Smelling like dirt!

Margaret Atwood said it all when she made the claim that "In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." I must say she is one smart lady! I do believe everyone should get out and dig, plant, weed, whatever it takes to "smell like dirt"! Not smell dirty..smell like dirt..there is a big difference. During the spring, my family most likely tires of me smelling like the garden but growing up as a farmer's daughter, it is only natural that I play in the dirt. While some women would rather shop or receive manicures, nothing delights me more than to go barefoot in a fresh dug garden.

Last night, it rained! It was perfect timing for the newly planted tomatoes and the seeded Yellow Wax Beans! This afternoon, once I could get outside, I shook the wet sand from the tomato leaves. They will stand tall tomorrow! Next to them, the beans were all up and looking healthy! At the rate these plants are growing, I better get started on a fence...soon! The Yellow Wax Beans are pole beans but I usually just erect a fence and let them climb on that. It works well and saves me from having to cut individual poles. Years ago, Dad would put in a few posts between two rows, string a wire across the top and lean cane poles from the row to the wire. The poles were then tied at the top to keep them from slipping. This made sort of a long teepee effect and as kids we would run under the beans when playing chase. Cowboys and Indians! You never hear of kids playing pretend like that any more. Another "bean" tidbit..the leaves of the bean plant are "fuzzy" on the back. A fuzzy leaf would stick to a shirt! Aha! The Sheriff had a badge..what realism we had with our games!

Wandering through the garden, I came to last year's herb patch. Most of my herbs succumbed to the freezes of winter but not the Oregano! It is alive and flourishing! Umm..disregard the Petunia that is blooming in the midst of the herb..hehe..it is just being happy! Oregano is one of those herbs that is often overlooked in the garden. It is amazing used as a culinary herb in so many dishes. Most people will readily recognize the flavor when you tell them it is what gives pizza that distinctive taste. It is one of the most common herbs used in Italian cookery and is used in everything from tomato based dishes to meat and pasta dishes. Medicinally, Oregano is an antiseptic, antioxidant and carminative. One little known but helpful fact..Oregano can be used to reduce esophageal pressure therefore preventing acid reflux or heartburn! Herbs..they're good for you!

Just before heading back into the house, I heard something flit by my head. Looking up, I spied a tiny bird on a limb in a nearby tree. The first hummingbird of the year!! Spring is definitely here! I rushed in to mix a batch of food and fill the feeders. Darling Daughter bought me two beautiful feeders this past year and the hummers love them! I was excited to see the little bird and hope there will be many more to visit the garden.

Flights of Fancy

I was thinking today about things that fly and just how hard it is to actually get a clear photograph of things in flight. At least it is difficult for me as I seem to have problems keeping up with them! I can get them in focus and before the button is pressed..their gone! Poof! I was trying to photograph a beautiful Red Tail Hawk but before getting the camera focused well, it was so far up that it appeared as a little dot. Not exactly the picture that I had in mind. So I went back in some of my pictures to see just how many "on the wing" pictures I have actually succeeded in taking with some clarity. Not many! I had a few but it seems that all I can get are blurs! Flashes of color zooming by me at warp speed! Now I admit that I am getting up there a tad in age but this is ridiculous! I should be able to press a button in the time it takes a bird to fly a few thousand feet!!!!

This first one is a Seagull that was diving after some minnows in the Bay. The picture is clear enough as you can see the feathers quite well. The problem..it has no head!!! From the angle that I was taking the shot, the head is not visible at all..MY BIRD IS HEADLESS! This will never do! Birds most definitely need heads!

Then I caught this Pelican! Or almost caught this pelican in flight! It came crashing in for a landing creating the biggest splash imaginable! I often wonder about the Pelican's method of fishing but it works as this one succeeded in catching a nice size mullet!

There are these two! I am not sure that you can call this flying..it is more like jumping awkwardly! At least this was slow enough for me to catch the leap! These two were on the pier when one decided that the view from the bench would be better..that was until I decided that my bench needed to stay clean and shooed it away!

Here we have Cormorants on the wing! A trio was flying over early one morning but they appear as silhouettes. The lighting was not the best as the sun had not risen yet. At least I did keep them in range!

This young Osprey looks more like it was falling off its perch than flying in for a landing! At its young age, perhaps its flying was about as steady as my aerial photography!

This is the type shot that I love getting! This Osprey came in right above my head and screamed the whole way. It was as if the bird was telling me to get my camera ready! Maybe it really wanted a "glamour shot"!

The Egrets here were across the Bayou so the distance thing was not really my fault! I do not have a particularly strong zoom lens so most of my shots need to be relatively close. I do love the way the three of them are in all different stages of flight..from landed to full flight!

The Night Skimmer is so quick that it is hard to photograph. Also, the lighting is never optimal as their name suggests..they hunt more in the evening hours. This one was coming straight for me on the pier so I was able to get a good focus on it!

I love this picture! The Little Blue Heron made the mistake of landing in a tree a bit to close to the Red Winged Blackbird's nest! The Blackbird was attacking from all angles and actually succeeded in driving off the much larger bird!

Finally! A great shot of a Pelican in flight! This picture was taken early this Spring and is one of my favorites! The huge bird was just taking off from the water and was headed right for me! So incredible!

Another hard bird to photograph in flight is the Hummingbird. The sheer speed at which they fly makes it difficult to catch them on the wing! This one was hovering near the feeder as it tried to fend off any newcomers. I was lucky enough to be at the right spot at the right time!

This Osprey was high but the lighting was prefect. It was soaring above the Bayou hunting for its supper late one afternoon. It did not stay long but at least one shot came out well.

This last one..yeah..I know it is not an "in flight" shot but this young Eagle thrilled me enough that its picture had to go in here somewhere! I always get excited when the Eagles make their appearance on the Bayou! They are so majestic!