Bubble. Bubble, too much trouble

It's a lot of trouble to blow a bubble, especially when you don't have the alignment just right. Little Sophie eeks out at least one of the magical, mystical, misty globes.

--steve buser

bubbles. kids, children

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Bee ready

Probiscus at the ready, this bee prepares to dig in for a delicious syrupy nectar delight.
--steve buser

bee, probiscus, flowers, Mandeville, Louisiana, nectar
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Lying low, up high

Maybe some of us are just better at concealment that others.

But, one would expect something as small and feathery as a Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) to be an expert at the craft. Then again, maybe not. After all, their whole life is about getting attention.

This fellow was hanging out on the electric line in my brother Gary's backyard in Baton Rouge where we stayed this weekend. He would land and start singing his imitation of about 15 or so different bird songs from other species(However he sang them about twice as as loud as those he was mocking would sing).

Then, he would fly up about as 5 feet, as conspicuous as he could be and then fluttering slowly back to the wire about 10 feet further down the line. This would go on for about a half an hour, before he would fly up to the top a a huge oak He had an appointed round on specific branches that he would move through-- singing on each one.

But this one time, he suddenly got silent and crouched down. I don't know what he saw, but I was thinking "It serves you right you big show off.

--steve buser

Mocking bird, Mimus polyglottos, birds, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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Shady creek, doesn't dry up imaginations

You plan the perfect park. You study what kids like to do, and how they like to use their imaginations. You study the capabilities of their bodies, strength and agility. You study how high they can climb, jump and roll. Then you build the perfect park -- let's say, for instance, the park on the Tammany Trace on Koop Drive in Mandeville.

That's when you find out that kids are lot more creative in their play they even you give them credit for. Here, our niece Rebeka and our grandson Sullivan found a way to sliver under the bridge in the sandlot part of the park. It did get them out of the sun, althrough their shady spot seems to have sprung a few sun leaks.

Kids will be kds.

--steve buser

kids, parks, Mandeville, Louisiana, Tammany Trace
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Cardinal encantation

I think this Cardinal in the Mandeville Nature Center (off Hwy 190 east of town) was out to have some fun. He was calling out for his friends to come gather.

--steve buser

Cardinal, Mandeville, Louisiana, birds
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Piping pretty

The filaments of this flower look like pipelines to me. Maybe I've been into economic development too long. Notice the full pollen coatings on the anthers. Apparently there are some lazy bees around here.
--steve buser

flower, filament, anthers, pollen, New Orleans, Louisiana
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Beeping birds

Move over. Quick. Get out of the way.

I saw that morsel first and I will fly through you if I have to.

I guess even birds don't see eye to eye all the time. These two New Orleans Lakefront wind surfers were out looking for anything tasty.

--steve buser

gulls, lakefront, Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans, Louisiana
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Bubbles blow kids minds

Why do kids love bubbles so much?

They are fascinating. They defy logic. They float in the air. They have not substance to them. They are in a way comical.

Why do kids love bubbles? For all the same reasons that adults do. (Bubbles are courtesy my wife, Linda, as she was blowing them to make the kids giggle and chase them. On, they are also courtesy the wind, that on this day was stout enough to blow them without an needed assistance.)
--steve buser

bubbles, kids, wind, New Orleans, Louisiana
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Snowy bird, "snowy" leaves

A feathery Snowy Egret perches on the bird-whited leaves of the heronry at Audubon Park in New Orleans.

-steve buser

Snowy Egret, herons, Audubon Park, New Orleans, Louisiana
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City-lights-soaked clouds

Come in to the city across Lake Pontchartrain on a muggy cloudy night and you will catch a scene such as this. The clouds soak with city light leaking skyward and the buildings at the edge of the Causeway with their hundreds of eyes still gleaming.

--steve buser

Clouds, New Orleans, Night

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Dad's nest time

Dad gets a little time with the new chick in the nest while mom goes on the food run. This was a shot right out of our window this time last year. We watched the mom with her to new little chicks. The other one did not survive until this shot. I am sorry to say, this chick didn't make it either. It's a cruel world out there.

--steve buser

Mounring Dove, chicks, nest birds

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Future quackers

These ducklings have probably hatched by now.  I shot this some time ago on the banks of the lake by the pond at the Lakeview Regional Medical Center in Mandeville, LA.   Seems no one was tending the store when I walked by.

--steve buser

duck, eggs, Mandeville, Louisiana

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Let the good times boil..... crawfish

I hate to even mention this to you, but I feel I owe you this one. A small hint -- if you haven't had your first crawfish boil of the year, you're missing out. The time is here. Succulent, sinus-clearing-spicey, head-sucking delicious.

It's a New Orleans tradition. About 7 to 8 lbs. per person. Spread the newspaper over the table, pour them out. Stand around talking, pinching the tails and sucking the heads.

It don't get no better than that. N'Awlins to the core.

--steve buser

Crawfish, boilo, friends, food, spicey

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Spilling the party

Everyone loves a good party.  This picture from last year shows how the party spills into the French Quarter from Canal Street and the surrounding area.

--steve buser

party, French Quarter

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Coast coaster

Soaring. A beautiful day, spring hanging on by a thread. Birds, like this great heron are sailing the skies looking for nest making materials. Me -- just being lazy.

--steve buser

New Orleans, Louisiana, egret, birds, feathers

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High fog

This is downtown New Orleans a while back on one of those foggy days when it hides the tops of buildings but doesn't quite make it to the ground. High fog.

--steve buser

fog, weather, New Orleans, Louisiana, weather

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Louisiana Iris

The Louisiana Iris (Iris fulva) from the Mandeville Nature Center.

--steve buser

Louisian Iris, Iris fulva, flowers, Mandeville, Louisiana

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Kids caught in grass's grip.

Law of nature #3245 -- kids and grass have an attractive force that cannot be overcome -- they will get together.

Our niece Sarah demonstrates this natural law on a walk along the lakefront in Mandeville, Louisiana recently. We were watching birds, blowing bubbles, and just acting funny. Then that gravity like force took hold of her and she was frolicking in the grass.

-steve buser

Kids, children, tumbling. playing, Mandeville, Louisiana

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Take your wonder wandering

One of my favorite things to do is to walk around the French Quarter and pick out buildings I like. This one on Rue Chartres is one of my favorites because of the wrap around balcony.

--steve buser

French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, balconies

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Capture the Big Easy memory

You are in the Big Easy. Walking on the MoonWalk, along the mighty Mississippi River. The world famous French Quarter is to you back. Sure seems like the perfect time to stop and get someone to take a picture for your memory book.

-steve buser

New Orleans, Moon Walk, French Quarter, Mississippi River

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Perch with a view

Up Bayou Castine in Mandeville, LA. you will find this tree which is a favorite perching place for birds because of its high view over the marsh. This cormorant takes a gander. Will it be food or socializing. He's waiting to find out what the day brings.
-steve buser

Basyou Castine, Mandeville, Lousiana, Cormorant, birds, nature, perc

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Wayside flyby

This pelican was flying by us as we crossed the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. It was kind of a fly-by feathering

This is a SkyWatch Friday Post. Go and check out more Skywatch images at the Skywatch Site!
--steve buser

Lake Pontchartrain, Causeway, brown pelican, sky

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Cardinal rule of fine dining

If you were a beautiful Cardinal would you feast on worms and insects?   I think not.   You'd probably do like this fellow and has tasty, succulent morsels of sun-baked baby elm buds.  The birds are apparently into fine-dining at the Mandeville Nature Center  (across the lake from New Orleans).

--steve buser

Cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, eating, Mandeville, birds, nature center, Louisiana

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