I'm so full of myself right now, I have ME coming out of my ears

I couldn't wait to post tonight. I took some of the most awesome pictures ever today.

I am not thrilled when I see brown-headed cowbirds at the feeders, but they are native, so they have a place here.
And even though I always think of the nest parasitism they engage in, I have to admit they have a subtle beauty. Well, at least the males do. The females are boring.

Glossy black under chocolate brown.

I think we have a winner in the tree swallow Nest Olympics:

I watched the male swoop and drive off every other swallow except for this one. I looked closer, and the other one is less irridescent, so it must be a female, for him to let her sit so close.

This is a bird to make a person a BIRDER.
Look at that clean white. That glossy black/blue. I so love these guys.

Nellie finally saw them today. She has known something is up for a few days, but today, when she actually laid eyes on them, she ran for the back door, tail down and eyes half closed. Sissy.

I had to get the girls out of the house today. They have been on Spring Break (They are in preschool, for chrissakes. What do they have to take a break from???) and the blue skies and flowers were beckoning.

The Cincinnati Nature Center, in its best season. There are daffodils as far as the eye can see.

And the rest of the ground is covered with pert little Celedine. I know nothing of this flower other than it is a member of the buttercup family.

The critters are waking up...Dang, this was a huge bullfrog. I showed the girls how his throat was making the water vibrate under his chin.

The squirrels were up to their butts in foraging for vittles.


A pic I am very proud of:

This chickadee was just flying out of a cavity in a dead tree. I saw him or her fly in, so I waited until I saw the little face peek out. There's something in his/her beak...food? Sawdust? Anyone wanna guess?

Then, after doing the Susan/Snoopy dance for getting such a cool picture, I saw this duck:

Ohmigod! A female wood duck!
So, would I be lucky enough to see the male?

Oh, Hell YEAH. I have seen these before, but have never gotten so close. I was extremely pleased with myself.

And now, a mystery butterfly/moth:

There were a few of these precious little guys flying at the edge of the trail. I looked at a zillion butterfly sites, but I can't find this one. I will be very embarrassed if it is a really common, boring butterfly. Anyone know what it is?

The magnolias are showing off their feminine blooms...there was a solid wall of magnolias in full bloom at the entrance to the center.



And I got the girls to hug and pose under one of them.
Sweet flowers, vibrating frogs, tiny butterflies, lovey-dovey tree swallows, and secretive wood ducks.
A good day.