Lucky Shots

(PS - I have no idea why that blank box above is in this posting!)

Once in awhile I get lucky and get some fairly interesting pictures.

Here is the bluebird flying into his house. If you click on the picture, you can see him better.

Angel Kitty doesn't like her picture taken and usually turns her head away, but here she was rolling around in the gravel and didn't notice that I was pursuing her with the camera until it was too late!


Last year this cardinal hammered at our truck, so we had to cover it. This year it is the same problem. We assume he has a nest nearby.

Birds are so much Fun!

Last evening my husband called me to the kitchen window - come quick! I was amazed to see a hawk on the driveway tearing apart its prey. I felt bad for the dove - but I realize that the hawk has to eat. Far better that a hungry hawk get it rather than a domestic cat or dog, who would usually only kill it for "fun"! I believe this is a sharp-shinned hawk. We watched him for a few minutes, and then he flew with his dinner to a nearby tree.A few days ago five turkeys - four males and one female - came around to the pasture. (No hunting is permitted on our property. It is turkey hunting season here in TN, but those that squat on our land are safe!) It was obvious they were all vying for the female's attention, and four of them looked on enviously while one guy strutted his stuff!


A friend made us two new birdhouses. My husband put one up fairly close to the house and I had my doubts about anything using it. Well, thankfully I was proven wrong several days ago when the chickadees took it over. Then, a few days later, the bluebirds decided that they wanted it. It was fun to watch the battle of wills between them, but in the end the bluebirds drove the chickadees away. These pictures aren't that great; it was a foggy morning when I took them. Look closely and you can see one bluebird on top of the house and two chickadees in the bushes to the right of the birdhouse. The chickadees are planning their next move, but the bluebirds are confident that by the end of the day, they'll win, and they did. Soon we watched them bringing grasses in to build their nest.

Ah, Bluebirds!

Aren't bluebirds lovely? Their voice is so cheery and their presence in the winter time lends a bit of color to a drab landscape! The bluebirds in the last picture came around the other day. There are two couples. Can you see all four birds in the trumpet vine arbor? Maybe they're doing some house hunting. We have four bluebird houses and the bluebirds use two of them for nesting and when they are done, the tree swallows and chickadees move in. The other two houses aren't used at all from what we can tell, so this year we plan to move them to a more desirable location! Gotta keep the birds happy! The other pictures were taken in the spring and summer, last year and previous years.