Kodak Moments

[Ryan Johnson]

I love your black swans. I don't know that I've ever seen black swans before. I've heard of them, mostly via the ballet "Swan Lake".

They are native to Australia

 

[ClaraN]

I’ve learned something new. Never knew that black swans were native to Australia. They are beautiful.

 

[Lillianna]

Those black swan photos are stunning. I’m another that just learned something new. Thanks

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Sunrise this April morning from the porch.

 

[madmax]

An outstanding photo caught at the perfect moment. those sunrises move so quickly to catch them before they change can be tricky. an inspiration to paint it.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

An outstanding photo caught at the perfect moment. those sunrises move so quickly to catch them before they change can be tricky. an inspiration to paint it.

Yes, I saw the glow out of the bedroom window and rushed out with the camera. Sunsets seem even more ephemeral.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

The redbuds blooming in the mountains around Quartz Mountain State Park in southwest Oklahoma. They are very pretty this year. The whole mountain burned a few years ago during a drought; nice to see the redbuds are making a come back.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

As most of you know , we have swans that frequent our lake @ home. Last year just before xmas one signet was born. It was a little strange though that the Parents keep flying off and leaving it for periods of time. About 3 weeks ago they both left , leaving the little one to fend for itself. The signet was doing so well, for the little help the parents gave him /her, they taught it to bob for the reeds for food. Unfortunately they returned Friday night and tried to kill the signet, so I had to take action and quick ! We managed to scare the parents off by putting the little dingy boat into the water.

The next day the local wildlife rescue came and now the signets in safe hands. Hopefully it will come back one day, all grown up

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Just as I hit post, I had a call to say that the little one had passed during the night

 

[Willow Flats]

So sorry Ryan :-(

 

[Cayuse]

Oh, that is sad. You did the best you could to save the little fella. I'm sorry that he didn't make it.
I wonder why the parents turned on it? Nature can be so cruel sometimes.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

It is not uncommon in nature for parents or other herd/flock members to kill offspring; they seem to have an sense that it is not healthy. A trainer I know who raises goats told me it may be because the sickly one puts them at risk to attract a predator. Pretty sad about the cygnet, though, after you rescued it and thought all was well. Do the wildlife folks have any idea why it didn't survive?

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Thanks all. I rang the lady last night to see if she had any ideas as to why it may have passed. When she weighed it she noticed how underweight it was. I think a combination of stress, lack of nourishment and the beating it took from the parents (thats if it actually was the parents, Ill never know)

That's a great Point Marsha , I had never thought of it like that ( actually makes me feel a little better)

 

[minihorse]

Just as I hit post, I had a call to say that the little one had passed during the night

Oh no. Was there something wrong with it that made the parents reject it?

 

[Ryan Johnson]

I honestly have no idea. Something had to have happened at some stage during nesting & hatching. The lady who came to help me had been to my place a couple of years ago to rescue the mother as she had hurt her leg. She had been rescuing swans for years but as they are quite aggressive , mine was the last swan rescue until I called her about the signet.

She said it was really strange only 1 was born ( 3 years ago we had 6 born) and for them to leave it , something must have been wrong.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Iris are beginning to open. I 'm glad I got this photo yesterday because a big wash of moisture came over us last night. We are over 5" now and it's still raining. Still dark here; I'm dreading to go out and find out the damage. Luckily, no hail. I worried about my horses all night, as the water can pour under their shelter, but in the dim dawn I see them grazing so that is good. We are located at the base of a little mountain and no where can we escape the water pouring off the mountain. I'm sure many of our little fish are headed for the Red River...

 

[ScottyP]

Those are such pretty flowers, my Mom would love to have some but she's in another state. And I just don't have a green thumb. I have an uncle that did such pretty things like that and could grow many types of flowers.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

We ended up with 5.5". Horses did have an area of ground above water under the shelter. I went ahead and put their blankets on them as they seemed a little chilled. It's over 50 degrees, but they are clipped and wet. If I'd had my crystal ball and known so much rain was coming, I would have blanketed them last night. I spent half an hour rescuing little stranded fish washed into the pasture. More will wash out, but nothing I can do about it. Birds will get them. I think the rain is over. Roads awash with trees across them. Two local state highways closed.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Marsha, your garden ( from what I have seen in pics on here) is lovely , Love the rocks , many of my garden beds are done the same. How did your dry creek bed turn out that you were working on last year ?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Well, if the dry stream bed would stay dry it would progress more quickly. We were able to bring up the boulders and pile them in the area, but about the time we are ready to manuever the boulders around it rains again. Our soil is clay, so we can do no work when it's really wet. We marked with orange paint where the runnoff flows naturally, but the paint got washed away before we could put the rocks into place. We are a little frustrated with it, anxious to work on it but now there are more urgent landscape problems to address--such as washed out driveway and pasture areas.
On a positive note, we are relishing fresh asparagus, kale, lettuce. Cherries and apples are setting well, and the wild blackberries and plums should produce well this year.