Last Night I Dreamed I Was A Swan

Last Night I Dreamed I Was A Swan, originally uploaded by Swampier.

Some of us have a face that only a mother could love. Perhaps the Turkey Vulture has a face that fits its role in nature. The Turkey Vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its meals using its keen vision and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. But he posed nicely for his portrait.

Grass Tassel

Grass Tassel, originally uploaded by Swampier.

I was retrieving my paper this morning while the sprinkler was going. I noticed the light glistening off the droplets of water on the fountain grass. I went in the house to drop off the paper and grabbed my camera. I took a few shots of the tassels (I was in my jammies) and the droplets and details showed up pretty well.

Lilies of the Rain

Lily in the Rain, originally uploaded by Swampier.

My new zoom lens was just delivered and I couldn't wait to use it, but it was raining. So I leaned out over the deck and took some photos of my lilies in the rain from about 20 feet away.
Click on photo to see my other photos of the lilies (best in large size).
Follow blog entries below to see what happened to my lilies.

Doe (Lily Eater)

Doe (Lily Eater), originally uploaded by Swampier.

I caught this Doe eating my beautiful lilies. I snuck out onto the deck overlooking the doe and snapped this photo as she looked up at me. I was about 10 feet away.

Okay, This One Makes Me Cringe

Doe Eye (full of ticks), originally uploaded by Swampier.

When I zoomed in on the picture of the Doe, I noticed all of the deer ticks around her eye. Then instead of feeling angry at her for eating all my lilies, I felt a little sorry for her malady.

Best seen (for full gross out) at large size.

Doe Eye Reflection

Doe Eye Reflection, originally uploaded by Swampier.

When I looked at the other eye of the Doe, I thought saw she had some kind of coating or problem. Then I realized that the lines were too straight to be an affliction. Finally I saw the reflection of my atrium windows was what was in her eye!
Click on photo and choose all sizes above it to see it better.

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Redbelly, originally uploaded by Swampier.

I'm not an ornithologist (studier of birds) but I've tried to identify most of the birds that frequent my backyard. This is a red bellied woodpecker. Not sure why they are called red bellied when the predominant area that is colored red is on the head, except that the name Red Headed Woodpecker was already taken by another bird. But they have just a tinge of red on their belly, so...there you go.

For four years we had a favorite red belly, whom my husband once referred to as Dumb Belly and the name stuck. Dumb Belly started out by flying into our windows repetitively with quite a bang but somehow survived and kept coming back. Dumb Belly later took to flying up to a window, pecking on it then flying to another and pecking on it. We used to play a game trying to choose which window Dumb Belly would peck at next, and even made bets sometimes (sort of Dumb Belly roulette). In the spring Dumb Belly would come to our bedroom window and hang by his claws on the screen and peck at the window. I would talk to him and tap back on the inside of the window, repeating his pecking pattern. Dumb Belly would occasionally not be seen for months but then would show up and play the game again. After four years, Dumb Belly disappeared for good. This photo is not of Dumb Belly but I would like to think it is a Dumb Belly descendant. If you click on the photo it will take you to Flickr where you can view it in a larger size and look around at my other photos (birds and other things).