Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and kit-cats.  It's me, Zim, here with some photos I lifted off my mom's camera that are bound to help you find that inner Zen of Zim Zone.  Are you ready to get going?

Yeah, so there I was, strolling across the open field ...

Just kidding.  That's a coyote!  A coyote!!!  Mom and her friend headed out to Tuttle Creek State Park again yesterday to do some birding and they saw my cousin there on the way in.  Isn't he handsome?

Mom saw this bird hard at work, building a nest on the walls of the outdoor chapel:

Mom isn't quite sure what kind of bird it is, but thinks it might be an Eastern Kingbird.

A lot of the birds there were apparently teasing Mom and her friend - they'd fly by real fast, then zoom off before they could focus and shoot their photos.  That would explain this shot:

"Quick!  Look!"

Mom said the Great Blue Herons kept doing fly-bys, so that could be what she missed there.  She did manage this one shot:

Great Blue Heron

They also saw Mrs. Red-Winged Blackbird:

Female Red-Winged Blackbird

... and her main squeeze, Mr. Red-Winged Blackbird:

Red-Winged Blackbird

He was nearby, watching over her.  Very sweet, Mr. B!

Here is a pair of Blue Winged Teal ducks that were swimming by:

Blue Winged Teals

Lovely couple, aren't they?  And remember - the family that dives together ...

... thrives together.  Or something like that.

"You have a little algae coming out of your bill, dear."
"Quack."

This shot is an Eastern Kingbird:

Eastern Kingbird

Mom said not only does she do better with slow, larger birds, but it's much easier when the leaves aren't on the trees, too.  I think she mentioned it took her 87 hours to get this shot.  Something like that.

Here's an Eastern Bluebird!

Eastern Bluebird

And here's another shot I got off her camera:

Border Collie Birds?

Hmm.  Funny looking birds, Mom!  Oh, well.  At least I know she and her friend were well-protected! Good job, Seamus and Moss!  I hope you two had a blast out there!

Mom was really happy to see some Baltimore Orioles.  They were hard to photograph, as they didn't sit still very long and hid in the trees ... but Mom and her friend were patient and persistent and Mom was able to get these shots:

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole

On her way out of the park, Mom saw one hopping around in the field and stopped to take some more shots.

Baltimore Oriole.  Must be an outfielder.  (Ha roo roo roo.  Baseball joke.)

He did some yoga stretches on a pipe:

Baltimore Oriole stretching

Then struck a nice pose:

Baltimore Oriole - Money shot

There are also a lot of wildflowers in bloom now, and Mom saw a new one to her:

New Jersey Tea

Mom thinks it's New Jersey Tea, Ceonothus herbaceus.  All I know is I bet it's tasty!  (Not that I'd try to eat it or anything.)

That's a wrap for this week.  We have tons more of serene pix to show you, so I think we'll be doing some nice peaceful posts this week.  If you'd like to see more of the shots Mom took yesterday, they're all in this set on FlickR. 

Remember to take in all the beauty around you - and keep it serene.  Have a great Sunday!

Play bows,

Zim