Welcome to the Year of the Snake....

The Chinese Dragon (one of two of the Dragons which "reside" here) danced yesterday to herald the Chinese New Year of the Snake. The Village of Oriental has a fascination for Dragons...and rightly so...for a town with the name "Oriental". I had to sharpen up on my knowledge of "dragonese" after I got here.

AAAAHHHH!!! 

Somewhere in the woods, something must be saying:

"It's a New Year, I believe hunting season is over.

Is it safe to come out now? "

I was behind this pickup truck shortly before the new year started.

COLLARD FLOWERS

Most of us..think only of collards...only as those greens that most rural folks eat with...fatback...maybe.
Well...myself included...up until this Spring. We happen to like collards - so we fit right here -- in these rural surroundings. And so our garden had a few of these greens in early Spring. The plants grew enormous..with little help...Frederick, as they might say -- "take spells" at most things -- the garden being one of them. And these bright yellow flowers were downright pretty. I cut some and put them in a vase and they also lasted a long time. So --- even if you don't like collards -- you might think about growing it for the flowers -- and feed the leaves to a hungry rabbit or two.

You never know what you might learn on this blog. It's a pretty terrible blog really...in terms of regularity of postings and focusing on any kind of subject matter. But, you might learn something about living in a rural setting downeast...just maybe.

My don't I look pretty?

This little guy's owner had him all decked out for the St. Paddy's Day Parade recently in Wilmington. He seemed comfortable with his tulle skirt. I thought he was adorable.

AAH -- nothing like SPRING!

This was a glancing shot with some heavy retouching . I spotted this red-bellied woodpecker from my kitchen window and rushed to the front door, cracking it slightly then trying to brace my elbow so as not to disturb him. No, I'm not a bird photographer but they fascinate the heck out of me.

Demise of Cedar Waxwing

Driving home last week, this beautiful creature couldn't seem to rise fast enough to clear the edge of my windshield. I turned around to rescue it though I knew there was not much I could do. But, it was too beautiful to allow a car to run over it. A local bird expert told me that it may have gotten drunk off eating berries. Cedar waxwing will be a part of an educational "show and tell" soon. At least its great beauty will be prolonged and be shared. Notice the orange tuffs at the edge of its wings.

GULL a la Jonathan

 

The fields have become playgrounds for the gulls.

We're talking, sometimes, hundreds of them. 

When I walk the dog, they will fly low, over Kinu

and I, and it is just a magnificent scene. 

I never tire of watching them.