Christmas Table 2023

My Christmas table is ready a little early because we are having a family dinner on Friday. Santa and the cardinals are stealing the show.

I love getting out pieces of my Christmas Fitz and Floyd collections to use on the table and throughout my house.

The Santa used in the table centerpiece is from the F&F Holiday Santa collection. Santa is surrounded by his animal friends and has a knapsack of toys thrown over his shoulder.

The table is set with a Lenox tablecloth then gold glass chargers were used with the gold rimmed plates and Lenox Winter Greetings salad plates.

The flatware is by Rogers and the cloth napkins and napkin rings are Lenox.

Merry Christmas! Thanks for stopping by to see my Christmas Table 2023 - Judy

Linking to:

Inspire Me Monday at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Our World Tuesday on Monday

Lou Lous Girls Fabulous Party on Monday's at 8pm

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life

Tuesday Turn Around @ My Wee Abode

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop @ Ducks 'n A Row on Tuesday pm

Wonderful Wednesday @ Oh My Heartsie Girl on Tuesday

Creative Muster Party @ Fluster Buster on Tuesday at 6 pm

Photographing New Zealand @ My Corner of the World on Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Centerpiece Wednesday @ Karin's Kottage

The Homemaking Party @ Classical Homemaking on Wednesday pm

Thursday Favorite Things Party @ Eclectic Red Barn on Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Collage at 8:30 am

Classy Flamingo @ Poinsettia Drive

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Create, Bake & Grow Together @ Shabby Art Boutique on Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Wandering Camera @ Ink Torrents Graphics on the last Thursday of the month

Little Things Thursday @ Random-osity

Friendship Friday @ Create With Joy on Thurs pm

Fabulous Link Party @ Peacock Ridge Farm

Farmhouse Friday @ County Road 407

Home Matters Link Party on Friday

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound

Pieced Pastimes – Saturday Sparks

Eclectic Red Barn – Happiness is Homemade

Love Your Creative Link Party @ Life and Linda

Mosaic Monday @ Soul and Mind and so on on Sunday

Love Your Creativity Link Party @ Life and Linda on Sunday at 2pm

Sundays on Silverado @ The House on Silverado

Inspire Me Monday @ Create With Joy on Sunday

From Murray, Kentucky in the southern tip of Western Kentucky - growing zone 7a.

It's definitely Fall here in Western Kentucky, and I love the changing colors. Seeing the green leaves turn to red is always a welcomed site.

Even with a light frost and some cold nights there are a few blooms in my yard in Western Kentucky for November.

Garden Blooms

Garden phlox are still showing beautiful pink blooms.

Most of the Black-Eyed Susans are gone but I found a single fading bloom in one of my flower beds.

Most of my flowerpots have been taken in for the winter months but a single pot with a small white Verbenia bloom still survives.

Indoor Blooms

Although my garden blooms are just about gone, my indoor blooms are gorgeous. My Thanksgiving Cactus are so colorful. Take a look at these stunning blooms.

Hopefully, these white blooms will open for Thanksgiving.

Here's a good reference to identify your cactus.

Thanks for stopping by for my November blooms - Judy.

Linking to:

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day on the 15th of the month

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Little Things Thursday @ Random-osity

Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner

Grace at Home @ The Charm of Home on Thursday

FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS on Thursday

At The Lake - Great White Egret

My husband and I have been watching for the Great White Egrets on Kentucky Lake this fall. My pics aren't great, the water was so shallow, and it made it extremely hard to get close enough for that perfect shot.

The Great White Egret has long black legs and an orange beak.

They fly with their S-curved neck retracted. Unlike storks, ibis, spoonbills, and cranes who fly with their necks outstretched.

They grow to 38 inches tall are found on every continent except Antarticia.

This bird is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

They hunt in shallow water and swallow small fish whole. They also like frogs, crayfish, dragonflies, and grasshoppers.

Linking to:

MET Monday @ BNOTP

OMHG Wonderful Wednesday on Monday

You're the Star @ God's Growing Garden on Monday

Image-in-ing on Monday

Through My Lens on Monday

Wild Bird Wednesday @ Paying Ready Attention on Wednesday am

My Corner of the World @ Photographing New Zealand on Wednesday

Thankful Thursday @ It's A Small Town Life

Water H20 Thursday @ Roentare Blog on Thursday

Weekend Reflections on Friday

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound on Friday

Saturday's Critters @ Viewing Nature with Eileen on Saturday

Mosaic Monday @ South and Mind and So On on Sunday

At The Lake - American White Pelican Migration

Living near Kentucky Lake, we get to enjoy the water and the migration of the American White Pelicans.

We are boaters so we are at the lake every weekend and sometimes during the week (nice part about being retired).

The American White Pelicans arrive at Kentucky Lake in September, and we love to go "pelican hunting".

For me, Pelican Hunting means trying to get the best photographs I can of these huge birds. I have a zoom lens on my camera, but it is often not quite enough to get that perfect pic. Guess I need a bigger zoom!

Because they are usually in such shallow water, we often take out one of our fishing boats. The shallow water makes it difficult to get close to the pelicans.

Whether it is a single pelican or a pod of pelicans, it's always a thrill to find them. Love the reflection in the bottom pic of the pelicans.

A unique characteristic of the pelican is the "gular pouch" inside its beak. This pouch is used in catching fish and holding fish after they are scooped up.

Their wings are white and black, and they can have a wingspan of 9 feet.

The American white Pelicans have short strong legs with webbed toes which allows them to take off from the water. I plan to do a little more pelican hunting next weekend.

Thanks for stopping by to see the American White Pelicans - Judy.

Links

MET Monday @ BNOTP

OMHG Wonderful Wednesday on Monday

You're the Star @ God's Growing Garden on Monday

Image-in-ing on Monday

Through My Lens on Monday

Wild Bird Wednesday @ Paying Ready Attention on Wednesday am

My Corner of the World @ Photographing New Zealand on Wednesday

Thankful Thursday @ It's A Small Town Life

Water H20 Thursday @ Roentare Blog on Thursday

Weekend Reflections on Friday

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound on Friday

Saturday's Critters @ Viewing Nature with Eileen on Saturday

Mosaic Monday @ South and Mind and So On on Sunday

Before They Are Gone

Hummingbirds

Today was a lucky day, the hummers are still visiting my flowers and feeders and I was fortunate enough to capture a few good pics.

The fushia color of some impatients on my back deck must have caught the eye of the hummers.

I'm happy my husband was standing at the sliding glass door that opens to the deck and spied the visitors.

I keep my camera sitting on the counter next to the slider so I can grab it quickly.

The hummer also enjoyed the nectar from an Angelonia flower.

Earlier in the day, I snapped a hummer sitting on a branch.

I don't know how much longer they will visit my feeders.

Hummers Visiting A Friend in Missouri

My friend, Linda T., in Cape Girardeau, MO (where we lived before moving to Kentucky) shared some fabulous pics of her visitors this week.

Take a look at this white hummer migrating through her area.

What a treat to have a stunning white hummer at your feeder! I'm thinking this may be an albino hummingbird since I don't see any other pigments.

Other hummers visiting Linda's feeders.

Yellow Swallowtail

A Yellow Swallowtail visiting the blooms of Lantana.

Thanks for stopping by today. Happy birding - Judy.

Linking to:

MET Monday @ BNOTP

OMHG Wonderful Wednesday on Monday

You're the Star @ God's Growing Garden on Monday

Image-in-ing on Monday

Through My Lens on Monday

Wild Bird Wednesday @ Paying Ready Attention on Wednesday am

My Corner of the World @ Photographing New Zealand on Wednesday

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound on Friday

Saturday's Critters @ Viewing Nature with Eileen on Saturday

Mosaic Monday @ South and Mind and so on on Sunday

September Blooms

From Murray, Kentucky in the southern tip of Western Kentucky - growing zone 7a.

It's time for September Bloom Day so I'll show you my blooms:

Lantana can take the summer heat. I love these red and yellow colors in this lantana.

The Yellow Swallowtail is gorgeous on the lantana.

In addition to the lantana, you can see a few leaves from a Nasturtium (no blooms) then some white Verbenia blooms at the top of the pic.

Some of my Petunias are still in bloom thanks to my feeding.

I paused the feeding while the temps were 100 degrees' but now that the temps are cooling down, I have started feeding again.

Verbenia that reseeded from last year is spilling over the back walkway.

This gorgeous Dahlia was blooming in my garden this week. I held it in front of a giant elephant ear to get this pic. This is my second year to grow Dahlias and I thought I just wanted pink ones. I have certainly changed my mind after looking at this stunning color.

This is a new variety of Coreopsis (Tickseed) for me. I have had coreopsis for years but after the December flash freeze, my old coreopsis didn't survive.