Bugger Wren

Today I had to great experiences. The first, I had lunch with a great friend who I do not get to see enough. The second was right after lunch, I had to walk off some of the calories I consumed. While walking at my favorite park, out popped this little bugger that I have been trying to get the past three days.

This winter wren has been the hardest bird to catch on camera. I call him my bugger wren, because he was determine not to let me get a shot of him. For the past three years, around this time of season I would see him bouncing around the bushes. I would get some pictures ,but they were not great.

This time though, I was just watching all the birds. I asked God, just in my mind, ( It sure would be nice if you would have the wren make a showing?) Well low and behold, out popped this little bugger. Not only did he come into full view, he did all kinds of poises for me.

My day was complete. I had a great time with my friend and with this little bugger wren.

Christmas Dog

You never know what you might run into at the Mariner. I thought I had seen it all. So, you can imagine my surprise at seeing this Christmas dog. At least, I think that is what I was seeing.

Christmas is the time for decorating just about anything. Of course, dying an animal fur is a new one for me. I do have to say this poodle is adorable. Even the squirrel had to investigate.

I love this time of the year. There is always surprises to enjoy. Whether it is this Christmas dog at the park, presents under the tree or a greeting from long lost friends, I look forward to each day.

Sparrow Town

The one sparrow you can count on is the white throated sparrow to make his showing at the park. He is the most common fellow to visit the fence posts that I put the seeds on each visit. I do notice that during the winter months, I see a lot more.

Out of all the sparrows that visit the park, this one seems to be more bold. He will fight with the cardinals and stand up against the red-winged black birds for his supper. Beside the chickadees, he will come close to me as I wait to take pictures.

There are two types of white throats, the tan striped and the white striped. Every once in a while I will see the tan striped ones mulling around the bushes. They are just as brave as the white striped ones.

I can honestly say that this park can be called Sparrow Town. There are enough of them here including the fox sparrows, song sparrows, and several other species. My kind of town.

Eeyore's Winter Blues

Another snow event. This snow is back breaking. Even Eeyore finds it a heavy load to bare.

I like snow when it is just building up on the yards and not so much on the roads. I like it even better when I do not have to drive on it to work. Tonight with the temperature going below freezing, I dread the ice.

When I have to shovel it, it is back breaking. Of course, when my husband gets home in time, he takes care of that for me.  It is not any less back breaking for him.

Right now I have the Eeyore's winter blue. I have to go to work overnight. I dread the icy roads. One good thing though, in the next few days this snow will be history.

Soda Bottle Feeder

One of the time that I got to go to a dinner for bird lovers, I got this kit to make a bird feeder from a soda bottle. The first few times that I filled it and put it out, the birds did not seem to like it.

My husband brought home a birder hook and I got a new fancy feeder to put on the hook. Since there was two place to hang the feeder on, I decided to try the soda bottle feeder again.

Now, here it the funny thing. Notice which one is empty. I have been watching the birds enjoy both feeders. Yet, they seems to gravitate to the homemade one over and over. It is only when the first one is empty, that they work on the store bought one.

It is like Christmas, when the kids play with the package or the box that the gift comes in over the gift.

It is off to the store to buy some more bird seeds. The soda bottle feeder needs to be filled again.

Chipmunk's Cold

This is truly cold season. I am not talking about the weather. It seems to be everywhere I go, someone is coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose. Even this poor little chipmunk seems to be blowing his nose.

This the season to share every virus, germs and sickness this time of year brings. No matter how careful I was, I spent several days sick as a dog. Not that I know how a dog feels when he is sick.

As I write this blog, I send out a prayer to all that have succumb to the cold , flu and every other virus out there. Take care of yourselves. 

Nuttty Squirrel

You never know what a squirrel might get himself into. While I was walking around the boardwalk, this one little critter kept running all around me. At one point he was upside down on the boardwalk. He never did let go of the nut in his mouth.

I am just so impress with his ability to hang onto anything. With the many years that I have been taking pictures of the squirrels around town, I have caught them in many nutty situations. They sure know how to entertain me.

They will eat just about anything you toss out to them. but the nuts are their favorite. While this little nutty squirrel will enjoy his nut this time,I will enjoy him running around with it as well.

The First Snow.

Well, it happened. We had our first snow of the season. I just had to get out to take pictures.

At one time, I would have been too afraid to go out in the snow driving. But, the draw of the camera beckons me to take the chance. "Just think what you will miss if you do not try," it seems to be telling me.

So, I listen. The camera has helped me to brave things that would have kept me in the house. I can go out all excited to see what is waiting for me. Will I get that shot? Even going out on a boat has no fear for me now. This past vacation showed me that as we spent time out on a whale boat trip.

The first snow has fallen. I just love every flake. Welcome Winter.

Ruddy Luck

For three days in October, I watch over a unusual duck. I even took my husband with me hoping with both our cameras we could get a good enough picture to identify what kind of fowl he was. I search my many bird books to no avail.

Several days later, I ran into a good birder friend who was able to tell me that what we had gotten was a ruddy duck. What ruddy luck that was for me. It pays to go out every possible chance I have to seek a new bird in Harford County.

This year, I want to see how many species of birds I can identify. Like the movie "The Big Year," I plan on documenting all the birds I see through out the year as we go on vacation, trips and just walking around here. I will not reach the record number. But, I plan on giving my best try for a record for me.

Who know? Maybe the Ruddy's luck will be a sign that this will be a good year.

Merganser"s Pond

There is a pond in the industrial park that I love to visit from time to time. It is during the migration period that I seek out what new fowl might be swimming about. I love watching the many diving ducks. One of my favorites is the hooded merganser.

Each winter, these mergansers seems to make the pond their home. I can count of seeing them each time I make my rounds to the many water ways. This day as I watched them, I did notice that one male would stay just a few feet away from all the others. I surmised that he must have been the look out while the other proceeded to disappear one by one under the water.


I watched for a while longer. Whenever someone would walk near  the pond, they would make their escape to the other side of the pond. Once there, it is too hard for my camera to reach them.

Until they decide to move on, I will enjoy the merganser's pond. 

Seeing Red

The flashes of red flew past me several times. From tree to tree, branch to branch, they chased each other searching for food. Every once in a while, I would see a different sort of red. So I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out bird seeds.

After pouring the seeds on the fence post, the cardinals jockey for position to snatch their share. Than, there he was, the other source of red making his showing. It was a finch.

The cardinals are plenty in the park. There are no shortness of these beauties. I just have to throw out some peanuts and before long the trees are decorated with the color of red. When I break up the shells, than many other birds make a showing as well.

When the chickadees, titmouse, and nuthatches soar in to claim their morsels, I get to see a different shade of red. The house finches pop in to try their luck.

 The finches are not as plentiful as the cardinals. So, when they do flew in, I get a kick out of them.

I don not have to be mad to see red. I just have to visit my favorite park, put out food and the color of red surround me in all their spenders. I love seeing red.

Muskrat Lunch

It has been a while since I could walk the Mariner. Working overnights and getting sick has kept me away. Today was the first time that I had the energy and time to make the trip. So, at lunchtime, I got my food and made my rounds to all my hotspots. 

The Mariner was the last stop. The center fenced-in section of the park is now full of slug and water from the dredging. Because of this, the muskrats have much more space to swim around. They come right up to the fence. It is easier now to get pictures. 

This little guy made several attempts to get the juicy leave just out of his reach. I thought he would fall into the water a couple of times. After enjoying his lunch, he made another try and down in the water he went. His mother was down in the water under him and made sure he was alright before he swam away unharmed.

He did get to enjoy his lunch just as much as I enjoyed watching him eat it. I will be back tomorrow. Who knows what kind of show I will see then.

Snake Versus Frog

It has been a while since I have been able to blog. Internet issues, lack of sleep and time management gets in the way of my posting. There has been so many times I wanted to share the great find of the day, only to be too tire to think.

On October 4, while walking at the Mariner at 4pm, I went to my favorite spot. I get most of my great shot there. The sun was starting to set and I knew that I would have to leave soon. Something floating in the water caught my eye. At first, I thought is was a human skull. Getting a closer look, I realized it was a Styrofoam head.

As I watched it float away, I heard a splash under me. To my surprise it was a snake that had just caught a large bull frog. For the next 30 minutes I watch the snake and frog battle. With each inch that the snake made its way up the leg of the frog, the frog use every trick he had to escape his fate.

I had witnessed this once before at Harford Glen. That time the frog did escape and live for another day. This poor frog, I am afraid will not be as lucky.

I wanted to stay and see if the snake could actually swallow the whole frog. The sun was setting and it was getting too dark. I did not want to be walking around in the park in the dark by myself. You never know who might be watching to attack.

The next day I went back to the scene of the crime hoping to see if the snake was anywhere to be found. No signs of the snake or the frog. I am left wondering if what the end result was of the snake versus frog battle.

Scarecrow Rock

Rocks are everywhere. I find them in at the parks. There has been several inside and outside my work. I have even found them on base. They have simple designs and detailed art work. This scarecrow rock I found between my work and Micheal was by far the best that I have ever come across.

The thing that impressed me the most is, that someone had the insight to take an ugly looking rock and give it life. Whoever picked this, saw the imperfections, yet, also saw how he or she could take these imperfections and make it art.

God does the same thing to each and everyone of us. We all have our imperfections. My are many. Yet, God see these and produces a work of art in each of us, if we are willing to let Him.

This scarecrow rock in sitting on my hutch, where everyone can see it. I am trying to paint some rocks that I have gather hoping to create some work of art on them. I need to make about ten to even come close to this piece. With God's help, I hope that they will brighten up someone else's day, just like this rock did for me.

What Am I Looking At?

What am I looking at? This is the second time that I have seem this guy driving around. The first time was a few months back. That time he was behind me and I had to keep giggling. It is an unusual sight to see a frog driving a motorcycle behind you. One thing I can say for sure, it kept a smile on my face every time I thought about him.

I could not take a picture than, but, this time he was in front of me. As he past by, I grabbed my camera and took several shot.

What an I looking at? I am not sure. But, it does make my day a little brighter. And we all need that in today's world.

Groundhog Snack

It had been quite a while since I made my way to the boardwalk in Havre de Grace. Time, the cost of gas and the distant has been the reasons that I have stayed away. This Sunday, I decided to visit and look for color rocks, which I found a few and of course any creatures that I could see.

One of my favorite critter is the groundhog. I always keep an eye out for him. I spent a good hour walking around. I found some rocks, got pictures of ducks, geese and a cormorant plus many sparrows flying from bush to bush. Yet, the groundhog was not to be found.

As I headed back to the parking lot, there sat my friend, munching away on a snack of berries. I almost missed seeing him there. If it were not for the many sparrow flying all around, I would have not looked on the ground. He was a little fatty. There must be plenty of food for him.

The groundhog got his snack and I got my treat of catching it on my camera. It was a good day.

Rock Bird

I never thought that I would see it. But there it was sitting in the tree waiting. These past few days, I have been doing my usual walks looking for birds in the trees. Yet, now I find myself looking for color rocks as well.

So, you can imagine my surprise and delight, when I came across the bird rock in the tree.


While trying to take a picture of a beetle, I came a cross another colorful rock immerse in the dirt. I picked this up and replaced it with another rock that I had found a week before. I saw someone post that same rock on the PRMD Facebook page.

Today after I got off of work, I went to a craft store and bought paint and settled down to paint my own rocks. I got the rock bug. They are all primed and ready to come to life. Tomorrow morning my grandson and I will paint our creations and hide them over the weekend.

The rock bird brought out a desire in me to create, to do my part of giving a little bit of joy to another. I am glad that I discover this rock bird.

These Rocks

For some time now, I have been noticing rocks around Harford County. At first, I would take a picture and go on my way with a smile on my face.

It was not until they started showing up in all kind of places that I had to find out what was the deal about these rocks. The rocks you see in this picture has come from many places. Most have been found at the Mariner Point Park. The "Be Kind" rock was given to a cashier at my work.

I have found them on the APG proving ground, Toys R Us and now a co-worker found one from North Carolina. It has become nation wide.

So, Today, these rocks are making a special trip. They are boarding a plane that will take them to Germany. It will be interesting to see if they show up being posted on the PRMD's Facebook site.

Yellowthroat Treat

Today I was treated to a common yellowthroat enjoying her treat.

The day started with fighting my grandson to get ready for church. Once we got there he enjoyed working with the younger kids. This goes on every Sunday faithfully.

After that we set off to walk around the Mariner. Nothing to report. We just saw a few birds, squirrels and three caterpillars. So, we headed home.

I got my pictures ready to go to my photo group meeting and headed off to Harford Glen. I had an hour to spare and I wanted to check on a Monarch chrysalis that was discovered last week. That will be another blog, if I get to see the butterfly come out of it.

As I headed back to my car, a movement in a tree caught my eye. There within a few feet from me a female common yellowthroat flew from the ground with her juicy treat. This made my day.

Seeing the yellowthroat enjoying her treat was a treat for me.

I Did Not Believed Them

For many weeks, I have been approached by the several people who I often run into while walking around the Mariner. The reason for them stopping me? It was to tell me about the coyote that they have seen. I did not believed them.

There are a few fox's dens spread around the park and I just assumed that it was just a case of mistaken identity. Boy, was I wrong.

I had some time to spare before going to work. It was around 1pm. As I headed to my car, I noticed a weird looking animal walking up one of the path. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was the coyote.

Before I could get a shot off, he ran into the trees. So off I went to the other side of the trees. He was no where to be seen. There was a little girl near the place where he had gone into. I told the mother that there was a coyote nearby and to be careful.

After a few more minutes, I realized that I had missed my chance. I started back to my car. There out of the trees, the coyote made his way up the same path. This time I got my shot.

I did notice that this pour creature was in a bad way. I went to the office and showed the guy there my pictures. He called animal control. I hope that they were able to find him.

The next time that I am told that there are some kind of creature running around the park. I will believe it.

A Cycle Of Life

Last Sunday, while taking a walk around the Conowingo Dam, I watched as a sparrow do his best to eat a praying mantis. If you look carefully at this picture, you can see the mantis putting up his front legs as though he is doing his best to fend off his attacker.

Many times I have gotten shots of a praying mantis eating wasps, bees and other insects. This afternoon as I made my way along the fence watching the cormorants. I notice a couple looking on the inside of the fence. I had to ask and they pointed out that a praying mantis had just caught a caterpillar and was enjoying his meal.


This first thought that went through my mind was, this was a good example of a cycle of life. The caterpillar eats the plants, the mantis eats the caterpillar and the sparrow eats the praying mantis. It goes on and on.

One thing I do keeps in my mind, God is in control of my cycle of life. Everyday I give thanks for His provisions. One of these is, being able to see the cycle of life in all his creations.

Cormorant Battle

The sun shines brightly and the weather is ripe for a nature walk. The Conowingo Dam beckons my husband and me. So, off we go hoping to catch another adventure of God's creatures.


When we got there, the shoreline is full with fishermen trying to get their catch. The thing that surprised me, was how the cormorant were swimming right there beside them. They were waiting for the men to throw a free meal out to them, just like the one pictured above.


We took our walk down the path and back without much excitement. When we made our way back to fishermen, I stood there and kept an eye on the many cormorants. Not one seems to be able to bring up a fish. Just as we were ready to call it a day, up popped one with a big fish in his mouth followed by another who was intent on getting it for himself. The cormorant battle was on.


The bigger fellow overtook the smaller one and managed to get the fish. The younger cormorant put up a good fight and the battled raged on for some time. At one point, they both had a hold of the fish at the same time.


The older cormorant held on tight. The younger one was persistent and kept moving in, only to come up short.


One last try, but the larger one was just too strong and soon had the fish in his throat.


Within minutes the fish was gone. The cormorant battle was over and the younger one left defeated. But, not to worry. There were many more fishes jumping in and out of the water.

Rainbow Promise

Whenever I see a rainbow, I see the beauty that can only come from God. There is a place I like to go at certain times of the day, because I know that I can see a rainbow. It is a place that I visit every Sunday after church.

The industrial ponds always has something for me to see. Many times, I get some of my best shots of the many birds that visit these ponds. This time there seemed to be no birds. As I turned my car around, my eye caught one of the fountain in full splendor with a bright rainbow. When I got out of the car the fountain went down and the rainbow disappeared.

Before long the water was spraying again and the rainbow was back. I watched this go on several times. This made me think about God's promises to us when He made the rainbow. When we reach for the sky towards our Creator, we can see His promises clearly.


When we stop reaching, we start to see His rainbow fade away.


Pretty soon there is only a small piece left and that soon disappears, God's promises are still there shining brightly. we just can not see them when we are not reaching for the rainbows.


It is only when we turn back to God and reach for the sky again, that we see His rainbow splendor and the promise that goes with Him.

Double Fawns

After a long day at work, I needed to do some down time before heading home. Since, I would pass Harford Glen on my way, I decided to take a walk around there. The next hour went by fast with seeing birds, butterflies and bugs, I knew the gate would soon close, so I got in my car and headed out.

It was after six and the deers were coming out of the woods. The picture of this precious fawn was taken just outside the gate. But, it was the first sighting of the family of deer that excited me. When I saw the doe with her baby, I had to go as very slowly. I did not want to scare them away.

When I got with in a few yards of the two, I notice some movements in the tall grass. I stopped my car and waited. More movement could be seen. A pair of ears popped up. I got my camera ready. To my surprise, it was a second fawn. Twin fawns. They played around and enjoyed the grass.

 
Today was complete with the double fawns. My nerves were put to the test at work. Seeing the deer, especially the double fawns put them to rest.

Sometimes In Awe

I am sometime in awe at the way God does provide all that we need. Just like this squirrel, God has many forms of food that this squirrel enjoys through out the park. When there are no peanuts left, he just gathers the different vegetation's and feast on the provisions of God.

Today, when I was looking over the papers on my desk, I discover that this Sunday there is a registry's event. I do not often work on Sunday. So I was not prepared. The supplies that I needed for the event has been used up the past several weeks.

I sent up a quick prayer. With in an hour a representative of one our vendors came by and ask if I need anything. It turns out that she had several free items she needed to get rid of. The products was just what I needed. God had the answer to my prayers in the works before I even knew I would even need His help.

I love how God takes care of all his creations. He provides all that this squirrel needs. He also provides all that I need. Praise God.

What A Catch

I sometime go by the marsh on my way to work hoping to catch something exciting. This time, I was not disappointed. There sat a great blue heron getting ready to catch his morning meal. With in a split second, out came this foot long catfish. What a catch.


Like all herons do, he played with the catfish by stabbing it several times. He walked a way, took a drink to coat his throat and worked some more on the fish. I could not stay to watch him finish the job. I am sure it would have been a sight to see.

I left for work praising God. What a catch for me and the heron.

Connowingo Warbler

My husband and I have been committed to walking each Sunday. It is kind of our date night. This time we decided to go to the Connowingo Dam. There is a path that is just over two mile, so we decided to walk it.

About a mile in we came across two adorable warbles. Now, I am not an expert on these little birds. My search of my bird books make me think what we saw were Prothonotary warblers. This will be a first for me.


They were busy looking for insects among the falling tree full of moss. One of them hit it mark and pulled out a juicy caterpillar. He played with for a while. than swallowed it in one shot.

Connowingo Dam is known for the many eagles that passes through. While we did catch a few catching fish. It was this tiny little bird that made my day. Everyone else can have their thrill with the eagles.

I will get my thrill with the little birds, like this Connowingo Warble.

I Hear You

The past several weeks that I have been walking around the Mariner Point Park, I have been watching the many osprey flying around. There has been awesome battles, fishing lessons and entertaining play times. Trying to catch them on camera has been a daunting task.

Every once in a while one lands on a tree to rest. I just happened upon this one by accident. As I slowly made my way into the trees to get a better shot, he could hear me. Each time that he would look for me, I would stay very still.

As I got into position and started snapping away, he seems to be saying, "I hear you." With my next step closer, he flew away.


There is a nest just as you enter the park. I love to watch the family of osprey that has made this their home. In this picture an adult has delivered a fish. After eating her share, she trades places with the juvenile and he finishes the rest.

When I try to get too close to the nest,  they signaled that they hear me by sounding the alarm and giving off a frenzies of sharp whistles.

Soon they will be leaving to migrate. I will miss hearing and watching them. While they are still around, I will look for every opportunities to catch them. I will do my best to get close to them and not have them say, "I hear you."

Double Humming

Yesterday, my husband and I decided to visit the Eden Mill. The last time we were there we got to see several humming birds. So, we decided to see if we would see them again.

We were not disappointed. there were at least four flying around. Along with the humming birds were many American goldfinches, downy woodpeckers and hawks. A nuthatch made a showing along with many other small birds.

There were many hiking trails, so we decided to try one. One thing we did discover, Don and I need to get in better shape. But, we did have fun and plan on doing it every Sunday, weather permitting.


It was time to leave and we came across some more humming creatures. This time they were humming moths. I love them just as much as the humming birds.

It was a double humming sightings. It was a double blessings.

Hotdog Drain Baby

Since May of 2015, I have been looking forward to going on base to see the  APG's drain baby. This week was no different. With heat of the summer, this hot dog drain baby reminds me how much I love cooking on a grill. Nothing taste better than a freshly cooked hot dog or hamburger, with all the fixings of course.


The first picture I ever took was, this hockey player in May of 2015. It was the start of my love affair with this cute doll.


It was not until some one stole him as spider man, that I made it my mission to learn more about the creation of an icon.


In January of 2016, I came across the family who were responsible for the dressing of him/her in the many outfits. They would not let me take their picture. They took my picture instead and told me the story of the birth of the drain baby. You can read this story from an old blog.
http://dumbosdawn.blogspot.com/2016/01/do-not-tell-anyone.html.

Here are just a couple of my favorites throughout the years.

Shark week June 2016


Halloween 2016


St. Patrick's Day 2016


Dark Vader December2015


The bar, July 2015

If they ever decide to put an elephant outfit on, That will make my year. In the mean time, I will enjoy each trip to base and the joy the hot dog drain baby gives me.