Febrruary 5, 2010 Discover Life On Rainbow Creek by: brendasue

Record Winter Storm Blankets most of U. S.
Kates Cabin Escapes Into Spring.


Welcome to our Nature Class. This is buzzbee. It seems his rights as a living being on this planet have been violated. (Whatever) So he is going to give the signal to begin the class today.
It is okay as Kay Lonnie is still pretty distraught that Little King said her lines yesterday while she was still getting ready for her photoshoot.
Buzzbee indicates that his signal for starting the class will be to demonstrate jumping into an apple blossom.


Let the Class Begin! Good Show, Buzzbee!




Welcome to the People of Earth! Come on in. This is the front gate to Kates Cabin. Our class is meeting out here today as we have someone special coming to Kates.
My Photography Instructor, Doug Box and his lovely wife, LaVelda are coming to Kates in search of Signs of Spring. It is hard to believe it is finally a nice sunny spring day here. They will be so surprised!
Our Photostudy today will be out here in the pansy bed. They love the cold weather. The Texas sun has some warmth in it today!







































What is Your Favorite Color?




Look at this guy who just flew in.




This is the first time this daddy blue jay let his new baby boy come to the feeding station.





He is a proud pappa.




What a fine young jay this is. They live here yearround.




Here is our resident cardinal-Big Dad. Last year he raised 3 sets of babies.














What a great day it was for signs of spring here at Kates! Doug and LaVelda Box liked Kates Cabin so much that He is going to have some Seminars here at this Nature Studio in the Woods. So maybe I will get to meet alot of you when you can come on down to Texas to Doug's Class.




Does anybody know who this showoff is???? Yes, right again, it is King Buzz.




And there he goes up to his tall pine tree for the night. Goodnite, King and Goodnite Kate!






Goodnight Everyone, Everywhere.




And Thank You Doug & LaVelda for a great day in the garden at Kates!





one more for Mom:
When the red, red, robin Comes bob, bob, bobbing along. (Along)
There will be no more crying when he starts singing his own sweet song:
Wake Up! Get Up! Get out of bed----- Get Up! Get Up! You Sleepyhead!
Laugh, love, live and be happy..................

........................brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek...when the red, red.............!



katescabin@gmail.com or snail mail at P O Box 743, Hempstead, Texas 77445

January 30, 2010 Discover Life On Rainbow Creek by: brendasue

BRRRRRRRRR! It is so cold the roses have turned blue at Kates Cabin on Rainbow Creek!
Welcome to a new page of our mini Nature Class for the World. Let's go on up to the roof where a cold Kay Lonnie is waiting to begin our class.

Kay Lonnie it is too cold for our class on the roof. Go ahead and give the signal, please.



Let the Class Begin!



Still going---my, what a long signal. We can actually see the signal where your hot breath hits the cold air and makes smoke!



Come on down to your warm bed and we will have class on the computer today.



Yes, it is a lovely day in here! Just for a quick review for our new classmates: We are using the bird sanctuary here at Kates as our observatory. We are looking at different living things that live here with us on the planet. You may not have these species of Rainbow Creek, so I am bringing them out of the woods for you to see here on this blogger venue. I am presenting a daily photostudy of a topic as I come across things.
I hope I encourage you to pick up your camera and photodocument the living things around you. I offer examples of different shots with my camera (which is a point & shoot).


Our Photostudy today will be on this little fruit. Does anybody already know what it is?




This is the fruit of an Eleagnus Shrub. It is called a drupe. The 'tail' seen above was the flower before it was pollinated. Once the flower was pollinated by the bees, the ovum at the base of the flower began to grow into this fruit. As the fruit ripens, the dried up, now useless flower petal 'tail' will fall off. The purpose of all flowers is to be pollinated and make seed for the next generation. The new seed that is growing is inside this fruit. It is one large seed. The sweet/tart fruit is adored by birds which eat the fruit and fly to another location to deposit spent seed after fruit is ingested.


The drupe turns bright red when it is ready. Birds are attracted not only to the fruit, but also the insects that like the ripe fruit.



This is not a rare bush, just no longer as popular as it once was in the smaller flowerbeds as it gets large. The leaves are not as pretty as more popular garden shrubs.


But for those who have the space, a long hedgerow of these eleagnus shrubs is wonderful as a wind break and fantastic for the birds with its dense growth habit. It is evergreen.



In my zone 9 area, this shrub flowers in December. The small white spotty flowers have a very strong cinnamon smell.



The fruits have a distinct lemony taste and astringent. But when they are ripe, there is a lovely sweetness.



When I spent some time at the tree farm, I helped the guys harvest the fruit. We had to suck the fruit off and spit the seed on a paper plate then put them in the sun to dry where we could watch that the birds did not steal it away! Then we would plant one seed per pot of dirt to make new shrubs. It was a very tasty part of the job!


Also, I have made jelly and sauces from cooking the fruit. Very good and pretty color.



Check to see if this plant will grow in your zone. If it will, get yourself one or two.
You can plant it for the birds.



Now look closely. Here is someone else who likes this fruit!



He is spotted like the fruit. I do not know his name. I had a dear scientist friend who identified everything I ever sent her. She left us last summer. So if anyone out there knows what this guy is, please write a comment or drop me a line at: katescabin@gmail.com



I was eating these fruits after I took a photo of them. Good thing I spotted this spotty guy before I popped him in my mouth!



He has wings.




And a big appetite for this fruit!




These fruits are ready now (end of January).




The shrub again is eleagnus. I just call mine ellie.



If you find this fruit, you should try it.




This is the sky directlly above my ellie bush. Yes those are the sun trees for the buzzards on the right. They have all gone off to bed. The last one is going over now.




Wouldn't you know, it is King Buzz heading for the pines.
Goodnite King and Goodnite Kate,




Good night Everyone, Everywhere!
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again.
.................................this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek. C.A.S.B.M.S.I.Y.L.M.