BirdCam on Cheltenham: 2012

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Red-breasted Nuthatches fly in for some seeds!

This December I noticed some new birds at the feeders. They were very quick taking a sunflower seed from the tube feeder and then flying away, unlike a house finch that would sit at the feeder and eat seed for several minutes. Today I was able to take a few pictures from the kitchen window and identify the them as Red-breasted Nuthatches.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

The Red-breasted Nuthatches would fly back and forth from the feeder very quickly, unlike the house finches that would sit at the feeders and look at me.

House Finch

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Red-tailed Hawk in the rain

This Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk was sitting in the Eucalyptus tree while it rained. I watched it fly in and it sat there for about twenty minutes, surveyed the area and shaked off the rain. Then it flew off in the direction it came.

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Water Hyacinth in Bloom

Near our front door we have a small water feature with a waterfall, goldfish and some water hyacinths. Each day when I go home for lunch, I feed the goldfish. Today one of the water hyacinths was in bloom so I took a picture.

Water Hyacinth

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Dazzling Dahlias!

Our local branch of the American Begonia Society held a meeting this past weekend at the home of two of our members, Ted and Larry. They are such wonderful hosts and we really appreciate their hospitality and allowing us to visit their garden. They provided a delicious lasagna lunch with wine, beer and soft drinks. Lunch was followed with an entertaining meeting that was lead by Mike and then we were treated to a delicious assortment of Larry's fine cookies. All of this in their beautiful garden.
Ted and Larry have an amazing collection of beautiful plants including begonias and dahlias! It is a wonderful garden and a feast for our eyes. Everyone had a great time and I'm sure you will enjoy viewing the following pictures.

Dahlia

Dahlia and a busy bee.

Dahlia

A very good looking chicken keeping an eye on me.

They also grow incredible begonias

Begonia Lotusland

Begonia Freddie

Begonia Luxurians

Begonia and Orchid

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Paul's Tuberous Begonias are Truly Spectacular!

Last year I posted pictures from the Gazebo Begonia Show of Paul's Tuberous Begonias (click the link take you to last year's post). Gazebo Plants and Flowers didn't have a show this year since the begonia convention was being held in San Diego. Mike Flaherty of Gazebo Plants & Flowers and Paul Carlisle decided to put their energy into preparing and showing their plants at the convention. They made the convention and won many awards, good job guys! I will post some pictures at a later date from the convention.

However I couldn't wait to post these pictures! Today we took a road trip up to Paul's home in Los Osos, California and saw the most spectacular begonias. Paul is an incredible begonia grower who focuses all of his energy into growing incredible award winning tuberous begonias. Paul only grows tuberous begonias and he does it very well! He has a true talent and you can see it in the following pictures.