Happy Sunday!
Here’s a little weekend waterview from Lake Norman.
Our resident Great Blue Heron can be found fishing from our dock every afternoon.
I’ve always thought herons are the most Dr. Suess-esque of the bird kingdom. . .
Here he is ready for take off. . .
Their wingspan is 5.5 to 6.6 feet, allowing them to cruise at 20 to 30 miles an hour.
Great Blue Herons hunt alone but typically nest in colonies, preferring tall trees.
You can see a heron nest with chicks, here.
It’s been brutally hot and humid this week but we did manage a
couple of early morning and late evening boat rides.
Lola and Sophie always enjoy a little sight seeing. . .
Purple Martins’ aerial acrobats are fun to watch. . . swooping around
feasting on insects or sipping from the water while in flight. . .
Lola and Sophie say it’s dog gone hot and they’re ready for a break
from the heat and humidity. . .
I’ll leave you with a sunset photo . . .
Hope you’re finding a way to stay cool and beat the heat!
Happy Sunday ♥
Lovely pictures of Lake Norman and your resident Great Blue Heron. We have one who fishes in the pond across the street. Always a treat to see him fly in and reminds me of a prehistoric creature. We have a Rookery nearby with over 30 Heron nests and it is great fun to watch the progress as the nests are repaired,eggs laid and hatchlings being fed by the parents till time for them to fledge and ,go fishing on their own. Mother Nature is amazing.
Hope you and the fur babies stay cool. We had a bit of a relief with some thunderstorms and much needed rain.
Beautiful pics of your lake, the blue heron, and of course, your Lola and Sophie. I’m beating the heat up in Utah, where my youngest son and family have been vacationing all month. They invited me to come for this last week and I was so happy to come and see them. ❤️
Oh, my goodness..first I thought you might be in my yard!! Those are the very same views…except for “the girls” as we have!! Unruly storms recently…lost two 75 foot oak trees, etc. Never a dull moment! EnJOY!! franki
Thank you for sharing your beautiful lake views!
Thank you, Mary, for inviting us along on your boat ride! Awesome pics (as always) as well as a trove of information on the herons. Yup, very Dr. Seuss-esque! Stay cool!
I can almost feel the water lapping up against the side of the boat through your photography. Your Heron pictures are amazing.
Karen
Adorable dogs, and your lake views are lovely. It has been brutally hot in the mountains too, we got to 91 this week one day, and 90 for several more. That is quite unusual for us, as we rarely get out of the 80s, plus the humidity has been brutal. Looking forward to autumn!
Thanks for sharing the pics of the heron. I live in northwest Florida and we see them on the beaches here but they’ve been a little scarce during high tourist season. I’m on the lookout for some heron artwork for our beach home. I love your lake life pics. My dream was to live on Lake Martin in Alabama but not my hubby’s so here we are in Florida.
Lovely lake shots Mary. Sophie and Lola are so cute! The dock picture of such a sweet excited pup running towards you made me smile. I love herons. They’re amazing to watch. Purple Martin’s are wonderful in controlling insects. We would enjoy spending a few days on a large lake but we’ll settle for a day visit due to the pandemic with a homemade picnic on a blanket exercising social distancing. Have a wonderful week Mary. Clara♥️
I agree, blue herons are very Dr. Suess like, I can watch them for hours, they are truly hilarious…have you ever seen one with his wings turned out like he’s sunbathing? When our resident heron, Freddy, does that, I call him Freddy the Flasher 😂 He also thinks he owns the place, squawks like crazy when we shoo him off one of the boats or walk down to the pier while he’s fishing. Sophie and Lola just seem to bounce rather than run, they are enthusiastic boaters too! We’ve had a ton of rain from Hanna the past few days which did cool things off. Have a great week Mary!
Jenna
Glorious sunset~
Beautiful bird shots, love the take off! I didn’t know they had such large wing spans, we have vultures that appear so much bigger, although they are the same in size, herons are just so graceful looking in stature. My next door neighbor had a fire last weekend, a buzzard hit a high wire and set of a fire with his torched body. In this heat and terrain it could have been horrific, we were very lucky it didn’t take off since we were upwind, still burned a few acres. Love the running on the dock shot, my idea of pure happiness!
So beautiful and peaceful views of Lake Norman.
Lola and Sophie are adorable!
Thanks for sharing……
Happy Sunday.
Stay safe!
Such lovely lake photos. We are a blue heron at the creek that I love to watch…. such interesting creatures. And that sweet photo of Sophie and Lola running down the dock brought a smile to my face this morning. Thanks for sharing a few snippets of your lake life. 💕
Beautiful pics once again. Thank you so much for making my Sunday morning happy
Beautiful pictures.
Beautiful photos of the lake and of course Lola and Sophie. May I ask what camera you use. I gave my college grandson my Sony Nex5 camera and I’m researching to buy a new one. I love your photography!
I always love visiting your beautiful lake, the birds are amazing, love that bird house set up! Happy summer, enjoy and stay safe, Sandi
Mary, you are an amazing photographer!! Thank you for sharing your photos of the heron as well as Lola and Sophie!! May you and yours have a wonderful week!!
Thanks for the boat ride and pictures of your precious fur babies!
Mary,
You take such amazing photos. I can’t figure out if that’s due to your patience, if you have incredible luck, or are really Cinderella happily living amongst us while keeping your circle of animal friends nearby for photo shoots. Regardless, thanks for sharing such peaceful photos!
Mary, thanks so much for showing us a portion of a pleasant life on Lake Norman! Enjoy the herons, and the rest of your friends as much as I do!
I love the peeking over the cushion pic! It’s been hot here in Philly too… Have a great week Mary:@)
beautiful!!!
I never tire of looking at water views. Thank you for sharing yours.
Love your Lake Norman, the heron and beautiful sunset but my favorite always are Sophie & Lola.
HI Mary ~
Looks wonderful !! Do you ever go swimming on these hot hot days ?!?!!
TakeCare
Paula
IN
Beautiful, calm sunset pictures…thanks for those…they would look gorgeous if painted. We also have a heron by our pond…he just struts around, checking the perimeter, has the weirdest call, but ‘she’ doesn’t respond…he then flies away. We also enjoy the purple martins for the brief time they are here…it became too hot for them to stay long and now the sparrows keep the martin house occupied…
Thanks for sharing the beautiful picture…love those pups!!!
Glad you were able to get in some boating! The girls look so happy running down the dock, love that photo! It would be awesome to see such a large bird in person and to watch their take off and flight! I always love your water/boating pictures. Sunset is gorgeous! Spent the whole afternoon at our Ft. Gratiot Lighthouse beach. The water was so refreshing, loved jumping the waves! Mid 90’s, but with a nice breeze, such a great day enjoying the beautiful blue water and watching all the different boats and the freighters. The water / beach is my happy place! 😄🌊♥️
Oh, those pups!! Mary, have you ever been approached by a company that makes yearly calendars? Your photography is so outstanding, you could have calendars published with your lake views, one featuring your flowers, and of course the big seller being a calendar featuring your beautiful girls. The only problem I see is in choosing the perfect shots among the many you have taken. Just know that your photos always “make my day”!
Beautiful photos of your lake and pups, Mary. We’ve been walking at 6:30 am to beat the heat, and it doesn’t bother me one bit if I don’t have to go back out afterward. This part of summer has me longing for Fall already, but at this point, I’d be happy with Fall 2021.