Up at 5:00 A.M.

We got up at 5:00 A.M. last week and that was on purpose. I cannot remember the last time I was up so early unless it was to catch a plane a century ago when we caught those flights to other parts of the world.

I wanted to see a sunrise from our boat.  I do not know why, just something I felt needed to be experienced.  We had not really used the boat much, mostly we were canoeing in the spring.

Fortunately, the morning was a perfect calm and the temp was about 67F which is exactly what is needed.  All you needed was a light jacket and the camera (and snacks and water in the event the boat has a problem!).  Some of the photos are a little blurred because even though the water looks calm, that boat was moving.

Below are a few of the photos I took.  Enjoy and, WOW, breathe in that fresh cool air!

The songbirds were in full throttle even through the quiet of the morning.  All of our neighbors were still quiet and in bed.  We headed out of our part of the creek and past the buoy in the main channel and under the big bridge.  Then we curved around the point of land and were hurrying a bit to beat that sun coming up over the horizon.  Just one crabbing boat was out and his plunketa-plunketa diesel echoed over the water in the distance.

We headed to the signal post just offshore.  One of the big tanker ships was heading into the fuel depot which is up the coast.  It was moving very slowly and looked like a floating island on the horizon since it was so large.

We had disturbed the seagulls when we approached that signal post that is offshore from the military base, and their cries were noisy.  They settled back down as we made it around the rocky shoal.

The area is a favorite for fishermen and fisherwomen as there is a small current that rushes around that shoal.  Above is a husband mansplaining how to fish to his partner.

I was able to get some good photos of seabirds and will share some in another post as the lighting was perfect.  It was a lovely morning.  Now I think your coffee cup needs refilling.

And She Is Up and Running

I told you to pay attention or this sweet young thing (Spring) would have grown up and matured before you even made it around the side of your house. She is very promiscuous and does not think about those humans who are enthralled and behave as paparazzi. I visited the nearby County Park which has a wonderful marsh created by those industrious beavers who think spring is a short marathon.

Just a Breath

Spring, although filled with tasks and events, does creep in so slowly and yet so determinedly.  Each day some minuscule change happens and unless you are measuring, you do not notice.  Soon the season will be mature.

While I have several native dogwoods that bloom white in the understory of the woods, I have a cultivar of a dogwood in the front yard that seems as beautiful to me in the small first bud of early spring as it does when mature.   Its "blossoms" are symbols of love, luck, and rebirth throughout the world.  It also has religious meaning for many.  The beautiful part of the bloom is the bracts or leaves outside the blossoms.  We think they are the petals of the flower because they are colored and not green, but they are not.  Inside are 20 tiny blossoms...the actual flowers.

Below is what my tree looks like this week...such a tease.

A Famous and Popular Event with Nature

I visited Washington, DC last week to enjoy the cherry blossoms. We picked a Thursday hoping that crowds would be smaller with people at work. It was also a day after heavy rain and the areas where people walked were muddy. Alas, the crowds were there in full force and the rains had knocked only a very few blossoms to the ground. Some of these are digitally painted and others are right out of the camera. I hope you enjoy the visit virtually.  The last photo has a quote from FDR (Franklin Delanor Roosevelt) taken at the FDR memorial.  

"Men and nature must work hand in hand.  The throwing out of balance of the resources of nature throws out of balance also the lives of men."

Even Birds Get Nasty Habits

The birds have been intriguing all winter, but now that the weather is warmer I can stay outside longer to catch them when they drop their fear and shyness.

The White-throated Sparrows are very common and feed on the ground. They turn leaves throughout the woods, but also collect in a group of a dozen or so under my birdfeeders. According to Cornell their sound is "Oh-sweet-canada-canada" or "Old-Sam-Peabody-Peabody". This prior text was a direct cut and paste, so not sure why the capitalization is off. The words are not something I can hear out when I listen. This is primarily their mating call in the spring. They are full opportunity feeders eating seeds, insects and even buds of certain trees in the spring. Like the majority of birds, they feed their young insects. I guess that is why they are so abundant.

  

This Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) above is storing her cache of seeds from my feeder. I do not think this is a nest since I see no entering and exiting. Below is our common Northern Cardinal. They have ganged up on me and gone from one bird who pecks at a window to three or four that peck at ALL the windows around my house! I can no longer take an afternoon nap! I fear it is a genetic anomoly and they will reproduce even more of these birds with a nasty habit.

Aha!

Spring is here. Oh, there could be the errant snow that only falls by the window and never covers the lawn for more than a second or two. The weather here is sometimes sporadic. But I took a walk around the yard with my camera and this is definitely evidence that spring is here.  Yesterday was in the 70sF!

Male House Finch in mating colors.

Bumble bee checking out the dead nettle flowers.  Notice his orange pollen?

You can wipe that  pollen off your nose and go back to drinking your nice warm beverage now.

Taking Liberty with Botanicals

I had fun "painting" the California outdoor botanicals. Spring is in full swing there now.  Below a cherry tree in the Japanese Friendship Garden. Some textured bark, cactus in bloom, and a Southern California coral tree.

Then there was this little forest that took me by surprise. Needed no changes/painting to enjoy the abstraction! Even the crow was fooled!