Rufous Hummingbird

Today was a warm wet winter day in Houston, TX and this morning I decided I would start working on weeding the backyard gardens. While I was weeding I heard a hummingbird and when I looked up there was a hummingbird at my feeder! The first hummingbird I have seen since I put it up earlier this month and the first time I have seen this specie. It was a female Rufous Hummingbird - Selasphorus rufus. It would sit and drink for a minute and then zoom off and then return in about 10 minutes; it did this a few times.

Woodpecker Nests

When visiting my parents in Florida I always take many walks around the yard and neighborhood. There is always an abundance of wildlife to be seen. Winter time is nice because there is a lot of migratory birds in addition to the year-round residents. Some of the year-round residents are various species of woodpeckers.

A few years ago I made a large nest box designed for Wood Ducks in hopes some sort of waterfowl (Black-bellied Whistling Duck) or owl (Barred Owl) might use it. Soon after it was put up I saw a Great-crested Flycatcher examining it but it didn't seem interested. Then a male Pileated Woodpecker found it. It apparently liked it because for the past few years it has used it every night to sleep in. Interestingly this year my father said that there were two nesting in it but on this recent trip back I only saw the female using it. ( I wonder if the female evicted the male? ...or perhaps the male died? - I hope not.)

Here is the male Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus . Picture taken Dec. 2009. The Box was put up Mar. 2008.

This is the female Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus . Picture taken Dec. 2010 - using the same next box.

The nest box is attached to this Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) across the pond. The box faces north west.

Another woodpecker nesting around the yard is a Red-Bellied Woodpecker. It is using an old bird house I bought many years ago. It too sleeps in this box every night and last spring made a nest inside. I find it a little strange because the box seems a little small for this specie of woodpecker but after putting 3 bird houses of this size up in a few day I saw the red-bellied woodpecker pecking at the entrance to make it larger (like it did to the original one).

Here is the Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus looking out of the bird house when I approached.

On a side note: all of these woodpeckers Im writing about on this post return to there homes before the sun drops below the tree line which means it is still sunny when they retire for the night.

Here are some Eastern Bluebirds - Sialia sialis checking out the Red-bellied Woodpeckers home.

Here is me standing next to one of the 3 bird houses we put up this time - there are a total of 8 around the house now (though one, a Kestrel house, was taken over by a swarm of bees!) This house Im standing next to was the one the Red-bellied Woodpecker was opening the entrance to but was chased away by some Eastern Bluebirds...

And here is the Kestrel box that was taken over by bees... Isn't this bazar? Especially how the honeycomb is sticking out of the entrance. ...I have never seen anything like it.

And so the last woodpecker that is nesting around the house is the Downy Woodpecker. It isn't using the bird houses though. It has made its own holes using the large bamboo stakes that are holding up fruit trees. This too looks like it is a small home but this downy woodpecker was tucked nicely inside until I walked by it and it flew out! I had no idea anything was inside (I thought my parents had made the holes but it was the woodpecker!) There are two bamboo stakes that I noticed had holes like this.

The Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens going back into his house for the night.

In addition to these three species of woodpecker down the street there is also a Red-headed Woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus ) pair that has been nesting in the same dead pine for at least the past 5 years. Every time I go back to Florida I see them at the tree.

Lunar Eclipse

Hello! Happy Winter!

This Christmas I went to visit my family in Florida. It was really nice despite the unusually cold weather! On the 21st, the winter solstice, we all woke up around 3am to watch the lunar eclipse. It was really neat watching the moon and identifying constellations - we every saw some nice shooting stars. Here are some of my pictures of

the eclipse.

Thanks for stopping by!

Icicle Christmas Lights

Hello! I hope you are having a nice day today.

Today I just wanted to share with you some of the coolest Christmas lights I have ever seen. These are icicle Christmas lights by Martha Stewart available at the Home Depot. We put them up on our house along with other lights from the Martha Stewart Living collection as well as artificial Christmas trees, ornaments, wreathes, and other decorations. I think this has been the most festive I have felt since moving to Texas.

These icicle lights are really impressive at night but equally impressive in the day time as they look like real ice! -and that is really nice when you live somewhere southern like Houston and some days are in the 70s and 80s which doesn't feel very wintery.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet carvings

Hello! I hope you are warm and cozy on this cold fall day!

I have very busy lately with all sorts of things but one of the more fun things that I have been doing is carving birds.

I have carved many birds before but this year I have really gotten into carving them more seriously. So far I have made 16 birds total. All birds were carved from ones that I saw in the wild. So far here is the list:

1. Ruby-throated Hummingbird -TX

2. Prothonotary Warbler - Costa Rica

3. Ruby-crowned Kinglet - TX

4. Carolina Chickadee - TX

5. Mourning Dove - TX

6. Ruby-throated Hummingbird - TX

7. Indigo Bunting - VA

8. Carolina Wren - TX

9. Tufted Titmouse - TX

10. Common Ground-Dove - TX

11. - 16. Ruby-crowned Kinglet - TX

The latest ones are the the six Ruby-Crowned Kinglets:

I hope to give these as Christmas gifts to some friends. Maybe I'll make some little red scarves out of ribbon to put around there necks to make them extra cute.

Carolina Wren

Hello! I hope you are having a nice fall. The weather here in Houston, TX has been really really nice. I cannot complain at all.

I have recently found out that there is a pair of Carolina Wrens that live in my backyard and the surrounding area. I have found them sleeping under my back porch and inside the rolled up plastic door of my greenhouse... and after disturbing them a few times I have bought 2 bird houses and placed them on opposite sides of my backyard. One is for Wrens and the other is made for larger songbirds like Chickadee or Bluebirds.

Here is a few pictures of the birds around the yard:

Can you spot it? It's sitting on the fence next to the dead banana leaf.

Here is one sitting on a power line.

...and another sitting on the fence again.

Happy Halloween!!!

I hope you have a safe and happy Halloween this year!

(pumpkin clock from Martha Stewart at Grandin Road.)

Pictures problems!

Dear Readers, I have a major problem with my pictures! All the pictures from Sept. 2010 and back are gone! I am trying to repost the pictures for many of the post but some I have deleted or lost. Sorry for the inconvenience! ...and check back on a post or email me if you are interested in it because it is going to take a while to fix!

Versace Men's F/W '10 rings

In this seasons men's Versace fall/winter 2010 fashion show there was an abundance of interesting jewelry. There were several very different ring styles which varied from 3-finger rings to bulky or sharp, perhaps designed to inflict pain if necessary. The US boutiques received 2 of the styles from the runway which you can see below.

Versace FW10 runway rings

this ring is on the Versace website in mens accessories

this ring has a very interesting design. It is pretty bulky but very comfortable.

Backstage for the FW10 runway show, you can see the various rings on this model.

backstage - this model is showing off his rings from the FW10 runway show

Living Rock blooms

Hello! What a beautiful fall day it is today. Acutally since the beginning of fall the weather has been perfect here in Houston, TX. I think the bright sun and cool dry air is not just pleasant to us humans but also the wildlife. Yesterday when I came outside to water my new native plant garden I noticed my Living Rock, Ariocarpus fissuratus, was blooming. Unfortunately I didn't have my cameras memory card with me. But today it bloomed again. Not as strongly as yesterday, but as you can see, it is still very pretty.

Autumnal Equinox 2010

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

Fall is finally here and Im ready for the cool weather!

Here is a picture of the beautiful Moon tonight:

...taken with the Pentax K-x

Houston Arboretum

Hello! How are you today? Today Tink, my Parents (visiting from FL), and I went to the Houston Arboretum for a short hike. It was such a nice day today. The temperature was warm, cloudy, and not too humid, which is really nice compared to the usual blazing heat this time of the year. I love the Houston Arboretum because you can really get the feel of what Houston, TX looked like before it was settled. I also always see something interesting and unexpected (today was a good one, see below!). There is an abundance of wildflowers which is great if you want some inspiration for a native plant garden. Lots of different species of birds live here too.

Beautyberry -Callicarpa americana

Buttonbush - Cephalanthus occidentalis

Missouri Ironweed - Vernonia missurica

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, there were a lot of them zooming around.

Sneezeweed - Helenium amarum

Gerardia - Agalinis heterophylla

A pond in the middle of the arboretum.

Prairie Blazingstars - Liatris pycnostachya, thriving!

Sharp-pod Morning Glory - Ipomoea trichocarpa

Scarlet Sage - Salvia coccinea

Leafy Elephant Foot - Elephantopus carolinianus

Blue Waterleaf - Hydrolea ovata

Rose-mallow, Hibiscus sp.

Bumble Bee visting Aligator Flag - Thalia dealbata

Surprise!! A Broad-banded Water Snake - Nerodia fasciata confluens. This was the first time I have seen a snake in Houston after more than four years of living here and we saw two! My Mom spotted both, she has a good eye! :D This one looks like its going to be shedding its skin soon as its eye is looking a little milky. Supposedly, a common snake in Houston. Its very pretty and non-venomous so please let them be if you see one.

Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar

Look what I found on my potted Lime tree this morning!

Its not a huge bird dropping!! Its a Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) caterpillar! I think it had just found its way from one of the neighboring Citrus trees because not a leaf had been nibbled on my tree and it is in its last molt before it becomes a chrysalis. That would be pretty amazing because the other Citrus trees are in my neighbors yards (closest one being about 30ft away. No worries though, Im going to allow this caterpillar to eat as much as it likes on my lime before it becomes a chrysalis (hopefully on the lime tree itself). :)

I moved!!!

Hello! I just finished moving back to the house I was previously living in. Moving was exhausting like always but it is for the better. Saving money, time, and having a garden again are some of the major benefits of moving back. I have started sowing seeds and getting my garden back together. I am also buying all new furniture - the Martha Stewart Living furniture that is sold by Home Decorators Collection. So please check back again because I will be updating really soon! :D

Versace Men's F/W '10 sunglasses

Hey everyone! I just got my new sunglasses from Versace. They are the same ones used in the Versace men's fall/winter 2010 fashion show. These are now my favorite pair of sunglasses I own. The model number is 4196.

Versace runway sunglasses Mod. 4196 - entire view

Versace runway sunglasses Mod. 4196 - front view

a model from the Versace fall/winter 2010 show

models backstage for the Versace f/w 2010 show

Hello!

Hey Readers! Sorry I have not posted anything for a few months! Things have been really hectic and busy all summer! I have been keeping very busy with work, traveling, swimming, and many other things. I have so much to blog about and will be sharing some of the things I've been doing very soon! I hope you all are having a fun and safe summer! :D

Birthday Berry Cake

Hello reader! I hope you are doing well today! Me? I have been sooo busy lately with work, my small baking business, and tons of spring cleaning! Earlier this month I got my first order for a birthday cake. I think it turned out better than I imagined it would. It was really helpful that I had all the supplies on hand which I think led to the ease and success of this cake! Mmmm... I getting hungry just thinking about it. :P

The cake was white cake with swiss meringue buttercream frosting, strawberries, blueberries, black berries, raspberries, and a few silver nonpareils.