Lee had never smelled the sweet magnolias of the south, not to mention the myriad of wildlife in the Hot Springs National Forest which is our yard; front back and sides, where we share a neighborhood with thousands if not tens of thousands of foxes, wolves, small bears, chipmunks, squirrels, possum, raccoons, and so many exotic birds one might think they are in the Amazon Rain Forest. It is the only National Park that is actually inside of a city. Water boils up that is 2000 years old before it reaches the surface. The city has found a way to tap it and it is completely free of impurities so prevalent in today’s water.

Lee was born and raised in Portland, Or, and as anyone knows who has visited, is quite a unique and beautiful city. But Lee had not been able to take advantage of all nature had to offer there as she was caring for a sick spouse who needed full time assistance, and in spite of the mountains, trails, wildlife, etc, she was unable to partake. She had to be at home at all times. The hospital was her other home.

She discovered her husband’s only chance was to get him back to his home country of Canada as he was perishing rapidly. He lived over a year longer (than he would have lived here) where he would have gotten no medical care.

To keep her mind occupied during this ten year ordeal, in which she also sold on Ebay, and even became a powerseller, was to learn tai chi and practice it daily. When I visited she showed me a part with a walking trail at the fork of two beautiful rivers and her sincere health regimen was on. She was already eating nothing but healthy foods, and though a cancer survivor, she had a chance for a new beginning.

It did not take long to fall in love, and it was consummated by my sister former model/now entrepreneur Kathy Ireland when she popped the question to Lee (for me) on Twitter, “Lee Angel. Would you be my darling SIL (Sister In Law). I had talked to Kathy beforehand so she knew I was going to ask, she simply didn’t think I was moving fast enough. Lee and I married on June 18, 2010 in a tiny hut in the mountains, which Lee calls our “wedding chapel” on Hot Springs Mountain. I had been a cartoonist and marketer for the cartoons and licensed gifts for 12 years. Lee had revealed that Ebay sales were way down and she could no longer find the justification to do her hunting at thrift shops, take photos and sell in her Ebay shop.

She told me her dream. She didn’t need my permission, just someone to run it by. Next thing I knew she was doing it. She had her own line of shoes, clothing, household goods, and much more. Lee Hiller Designs, within a year (or less) was a dream come true. She had now moved to the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and hiked daily 3-4 hours taking beautiful pictures which she posts to her blog and onto her products. It is a most unusual venture, and I’m very proud. She has won The People’s Choice Award for wildflower photography in Arkansas and received a congratulatory letter from the governor’s office. Her Hot Springs merchandise has been written up in our local paper. She is slowly but surely making a name for herself worldwide.

Words are our lovers. People are in love with word. Some words are promises and if not kept they can hurt, badly. There are thoe who who make promises, and you never hear another thing about it, the promises, or anything else. You just learn their characterfast. And there are people of action. Lee is a person of action. More importantly than that, she is a person of generosity. If she learns something, and I don’t know it, she is more than not available to teach me how it is done. We do that for each other. I think it is one of the many elements that keeps us in love and showing respect. We remain best friends and lovers. It’s a hard combination to beat.

If you love nature and wildlife photography and the most gorgeous floral photography, visit Lee’s blog.

How Bees Make Honey

Worker bees fit their namesake as they fly around from flower to flower collecting nectar. Incidentally, this is the same time they pollinate plants as the pollen is spread to the bees. The bee uses its proboscis to drink the nectar, then flies to the next flower or to the beehive. During the flight, the proteins and enzymes within the bee turn the nectar into honey. At the hive, the bee places the honey into the cells in the comb. From here, the bees flap their wings to dry out the honey, giving it its long lifespan. Once dehydrated, they cover it over with wax and move onto the next cell.

Harvesting And Selling The Honey

With preparation, collection of the honey is incident free. Be sure to have your gloves and hat on as well as any other beekeeping equipment you need. Having enough jars for the honey wouldn’t hurt either. Start by removing the cappings from the frame and place them in a pan. Once removed, put the frame onto the extractor. If you have an electric one, start it off; if not, start spinning the frame.

Pour the honey into the labeled jars, then wipe them down with a warm, damp cloth to ensure no stickiness is left on the outside. Screw the lid on tightly. Finally, place in a cool, dry location and they’ll last for a considerably long time.

To gain a profit from your honey, choose your species wisely. An unproductive species will lead to more costs than can be recuperated. Furthermore, make sure the honey is pure: no bee legs or contaminants if possible. To gain the best profit, offer your honey in varying sizes from large to small jars. Choose carefully how you sell, if it’s to a local store or if you do it roadside, as these will return different levels of profit for different work.

Get all the details and information about honey bees beekeeping and the honey industry easy and fast! Learning the benefits and advantages of beekeeping will help you to get a beautiful garden with less effort!

There are a couple other things you should have before you bring your bees to their new home. Be sure to talk to your neighbors and family as well as check what the rules are in your area. Every city has their own regulations when it comes to having bees or other animals in your yard.

To make sure that you lessen the chances of your bees wondering off, you should have a fence around the area. If the fence is at least six feet tall and taller than the beehive, they will tend to stay around without straying off. Bees like to fly straight out from their hives, therefore if the fence is higher than the hive; it will cause them to have to fly a little higher to go over.

Before you bring your bees home, make sure you have an extra bee hive for them to go to if they feel like roaming off. They will sometimes fly away from their current hive to find a new one, this way they do not have to wonder off very far to find it.

One of the most important things that you need to get before you bring the bees home is a beekeeping suit. This is a suit that provides extra protection from their stings. They are very affordable and can be found online at sites dedicated to beekeeping and beekeeping equipment.

Another very important thing to have before you start taking care of bees is a beekeeping suit. They are designed to help ward of stings and will protect your skin and face. They are very affordable and can also be purchased in child sizes.

To learn more about backyard beekeeping, do a little more research online. There are many sites that are dedicated to giving the information needed to make great decisions about beekeeping.

A beekeeping suit is recommended for all amateurs. Get exclusive inside info on the best suits now in our complete beekeeping overview.

The Common Black Hawk feeds mainly on crabs, but will also take small vertebrates and eggs. They often perch for long periods on a branch over water, waiting for their prey to appear. The adult Common Black Hawk is 43-53 cm long and weighs 930g on average. Lifespan of a common black hawk is around 24 years.

It builds a platform nest of sticks fifteen to one hundred feet above the ground in a tree, often a mangrove. Nests are often reused and tend to grow bigger. No detailed information is available on pair bonding, territoriality, or most other aspects of this species’ social behavior. The pair often fly together, with their wings fluttering and held at a strong dihedral angle. Loud and hoarse whistles, sounding like those of the Night-Heron are common during nesting season.

The male may sweep down and land directly on the female, or he may perch beside her for a time before mounting. Copulation occurs about 15 to 90 meters from the nest on a branch or rock. Up to four copulations per day occur as the egg laying period approaches. It lays one to three eggs (usually one), which are whitish with brown markings. Incubation lasts for 38 to 39 days. Fledging period is between 43 to 50 days, and post-fledging dependence of the juvenile on the adult lasts 6 to 8 weeks.

The current conservation rating of the Common Black-Hawk is Least Concern. It is found in parts of the Americas, from the Southwestern United States through Central America to Venezuela, Peru, Trinidad and the Lesser Antilles. Generally these birds inhabit lowland areas, with a source of water nearby. In Guatemala it can be found around the caribbean coasts.

Marina K. Villatoro, has lived in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. With her first hand experience, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

Females are black, but have a white breast and lower neck sides, a brown band on the wings and a blue eye ring. They have long wings, tails and bills and the males have a red gular pouch that is inflated during the breeding season to attract a mate. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds.

Due to the fact that these guys lack the ability to take off from water, they snatch prey from the ocean surface or beach using their long, hooked bills. They have been seen catching fish, baby turtles and similar items in this way. When it comes to feeding they will also rob other seabirds, using their speed and maneuverability to outrun and harass their victims. The Magnificent Frigate Bird is 100 cm long with a 215 cm wingspan. They live an estimated of 30 years. Frigate birds are seasonally monogamous. This means that males will only mate with one female each season. They are also known for nesting in colonies.

Both parents take turns feeding for the first three months but then only the mother feeds the young for another eight months. It takes so long to rear a chick that frigate birds cannot breed every year. It is typical to see juveniles as big as their parents waiting to be fed. Male Magnificent Frigate birds inflate their throat sacs during breeding season, clattering their bills, waving their heads back and forth, quivering their wings, and calling to females. After mating has passed females lay one or two white eggs.

They are not endangered but populations appear to be declining, due mainly to human destruction of habitat for housing and resorts, and disturbance in colonies. Some potential problems they have are: introduced predators and over-fishing.

Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, has been living in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She has traveled here extensively. Now loves organizing vacations to this amazing part of the world, having first hand experience of all the places with her family. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

Males of the species are generally between 2 and 2.5 meters, while females are usually around 1.4 meters. They live an average of 25 – 30 years. They have a dull olive color. Observations show that as conditions become drier, caimans stop feeding. Cannibalism has been reported under such conditions. As adults they are capable of taking large, mammalian prey such as wild pigs.

When they need to cool off, they simply sink to colder water. They can also heat up their bodies by floating in the warm, upper surface of the water. Some live where the weather is especially cold at times during the year, but none of them actually become inactive and enter a state of deep sleep. Instead, these species either lie still in shallow water or they retreat into winter burrows to wait for spring. A favorite daytime activity for caimans is sunbathing or basking on shore.

Caimans lay 14 – 40 eggs in mounds of soil and vegetation at the water’s edge or on rafts of floating vegetation. Sometimes nests are shared by females who guard it against predators. The young caiman hatch after approximately 90 days and they stay in groups close to the female. Mating takes place near the end of the dry season May – August. Spectacled

The ecological importance of this species has been demonstrated by recycling nitrogenous that re-enters the ecosystem to the benefit of other plants and animals. Also due to the reduction in number of larger crocodilian species the Caiman expanded its range into areas formerly occupied by them.

Marina K. Villatoro, the Travel Experta, has been living in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She has traveled here extensively. Now loves organizing vacations to this amazing part of the world, having first hand experience of all the places with her family. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

There is a bright blue stripe above the eye and a blue-bordered black patch on the throat. The tips of the tail feathers are shaped like rackets and the bare feather shafts are longer than in other motmots. The flight feathers and upperside of the tail are blue. It has a mostly green body with a rufous back and belly.

Motmots eat small prey such as insects and lizards, and will also take fruit. In Costa Rica, motmots have been observed feeding on poison dart frogs. The bird is approximately 34 cm long and weighs about 65 grams. These guys have been known to live from 12 to 14 years. It has also been chosen as the national bird of both El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Motmots often move their tail back and forth in a wag-display that commonly draws attention to an otherwise hidden bird. Research indicates that motmots perform the wag-display when they detect predators (based on studies on Turquoise-browed Motmot) and that the display is likely to communicate that the motmot is aware of the predator and is prepared to escape. White eggs (3-6) are laid in a long tunnel nest in an earth bank or sometimes in a quarry or fresh-water well. Males apparently use their tail as a sexual signal, as males with longer tails have greater pairing success and reproductive success.

The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (30% decline over ten years or three generations).

Marina K. Villatoro, has lived in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. With her first hand experience, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

Adults have a glossy, greenish-black cap, a greenish back and wings that are dark green or blue, almost black. Their bill is dark with a long, sharp point. As I mentioned before they are stalk predators and feed mainly on small fish, frogs and aquatic arthropods, but it has also been know that they usually take any invertebrate or vertebrate prey they can catch.

As I mentioned before they are stalk predators and feed mainly on small fish, frogs and aquatic arthropods, but it has also been know that they usually take any invertebrate or vertebrate prey they can catch.

The Green Heron is also relatively small with a body length of 44cm as an adult. The oldest wild green heron was captured when it was almost 8 years old. There is very little information on lifespan in these birds due to the fact that they are more nocturnal than diurnal. They prefer to retreat to sheltered areas in daytime.

During courtship, the male loud noises with a wide-open bill and makes noisy wing-beats. They also make loud noises while flying. Green herons usually lay 2-5 bluish-white eggs which are laid in 2-day intervals. After the last egg has been laid, both parents incubate them for about 19-25. The young sometimes start to leave the nest at 16 days of age, but are not fully independent until 30-35 days old.

Human activities have had their effect on the heron but it is still listed as least concern. Historically, green herons were hunted for food. Fish hatcheries also kill green herons to prevent them eating their fish.

These birds appear in their breeding ranges at the same time they did 100 years ago.[They are seen as far north as southern Canada and as far south as northern South America.

Marina K. Villatoro, has lived in Central America – Costa Rica and Guatemala for over 10 years. She’s traveled these parts extensively and now loves to organize vacations to these amazing parts of the world. With her first hand experience, she can recommend the best options for you. Contact her for advice and to plan your perfect trip!

Believe it or not, just making sure they have foods, drinking water, and are tied securely to some tree isn’t all that is required. You run the danger of selecting your pet dog lying dead of either a heat stroke or frozen to death.

Yes, external dogs and cats have fur that handles their bodies. Nevertheless, that does not mean that within the function of cold climate they will probably be adequately protected from the extreme chilly. If there’s no simply no way that you can let them within, be sure that they’ve a lot of food and drinking water that’s not frozen.

Produce a shelter of some sort for them, regardless of whether this can be a dog home, a box, or perhaps a spot within the carport or patio. Discover warm materials that you simply are not heading to become utilizing any longer or purchase them some cheap blankets. Place these in a location that is sheltered from the wind, rain, snow, or what ever you’ve heading on there.

For very hot weather, external house animals have to have a shady area to be. Again, make positive they have plenty of foods and a lot of drinking water. The water is really significant towards the animals during excessive heat. They could become dehydrated very quickly if they are not supplied with a very good source of water. You are able to even add some ice cubes to their water. These will melt and keep the provide of drinking water ongoing in situation you get busy or neglect to examine it.

Constantly have a strategy inside occasion of normal disasters. Hurricane Katrina is an excellent instance of how not getting a plan to have your outdoors house animals also as indoor animals protected can lead for the death of thousands of animals. Should you stay in places that are prone to such points as hurricanes, tornados and earthquakes, be certain you know just what you’re going to complete to guard your loved ones also as your house animals from the occasion of an emergency.

Clearly you’re wanting to learn knowledge on pets. If you do not feel fulfilled with what you have read here or you think you might hope to find additional knowledge then check out George Vennarden’s latest website about tick bite on dog as well as removing ticks from dog.

Penguins are a group of birds that, while they are good swimmers, are unable to fly. They live in a very harsh environment and their bodies are made exclusively for survival. When they dive into the water, for example, their wings turn into flippers. Although the largest species are the Emperor penguins, they still only reach about 4 feet tall. However, in the prehistoric times, some were as tall and heavy as present day humans! Back then, they didn’t all live in the Antarctic regions, either.

When it comes to getting penguin checks, you have more than one option. Popular check series include the Defenders of Wildlife Penguin checks, Penguin Parade checks, and the Penguin Pals checks. You can even find matching accessories to go with your checks, too.

A family of penguins is featured on the Penguin Parade checks. These show Emperor penguins in the Arctic Circle, their natural habitat. You’ll be charmed by these penguins that appear to be hanging out, enjoying a sunny but frigid day. You can also purchase a matching checkbook cover.

You can rest assured knowing that you are helping out an organization that protects wild animals and their natural habitats if you get the Defenders of Wildlife penguin checks. This organization’s programs support natural habitats and ecosystems. The check series has 4 rotating images which mean that each check you write will be different. Coordinating contact cards, address labels, and a matching checkbook cover can be purchased at an extra cost.

The Penguin Pals penguin series has 4 attractive images of penguins in their natural habitat. From moving images of parental affection to groups of hip young penguins, the images on these checks capture the enthralling antics of these fascinating creatures that dwell in a cruel environment.

With the Penguin Pals checks, you can also purchase matching address labels which can really spruce up your envelopes-especially at Christmastime when you are sending out cards. A matching address cover can be bought, too, that shows a gang of young penguins, seemingly smiling directly at the camera.

It could be costly to get striking checks that weren’t boring and unexciting in the past. In this day and age, however, if you get your checks on the Internet from a protected site you can save as much as 50% off of the cost that your bank might have charged you. It typically just takes a couple of days to get them, too, which might be even earlier than your bank could have gotten them to you.

Before your purchase penguin checks, visit Penguin-Checks.com to find coupons and to save up to 50% off your next order of penguin personal checks.