Scenes from the Backyard: Dusting off my Camera

Picture courtesy of Pexels

It's been ages since I've done a post on scenes from the backyard. I decided to dust off my camera last Saturday, sit on my back porch, and enjoy. What a difference this summer is from last! I'm not a prisoner in my own living room this summer (see: State of the Kitchen a.k.a. The Kitchen Remodel from Hell). I'm free to sit on the back porch in my pjs until 10:00...and snap away!

These blooms belong to the butterfly bush below.

 I kind of forgot to cut the butterfly bush back at the end of last summer. Oops!

Get ready for some bird pictures! 

Ahhhh, success!!!

Of course, there's a Cardinal picture!

You may remember my acrobatic squirrel from this post.

This bunny is safe...as long as he stays on the other side of the fence!

These flowers are right on the fence. I don't know what they are (I'm sure they're just weeds) but they're really pretty.

Gurl Dogg let me take quite a few pictures of her.

Laika

I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get a picture of a hummingbird. One came to the feeder but as soon as I moved to put the camera to my eye she flew off. It's amazing to me what I see as I'm sitting on the back porch, especially since we're in town. It was nice to dust off my camera and see the scenes from the backyard!

{Friday Foto Friends} I Need a Break!

I really wish I could get another break to recover from last week’s “break”! I broke out my "big girl camera" and took some random shots over the week:

I thought it was really cool how this bird looked like a painting on the pole. (It wasn't!)

 Volunteer Garage in Chattanooga, Tn. I just thought it was cool.

Bird on a wire. A cardinal, to be more exact!

My Christmas Cactus is in bloom again. 

Eloise is getting rather comfortable in her new home. Piano lessons will hopefully begin after Easter.

The boys aren't home to try to inconspicuously flip a bird when I take their picture, so Laika is taking up the slack with her tongue. Brat! 😄

I'm joining Deb at Breathing in Grace for her weekly link-up.

{Friday Foto Friends} It's a Challenge

I'm doing a little better about taking pictures through the week!
I'm joining Deb at breathing in grace for the link-up. Some of these ladies have incredible pictures, so go check it out!

 Last Friday after work, I went by the church and walked through the Outdoor Stations of the Cross. A parishioner built them for his Eagle Scout Project. 

I got a surprise in the mail last Saturday. 1 of my aunts visited this Texan-Danish town, and she sent me this recipe book. CH & I are putting this on our list to visit. I was thrilled to see Frikadella! 

I had to stop at the middle school on my way to school Tuesday to take a picture of the sun rising over the mountains. I wish I had my big-girl camera, but it looks like my phone did a decent job!

This is a picture of a cardinal I saw Saturday morning. They've been very vocal lately, and they're hard to see. This one was way up in a tree!

I'm participating in a Lenten Instagram Challenge. Catholic Sistas gives us a word each day, and we post a picture using that word. I cheated with "Grace"; I found a quote on Brainyquote to use. The picture for "trial" is mine, though. Oh, and for "Eucharist", I used someone's picture (with his permission).
Have a great weekend!

Leftover Hodgepodge

1. Besides left over Easter goodies, what's something currently kept in a basket at your house?
I'm not a "basket" person. The only thing I have in a basket at the moment is some placements. The basket is in a cabinet. During the winter, I'll put oranges in a basket...but not in the summer!

2. 'The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.' ~Michelangelo Buonarroti 

So which one are you...the one who aims too high, or the one who aims too low? Have you ever seen The Sistine Chapel? Did you know Michelangelo's surname prior to answering this question?
*sigh* Maybe someday I'll see the Sistine Chapel. I didn't know his surname. I don't think I aim too high. I'm probably more guilty of aiming too low.

3. April 7th is National Beer Day. Hmmm...wonder how that's celebrated? Do you like beer? Have a favorite? If you're not a beer drinker do you have any recipes you enjoy cooking that call for beer?

Do I like beer???? Have you read my Germany posts? Maybe this collage will help you out:

As you can tell, I don't like dark beer. I really like the pilsners and lagers.

4. When did you last travel somewhere new? Tell us where? How'd it go?
Last October, CH & I went to Johns Island, SC. We camped in the county park, and it was amazing.  Even though we've been to Charleston a few times, this was our first time to really explore the whole area. October was definitely the time to go...at least during the beginning of the week!

5. The value of _________________________is greatly overrated.
I've got nothing for this one, so I'm not going to answer it!

6. What's a pet peeve of yours when it comes to restaurant dining?
Not having my water filled.

7. It's Poetry Month...share a favorite poem, either the title, a few lines you find meaningful, or the whole kit and caboodle.
I'm not much into poetry. I used to write poems when I was younger (jr. high & high school), but I don't have them anymore.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I ended up going to 3 Masses Easter weekend. After the Easter Vigil (Saturday night), I put out my Easter Egg Tree and took this picture:

(You may have to click on the pictures to see the details)

I'm really enjoying my "big girl camera". I grabbed it on Easter and came out with these:

 (I've seen this woodpecker on the bird feeders before, but never was able to snap a picture of him.)

Chirping the Hodgepodge

1. My hubs spent last weekend pheasant hunting. Are there hunters in your family? If so, what do they hunt? Which of the following have you tasted-pheasant, rabbit, venison, duck, goose? Which of those would you most like to taste, or be most willing to taste?
Vegetarians keep calm and Hodgepodge on.
No hunters here. I remember Daddy hunting once or twice, but that's it. I've only tried venison, and I didn't know I was tasting it, but it was good. I've never had any of the others, and don't really care to...unless I don't know what I'm eating!

2. What high spot have you visited that gave you a wonderful 'bird's eye view' of something below?
Over Memorial Day Weekend, we camped at Mile High Campground. The views were amazing. I wrote about it here on our camping blog.
I took this picture as I was sitting in my chair on our campsite:

3.  Do you have any birds in your home? These could be either real live pets or decorative, as in bird prints, knickknacks, fabric or pottery.

No birds. I'm not a "bird person".

4. Tell about a time you 'killed two birds with one stone'?
I pretty much have to do that a lot in my profession. Work smarter, not harder.

5. Your favorite song with a bird in it's title?
I'm Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado.

6. What most recently gave you goose bumps?
I said I wasn't a bird person, but I'm a bit obsessed with Cardinals. I relayed a happening to someone the other day, and we both ended up with goosebumps: Right at the end of a wedding ceremony (my nephew's), a cardinal started chirping. (For those who haven't ever heard this, it's said that when you see a cardinal, someone who has passed is thinking of you.)

7. Halloween is this Friday...any plans? Did you trick or treat as a child? Carve pumpkins? Share your most memorable costume.
I think it's very sad that kids can't enjoy Halloween like we did growing up. Trick or Treating, carving pumpkins...it was great fun going from house to house...whether we knew the people or not. I never was big on dressing up, though...I'm just not very creative.
We live on a busy road; last year we got 0, nada, nil trick or treaters. I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing Halloween night.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
The jumbotron was used for the first time last Friday. I haven't been to a game all year, but I had to go by and see what it looks like. My concern was that it was going to take over the stadium, but it didn't look that out of place.

Cardinals

If you're a baseball fan and were hoping for a post on the Cards, sorry!  I've been a bit obsessed with cardinals (the birds) lately.  Either in the Spring or early Summer, a friend of mine posted on Facebook that seeing a cardinal is a sign that someone who has passed away is coming to visit.
The morning that Mama passed away, there were several cardinals at the bird feeder.  The morning that I read the post from Michele, a female landed on the shephard's crook near to where I sat and chirped loudly, almost like she was scolding me.  That morning I was extremely sad, until I saw the bird.  I've seen a female cardinal every day since the funeral, usually in the mornings when I'm having the hardest time with her being gone.  
Sunday morning, CH & I were talking about Mama when he looked outside and told me there was a cardinal at the bird feeder at the edge of the porch.  Seeing them is a comfort. Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but I'm loving seeing and hearing those birds.  

From "Cardinal Signs & Symbols":

Cardinal Sounds are symbolic of: Cheer, elevation, clarity & communication

• The call of a cardinal can come to cheer us up, or cheer us on.
• The unique clarity of his call is can be used to gain our attention and lift us from our depression, our sorrow or perhaps our ordinariness. The cardinal’s call can call to us to do our duty.
• A cardinal call can tell us to give up any vanity or appearances we may be holding on to and follow the hope in our heart, a cardinal hope that will lead us, on our upward journey through the cycle of life.

From Michelaneious by Michele

A cardinal is a representative of a loved one who has passed. When you see one, it means they are visiting you. They usually show up when you most need them or miss them. They also make an appearance during times of celebration as well as despair to let you know they will always be with you. Look for them, they'll appear.