PhotoHunt: View

The PhotoHunt theme this week is "View".

I work in a tall, glass-fronted building in downtown Miami, and several times a year, generally during what is obviously migration seasons, we unfortunately get a few "bird strikes". Occasionally, they're fatal, but most of the time, at least to my personal knowledge, with a few minutes of quiet time, the little guys just shake it off and continue on their way.

One of my co-workers usually has the "luck" of being around when it happens - we don't know why her - and when it does, she picks it up and brings it to me - "The Birdlady" - for identification and to make sure it will be okay. Occasionally, I'll take it home with me for release in my yard if I think that's appropriate, but mostly, like this time, once the bird becomes alert and shows no sign of injury (aside from general confusion as to what the hell happened!), I'll take it outside to the south side of the building (where there's less glass), and release it - hopefully a few hundred feet closer to its original goal! :-)

This is a Blackburnian Warbler -- and whether it's the View of the sky and trees reflected in the glass of my office building, or its View of my desk, (I know, it's a stretch!), it had a rather surreal View that morning!

Sorry for the quality - I took these with my iPhone, rather too close, I'm afraid... but I didn't want to miss any details...

PhotoHunt: Road

The PhotoHunt theme this week is "Road".

Last week's PhotoHunt ("Wild") was so much fun, I couldn't help but wonder what I would post for "Road" (I confess to peeking ahead in the list!). I wracked my brain and couldn't come up with a thing. Then...


Sunday morning, as I went outside to bring in the newspaper, there was a flock of ibis just walking down the Road past my house! Don't forget to click on the photo!

Have a great weekend!

PhotoHunt: Wild

The PhotoHunt theme this week is "Wild".

That's an American Kestrel perched on a utility pole a couple of yards down from mine, being approached by, believe it or not, a White-Winged Dove!

It looks like an attack, but I'm pretty sure it was just a mistake. The dove did pull up just inches from what might have been, shall we say, an inopportune landing. You know, the kestrel being a hawk and the dove being, well, a dove, and all. Even if they are roughly the same size, I don't think it could have ended well for the dove. Even so, I'm not even sure that the kestrel even noticed!

Click on the photo to get a better look. Wild, huh?

**P.S. -- Keep a good thought for those poor folks on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast -- they're having their own "wild" time with Hurricane Ike (that narrowly missed us) and can use all the good vibes we can send them now, and all the help we can spare, later!

A Rose By Any Other Name...

I have no idea what this is. Wildflower, no doubt. Weed? Well it is growing in the wrong place. Do I care? Not much.

This conversation was inspired by Michelle over at Rambling Woods, this morning.

Weed? Wildflower? Personal preference, I say.

PhotoHunt: Strings

The PhotoHunt theme this week is "Strings".


This is the web of the spiny-backed orb-weaver spider. I've posted photos of the spider before (pretty cool in the close-up), but because of this week's theme, I concentrated on the web. Pretty "stringy", no? As always, I encourage you to click on the photos.

And now, for something completely different:

This is the unlovely end of those beautiful vanda orchids. Click on it and look closely and you'll see strings on strings!

Happy Weekend!

Butterfly Weed

Butterfly Weed, Asclepias. Food for the Monarch Butterfly - leaves, flowers and all. I just think it's cool that one plant produces three different color combination blooms on the same stalk.

Red Hibiscus

That's it. Just a red hibiscus growing in my front yard. I hope the peach-colored one blooms soon...
Reminds me of the little preserved hibiscus buds MJ used as garnish for the cosmos last night. I wonder how you do that. I'd take much better care of this shrub since I saw the price sticker on the bottle! :-)

Don't forget to click on it!