Sitting by the road

This little rabbit looked content sitting in a shaded white clover patch beside the road.

“To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.”  ~Jane Austen

Field of sunflowers

One of the fields near our house is growing a crop of sunflowers this year.  Immature sunflower buds turn their heads during the day to track the motion of the sun (heliotropism).  Generally, by the time they mature and their heads become heavier, they face the east in order to catch heat from the early morning light.  The majority of the sunflowers in this field are facing east, but there are still a few that appear to be “looking around”.

“Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it.  And that’s such an admirable thing.  And such a lesson in life.”  ~Helen Mirren

Queen Anne’s Lace

Presently, our country road is lined in places with rows of Queen Anne’s Lace.  The beautiful white wildflowers give the roadside a magical appearance.

… Her lawn looks like a meadow,
And if she mows the place
She leaves the clover standing
And the Queen Anne’s Lace!
~Edna St. Vincent Millay

Around the corner

As we rounded a curve in the road, there sat two rabbits — an older one and a younger one.  The older rabbit quickly hopped away, but the younger rabbit lingered there a little longer and continued to enjoy the delicious grass.

“Life is so extraordinary.  Wonderful surprises are just around the most unexpected corners.”  ~Rosamunde Pilcher

Storm clouds

We have had round after round of storm clouds passing through this spring.  They make for some interesting colors and patterns in the afternoon sky.

“Nature is a mutable cloud which is always and never the same.”  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Heading North

On a morning walk, my attention was drawn to the bugling sound that I’ve come to associate with the Sandhill Crane.  Looking up, I saw strings  of them coming across the sky above the farm fields, headed northward.  Spring migration has begun.

“… the grand tour is just the inspired man’s way of heading home.”  ~Paul Theroux

Out on a limb

The American Black Vulture is a little more dapper than his fellow scavenger, the Turkey Vulture, sporting glossy black feathers and a gray neck and head.  The Black Vulture is also said to be more social and prone to maintaining family ties.  We spotted these as they were taking in the view from the top of a tree at the Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge.

“When you are out on a limb, the whole world is at your feet.”  ~Unknown