Saturday

The male bringing a snack for the female.

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Bushy Beard Lichen growing on a tree in my yard. A member of the genus Usnea, a greenish fruticose (bushy, branched) lichen with a tangled mass of threads and disk-shaped holdfasts. The word "fruticose" is a technical term meaning "shrubby," and many fruticose lichens, such as the one below, do indeed look like miniature shrubs an inch or so high. Notice the cuplike items at the end of many of the lichen's branches. These are the reproductive cups, which are fungal in nature. Lichens occurs in both the Arctic and the tropics, where they are eaten by wild animals or collected as fodder.

Brown Thrasher is the state bird of Georgia. This one was busy building a nest all day with its mate in the bush behind it. Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

"Short Tail"

Red-bellied Woodpecker

This Red-bellied Woodpecker was recently waiting a turn at the bird feeder.

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A Dogwood blooming in my yard on a recent sunny day.

Bluebird Update

Any time I go out into my back yard now a little head pops up and peers out of the bluebird house. The Mama Bluebird is so cute the way she stretches her head up and looks out with just her beak and one eye to check things out while trying to stay on her eggs.

The Daddy Bluebird is usually in a tree nearby watching. Occasionally Mama Bluebird will take a break from egg sitting and join him on the branches.

"Short Tail"

"Short Tail" the mama squirrel is usually always standing guard close to her nest.

Click on photos for a larger view. I got this picture from underneath her and was surprised at her little bare pink foot. It looks almost like a hand. You can also see a red bare spot on the end of what is left of her tail.

A few more Wildflowers

Here are a few more pictues of the wildflowers near the train tracks.

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