Thursday, June 16, 2011

Shrikes, Cake, Rockets, Lady Slippers, and Water Fights!


     Our week in the Great Outdoors:



                         This little neighbor of ours is called a "Shrike"
 nicknamed "Butcher Birds"

They are known to hunt open fields and vacant lots.
These little predatory songbirds
 are carnivores and love to eat lizards
by impaling them on a thorny bush to hold them in
place while they dine or to save for later.
Gross, but brilliant for a little bird!


We believe that this one is a "Northern Shrike" and not the 
more commonly found "Loggerhead" usually seen here. 

(We happen to get excited about these things- you?)

When we weren't stalking birds who were stalking lizards...
we headed off for an island adventure on Palm Island.
You can only get there by boat or ferry-
they will gladly take your car over for $50 ...
so we walked on board the ferry instead!


 

   

  
That makes for a fine arrangement 
as long as you have someone waiting for you on the other side! 
Our golf cart chauffeur was on standby to take us to
a birthday party for my goddaughter!

Happy Birthday T !
I love you!



 

We all played and had a great time at the beach.
and then in the- as it is lovingly referred to . . .
"redneck swimming pool" with the
redneck godfather (far left below) -
he always makes us proud!


 

 We fished out crabs and bait fish off the dock...
with a dip net:



... ate cake and listened to an original AWESOME performance
 in the great outdoors...


 

We even opened presents in the great outdoors.....


Rock on birthday girl...
and read your "Soul Surfer" devotion book
from Aunt Kelli !!!

Later this week-

 

We launched a little toy rocket in the back yard
and learned a bit more about the 
awesome power of  "air pressure" !

And enjoyed the virtues of having some weeds in the yard !


 

I beileve these pretty weeds are called "lady slippers"
and they make me happy! 
 
Link up by clicking the "Outdoor Play"
button at the top of this post ... and show us
what you've been up to with your family in
The Great Outdoors!


Found more great link ups:




 


It's Playtime is a fun
way to share your week as well!

7 comments:

Jill said...

What fun! Great pictures of everything. I sure love your part of the world and how you embrace it all.

Jen said...

happy birthday to your daughter

Gidget Girl Reading said...

those weeds are so pretty. :)

looks like she had a awesome birthday love the rocker girl performing pictures :)

great blog new follower!

MJ said...

Okay! Palm Island added to the list!!! Love all the joy in your pics!!!

Anonymous said...

I adore your header and the pics, so very cute! Great Blog set up, and I look forward to reading more!

All the Best,
Your newest follower!

Melissa
http://eyesofaking.blogspot.com

Kate @ An Everyday Story said...

It is so unfair to have an outdoor play link-up when you're all in summer and we are freezing our toes off! :)

Oh and that little bird is just awesome! We love that kind of stuff too :)

What a beautiful week you all had. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Delaney said...

This looks like so much fun! I'm now following you back. Thanks for the super sweet comment on my blog!