Funny birds

Dear Noah,

I was looking through the pictures I took while I was kayaking yesterday and there were a couple that made me laugh.  I thought you might like them, too.  Pretty funny lookin' birds.

This is a Tri-colored Heron (also called a Louisiana Heron).  This is what he's supposed to look like:

But when he looks straight on you can't even see his bill and he looks all goggly-eyed.

This one was funny because he looks like he has a third leg...but he's pooping!  I thought that would make you laugh!  He is a Solitary Sandpiper (he likes to be alone).

Love you and miss you,

Nanny

The turtle that climbed a mountain

Dear Noah,

Today I went kayaking on the Blind River. I don't know why it's called that. Are there rivers that can see?

Anyway, I saw this little turtle up on top of this stump. 

He was pretty little, about the size of your hand. But he had somehow climbed up on top of that stump that was way bigger than he was. I was very impressed. How do you suppose he got up there?  Do you think somebody helped him?  Do you think he was scared up on top like that?  I don't think he was happy to see me. I think he was saying, "hey lady, it was hard work climbing all the way up here, don't make me jump off!" 

Have you ever held a turtle in your hand?  Sometimes they pee on you when they're scared, just like toads do. 

Hope you like this little guy!

Love, Nanny

Porkypine

Porkypine

Dear Noah,

Saw this today and thought it was cute.  I like it when she pokes his nose and he squeaks!

love,

Nanny

Mr. and Mrs. Banana Spider

Dear Noah,

I wanted to introduce you to the Banana Spider.  It's a common spider here in Louisiana and we see a LOT of them in the summer time in the woods.  It's also called the Golden Silk spider because its web is golden in color.  Can you see that in this picture?

This picture has two spiders in it.  Which one do you think is the daddy (male) and which one the mommy (female)?  It might not be what you think!

It's pretty cool that spiders can spin webs out of their body...like Spiderman :-)   Or I guess Spiderman is like a spider, since the spider came first!  Anyway, they can make this cool web stuff out of their body and they make a web but only the *inside* part is sticky!  It traps the insects that the spider will eat.  The outside part that connects the spider to the stuff around it is not sticky at all; it's just very strong!  How do they make two different kinds of web??  Pretty amazing stuff.

This picture is one of my favorites.  It's a picture of spiderwebs in the early early morning when the dew collected on the web and looks like diamond jewelry.  Pretty neat, huh?

love,

Nanny

Weekend fun

Dear Nanny,

I wanted to show you some funny pictures from this weekend! My momma and I played with the hose yesterday and we all went to the beach today. I asked my daddy to bury me in the sand :)

Love, Noah

On the farm

Dear Nanny,

My momma and I went to a farm last weekend. I was so excited to go I was jumping up and down when she told me. I really wanted to see some animals and we did! We saw goats, cows, a sheep, lots of chickens and turkeys. One of the chickens was being funny and trying to sleep in a hole it made in the leaves. We met a horse named Red who pulled us around the farm in a train. He was SO BIG.

Love, Noah

Birds in the swamp

Dear Noah,

When we talked on the phone the other day I told you I was going kayaking.  I love to kayak in the cypress lakes in Louisiana!  There are so many fun things to see.  I especially love the birds.  Here are a few that I saw when I was kayaking the other day...

Anhinga - the snake bird

Eastern Bluebird

Great Blue Heron
He's taller than you are!

Great Egret - hiding in the swamp

Little Blue Heron hunting frogs

Brown-headed Nuthatch
he sounds like a squeaky toy :-)

Golden swamp warbler
his nickname is Yellow Pop!

Isn't the swamp a beautiful place?

Maybe you can go kayaking with me next time you come to Louisiana!

Love, Nanny