Double-Crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret and Cormorant

The little groundhog that lives in our yard.

 Click to view larger-sized photos.

Watching from my Kitchen

Little Blue Heron

Great White Heron

Great Blue Heron and Great Egret

Little Blue Heron and Great Egret

Snowy Egret and Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Little Blue Heron

Snowy Egret

very morning (and all day *smile*) I hear the shrill, urgent cries of the baby sparrows that once again have nested in the eaves under our upstairs deck.  Momma and Daddy sparrow make quick trips in and out, feeding them and I’ve seen their tufted little heads and large mouths a few times as they venture a bit from their nest.  Soon though, they will fly away and if it’s like last year, a new bird family will soon stake claim and use the nest to raise its young.  Nature recycling.  *smile*

Usually we only see our regulars (mourning doves, sparrows, robins, grackles, blue jays, mallards, great blue herons, great egrets and gulls) but I’ve had quite a few interesting bird sightings these past few weeks:

• Black-crowned Night Heron - adult and juvenile
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• American Goldfinch

I always love seeing new birds at my feeders and down by my pier.  I’ve hinted to Michael that I would really love a stronger pair of binoculars and he’s even suggested that a tripod would be nice…too bad my birthday and Mother’s Day are over.  Maybe for Christmas.  *smile*

~~~ . ~~~

 Oriole Nature Journal page…click on image to view and download PNG.

~~~ . ~~~

Quinn picked up a 24 stomach virus.  By late yesterday evening though he seemed to be back to his very active self.  The twins spent the night over their friends, Alex and Andrew’s, house.  Hope they were good for Mrs. Brenda and Mr. Nick.  If not, I guess I’ll find out soon enough.  *smile*

~~~ . ~~~

A Bird

A bird came down the walk,
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angleworm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.
And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.

by Emily Dickinson

Click to view and save full-size PNG.

Off to do some leaf peeping and to try to find some covered bridges today with the boys. It will be sunny and cool…perfect weather!

The Loveliness of Leaves Fair is going on at Footprints on the Fridge. Lots of lovely ideas.

~~~ . ~~~

It’s the Feast of All Souls today…pray for your deceased loved ones.

~~~ . ~~~

My twins are turning the big ONE - THREE on the fifteenth of this month. TEENAGERS!!! We’ve decided on a western theme for their party complete with sheriffs’ badges, a boot cake and cap guns. They’ve invited their whole boy scout troop, some neighborhood friends, plus friends from karate…

~~~ . ~~~

A new nature journal page. Click to view PNG and then right click to download. Print on heavy cardstock.

Click to view PNG. Right click to save. Print on heavy cardstock.

Victorian Journal

Nature Journal

Quinn’s Family Tree printable. This is a huge file (PNG format 300 dpi scaled to print on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper) so I zipped it using Windows explorers utility. I’m hoping that it can be downloaded and opened with no problems…if you do have any problems, please just email me (danidh at aol dot com) and let me know.

Click to download each printable. Print on heavy cardstock.

Victorian

Nature Journal

Click to open new page with the PNG file. Right click and save. Print on heavy cardstock.

Charts and posters from ThinkZone.com and lots of preschool things at PlaySchool Printables.

Whilst browsing this weekend (I love the old-fashioned sound to the word whilst), I ran across a couple of websites offering good quality printables.

HS Unlimited offers 4 pages of useful, quality printables. Ones that caught my eye, “Daily Mini Unit Study-Headline of the Day,” “Vocabulary Journal,” and “Nature Study Pages.” They are offered in either PDF or DOC format.

Family Education’s Printable Center offers a great selection and options (to narrow your search) for age and category.

~~~ . ~~~

Two new Nature Journal pages…Click to view and download PNG…Print on heavy cardstock. To view all of the Nature Journal pages that I offer, and there are getting to be quite a few, just click on the NJ Print link at the top of this post.

The mornings are cool and crisp now though temps are supposed to climb back into the high 80’s by the end of the week.

Early yesterday morning Momma called asking to borrow flour so she could make a pot of her cream of broccoli soup. I bartered the flour for a container of soup *smile* and instead of sending one of the twins up the road to take it to her, I decided to take advantage of the fact of Michael being home and took her the flour myself. My sister, Colleen, is staying for a few days with my parents so Momma, Col and I sat around the table for about 40 minutes chatting and drinking coffee. Nice.

Honey and her family just got back from their annual vacation to Cape May, New Jersey, so the twins and I carried over the pot of leftover chicken noodle soup, bread and cake and we had lunch with Honey and my little nephews so they could tell us all about their vacation. They had a great time and she brought us back some nice souvenirs. They always time their vacation so it falls when Cape May is having its huge fall sidewalk sale. I have a beautiful new sweatshirt with a gorgeous print on it from the artist, D. Morgan. I love it!

~~~ . ~~~

Click to view and download PNG. Print on heavy cardstock. All of my images come from Dover or Broderbund ClipArt CDs.

~~~. ~~~

I ran across a free nature notebook cover  created by the talented Mom at St. Francis Academy…it’s really pretty!

Click to view PNG…right click on PNG to save. Print on heavy cardstock.

Nature Journal…

Victorian Journal…

Click to View PNG - Right Click to Download - Print on Heavy Cardstock