Blue Jay

Yes, I know that blue jays are loud, annoying and very common.  But aren't they beautiful?

Catbird

The Catbird is annoying with it's cat cry that sounds like a cross between a baby crying and a cat.   But it also has a beautiful trill that's sort of like a Mockingbird. You can hear the the calls here.  I think they have a nest in one of our trees, they've been hanging around a lot.

Blue eyed Grass

I would have walked right past this tiny little flower, but my sharp eyed granddaughter saw it.  It's Blue Eyed Grass, which is not a grass at all.  It's in the iris family.  It's a native wildflower.  See here.

Enjoying Memorial Day

What better way to spend Memorial Day than with the red white and blue boat ride at Pullen Park.

Ms. Anole returns

She was NOT happy with me.  I followed her across the driveway, into the holly hedge with my camera.  She scampered along flashing her dewlap.  She was brown on the driveway, and started to become more green on the holly.  She's a she, because she has a pinkish dewlap, and a white stripe on her back. See here.

Parsley Hawthorn

I had the hardest time trying to figure out the name of this small tree.  I searched for white flowering tree, lobed leaves, spiky trunk...nothing.  Finally I found it - A Parsley Hawthorn.  It's native to the southern states.  (see here)  It does have a very scary trunk.

Little Snake

This little guy was about the size of a large worm.  But he's definately a snake.  I think he's a Red Bellied Snake, native to North Carolina (here).  His favorite food is slugs, snails and rolly pollies.  I hope he's hungry.