Happy Thankful Thursday!

 Hello & Happy Thankful Thursday!

 Wishing everyone a 💕 Happy Valentine's Day 💕 !  

I hope everyone has reasons to be grateful and thankful, I am always thankful for the little things. One of the little things is to hear the Cardinal singing outside my window.  He is a happy bird to be singing so often and so loudly. Slow down and enjoy the simple pleasures in life.  

The male and some what hidden female Cardinal.  These two are daily visitors to my feeders.  

"My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature."   Claude Monet  

 Sunrise seen from my kitchen window. 

 A raptor seen in the woods across from our driveway, it was a big hawk. I am guessing a Red-Shouldered Hawk? 

It was a cloudy day, as you can see the sky behind the  hawk.  I think I am getting used to cloudy skies lately. 

I am thankful for our local libraries and to be able to download library ebooks from the app called OverDrive. 

My most recent books I have read are:
The Whisper Man by Alex North
A Share in Death ( 1st in the Duncan Kincaid series) by Deborah Crombie
The Mummy Case (3rd in the Amelia Peabody series) by Elizabeth Peters.
I am now starting The Grave Talent (1st in Kate Martinelli series) by Laurie R. King.





If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere..I am thankful for the beauty of nature!
I am thankful for my hubby, he is my 💕 Valentine. 

I am always thankful for your visit and comments.
Live simple and be happy!  😊




Thank you Michelle for hosting Thankful Thursday. 
Thank you to Yogi the host of   Skywatch Friday




Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments on my previous post. Have a happy day!

Happy Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday!



On May 5th and 6th we toured and hiked more of Mammoth Cave National Park we also took a tour of the Diamond Caverns just outside the park entrance. We hiked on the Green River Bluff trail had beautiful views of the river and forest in the park. 

The Green River a day after the big rain storm. The river is muddy and not the green color from the day before.

One of the few raptors I saw on my road trip. I am not sure of the id.

A female Eastern Towhee

Diamond Caverns is a public cave outside the Mammoth Cave National Park. Diamond Caverns has been offering tours for 155 years.

The some of the ceiling in the Diamond Caverns.

Below are various cave formations found in the Diamond Caverns.

The water dripping constantly keeps the cave growing.  I think the drips on the bottom right look neat.

The shapes and formations are beautiful.

Amazing drapery formation was very pretty.

We did not see any of the bats in the caves, I would not mind seeing them hanging from the cave ceiling.  White-nose Syndrome is a disease that is killing bat populations and spreading in the USA. The loss of millions of bats is bad news as they devour millions of insect pests and have a role in pollination.

I was thankful there were lights inside this cave and our cave guide was great.

I am thankful for the beauty above and below the ground.

I am thankful for all your visits and comments. 

Thank you Michelle for hostingHappy Monday, enjoy your day and new week! Thankful Thursday

Thank you to the hosts of   Skywatch Friday

Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments on my previous post. Have a happy day!

Warmer Weekend

Hello,

Happy Thursday everyone! On Saturday Jan 20th we enjoyed temps in the 50's. Yay, finally some warm weather to get outside for a walk. Hubby and I went to the local bike trail and stopped at the bridge and our lake for some photos. 

I parked on the side of the road before the bridge and stood on the bridge for these photos. I zoomed in to see the Canada Geese and some Ducks. 

If you click on this photo below you can see a couple of Ring-necked Ducks. 

And if you click on this photo, you can find the Hooded Merganser. 

Our lake and the bridge. It was a pretty sky day, lots of blue and some contrails from the jets.

Looking to the right side of the lake from the bridge. 

The circles were just below the bridge, they are strange circles in the ice. 

I took this hawk photo thru my car window coming back home from the bike trail. Possible Red-shouldered? 

Spending time bird watching and outdoors in nature makes me feel happy. What makes you feel happy?  Can you slow down the clock, while enjoying nature. It is less stressful. I hope you enjoyed my post and photos. 

I am thankful for temperatures in the 50's in January. 

I am thankful to enjoy the simple pleasures and nature scenes.

I am thankful for all your visits and comments. 

Thank you Michelle for hosting. Thankful Thursday

Thank you to the hosts of   Skywatch Friday

Again, thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments on my previous post. Have a happy day! 

Florida Raptors

I am linking up Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin.

Happy Father's Day!!

 These are some shots of the various raptors we saw while vacationing in Florida.

I am pretty sure this is the Red-tailed Hawk, it has the dark belly band.

 I believe this is the Red Shouldered Hawk

 A different Red Shouldered hawk sighting. My field guide says the Florida Red-Shouldered Hawk has a grayish head. What do you think, do you see a grayish head above?

 We saw the Swallow-tailed Kite often while we were on vacation. It was a cool bird for me to see and a lifer.

I hope you enjoyed my critter post. I hope everyone has a happy weekend. Thanks for stopping by and I always appreciate your comments. To see more beautiful photos and cute critters

 please visit:  Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious hosts Misty Dawn of Camera Critters and to Anni of I'd Rather-B-birdin.