Saturday, March 14, 2009

Another Birthday - Pictures

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Today we went over to Frank's sister's home to celebrate Mrs. Goff's birthday. When people call me Mrs. Goff I look around for my mother-in-law :-D Her birthday is on the 17th and she will be 81 years young. Mrs. Goff is still going full steam. Today she played on the floor with her three great-grandchildren.

I'm glad that Frank felt like going. It meant I didn't have to cook. Frank's sister & her sister-in-law made kabobs and fried rice. I can't make fried rice like Nette does. She told me that later in the week that she is going to make a batch up just for Frank and me. I think now we will have an exchange going of her fried rice and our fudge :-D I can't call it my fudge any more... Frank does most of the work in making it.

Today it is about 60°, cloudy and damp. There is a light mist out and just cold enough for it to soak all the way to the bone. Rain is coming later.

We have lots of yellow and gray pollen about. Our car is covered in it. I need to hose it down or better yet.. run it through a car wash.

I have a few pictures for y'all. They are best viewed larger, so right click on a picture to open link in a new window or tab.

This isn't the greatest picture, but I like how it shows the bee's wings. You can see right through them... so delicate.





The bees that I saw were male. They all had white or yellow on the face. They don't sting, but they sure do buzz around a lot like they had a stinger. The females don't have a marking on their face and they do sting.

The bees are carpenter bees. The females bore into wood to make their nest. They like the azaleas. They go inside the blossoms, but like the sweet nectar around the base of the blossoms best.




We don't have much grass growing right now, but we do have plenty of weeds/wild flowers... depending on your point of view :-D

I think this is Creeping Woodsorrel. The blooms are such a bright yellow. The little dots you see is pollen.



I think this is Narrowleaf (Garden) Vetch. We have a good bit of it in the yard.



The Dogwood Trees are looking beautiful. I wish Frank felt like going for a ride in the countryside. This time of year dogwood and redbud trees dot wooded areas and it is so beautiful to see. Both trees are beautiful in yards, but I really like to see them in the woods.



When after the Winter alarmin',
The Spring steps in so charmin',
So fresh and arch
In the middle of March,
Wid her hand St. Patrick's arm on...
-- Alfred Percival Graves

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8 comments :

  1. What pretty photos today. I'm glad you two got to enjoy the birthday lunch and get out for a while. We have rain today and it's getting a little colder in north GA. Hope you enjoy the evening.

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  2. Zaroga,

    I always enjoy your photos! I had forgotten all that about the bees identification. We studied it years ago with our son. But in April, Joy and I are going on a bee field trip to a bee farm, so we'll do a little unit study. I can't wait for her to come over here and take a look and read your post. Your photo is fabulous!

    Happy birthday to your MIL!

    Have a great weekend! Enjoy that weather!
    Tammy

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  3. The bee photos are amazing. I didn't know you could see through their wings.
    You are way ahead of us down there. The only thing that's even starting to show signs of life are our lilac bushes. They have just started to get little buds. Spring can't come fast enough!

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  4. The photos of the bees and flowers are terrific. I had no idea you could tell a male from a female bee. Wait until I impress my son with this fact. He will be amazed.

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  5. Wonderful post! It's only 48 here and I haven't seen a lot of pollen yet but my sinuses sense it!
    I am posting a picture of a bird for tomorrow's post, please tell me what kind it is.

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  6. Beautiful photos, Zarogo! I hope that is a zoom lense- I wouldn't be one to check out a bee that closely:)

    You have a good amount of knowledge about nature. Thanks for sharing it with us!

    I'm glad you had a nice get away for a birthday:)

    Have a good week:)
    Hugs,
    Linda C

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  7. Thanks for stopping by..We have never received any of that rain yet...they say today!! I hope so as we have that yellow pine tree pollen all over the place!! God needs to clean us all off here...Sandy

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  8. Happy Birthday to the REAL Mrs. Goff, I hope you all have fun!

    Your photos are lovely! Thanks for the names of the sorrel (known as yellow shamrock 'round here:)

    Have a great week Zaroga!!

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Thank you for visiting my Nook. Your comments are much appreciated.

Make it a great day!

Zaroga