A blog about finding balance in your life, connecting with who you are, and creating a lifestyle where you wake up each morning eagerly anticipating the day ahead.
Yesterday afternoon I was taking some photographs of my alpine columbines (they’re in full bloom right now and absolutely gorgeous) and my new yellow columbines that are blooming for the first time this year… when suddenly I had the feeling that something was watching me.
Wolf spiders have very good eyesight which helps them in hunting their prey, and eight eyes arranged in three rows… there are two medium-sized eyes in the top row, two very large eyes in the middle row, and four small eyes in the bottom row.
We have noticed frog’s eggs in both of our ponds that look very different from the ones we’re used to seeing. All the eggs are in the same stage of development, but some are at least twice as large.
One of my very favorite birds is the mourning dove, Zenaida macroura. I counted forty-six of them a few minutes ago as they flew back and forth to our platform feeder, perched in the trees, and picked up pieces of corn and sunflower seeds off the ground.
I have decided not to buy any of the mixed bird seed this year after reading about the lawsuit against the Scotts Miracle-Gro company and the toxic pesticides they knowingly put in their wild bird seed a few years ago.
One of my favorite birds to watch is the white-breasted nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis. These small, delicate looking songbirds have a very large head, a long bill that turns up slightly at the end, and a short tail.
Almost as soon as the ice and snow melted off our small pond this spring, we noticed that the pond’s usual crystal clear water was now always slightly muddy.
Yesterday morning I was driving our small tractor over the bridge that crosses the brook in our meadow.
I always thought the loud bumblebee buzz was the sound of the bee’s wings beating.
A week ago, I noticed what looked like a small white egg lying at the base of one of our garden stone walls. A closer look showed that the egg was actually an almost perfectly round white mushroom. I have never seen anything grow so fast…
The photos are my own. Some illustrate the post... others show our surroundings and the things we love about our version of simple living and voluntary simplicity. I welcome links to my blog or to any of my articles, but please do not copy my photos or content. —Shirley
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