Kentucky.....home of Corvettes, historical sites, quilt barns, woodchucks, and butterflies...

We just spent a few days in Kentucky and enjoyed  a nice variety of things.  The scenery in southern Kentucky is beautiful and if you like winding roads they have plenty of them!  Too bad we were not in a sports car!  We stopped off in Bowling Green for Mike to visit the National Corvette Museum and also another History Museum, and to drink some White Squirrel microbrewed beer.  Then headed further south while following a quilt barn trail for me to enjoy, and ended up in Barren River State Park to relax for a couple of days.

Didn't see a lot of birds, but saw lots of butterflies.  Several times we found a bunch that were gathered in wet areas with minerals or other attractions such as food or bird poop.

 Saw quite a few of these Admirals during the time we were there.

 I didn't look this up but think it is the Hackberry Emperor opened up.  I don't usually get to see that view!

 This was a whole bunch enjoying the puddles along the side of a road near a ford over the water.

A Tiger Swallowtail 

Didn't look these up yet...Checkerspots maybe?....and a little Hairstreak at the lower left. 

 Someone tossed a melon rind in the yard outside our window at the Inn in the park and it was attracting all sorts of butterflies.

A Comma or Question Mark on the left, a Hackberry and a Harvester spider?

 

the Hackberrty and the Question Mark 

3 Silver Spotted Skippers with an Admiral

 The melon also attracted this fat Woodchuck each afternoon we were there and he did not like the butterfly that kept landing on his nose :-)  Hackberry butterflies are very friendly.

 He did like the melon, however.

 I brought him a biscuit from breakfast one morning and a few chunks of melon.  

 Gray Squirrel hiding nuts.

 There were several Starlings that seemed to have white heads?

Vulture in the tree.

Have to include at least one shot of the beautiful scenery. 

 I liked the reflections

Interesting round hole area in the rocks 

 Some fishermen enjoying the day

 Fort William , which is surrounded on all sides by a large cemetery.

 Mike and the cannon

One of the strangest grave monuments I have ever seen....this lady in a chair sitting way up high on a tall monument! 

At the old Mulkey Meetinghouse site we saw the grave of Hannah Boone. 

There were many Revolutionary war monuments in this little cemetery.  I always enjoy wandering around cemeteries for some reason.

 I guess I should include at least one Corvette from the museum!  I liked this one.

 Mike really likes the yellow.

The most interesting exhibit was about the sinkhole that opened up under the floor of the museum in 2014 and 8 Corvettes were sucked in.  They had neat videos and information about how they got them back out.  4 were not restorable....like this one :-( 

They just happen to have an exhibit on Indy cars while we were there, so that was a bonus!  This one is the same age as Mike and I :-)

This year's baby "bandits"....

I glanced out on the deck earlier and there was mother raccoon with two little ones.  Mom always cuts and runs and doesn't even care about what happens to the kids.  

 the little ones always panic and run up the tree to "hide" rather then run down the tree and run away home.  So funny to watch them.

 Here they are both trying to scramble up the tree.  One stopped on the first branch and the other is trying to scramble past him.

 How can you not love that sweet little face.

Number two on the higher branch trying to be invisible.

Since this mom.....or a different one each year....always comes by with at least 2 babies, I always wonder what happens to them all.  They obviously move on somewhere....or get killed.  I don't want a bunch or to have them around permanently, but they are cute when they first show up.  I'll have to cut back on bird seed and the outdoor cat's food so there will be no tempting treats for them each evening when they usually come around.

Odds and ends....

I feel I need to post something so you all know I am still here.  So I will just choose an assortment of photos that I have taken this spring in no particular order.

 I love this turtle and his reflection

 Another one of the many turtles at the wetlands.  The water has been high with all the rain we have so they don't have a lot of logs to sit on right now.

 Probably why we have this pile-up :-)

A Red Admiral posing for me 

 One family of Canada geese with 8 babies.

 A big flat soft-shelled turtle

 Little snake in the water. 

 In the shot below I couldn't decide if it has something in its mouth or if it is just crossing over something.

"I see you, too, but I forgot my camera"

Back at home....the Mockingbird at the feeder 

 Red-bellied woodpecker

An upside down Chickadee. Today I saw a baby chickadee in the front yard with the parent but haven't downloaded those photos.  I don't think I got any good shots of the baby anyway, but I was sure glad to see it. 

Pair of Mourning Doves 

One of the springtime visitors....the Rose-breasted Grosbeak male.  I've had one pair of them hanging around. 

 Another Red-bellied Woodpecker high up in the maple tree.

A swallow at the local park

 We went up north for a couple of days to Turkey Run State Park and the area around it.  There are many covered bridges in the area and we hunted up 4-5.

 Some more baby geese

 Some beautiful wildflowers.  Keep meaning to look up the name of the red ones.

 There are Amish in this area, too, so I caught a few shots of the farmers plowing their fields with the horses.

A nice old Martin house 

Another covered bridge 

 Skink

 Chipmunk at the nature center

A trip to Henderson found a few waders and another goose family