Butterflies at the Piedmont

Butterflies on Leah's hand

The Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge is a good place for birding...but also for butterflies and wildflowers.

We love to go there as we just did this past Saturday.

The funny thing is that everyone gravitates to his or her area of interest.  Debbie looks at the wildflowers and does some birding, Kelly and Leah look for butterflies, and I like birding.  All in the same area.

Seven butterflies on Leah's fingers at a point.

As a result, someone is always calling the rest of the group to look at what they see.  "A Swallowtail, it's a Spicebush!!!...no, it's a Red-spotted Purple." 
And Debbie goes "I wonder about those purple flowers? They always seem to grow in the wild but if I put them in my garden they won't grow."  and I usually answer "because you'll give them too much care, they don't want any care.  They're wild".
And I go "did you hear that? That's a Red-eyed Vireo...here she goes again! Heard it this time?"

This time I've decided to do something different.  Set aside my birding and just follow the kids for some "butterflying". 

Armed with two butterfly guide books and one phone ap, we were able to identify all the butterflies that we saw.

Luckily, the butterflies were very active. 

On Kelly's finger.
A Pearl Crescent.

 Among species seen, I remember a large group of Gray Hairstreaks near the water by Pond 2A, Gulf Fritillaries, with some landing on us, a pretty Question Mark, lots of Cloudless Sulphurs (with their bright yellow!), and some Swallowtails. 

We spent some time by the large rocks at "Little Falling Water". More butterflies were waiting for us: Buckeyes, Viceroys, a Red-spotted Purple, a Red Admiral landed on me!, lots of Little Yellows, Pearl Crescents, some Skippers, and more colorful butterflies.

To cap the day, a Hooded Warbler (this is a furtive pretty yellow bird) was playing by the stream and taking a bath.  Everyone got a chance to appreciate it with binoculars. 

Who knew looking for butterflies could be this much fun?

Camping by Lake Sinclair

Mist over the lake

How do you describe this feeling when you step out of your tent in the morning and see the mist rising above a lake, just in front of your camp site? Awe? Very pleasantly calming, happy feeling? Do you have a word for that? Maybe halcyon?

We went camping last week by Lake Sinclair and enjoyed that special feeling.  It's nice camping in general.  It's nicer when the weather cooperates, neither hot nor cold, and no rain.  A perfect mid-September weather.

I now understand why people like to live by water.  It has a calming effect. 
Lake Sinclair Campgrounds are part of the Oconee-Chattahooche National Forests.  In this case, a forest with a lake.

The 5-gallon red container you see in some of our camping pictures is for water.  Not gasoline! We brought water because these campgrounds are different.  They don't have all the State Parks amenities and they're not primitive camping either.  No electricity and water hook ups at our site, but the bathrooms with hot showers were close by.  A big advantage for us is that these campgrounds were not crowded either.  We were practically the only ones camping those days. 

Yes, we went birding a lot during the day and heard owls one night.  We've seen several migrant birds.  Actually we've enjoyed the birding there very much.  We've seen two Bald Eagles, and of course, lots of other bird species...close to 60 different bird species. 

Have you ever been camping and saw the night sky with no cloud? Lots of stars, right? I always like that.  A clear sky just full of stars. 

It was Debbie's birthday a couple of days earlier and we celebrated it with a special dinner.  Salmons stuffed with crab meat and a bottle of white wine out of this world.  It's called "Paradis" which means "heaven" and it tasted like that too.  A nice person sent it to me from Paris.  Do they drink good wine in heaven? I hope so.  

Visiting North Georgia

Picnic by the Chattahoochee River after tubing

Michael is visiting from France...so we've been trying to show him a little bit of Georgia, and share some American experiences. 

Tubing! in Helen.  Everyone had fun.  We went at the best time possible.  That's after some rain -always better to go tubing when there is enough water in the river-, middle of the week and after school starts (no crowd).  

We love nature, we love the outdoors, and we're already in Helen, Georgia, what better place to go but...(you guessed right!)  Anna Ruby Falls, a short drive away. 

Wow! This is just majestic if you haven't seen the Anna Ruby Falls before.  The falls are located in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

Everyone looks happy and that makes me happy too.  The walk up to the Falls was fairly short and beautiful.  Even our young Parisian loved it.  He is a relative, but he fits right in as if he was my daughters' brother. 

 As you walk up to the Falls, you'll hear the soothing sound of the river.  Always sweet to be surrounded by the beauties of nature.  We soaked it all in.  Rejuvenating!

 After a few hours on the river, tubing, it was nice to hike up the mountain (short hike of about 20 minutes) and enjoy the lush greenery. 

Unicoi State State Parks is close by.  You even drive through it to reach the Falls.  Wouldn't be nice to camp there for a couple of nights and enjoy this place longer? Frankly, I wanted to stay longer and see all the birds I could hear...

Time to go home now. 

 

Animal Safari in Pine Mountain

Did you know there is a Wild Animal Safari in Georgia? We checked it out this weekend.  It was fun!

They have a good variety of animals roaming around, and coming to the vehicles.  Not so wild, if you ask me. 

We saw lions in their big pens.  I didn't like that.  Lions should be free to roam where they belong.  Maybe, the savannas of Africa, not big cages of Georgia.  The rest of the animals were free and well fed. 

Would you believe the cutest of the animals we saw were some babies (almost new born) piggies? Baby animals are cute, even pigs!  We saw a lot of baby animals.  Nice to see they're breeding there.  They should be happy.

Well, if you ever have time to do something different, this is a nice place to visit.  The whole region offers a good variety of things to do. 

Revamped yard for Summer 2012

We try to revamp our backyard every year so we can enjoy it with a new feel. 

Debbie likes to do a vegetable and flower garden but this year, we've done just flowers, plants, and set up new sitting areas.  The only vegetables are the ones in pots (peppers and tomatoes).  

Turned out to be a great idea.  Vegetables seem to require more work with mixed results.  Sitting areas are fun to enjoy by everyone.  

Blue Jay

With all the bird feeders, birdbaths, and shrubs, we do get visitors.  Birds, butterflies, squirrels, chimpmunks, frogs and toads.  I missed a few. Humans come sometimes.  We love them too! 

One nice thing for having several sitting areas in various spots in the yard is that you can move from place to place and stay in the shade.  

This area is now quite colorful with all the Canas blowing.

Yes, we grill in the yard! The yellow sign in the background says "Songbirds Crossing".

With plants, and flowers everywhere, you can enjoy a nice view all over the garden!   

I already have some ideas on what to do with Debbie in the garden next year.  Can't wait!

Do you have a garden? Fix it up nice to your taste and enjoy it.

Your comments are welcome.

Kelly graduated this month!

My dear daughter Kelly just graduated from college this month. 

 (For my french speaking friends, college is not "college" or lycée but université). 

She graduated with honors, Magna Cum Laude. 

We had a little party for her after the graduation ceremony.

Several friends and family came over including Connie and Angela all the way from Alabama and North Carolina, Jean-Luc and his family, George and Georgia and some professors and college friends. 

We're happy for everyone who came to share our joy.

Yes, I'm proud of my Kelly for this great accomplishment!



 





Tree Swallows at the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge

 We went birding at the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge recently.

Sure, we've enjoyed some pretty birds such as the Orchard Orioles, Eastern Kingbirds, various warblers and nuthatches...but the most fun was to watch Tree Swallows above the water.
 For non-birders, Tree Swallows may look like some black swallows doing acrobatics. 



Birders appreciate the iridescent blues, the contrasting dark colors with the white, the courtship dances of the birds, skimming the surface of the water for food...



Preening...








Feeding the little birdies...



It was all fun.  The simple pleasures of life!