Walking around, looking at stuff

I'm taking a break from writing this week. Well, that's not entirely true. I did spend some time playing around with a new writing project, which I'll tell you more about once it gets further along. But I'm taking a break from blog writing this week because it's just so beautiful outside, and I've got to get out there and look at stuff.

I hate to leave you behind, though--we've been having such a good time together. So come outside with me, and I'll show you some of the stuff I've been looking at.

The seasonal road that runs along one side of our property, where Ray and I take many a walk

Pileated woodpecker, a frequent visitor. Welcome, except when destroying our garage siding.

These partridgeberry flowers, no bigger than my pinkie nail, were everywhere in the woods on one recent walk.

I confess, I once thought my friend Tom was strange for taking so many seagull pictures when he lived in California. Now I'm doing the same thing with squirrels.

Rust on my car, not pretty. Rust on an old truck, beautiful in its own way.

One neighbor calls them Bluebirds of Crappiness, but seeing them always lifts my mood.

Black-eyed susan growing wild amid the ferns

Doesn't it just make you wish you were iridescent, too?

Just cute. Also destructive. But cute.

More rust

Baby turkeys -- just three of the dozen or more who've been visiting.

This one's for Michelle C., whose botanist father studied these and took the family along on collecting trips. At one time, Michelle never wanted to see another Tradescantia, but maybe she won't mind just one more.

A skipper coming in for a landing . . .

. . . and landed.

Yes, another squirrel

Weeds captivate me almost as much as squirrels.

As do bumblebees on milkweed

The robin family that took up residence on our back porch beam.

The last two baby robins on the day they left the nest. This was just before they took their first flight. They had to give it some serious thought.

That's the end of today's walkabout. What catches your attention in your surroundings?