Back camping again!

Our first camping trip of the year. On the spur of the moment.
We went back to Reed Bingham State Park because we loved their trails. We were rewarded with lots of birds.

Have you ever seen a picture of a Pileated Woodpecker? If not, check it out on line (just Google it) or look it up in a book.

These birds are BIG and you don't see them every day. Well, we saw five (5) pairs last week. Just one would be great, but five pairs! (A pair could not have flown quickly ahead of us just to show off again, but there got to be at least 4 different ones). Of course, there were many other birds besides the Pileated Woodpeckers.

We went birding first thing in the morning when the birds come out. We didn't know it, but the birds have a symphony orchestra and they performed for us. We were surrounded by a singing choir of songsters and we just soaked it in. Ahhhh! heaven! It's nice when you don't have to die before you go to heaven.

P.S. The Pileated Woodpeckers were not in the symphony. Boy! would they mess it up.

Spring is here!

It looks like Debbie has been busy in the backyard.
I took these pictures a week ago. It's more colorful now with the rain and sunshine we've had.


Blessed is the house who finds a woman who loves flowers!

A birder's paradise

A birder is a person who watches birds as a hobby, or something like that. I know you knew that! Debbie and I are birders. You knew that too!

Well, this place in the pictures is one of our favorite places to watch birds. It almost feels like our classroom; because we've learnt and appreciated so much about birds there.
It's the Ocmulgee National Monument where you'll find the ancient Indian Mounds.

To a lot of people, the Ocmulgee may look a bit drab, almost desolate in its landscape but we love it and the birds love it. It's right in Macon which makes it pretty convenient.


At this time, you can see all kinds of woodpeckers including the Red Headed (abundant there!), the Downy and the Hairy, the Northern Flicker, and now we've been sighting our favorite Pileated Woodpecker.

If you like Bluebirds, you'll be pleased. They're a regular sight. Northern Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, all kinds of warblers and sparrows have made their home at the Ocmulgee Mounds. You'll probably find close to 100 species of birds around there. I hope I'm not exagerating because I haven't actually counted. I just know there are A LOT of bird species there. Some are transient, some are permanent. Our friend the Anhinga just went back home. He didn't even say goodbye! We came one day and he was gone. The Kingfishers are still hanging around as well as the Killdeer, and the Lesser Yellowlegs.

At the beginning, we would just marvelled at the big birds like the Great Blue Herons and the Great White Egrets and of course the different hawks. Now, we're getting to appreciate the little ones as well especially when we can identify them by their songs and calls.
Some of the little birdies are just shy so need to listen to them then find them. There is a large population of the Yellow Rumped Warbler now and they are actually quite playful. The Flycatchers, Vireos, and Wrens are a little bit of a challenge for us to distinguish for now because our great binoculars are not that great after all. Good birders use better binoculars. We're getting there.

If you have not been birding, it's not too late to start. It's fun and there are plenty of places to go.

Tae Kwon Do Tournament

We had our National Tae Kwon Do Tournament this past week end.
Only nine schools were represented but the place was packed! I took these pictures toward the end when I got a break and after most of the participants and spectators have left.

I was invited just to be a corner judge at the tournament but a friend talked me into fighting in the over 35 years old category.
Apparently this category will not be too crowded so I twisted some arms and signed up after all registrations have been closed for days. I was hoping to get an easy trophy. Wrong!

After I signed up, I found out that everybody including color belts (blue belts, red belts and such) were all in this category. Long legs and big size did not matter. You just have to be over 35. I'm a small guy, but I'm fast.

I ended up with a 3rd place trophy, but it was not as easy as I thought. That means I got beat up at the end, but I made my way toward the end. And I had to work for it without getting hurt. It was fun.

How to give your plants a head start in Spring

This is a beautiful week end. We believe the nice weather will stay for a while so we got our plants and flowers from the sunroom to the back porch.

We've watching these seeds that Debbie has planted late Fall last year. They have germinated, then started to grow throughout the winter. We kept them in the sunroom and in another spot of the house that gets some sun. It was fun to see these seeds turn into different vegetable plants: broccoli, beans, tomatoes, ... Even the pear tree germinated and grew. The beans even produced in the winter!
As you can see in the pictures the bougainvillea bloomed!!! And the fig tree got bigger.

Well, this is how you get a head start on the spring. You save your plants and keep them cozy and warm, you plant new seeds in small pots, and comes spring, you are way ahead of the game!

The best part of this is that your plants and flowers keep you good company in the winter with nice greenery in the house. We use our sunroom a lot in the winter. You even marvel week after week as your seeds come out and take shape. The trumpet flower did great and the fig tree even gave figs at the beginning of the winter. Fig tree in a pot!!!

Did you know that broccoli plants bloom into little pretty flowers before the broccoli comes out? Just like tomato plant does? Just look at the 3rd picture and you'll see. Compliments to Debbie.