Tree Swallows

One of our nest boxes is being used by a pair of Tree Swallows. They have laid these two lovely eggs so far. There will probably be 2-3 more before the female starts sitting.

Last Lilac

This is our latest lilac to blossom. It is a very deep purple and quite lovely.

Gardening

Ah, the results of a good afternoon gardening.

Rain on the Pool

Our pool is no longer green, but the weather has turned much cooler and rainy. It is only 48 degrees today.

Tulips

Flowering Tree

Isn't this flowering crab apple tree beautiful? These trees lined the park we were visiting yesterday. It is such a brilliant color.

Bantams

Our chickens are quite used to the kids coming and going. The bantams are actually quite tame. Bessie likes to feed them corn right out of her hand. Aren't they colorful!

Bluebirds

We have a pair of nesting bluebirds in our yard. I had seen them earlier in the spring, but thought they had left. We checked the boxes this weekend and sure enough one of them at four little blue eggs.

The morning we saw the male and female coming and going from this box. The female is on the top and the male is near the entrance.

I am so thrilled. Bluebirds are making a strong comeback in the northeast thanks to conservation efforts and more people putting up boxes and establishing bluebird trails.

Basking

We live near a large reservoir. There are no boats allowed on the lake, so it is quiet and very conducive to all types of wildlife. This particular log is always loaded with turtles as they come out of the water to warm in the sun.

Baby Snakes

We found several baby snakes when we took the pool cover off. Gabe wanted to keep on, so we have a baby Garter snake in a critter keeper. Not sure how easy this little guy will be to feed. We usually give them worms, but he isn't much bigger than a nightcrawler.

Water Lily

The leaves on the water lily have finally reached the surface. There will be lovely pink blooms before long.

Bleeding Heart

The bleeding heart has started to blossom in my perennial border. This is a lovely delicate plant. This is an old variety and is quite hardy in our northern climate.

Tadpoles

We had a good hatching of tadpoles from all the eggs we gathered. There are at least two much larger tadpoles, probably bullfrogs that we will be taking out very soon as they will start eating all the other little ones. This has been a very fun project.

Plowing

Our neighbor was out early this morning plowing the field across the road. The rich brown earth is holds a feast for all the birds after he plows. They must find a smorgasbord of worms and bugs.
I'm not sure if they are planting corn or silage mix this year. The kids love to watch all the tractors doing their job.

Spring colors

All the trees around our yard are blooming and budding. This is a great spot that shows a lot of the color and texture. The evergreen, the flowering shad tree and the red and green buds of the deciduous trees are all contrasting so nicely.

Tulip

The tulips in my garden are slowly starting to bloom. This red one is the first and I've always thought that the inside is as pretty as the outside.

White Squirrel

We have a family of white squirrels that frequent our road. This guy decided to visit us today. Isn't he so cute? I'm sure he feels much safer in the winter when the snow is on the ground than this time of year. He sure stands out.

Canon PowerShot A630

I did not take this pictures, but I wanted to share with everyone my new camera. I am really having fun with it and like it a lot. It is a step up from my old camera, but not a large, really fancy one. It has an articulating LCD screen, which makes it nice for taking odd angle shots. It is easy to use in the AUTO mode, but has some nice manual features that make it fun to play with. I have not been thrilled so far with the software that it uses, but it is very easy to use other programs.

Color Accent

I'm having a lot of fun with my new camera. This setting is called color accent and you can focus on one color and all the other colors go black and white. It makes a very interesting photo.

Epimedium

This is one of my favorite spring flowering perennials. The flowers aren't very big, butt he leaf is so delicate and pretty. It is a shade loving plant. It hasn't opened yet, but I thought this bud phase was pretty.