In My Own Backyard
When I wake up in the morning I sometimes have the luxury of waiting to see what impulse will override my urge to drag myself out of bed and, instead, cause me to throw the covers off and jump out of it. On this day it was a red bird in the tulip poplar outside my window. By the time I was up and exploring outside, it was gone. Later, while having breakfast on the porch, it landed on a nearby dogwood tree and stunned me with its beauty. It didn’t stay long before heading high up into the canopy to feast on maple tree seed pods, but I still managed to get this zoomed and cropped shot of my first ever sighting of a Scarlet Tanager.
Another recent exotic was sighted by our three-year-old grandson Liam when he was on an “adventure walk” with his Opa and said, “Look at that flower.” The Lady Slipper is in the wild orchid family. I once transplanted some pink ones, like the one pictured, on our property many years ago, hoping to have a supply for harvesting and tincturing as an anti-depressive nervine. They came back the next year but then never again. Now, thanks to Liam, I know where there is an abundant patch growing in the woods next to our house. It calms me just to be in the presence of them. 
Later, we spotted two wild boys, frozen like enchanted statues in the yard.
We kissed them back to life and put them to work in the garden and everyone lived happily ever after. HERE is the action clip.
May 12th, 2014 9:46 am
Love the frozen statues!
May 12th, 2014 11:18 am
I know the thrill of spotting unexpected birds in the yard. Last year’s spring migration left me with a lot of firsts including your scarlet friend.
http://coffeemuses.com/10419/spring-colors/
May 12th, 2014 12:24 pm
Life does not get much better. This captures what so many people want, but never get around to finding a way to be close to nature and live to some degree serendipitously. Unfortunately, it is closer than they realize and might be already in their backyard.
Thank you, I enjoyed this.
May 12th, 2014 12:27 pm
Beautiful post. My mother loved lady slippers.
May 12th, 2014 4:32 pm
That bird is so Beautiful! Loved seeing him captured with your camera—and the Lady Slipper, too!
I love watching your Grandsons working in the garden….! They looked cute as statues, too!
May 12th, 2014 4:33 pm
Great eye there, Liam! We have yellow and white lady-slippers in our area, but I’ve never seen pink ones. Sadly, they are an endangered flower.
May 12th, 2014 6:51 pm
So much diversity in plant and animal and human life.
May 13th, 2014 3:15 am
How glorious!
May 13th, 2014 4:35 am
A new sighting is always a great experience, isn’t it.
Lady’s Slipper are so rare in the UK they are on the protected list so it’s illegal to pick them. I’ve never even managed to find one.
May 13th, 2014 7:10 am
beautiful pictures and love the story of the frozen statues 😉
May 14th, 2014 10:35 pm
[…] 7. When I wake up in the morning I sometimes have the luxury of waiting to see what impulse will override my urge to drag myself out of bed and, instead, cause me to throw the covers off and jump out of it. Recently it was THIS. […]