I would have liked, as we have had nearly two weeks of considerable rainfall, so the water was high, and the water is pumped in from the stream which was silty...
Looking downstream, or south on the North Fork of the Cherry River...
There were several areas, like this one where the water was pouring down the mountainside from all the rain, and actually made for waterfalls of sorts...There was another stream like this one where I had spotted a mink travelling up and down the stream side trying to find food...although, this time, I believe the high water must have filled his home, as they live in the sides of the banks of streams in holes, where they sleep and raise their young...
This is a photo of the dogwood tree in the yard that was in full bloom that I had taken after returning home from the trip up in the high country...
Well, a week has passed and spring is in high gear, the tiny green leaves coming out on the trees in the forest are growing fast...this is a stand of beech trees grouped together, notice the uniformity of leaf pattern closest in the photo...
I'm waiting on the soil to dry so I can pull the weeds and clumps of grass away from the new onions coming up. Over the years I have added many piles of grass clippings to the soil to amend it and enrich it...
Hostas waking up...
These are wild dogwood trees in full bloom in an abandoned farm-field that is now grown over...
These are two different types of blue-purple wildflowers growing in different areas...
Another bright white trillium from two weeks ago...
Not real sure what these are, but they sure grow dense and green...I will see if I can figure out what it is...
This is some sort of yellow flower growing near a spring, which I will show you next...
I have been by this spring many times, and I have never known it to go dry...notice how the moss grows really well on the rocks around and in the center of it, and the greenery at its edges as opposed to the slower growth on out...
It is spring migration season for many species of warblers, and I happened to get a glimpse of this prothonatary warbler passing through...look to the left and center of the photo and you will see a yellow spot in amongst the greenery, it has a black-cap and throat color. I wish I could have gotten a more close-up view, but I hastened to take the spare of the moment caption...
(Note: Clicking on the image will give you a better view).
(Editor's Note: Correction - I apologize, but I had mistaken the hooded warbler for a prothonatary warbler, yes, it's a hooded warbler, hence the black on top of the head and on the throat.)
Finally, this is one of my favorite spots...this is rushing, clear and cold, Tom's Creek..
Spring is my favorite of the seasons, with Autumn a close second. Thanking our Creator for it every step of the way. We should never take for grantit the health that we are afforded.
Update: Almost forgot about the two little wildflowers that I found in the woods early this spring. I consulted with my National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, and seem to have identified them. I will list them in order from top to bottom. 1. Marsh Blue Violet 2. Wild Geranium. Both grow in distinctly different habitats. The 2nd flower, the Wild Geranium grows in thickets and meadows near woodlands mostly on dry ground, while the 1st flower, the Marsh Blue Violet grows near streams or a body of water, wet ground. Hence, "Marsh" Blue Violet.
I and my brother took a ride for the weekend and decided to take some pictures of the country-side, and of course, I took a break from the driving along the way to sneak down in the woods and take a snapshot or two of some more woodland plants as they are appearing along Spring's way...Hope you enjoy them.
This is a photo of what is termed - Mayapple...with "May" in there I assume because it emerges near to the month of May...
This next photo is a picture that I had taken of a farmer's Belgian Draft, or work-horse...
This is a photo that I caught of a deer peering through the brush in an opening, which looks to be, like the horse in the above photo, in spring shedding of the long hairs that is their winter coat, into cooler fitting apparel...
I am sorry and apologize for not writing much on political matters; in all honesty, I have not had much interest in writing about politics. Although I am aware of the things that are happening, and that Mr. Obama is making some very disheartening decisions regarding his appointments to his cabinet as well as the Supreme Court, which I knew, as well as many others knew would happen.
So, perhaps I will try from time to time on writing posts on current events, but right now, it just seems to be a situation where not much can be said until we get closer to a new election which would favor renewal of Republican gains in the House and Senate for 2010, and ultimately, 2012.
As for now, let us enjoy God's majestic work in this most anticipated and waited for Spring time.
As I was out searching for some wild leeks yesterday, I happened to stumble across these two different colored trilliums, flowers that emerge in early to mid-spring and grow amongst the leaf litter in the moist, rich forest floor of the Appalachian mountains...
(Editors Note: You can click on the images for a larger view.)
Notice the wild leek (or ramps, as they are known around these parts) growing just to the right of the white trillium.
