Cattails, Cranes and Candy!

I have remarked many times to J.G. on this trip, "more Cattails".  They are profuse along much of the highways in upper Michigan and today I also saw them in Wisconsin.  I do not believe I have ever seen so many at  once.  I love the natural beauty of Cattails, I dry them and use in my flower arrangements at home.  I also noticed the Queen Ann's Lace is abundant. I see it along almost every road.  The wildflowers are just plain beautiful this year  in every state!

We have found fun, excitement, much natural beauty and hard times for residents of this beautiful state.  Over 100 inches of snow a year in this upper peninsula, I said over 100.... Amazing! The snow sports should do well.  We noted many abandoned properties, businesses and many properties for sale. House after house for sale, much of it waterfront.  Sad!

We loved Mackinaw City and Mackinac Bridge.  The Island with its Grand Hotel and Old Fort as well as well-groomed homes and storefronts was beautiful. The gorgeous Draft and Percheron Horses used on the Island take us back to a simpler time.  Everything is done by horses. You will see wagons and carriages being pulled on every street.  There really isn't any motor traffic.  There are scores of people on bicycles.  You can rent them when you arrive.

Fudge Candy is advertised much!!!  We decided to partake, of course, we were an easy target. I must say as we watched it being folded and mixed on a huge marble table,  I was not prepared or could I imagine how smooth and creamy it would be. Wow! Delicious!  The favorite for us was Chocolate Walnut. I bought two huge pieces.........Yum Yum!

Our next day was spent at the Painted Rocks National Lakeshore.  We enjoyed the colored cliffs and monuments formed by the erosion of nature.  The bedrock is constantly eroding and because of how soft some of it is the erosion causes fractures.  The colors of the ancient deposits are really something to see. This is along the south shore of Lake Superior. We saw Grand Island and the East Channel Lighthouse.

One more fun surprise awaited us on our trip back to Newberry.  Two Sandhill Cranes were walking along the roadway.  J.G. turned our jeep around and drove back to where we had seen the Cranes.  Photos were taken and we will share at the end of this post.  These are such large and majestic birds.  I love the red on their heads.  Blessings!

Ohio Birds,Backroads and Bakeries!

We are traveling once again. Ohio being one of the places we enjoy spending some leisure days.  The Millersburg and Berlin area  are so quaint and beautiful.  Our pace is slowed as we enjoy this  rolling farm landscape. The lush gardens of flowers,vegetables and fruit are abundant.  They beckon us to enjoy and taste the fruits of the Amish labor .  We love the bakeries and always "gain a few" when we partake of the fry pies and fresh baked bread.

Birds are abundant in this area also.  The crops and water attract many species.  We drove by a large tree with many birds in it yesterday.  I realized in a few moments that they were Northern Flicker with young.  We actually saw adults feeding their young. Fun to see!!! In Ohio we have seen the Eastern Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, Eastern Bluebird, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Phoebe, Killdeer, American Goldfinch, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Green Heron, Great Blue Heron, many Canadian Geese and Ducks, multitudes of invasive House Sparrows and many Hawks we have not identified.

Leaving Ohio's Farmland, as when leaving other areas of this amazing country saddens us and at the same time we look forward to our next adventure. I hope you enjoy my photos of the Holmes County area.  Blessings!

Golden-cheeked Warbler and Others, Pedernales State Park

Golden-cheeked Warbler

Male Painted Bunting

Lesser Goldfinch

Male Ladder-backed Woodpecker

 

 

 

 

 

 

Female Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Bewick's Wren

Lark Sparrow

J.G. and I spent a couple of days in the "Hill Country" of Texas.  We visited a few antique shops in nearby towns.  We love to browse the shops and look for a "treasure" or two to place with others in our home. We almost always find something old and vintage that we feel we must buy! It is a fun hobby. 
We spent both early mornings at Pedernales State Park .  We were blessed to see the Golden-cheeked Warbler both mornings.  We were on the trail to the falls both times we heard and saw this warbler. The first morning I heard a Golden-cheeked singing high in a tree top.  J.G and I saw two on the trail the next morning, flying through the trees. We did not get any good photos.  I included one just so you could see it was a Golden-cheeked.  A few years ago, two G. cheeked Warblers flew right into our campsite area while we were enjoying morning coffee. This Warbler has been on the endangered list for years. The Park has the combination of mature Ashe Juniper and hardwood trees for this birds nesting habitat. It is awesome that the Golden-cheeked Warbler is successfully breeding.
A Gray Fox appeared in the bird blind chasing a rat while we were there.  Everyone in the blind enjoyed seeing this animal. The bird blinds are so wonderful at this park. I have written in other posts about visiting this park and enjoying seeing the birds from such a close vantage point.   We saw Painted Buntings, Lark Sparrows, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Lesser Goldfinch, Bewick's Wren, Black-chinned Hummingbirds and many White-winged Dove. We love our time spent in this beautiful part of Texas and look forward to visiting again soon! Blessings!