Butterfly Stampede

 On Saturday afternoon, I was checking out the garden and came across this strange display of butterflies. They would gather in one spot, almost on top of each other. 

They would hang out together for a few moments, then all fly away. 

They would all come back together again. It was so odd!

I have not found any explanation for this behavior. 

If anyone has an answer, I would love to know.

 It was butterflies and bees day. The onion flowers were covered with lots of butterflies 

and hundreds of bees! The flowers were buzzing!

This was the lone orange butterfly.

The others were all yellow from the yellow butterfly group.

I noticed that this butterfly is missing a section of its tail and some of its wing. 

That did not seem to bother him.

He hung out at the flowers for a long time.

Onions, butterfly and iris

 While Michael was weeding the garden, he came across this beautiful butterfly dining on an onion flower.

He is so pretty!

I looked out our living room window and saw our lone iris in full bloom.

It is dark purple and so tall! 

This photograph does not give it justice. 

It is stunning!

It has been so much fun watching the birds and flowers for the past month.

Our God is amazing with all of His creation!

Dining out with Mrs Hairy and child

As we were making dinner tonight, Mrs Hairy Woodpecker was dining at the suet feeder.

A few minutes later, baby Hairy joined her for dinner.

This is the first time we have seen the babies up close.

Until today, Mrs. Hairy got mouthfuls of suet, then took dinner to the children.

Now they are old enough to eat out.

It is so neat to see how Mrs. Hairy gets a mouthful of suet,

then carefully places it in baby Hairy's mouth. 

I am amazed at how large baby Hairy is. He is almost as big as Mom!

Genesis 1:30

 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Thank you, God for such a fascinating look at bird life!

Beautiful Moths

Last night, we were at Bay Pointe Community Church to attend a concert by Fernando Ortega. 

It was an incredible concert. His voice is a gift from God. 

As Fernando was preparing to sing, Michael was outside welcoming the guests 

and watched a Cecropia Moth emerge from his cocoon.

The moth was huge! It was also a beautiful display of God's handiwork.

I thought of this passage when I saw the moth.

Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.  

 

 It must have been the perfect night for moth hatching. 

When we returned home, we found the same type of moth on our light. 

This morning, we found another newly hatched moth on the doorstep of the kitchen. 

The markings are so intricate. 

Thank God for beauty in the little things, even if they are very large moths.

Baby Birds Everywhere

Awhile ago, Michael was laughing at the Kildeer, 

doing her broken wing imitation, while screaming at him as he walked to the house.

At the time, he did not know why she was making such a performance.

A few minutes ago, he got his answer.

We have an entire family of baby Kildeers scooting around our yard.

They are so adorable. 

They look just like their parents, only in miniature.

I read that they can run as soon as they are born. 

I am guessing that the birth occurred last night or this morning, 

since we have not seen this activity before today.

As Michael was trying to get out of the driveway, 

I had to walk ahead of the car to scoot the babies out of the way.

Mom and Dad were having a fit! 

They were both going all out to protect their family!

I sure hope the babies get out of the way of our delivery trucks when they pick up our orders!

I cannot wait to see this family grow.

They are so entertaining!

Chickadee Nests

Chickadees are one of my favorite birds. 

I love their sweet voices, chick-a-dee-dee-dee. 

We have so many of the little birds at our feeders. 

I am not sure how many live here because they all look alike.

When they prepare their nests, they like soft fur. 

I thought I would help them by putting out lint from our dryer. 

I put it on the railing of our deck. They like it! 

I watched one pull a mouthful of lint from the railing, then fly off to stuff their nest. 

I like the idea that their babies will be born in a very soft bed!

Genesis 2:19
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. 

He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; 

 and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Must be Adam heard their voices and decided to call them Chickadees,

just like their sound!

Hanging out with Mr and Mrs Pileated Woodpecker

In the past few days, Mr and Mrs Pileated Woodpecker have been hanging out at the suet.

They are so much fun to watch.

Their nest sounds interesting,
but I do not have a clue where they might live so I could see it.

I have heard that they mate for life. How romantic!

I would love to see their babies at the suet.

I will let you know if that ever happens.

Rose Breasted Grosbeak Songs

We have been listening to wonderful Rose Breasted Grosbeaks for the past few hours.

They sound so beautiful and are so pretty at the feeder.

 I found the You Tube site where you can hear him sing. Try it and see if you can hear the pretty songs!

http://youtu.be/NixrHvecZ8c

More Spring Flowers Welcomed Here

It is so nice to see daffodils blooming all over our property.

There is no rhyme nor reason for their locations. 

Some are in the front yard.

Some are in the back yard.

Some are in the side yard.

There will be a group of ten or so in one spot, then only one or two flowers in another.

Our property lets me go on a scavenger hunt for flowers!