These are only a few of the turtles that we saw when we recently drove around Oneal Lake in the Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge.
“Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.” ~Laura Ingalls Wilder
Enjoying the sunshine
nature
Great Crested Flycatcher
A Great Crested Flycatcher sitting on a branch in the top of a bush.
“A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life.” ~William Arthur Ward
Eastern Chipmunk
Scavenging beside the road, this chipmunk was pretty single-minded in his quest to find a snack. He stopped periodically to size me up, and then got back to his task.
“Each morning sees some task begun, each evening sees it close; Something attempted, something done, has earned a night’s repose.” ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Silvery Checkerspot
“If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” ~Unknown
Sweet sparrow family
I’ve enjoyed watching this little family of house sparrows fluttering around the backyard this week. Right now, the baby birds are sticking pretty close to the mother even though they are big enough to pick up the sunflower seeds themselves. You can tell the babies from the mother by the yellow lines around their mouth.
“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.” ~Emily Dickinson
A splash of color
A beautiful field of red corn poppy and blue cornflowers sown along the roadside near Reelfoot Lake.
“Lord, make me now
As happy as the field.
With flowers enriched … “
~Eileen A. Soper
Butterweed
“A kind word is like a Spring day.” ~Russian Proverb
Face to face
While out for a walk on our country road, I suddenly came face to face with a startled rabbit. He was frozen in his tracks and was sitting like a statue with one eye intently gazing at me. Clearly, he had not expected this encounter. After sizing each other up, I proceeded forward, and the rabbit took off like a shot.
“Courage is facing your fears. Stupidity is fearing nothing.” ~Todd Bellemare
Summer Tanager
I saw this bird sitting in one of our bushes yesterday. It flew in, took a quick look around and flew away. It is a new one to me, but I believe it is a female Summer Tanager.
When April steps aside for May,
Like diamonds all the raindrops glisten,
Fresh violets open every day,
To some new bird each hour we listen.
-Lucy Larcom
Mother’s Day Rose
One of my favorite memories of Mother’s Day is of my Mom going out to our rose bush on Sunday morning to select a special red rosebud for each of her kids to wear to church. A red rose is worn on Mother’s Day by those whose mother is still alive and a white rose is worn by those whose mother has passed away. I didn’t realize at the time the significance of the color red, but now as a Mom and a Grandma, I look back with a thankful heart to have had her guiding hand and influence in my life all the years that I was growing up — to have had her wisdom and counsel during the years that I was raising my own kids — and now to have her friendship and listening ear as our kids have obtained their own independence. Thank you, God, for Moms.
“I am, for the most part, who I am because my good mother was who she was.” ~Richelle E. Goodrich
walking on a country road 