My Hummingbird Friend

I have a female hummingbird that has been visiting my feeder all summer. She's the only one I've seen. I haven't seen a male around anywhere. She hangs out in one of my rose bushes and then flies over to the feeder. I spooked her a little with my big camera set up inside my back door but I got some great pictures of her in the rose bush. She only spent a few seconds at the feeder while I was at the door with my camera. Once I moved my camera and closed the door, she came back frequently. She must have been around a lot today because the nectar in my feeder is about half of what it was this morning. I love my little hummingbird friend!

Rainbow after the storm

We just had a really nasty thunderstorm that produced lots of rain. It also produced a beautiful rainbow. After the rainbow came the beautiful sunset. Here are a couple photos I took:

Words of Encouragement

It's been a long time since I posted anything so I thought I'd share a little inspiration with you. I hope the photo and the words bring you encouragement for the day.

Rocky Gap Redbuds

I love going to Rocky Gap State Park any time I year, but I especially love it in the spring when the redbuds are in bloom.   Here are some photos I took yesterday.

North Carolina in the Spring

I just got home from a trip to North Carolina and I wanted to share some of my photos.  The timing was great to see the azaleas (and a lot of other things) in bloom.  It was beautiful!

This is the Sarah P. Duke Gardens on the campus of Duke University in Durham, NC:

This is Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, NC:

My cousin and I also took a day trip to Charleston, SC. These cool critters were at the Magnolia Plantation, either along the river or in the Audubon Swamp:

This guy was hanging out at the Peacock Cafe (no joke!) on the plantation:

Orchids

Since much of the country had a long, cold, snowy winter (and some areas are still getting snow), I thought I'd post a pretty picture of some orchids I photographed last March. This was part of a special orchid exhibit at the Louis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, VA. I have a few crocuses that have opened up but my area is still a long way off from springtime flowers. It helps to look at beautiful flowers, like these orchids.

Rocky Gap State Park

It was such a beautiful sunny day today so I took a trip out to Rocky Gap State Park.  Here are a few of my photos from that trip:

Most of the country has had a colder than normal winter.  The photo below illustrates that fact perfectly.  I took this photo exactly one year ago today and it was taken near the same spot as the last photo above.  Looks a little colder, doesn't it?!