Fall colors beginning!

Last week end was so beautiful!  I just couldn't stay inside...So off I went in search of Autumn colors.  I know it is a bit early but the change had to be happening.....I first went to Deer Creek (a favorite and close place).  It was so peaceful and beautiful!

I found this field of Goldenrod and other wildflowers.  The colors so beautiful, but the pictures just don't show.  I was at first fascinated with the flowers that had dried and were releasing their seeds to float away to come up next spring in an other area...
                                           Milk Weed....

Wish I knew the names...but the Milkweed is the only one I know for sure....

Golden Rod is so pretty!  The bright yellow really makes a field stand out!  The honey bees really love it.

This spider had made it's home on this thistle....here waiting for dinner to pop in!

                            Some of the tiniest bugs too!

I love this Canada Thistle...

The wind was blowing and I watched as a few of the seeds broke away and drifted off on their own to a new home in the field.

There were a few butterflies out in the field...not like last year when there were many different kinds..I saw only the Cabbage White and This Clouded Sulphur...

 I love the tall grasses too.  This one had a wonderful  brown color to frame the New England Aster and Golden Rod.

 I found this one very interesting....From my search to find a name for it...I believe it is Sorghum, Milo. The bees are suppose to like it.  It was very pretty.

Then I turned into the marina and this tree jumped out at me...Breathtaking...in another week it should be gorgeous....

 On my way home....as the geese fly!

I decided to stop at the City Park Annex.  Last year the wildflower field that is next to the boat ramp was full of butterflies....I found the area covered with Eastern Daisy Fleabane....

I think this is a female Zabulon Skipper.....

  And this Cabbage White.  There were a lot of them flying around.

Clouded Sulphur on the Golden Rod.















Such beautiful textures and colors...

I was so thrilled to find this orange caterpillar!  My first one this year!
He was on a mission...eating this plant.










As I was watching him I noticed that there was another creature on this plant...a Grasshopper.....

He is on the right side of picture midway down....

A view of some tall grasses and the bridge in the background.

The Cabbage White .....

The colors were pretty in this area and I believe the plant was one that makes the sand spurs!

At least they looked like them....nasty!

 Just a few more pictures of the color down in the annex right now....











Looking toward the bike path...

 This old tree stump with the wildflowers growing up beside it and the Scioto River flowing by made such a peaceful scene.  I sat down on the log and was looking around when I saw something on that tree branch in the river...here at the left top of this picture!!!!!

Got my binoculars out and saw not one but two Belted Kingfishers sitting on it.....The female is on the left...she has the reddish belt and the male doesn't is on the right.....

What a marvelous way to end my little adventure in the Park Annex!

But something was bothering me....I couldn't believe all the trash I was seeing...I picked up fishing line that would seriously injure wildlife if they got tangled up in it....so I found this

And made a wish!

Please remember to pick up your trash and  take it home with you.  But I noticed there was a trash can there for this purpose!

There is more to my adventure and I hope to see you when I post the rest of the story!

Palm Springs

It was reunion time for the girls of American Airlines!  We became friends years ago and had our 7th reunion.  I took the non-stop flight from Columbus to Los Angeles...

 Our flight was delayed because of a huge storm, but the rainbow made up for everything.
I got to watch a movie which was good!

And my $18.00 meal was good too!

My friend met me and the next morning off to Palm Springs...It was very hot! 105 all week-end!. We stayed inside or in the pool!  But I was able to see some interesting things....I got to see a Roadrunner...but no picture...much to my dismay.....
This was the first bird I saw at our house we rented....

A Black Phoebe....they are so cute.....
Then there were these hummingbirds flying around everywhere...it took me a while to get a picture because I think they were in distress at us being there but then got use to us.

This is an Anna's hummingbird.  We don't have them in Ohio, so this was a treat.

One morning we found this Praying Mantis in the Desert Bird of Paradise bush.

She was friendly.

Later that day, out by the pool we watched this Mockingbird.....

  We couldn't tell right away what he had....

It looks like a Praying Mantis!

Oh my! He kept pecking at her and grabbing her and throwing her back on the concrete!

He was winning the battle...

Then he picked her up and swallowed her whole!!!!!

Then we started thinking...was this the one we saw earlier????  Oh no!  So we ran out and check the bush where the Praying Mantis we had seen was....
Relief!!!! She was still there and it was as if she knew she came close to being the main course for the Northern Mockingbird.....

She was in this position like she was glad to still be around...and we were too.

The desert landscaping is so beautiful!  The flowers in the shrubs is Lantana....I never knew it could grow into such a tall shrub...just beautiful...

This is white Lantana and the veriegated color below.

This is Bougainvillea...which is also in the picture with the Lantana....So much color...just beautiful.

                                                This is a Purple Prickly Pear...Loved the color of this one!

This Madagascar Palm had a bird's nest in it....

One of the girls picked a flower from it and it kept us company in the kitchen.......

There was an Orange tree in the yard and it was loaded...too bad they weren't ripe yet!

Some cactus that was in the yard...the round one on right bottom is a Barrel Cactus and the one on the left is an Ocotillo.  I don't know what the others are.

The beautiful Palm trees that are everywhere in Palm Springs.  The Palms and the mountains make such beautiful sights to see.

          The tall cactus on the right in this picture is a Saguaro Cactus....a very young one.

This is a Ponytail Palm...that we have as house plants here!  LOL...I was surprised to see it as a landscaping plant.  So pretty.

In downtown Palm Springs we went to visit the Marilyn Monroe statue!  It was amazing!

She is "Forever Marilyn" by Seward Johnson based on a photograph by Bernard of Hollywood.

She is made of Steel and Aluminum and is 26 feet tall!  She weights 34,300 pounds.  She made her first appearance in Chicago, Ill. in July 2011. Marilyn was discovered at age 22 in Palm Springs. And yes that is me leaning against her leg!


We loved the pool.  It helped keep us cool in the 105 degree temperatures....

A couple of friends by the pool!

Then is was too soon time to leave....each of us looking forward to next year.......

Going back to Los Angeles to catch my plane home...some desert scenes.....

Wind turbines

The mountains...











Sand dunes......

Took the Fly-away bus to the airport and the traffic was what you have heard about Los Angeles!

Finally we reached the airport.  It was a bit different from what I remember when I worked there many years ago....

Got to the gate just in time to board....My flight back was not as nice...they ran out of those $18.00 meals and I had seen the movie and so I ended up sleeping most of the way home.   (guess I needed it after my wonderful week-end)

One last look...the Pacific ocean and beach of California....Wish I had more time to visit my old haunts from when I lived there.  Maybe another time.

Hope you enjoyed my visit to Palm Springs....