TV Troupe 3-24-12

On Saturday at the Park, it was a dark and misty day. Except for ospreys snapping twigs off trees for their nests there wasn't much action until the Turkey Vultures arrived. They had been down on the "beach" sniffing for leftover fish, then they flew up to their stage in front of the office!.....

 An outdoor side view.....

 The performance began when others followed the leader!....

Winged Things

On Weds., March 21, we saw lots of these tiny butterflies all day at Chelsea. They are Falcate Orange Tips and flitted around the daffodils but only one landed on a dandelion. The males have the orange wingtip and the females are all white. How could it be that we only saw males??? Turns out that the males fly around all day looking for females!.....

 Here's a "Tip" with darker background....

 Tuesday AM at the Park, Ms. Eagle was NOT down in the nest bowl. Could there be activity there now???.......

 Mr. Osprey said, "Good morning. I've got breakfast."............

 He then went up river from the office. This pair is now in the upstream nest platform right across the river from these trees. They had been checking out the quarters earlier and even had some HP there.

 Since no sharing took place, the mate left to go shopping probably....

Spring Fling~Daffodils + 3-16-12

All of these are at Chelsea farmhouse office. Instead of picking a bouquet this year, we decided to photograph them. Some are near the house....

 Hyacinths, too....

 Doubles?....

 Many are growing in the wild...

 Many are down a woodsy hill on one edge of the pond. At the top is really a grassy farm path/road between pond and hillside...

 On bottom right is a small creek probably started from pond runoff pipe underground. We've been told ice was taken from here in the winter before the days of refrigeration...

 Another variety was open on Mar. 21.....

Osprey, Eagle, & Leonard,Oh My!!

These were seen at Patuxent River Park on 3-13-12. Our Old Faithful original cam osprey has returned. In the morning he was seen snapping twigs off trees with his feet. Here he is placing them in the nest...

 In the afternoon, you can see he is sitting above low tide....

 Get your magnifying glass! Decided to check the nest across the River. Double-clicking will enlarge....

 If you enlarge, it appears that she is looking down into the nest. Chicklets???......

 Good old Leonard, the groundhog, was close to my parking spot. He was bravely checking the hole that the wind blown tree left two summers ago....

Flowers and Friends

Roses from daughter in Texas. Binky wants a sniff.....

 Scooter checks them, too....

 Scooter tries to nibble the Cineraria plant from Hubby. It reminded me of Dianthus, is an annual. Hope I can plant in pot on deck. Both plants are residing on the refrigerator!....

Ospreys 3-10-12

Surprise, surprise! Two ospreys on Saturday, while there was only one on Tuesday!...

 Mom on the nest....

 Dad on guard....

Park Wildlife 3-6-12

Hmmm...this morning some turkey vultures gathered near the Visitor's Center......

 "I feel pretty!"....

 Our little friend, Chippy, came out today for sunflower seeds. Haven't seen him for months....

This afternoon by the boat ramp, we saw an osprey on fishnet pole close to the camera platform!....

 Here he is in relationship to the nest platform.....

 Mom eagle minding the nest in the afternoon. In the chilly morning, her head couldn't be seen...

Montpelier Mansion

Montpelier Mansion is in Laurel, MD and was constructed in the late 1700's....

 A small garden area between the mansion and Carriage House. On one of the tall chimneys is one of the frequent outdoor guests.....

 Yes, a TV.........

 The Carriage House....

 For more historic information, here's a link;

http://www.pgparks.com/Things_To_Do/History/Montpelier_Mansion.htm

Walking through part of the mansion to go to the library exhibit, we saw this cast of a plant eating dinosaur's footprint. It was found in College Park, MD. (toes at top)....

 We passed through a bedroom~~a really tall and comfy looking mattress!.....

 The beginning!......

 The first greeter just outside the library arched doorway.....

Dinos Invade Mansion

The Dinosaur exhibit has several four sided pods and many graphite pictures and artifacts displayed in the Montpelier library. Our fearless leader at Chelsea, Kathy, did most of the graphic art work to print these panels......

 This case has bones and bone fragments. Large one is a tibia....

 Check out the labels ☺....

 This dinosaur is in one of the exit rooms when leaving the library!.....

 At home, Binky was not impressed! She knocked the velcroed dinosaur and alligator off the old monitor so she could have their spot.....