Just a reminder....

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"

"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."

"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "We have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.

When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger - while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for days of need.


I have loved this story every since I was a child. :)

On the look out.....

This little pretty is still trying to fend off any other hummingbirds from "her feeder". I stood out amongst them today and let them dart around me, o the noise they made! And I stood there smiling like an idiot, perfectly content. :) Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female).

Racism.....

Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason. ~ Abraham Joshua Heschel


This Painted Lady and Red Admiral have no problem sharing space. Too bad the rest of us can't look past the different colors of skin. After all, they're both butterflies...... and we're all human.

Mamma's Silver Lace

These flowers belong to a vine called a Silver Lace Vine. They're invasive and a weed actually, but they're so pretty they're a pleasure to grow and watch. Most flower nurseries sell them. My mom has them around 2 of her big windows. They're beautiful and have a sweet perfume type fragrance, very light. They can take over if they aren't properly managed, as they will choke out other vines. The flying insects love them, I could watch them all day!

Beauty.....

Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears. ~ Edgar Allan Poe

My Frank series.

This is a story about a male Mourning Dove named Frank. I first started seeing Frank around mid February 2010. I noticed there was an open wound to his head and it looked pretty bad. But this tough bird kept comming around so I kept feeding him and making sure he had access to water. Indiana winters are pretty cold so I kept his water thawed, filled the feeder tray up again come evening to help him have the energy to make it through the freezing nights.
The wound on his head looked like something Frankenstein would have so I started calling him Frankenbird. Slowly but surely Frank has healed. He isn't afraid of me , of course I can't hold him or touch him. But he will sit just out of reach so he's safe if I jump him lol. Sometimes he just sits on the ground and watches me, just hangs out. He's never very far away. Sometimes he even follows me around the yard. This has to be the sweeetest bird in the whole wide world! He doesn't have a mate which makes me very sad for him. I love Frank with all my heart, my Dear Sweet Frank.....

Mammas Brown Shuga


Sometimes I have a hard time remembering the reason why I have to get up every day. Then I look beside me and see this sweet little face, and I think, "Oh yeah, my furry baby needs me to". Sometimes an animal truly is your best friend. Thank you God for another day.

This is my daughters (Stormi) friend Lois. And Lois is a Spined Micrathena spider. I have to admit, as far as spiders go, Lois is a pretty cool girl. My daughter goes to check on Lois first thing when she comes for a visit. If I could just teach Lois to spell things for Stormi, maybe she'd visit more and I wouldn't miss her so much. Now there's an idea......

Best Friends....

(My son, Jordan)


(My "like a son" son, Nick)

A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked. ~Author Unknown



So my son and his best friend EVER came over to hang out with me for a while yesterday evening. We laughed and ate delicious salads my mom made for us, and then we talked and laughed some more. I adore these guy!

My New Friend!

This is my new friend, it's a Ailanthus Webworm Moth. I was real close to it taking it's photo and it flipped around and flew at my face. It landed on my chin where it stayed for almost 10 minutes while I walked around the yard taking pics. I'm still smiling because of that moment in time where a moth chose to hang out with me. :)

Mother and Daughter Time.

Monarch Butterfly



Common Whitetail Skimmer



Could use some ID help on this butterfly.



Black Swallowtail butterfly



Hummingbird Moth




My daughter surprised me and drove up after work. She and I spent some time walking around my yard capturing the beauty. These are just a few of the things we saw, there was numerous species of butterflies and moths today. Not to mention all the species of birds. God and Mother Nature were smiling upon us today and sent us such precious gifts to make us happy. Enjoy everyday if you can. Make sure those you love know it and don't be afraid to show it. I will sleep good tonight, I'm very content.

Tragic.....

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. ~
Dale Carnegie

Dependable.....

Dependable.....
Originally uploaded by SuziQBird

When the weather is bad and I can't get outside to shoot my photo for our photo group, I can always Depend on Shuga. That and she's my best friend. :) This was taken with my cell phone.

Shades of yellow...

American Goldfinch (males), in summer/breeding plumage.

Emotional Day.....

“Afflictive emotions - our jealousy, anger, hatred, fear - can be put to an end. When you realize that these emotions are only temporary, that they always pass on like clouds in the sky, you also realize they can ultimately be abandoned.” ~ Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama

The Color of Happy!

Very hot out today and I'm not up to walking around in the heat and humidity. All I had to do was step outside my door to be awed by natures little happies! I hope they make you feel happy too! Black-eyed Susans. :)

*This photo was taken with the camera on my cell phone.

Fairy or Moth?

Charles de Lint--"Like legend and myth, magic fades when it is unused -- hence all the old tales of elfin kingdoms moving further and further away from our world, or that magical beings require our faith, our belief in their existence, to survive.That is a lie. All they require is our recognition."






John Lennon--"I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now? Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."


I agree with them....... Two days in a row I photograph these moths. Who's to say they aren't really fairies......

Magical!

I had been patiently waiting for several hours to try to catch a good shot of the female Ruby-throated Hummingbird that hangs out here. I got up to walk around and stretch my legs, when what did I see!? No it couldn't be....





It was just what I thought it was! A Hummingbird Moth! I haven't seen one in a few years. I managed to get a few shots in, and then it flew off. Sometimes what you end up with is more magical than what you were looking for!

Severe!

Can you say.....
Originally uploaded by SuziQBird

Can you say severe weather? This was taken from my driveway. It's so hot and humid that hopefully this will cool it down. The heat index was 107 today!

The spy who stalked me!

I was laying back, reading on my Kindle, when I felt like I was being watched. I lowered my Kindle and this is what was staring at me from the ceiling! A small grasshopper! I had to call my son to come over & get it out of the house for me! Of course he laughed at me, which is totally ok because he came out in the heat to get a bug for his Mamma. :)

Surreal....

Shuga has kept me up all night, she was running a fever and I was also. Neither one of us feel well today so we've simply slept on & off. So I took this pic with my cell phone of her relaxing. I'll try to get better photos tomorrow. Much love!

A few weeks ago my son and I were walking around the yard looking at the various flowers and birds and chatting, when we came upon this young Eastern Cottontail rabbit. He'd jump up and swing his butt around a few times and then stop and look at us as if to make sure we were watching what he could do. He jumped around acting silly for about 5 minutes then hopped off into the corn field. We laughed right out loud. The best part was I got to share it with my 19 yr old son. :)

I Miss Him!

This is my cat Cosmo. I had to have him put to sleep on May 5, 2010. Been a long day, I haven't felt well...... and I can feel his presence all around me. God bless you and keep you in love, I miss you Mo.....

Within Myself.

I've spent this day reflecting and soul searching on all the deaths of my family and friends over the last year. It's all just too much for me and it's taking a toll on me. So I will go curl up with a good book and my wonderful furry baby and try to find some distraction....... or peace. Remember to tell your friends and family that you love them, make sure they always know it without a doubt. Life is very short and quickly snatched away. With that being said....... I love you. Goodnight.

Just A Few!

Black-capped Chickadee



Eastern Cottontail Rabbit



Tufted Titmouse fledgling




I had a vew visitors today. I invited them all back tomorrow. :)

Sweet Baby Lily.....

My son and his fiance brought my grandpuppy Lily over for a visit yesterday. Lil is 9 weeks old an an American Pitbull Terrier mix. She's very cute!
Lily has 3 phases:
#1 "I'm so sweet and innocent how can you resist this face?" phase.






#2 "I'm gonna beat the stuffin out of my toys and be stubborn" phase.






#3 "I've played very hard and gotten into alot of trouble, so I'm just going to rest my eyes." phase.





I love her in all her little rotten phases! <3

Hope.....

Hope.....
Originally uploaded by SuziQBird

While there's life, there's hope. ~ Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)
Bless this Red-spotted Purple butterfly, was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.







The Dragon Fly.

In the bottom of an old pond lived some grubs. They could not understand why none of their group came back after crawling up the stems of the lilies to the top of the water.

They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what happened to her.

Soon, one of them felt an urgent impulse to seek the surface. She rested on top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation that made her a dragonfly with beautiful wings. In vain she tried to keep her promise - flying back and forth over the pond. She peered down at her loved ones below.

Then she realised, even if they could see her they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number.

The fact that we cannot see our loved ones or communicate with them after the transformation, which we call death is no proof they cease to exist.

Nature.....

Nature.....
Originally uploaded by SuziQBird

Nature does nothing uselessly. ~ Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)
Carpenter Bee on a Butterfly Bush.

The Cycle of Life.

Just ask.....

And ye shall receive.

Had another death in our family yesterday. My cousin Tim died 9 months ago in an auto accident, his widow died yesterday...... in an auto accident. So I have surrounded myself with soothing, calming things today. And nature is very calming.

This little House Sparrow fledgling was begging to be fed, so of course her mother fed her. Lazy little stinkers. Remember to tell people u love and appreciate them everyday, life is very short and can be snuffed out like a match. Bless you all and I thank you for stopping by. :)

My First!

This is my very first post on my very first blog. I'm nervous and excited! This blog is about how I view things in my little patch of the world. I hope you enjoy my photos and my little patch of the world. Mother Nature has been very kind in allowing me to share in the beauty she brings. The photo above is my friend Billy, and yes he's a Blue Jay. :) Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know how I'm doin'.