Bird Watching in the Cypress Forest

Posted on January 15th, 2009 by Monique, under Animals, Daily Life, Louisiana, Nature, Outdoors.

We started the year off with a barb-q at our cousin’s beautiful new home just across the highway. They just bought a brand new home in a lovely gated neighborhood carved out of the cypress woods. Right behind their house, out their back gate, is beautiful cypress trees and trails. It was a wonderful day.

The kids played in the hot tub, and the men started a fire to get rid of some wood scrap that had been accumulating. You can hear the 4-wheelers buzzing by every now and then from the back yard. They even said sometimes in the middle of the night you hear them, lol! It had just rained, and sure enough they were back there muddin’ around.

Other than the occasional biker, the birds were out and I caught a picture of a bright red male cardinal flirting with some girl cardinals, who are not nearly as pretty. The bright red colors of these birds is so beautiful and eye catching, it almost makes me sad for them because they are quite the target. Hunting red birds is illegal, and they sure do move quick which is good for them.

I managed to zoom my camera and snap this semi-blurry image of this gorgeous flaming scarlet red bird. I have only seen them from a distance, but I definitely need to put more bird watching on my to do list this year. I have heard that if you put out a bird feeder, it turns into an all out brawl between the birds, and then there are the squirrels (yet another story)…

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Hurricane Gustav Evacuation

Posted on September 6th, 2008 by Monique, under Animals, Daily Life, Nature, New Orleans, Outdoors, Photography, Plants, Travel.

As I make this blog entry, I am still decompressing from the last week+ that I have been through dealing with my first hurricane, Gustav.

Having moved here in 2006 post Katrina-land, I really didn’t think I would ever have to go through anything like that. And I have not, because Katrina was a real bitch. Luckily, my experience was very watered down (no pun intended) compared to what they went through for Katrina. On the flip side, we didn’t get nice fema payments and red cross money like they did in 2005, but I wouldn’t want to go through anything like that so no big deal. Those things are for those in need.

I am rather pleased with my experience, it could have been ten times worse, and I hope that the next couple months while we prepare to move aren’t plagued with anymore “5 day cones.”

So as I attempted to make some lemonade with the sour fruit I was given, I decided to take some pictures and capture some images to bring my experiences to the internet, even as the dry nature of text and images lack to convey what it is really like. It’s the best I can do.

Here is where my camera started, snapping a picture of little 9 lb Penny the miniature pinscher as she prepared for an adventure. It was easily 100 degrees F, we had lots of water, and Penny was excited and well behaved as always. Tongue hanging out, ready for some fun, safe with her human friends.

On the highway we would see dozens of other dogs, all kinds of animal pets, even a ferret. I tried to take pics of them all, and in the craziness I got off a couple of shots. (more…)

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Night Owl on the Flagpole

Posted on July 2nd, 2008 by Monique, under Animals, Gardening, New Orleans, Outdoors, Photography.

So the other night we are coming home from New Orleans, and upon pulling in the driveway this animal thing caught my eye from above. It was an owl on the flagpole. He must have been hunting. Maybe he will get some of those digging rodents in the garden…

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My female Miniature Pinscher Penny

Posted on May 13th, 2008 by Monique, under Animals, Daily Life, Friends, Nature, New Orleans, Outdoors, Videos, Weblog.

This is a quick video (no audio) that I took with the movie setting of my olympus digital camera.

Penny is my 2 year old miniature pinscher who loves to chase, bark, and play in the backyard. There is a glimpse of our male mini pin Max eating some greens on the side of the fish pond in the background. He grazes like a cow and watches the fish like the old dog he is.

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Morning Sunrise in South Louisiana

Posted on May 13th, 2008 by Monique, under Animals, Daily Life, Nature, New Orleans, Outdoors, Photography, Weblog.

This morning I found myself in my backyard being showered by sparkly sunbeams swirling in the sky. The sky in south Louisiana is beautiful. It was cool and the sunshine was plentiful.

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Baby Green Carolina Anole Lizard Pics

Posted on May 9th, 2008 by Monique, under Animals, Daily Life, Friends, Gardening, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Weblog.

So I was in my backyard, and this cute little lizard was just hanging out in a little aloe vera plant. I got some really cool pics of this tiny little lizard who was nice enough to pose for me a few times.

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Vaseline Glass Hen

Posted on May 3rd, 2008 by Monique, under Animals, Art, Collectibles, Housewares, Nature, Weblog.

I saw this little vaseline glass hen online and had to have her. Vaseline glass, aka Uranium glass, is a really cool yellow color that is made from expired uranim added to the glass. Yes I know, it sounds scary, but it is perfectly safe and for decorative purposes only.

the description from where I purchased it:

This is a wonderful example of a salt cellar made from Glass - the color is Vaseline. Vaseline has trace amounts of Uranium Oxide in the glass which causes it to glow in the dark when near a black light source (also known as Atomic Age Glass). Salt Cellars are used at a table in lieu of a salt shaker. A small spoon, usually glass or sterling (not included) is used to add salt to the food. The top of this salt cellar has a little chicken or hen - absolutely stunning.

it glows green underneath blacklight too!

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Vegetarian Cupcakes

Posted on May 3rd, 2008 by Monique, under Animals, Cooking, Dessert, Food, Photography, Weblog.

My husband and I are both vegetarians, and we watch for unhealthy ingredients in premade foods such as Betty Crocker cake mix. Therefore, we make our own cupcakes and they are 100% animal friendly. As animal friendly as we can get them, anyhow. I use organic powdered sugar and soy milk to make the icing, and don’t forget the sprinkles!

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First post testing template

Posted on May 3rd, 2008 by Monique, under Animals, Art, Collectibles, Cooking, Design, Dessert, Fabric, Flowers, Food, Gardening, Housewares, Interior Design, Jewelry, Nature, New Orleans, Outdoors, Painting, Photography, Textiles, Toys, Travel, Vegetarian, Vintage, Weblog.

This is the “hello world” first post, edited. I want to test the block quote settings, etc. Here it goes…

Testing the block quote function. Testing the block quote function. Testing the block quote function. Testing the block quote function. Testing the block quote function. Testing the block quote function. Testing the block quote function. Testing the block quote function.

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