Picture-A-Week 2017 - Week 15

Pictures taken between Monday, April 10 and Sunday, April 16.

We haven't had tulips for about 25 years -- chipmunks and squirrels kept stealing the bulbs. I have no idea where these 2 came from. Just hope this evenings storms don't ruin them.

Still trying with the Nikon 200-500mm

Nice quiet seagull

NOT

Dickie

I like the "not" !

Bombay Hook NWR

Female American Avocet, breeding colors

You lookin' at me?

Osprey with fish breakfast

Ken

So many of you live in places with wonderful photo opportunities.

Well the tulips opened today. Storms missed us. But I did have to worry about a squirrel who sat up and eyed the tulips -- I thought he was going to eat them. Wish I could have gotten a picture of him eyeing those tulips.

Bluebell time in England at the moment. Snapped this on a woodland walk this morning

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Bluebell time in England at the moment. Snapped this on a woodland walk this morning

 

 

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Very nice , it looks so peaceful .

Quite unlike a noisy neighbor we had today . A Pileated woodpecker !

Followed by another

A matched pair !

Wow, stunning!

Only common or garden sparrows in my garden today, but had a friend join me birdwatching a few weeks ago...

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Summertime...

HAPPY EASTER

Ranunculus

f3QV4bwHZSM

A good ol' Ctrl+F search of an online copy of the Bible failed to come up with any reference to a magical bunny that lays colored eggs, so I turned to other sources. Turns out the Easter Bunny was brought to us in the 1700s by German immigrants as the "Osterhase" whose origins stretch far back into Pagan mythology surrounding the goddess Eostre. The original modest tradition of children building decorative nests out of straw so the enchanted hare could lay its colored eggs has evolved into a marketing extravaganza that surprisingly sells more clothes than candy. Whatever the origin, it led to Lindor making little chocolate eggs and that's a good thing.

Eggs of the Osterhase

Dave

Cool avocet photo - wish I'd see those in my area. Also cool to see two pileated woodpeckers in your yard. Nice easter bunny too!

Here's some selection of diverse wildlife from the local wetlands this weekend:

Female eastern screech owl in her nest hole, poking her head out to make sure it's all safe:

Somewhat on topic for Easter weekend - this is a brown basilisk lizard...which is also known as the 'Jesus Christ Lizard' because he can indeed walk, or run, on water:

And here's another bunny for Easter...this one is a marsh rabbit:

And here's the Easter Gator, bringing joy to all the boys and girls!:

And finally, a beautiful great blue heron all stretched out in flight:

Our city has a marshmallow drop every year around Easter. It is a very popular even held at the baseball fields in the city sports complex. The kids are divided into age groups and wait along first base line for a helicopter to complete the drop and then are turned loose to gather up the marshmallows. 85,000 marshmallows were dropped this year.

The drop:

The drop zone:

And their off:

One happy marshmallow hunter:

Horsham Piazza Italia over the Easter Week-end

I think Red is the colour for the rich......

or some ones TOY

Well not only Red....

Ok a couple more Reds

Dickie

A really prolific week!

Nice stuff, folks!

Dave

So many great pictures -- love them all.

Those tulips I posted were destroyed yesterday when we had winds over 60 mph and hail the size of half dollars. The flowers on the one bush that I have posted here in previous years were completely stripped off the bush.

Still some spring blooms in the neighborhood.

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Beautiful flowers -- love the color of the tulip.