Highlands: Mountain Creatures

not only were there some exquisite flowers in Highlands, there were some unbelievable creatures!

I don't normally begin posts with my favorite picture, but just in case you don't make it to the end of this one, i'd want you to see this...

the redbird, aka Mr. Cardinal according to addie, would swoop on and off and around the deck. this was the only shot i got of him, and i was using a 300mm lens (huge zoom!) because he was so far away by the time I could grab my camera and get outside!

but this little guy visited us every day!

he and his compadre (a much larger squirrel) would chirp and fuss and fight over the bird seed!

however, this beauty would wait patiently until all the little finches and both the squirrels had eaten their fix.

a man from the Balsam Mountain Trust Nature Center came to town and brought some beautiful Raptors to share with visitors from their Birds of Prey program. he did a fabulous presentation that Addie is still talking about an entire week later! you know, because all birds DON'T lay eggs. do you know which ones don't? keep reading to find the answer :)

he even offered to bring out the birds later and hold them up in a more natural background so we could take pictures! yes, my camera was practically salivating, but mommy duty came first and we had to leave before it was over for a picnic. so i did what i could to angle my camera/myself in what limited space that i had to create my own more natural background. :D

i couldn't resist posting some pictures of the sweet (looking) owls he brought. each of the birds he brought had some sort of physical limitation/disability due to injury. while they are not a rehabilitation center, they do house birds who have been rehabilitated elsewhere.

i got bumped to the back for this bird and felt bad pushing my way back through to my mom and addie.

but i peeped over someone's shoulder to grab these! i sure wouldn't want to run into those eyes in a dark alley...or on a dark mountain!

but when he brought this guy out, i didn't hesitate to take the chance and slip back in beside addie and my mom. because wow...what a beautiful symbol of our freedom and the men and women who have and continue to fight for us to keep it.

such an incredibly majestic, powerful creature

and yet still so beautiful!

and since i know you're just itching to know which birds don't lay eggs...?

why the male birds of course! ;)