For this challenge Donna asks the question “What’s Bugging You?” Insects rarely want to cooperate when I am trying to take their photo. I spent some time in my garden following bees around this week but none of of them wanted their picture taken. Here are a few favorite bug images from my archives.
Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar
Unknown moth caterpillar in Dominica
Swallowtails on Thistle in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia
I can’t let April go by without mentioning that April is the Month of the Military Child. Military children are also sometimes called Brats. I am proud to be a United States Air Force Brat.
Trip to the Country
After what seems like a long, cold winter we took a short road trip to the country in early April. We couldn’t go by the Georgia Football Barn Sign on Georgia Highway 15 in Tennile with stopping to snap a few photos. The trees were just beginning to display their green leaves. We spotted a few deer and wild turkeys but I wasn’t able to capture a photo.
Flowers
I was happy to see that these plants survived the freeze we had around Christmas.
Backyard Birds
Painted Buntings and other birds started appearing at my backyard bird feeder and in the surrounding salt marsh. The hummingbirds are also here but so far I haven’t been able to get a photo of them.
Books
Our Book Club book for April was “The Blessing of the Celtic Curse”, the first in the Saints of Savannah series. The author, Leigh Ebberwein was our guest at our April meeting. We all loved the book and enjoyed hearing her stories about writing the book.
I also enjoyed reading “Remarkable Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt, “My Sisters Grave” by Robert Dugoni and “Still Life” by Louise Penney.
For this challenge our host Tina asks us to highlight environments we have experienced.
My husband and I have always enjoyed traveling. When our children were young and we were both still working we only had a limited amount of time and money for vacations. Our favorite vacation environments were campgrounds. We started out tent camping and later moved up to a pop up camper.
For many years we spent time in the Florida Keys at least once a year where the tropical environment revolves around the water.
Lower Florida KeysKey West SunsetSand Key Lighthouse, FLFish in the Florida Keys
After our kids were grown and we retired, we bought a fifth wheel trailer to travel around the United States and Canada. We enjoyed sleeping in our own bed at night and not having to pack and unpack as we traveled in our home on wheels. Our camping environments changed from place to place but our favorite places to camp were where we were surrounded by nature.
Sunrise in Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park, FloridaView from Deep Creek Beach State Park, Ninilchik, AlaskaSunset from Midway Campground in Big Cypress National PreserveTeklanika Campground, Denali National Park, AlaskaView from our campsite in Watchman Campground, Zion National Park, UtahView from our campsite in Wawona Campground, Yosemite National Park, CAView from Oceanside RV Park, Haines, Alaska
We made our last RV trip in 2019 and started enjoying different environments when we travel. During our 2019 trip to Ireland and Scotland our environments included cities, small towns, countrysides, and ancient castles.
When we stopped taking the RV on trips our travel environments changed from campgrounds to motels by the interstate, a historical hotel, a quaint inn, a condo near Orlando, and our first stay in an Airbnb.
We discovered a new to us travel environment last year when we took a cruise to the Caribbean and another to Alaska. It was wonderful to unpack once, have the room cleaned twice a day, enjoying delicious meals that I didn’t have to cook, and a different environment in every port.
For this challenge our guest host Siobhan asks us “What glowing moments have been special in your life?”
Watching the sunset is always special. My first image is of a glowing sunset over the Caribbean Sea.
Nature provides a special glow in the garden when a bee stops for a drink on yellow flowers.
Bee on Rue
While camped at a campground with a view of the Devil’s Tower I was treated to this magnificent view of the monument when I walked outside at sunrise.
Devil’s Tower National Monument at sunrise, Wyoming
Sitting beside a glowing campfire is a relaxing way to end the day.
Glowing Campfire
One of my favorite things to do in Ireland was listening to music in the pubs. These Irish musicians performing in a Dublin Pub had me tapping my feet and clapping my hands.
Glowing Pub lights in Dublin, Ireland
One of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen was this one we saw from our campsite on the beach in Ninilchik, Alaska at 11:00 pm.
To me, spring doesn’t begin on a specific date on the calendar. For me, it is spring in Coastal Georgia when the azaleas and Dogwoods are blooming, when there is new growth in the garden, and when the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations begin in Savannah and Tybee Island.
Spring AzaleasSpring Dogwood BloomsForsyth Park Fountain turned green for St. Patrick’s Day, Savannah
To me, spring also means working in the garden beds and watching birds at the bird feeder.
Male Painted Bunting at the Feeder
Sometimes we like to travel in the spring. The next images show some of my favorite spring blooms from our travels.
Eastern Redbud, North CarolinaTexas Bluebonnets and Indian PaintbrushPink Dogwood blossoms, GeorgiaSpring Wildflower, VirginiaSpring wildflower in middle GeorgiaCactus flowers, Arizona
Wandering Dawgs 