Postcards from the Hedge

We love to photograph and paint nature and we hope that our photographic and art postcards will help spread the word about the interesting plants and animals that inhabit our great state of Louisiana. All of these postcards (and more) are available on our 3 galleries on Zazzle: Naturally Native Creations, Louisiana Lagniappe and Wild & Wonderful Louisiana . We hope you enjoy viewing these and if you like what you see and want to see more, be sure to visit our gallery.

Postcards from the Hedge has a new layout. To see the various postcards, just click on the tabs at the top of the page. Each tab will take you to a different set of postcards. We have also provided a table of contents on the first page and a little "sign post" at the bottom of each of the other pages, so that you can click to visit the other pages from there, too.

We hope you enjoy this lens and the new layout.

Dax and Chance Share by naturegirl7

Birds
Butterflies, Spiders, etc.
Mammals, Reptiles, Water
Wildflowers
Comments and More

We are so blessed to have an abundance of songbirds in our habitat on the Tchefuncte River in southeastern Louisiana. We enjoy their color and song all year round. The ones you see below are: American Robin, Carolina Wren, Prothonotary Warblers, Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay and Female Summer Tanager.

For more Song Bird Postcard designs, visit our Naturally Native Gallery

Since we live in a woodland habitat, we don't have as many nesting Eastern Bluebirds as we would like, but luckily a pair uses one of the boxes around the pond each year.

The bright red color of the male Northern Cardinals brightens the winter months and his cheerful song enlivens the spring. Many cardinals nest in our habitat.

Ever since Hurricane Katrina, we have had an abundance of Woodpeckers, especially Red-bellied's. We have enjoyed watching the whole nesting process, from drilling out the nesting hole to weaning the young.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are the only species of Hummingbird that nests in Louisiana. During the winter, though, we often have winter migrants that visit our yards. Most of the photos below are of Ruby-throated hummers, but one is a Buff-bellied that spent the winter with us one year.

Birds of Prey are part of a healthy habitat. They help keep the rodent population down and keep things in balance. Screech Owls and Red-shouldered Hawks are common visitors to our habitat.

We have several butterfly gardens that provide both nectar for adult butterflies and food for the caterpillars. The photos show a few of the many species of butterflies that inhabit Louisiana. Some of the ones included below are: Monarch, Tiger Swallowtail, Long-tailed Skipper, Clouded Sulphur, Palamedes Swallowtail, Coma, Giant Swallowtail, Gulf Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Dusky Skipper, Pipevine Swallowtail, Red Spotted Purple, Buckeye and American Painted Lady.

Moths
The Hummingbird Clearwing Moth is a type of sphinx moth that feeds during the day.



Insects
Insects and other pollinators are a very important link in the cycle of life. Without them, our fruits and vegetables would not produce.

Our habitat supports a healthy population of mammals.

Reptiles and Amphibians are another important predator in the habitat and especially in the organic garden. They provide free pest control service without the use of harmful chemicals.

Most of our pets found us. We have either adopted or rescued all of our current furry friends. Below is Dax, the mischievous orange kitten, Rio, the referee of the pack, and Blaze Star, who stumbled up out of a ditch on a busy highway.

By including many beautiful native flowers and plants in our landscaping, we have reduced our maintenance time and cost considerably. We also have reduced air and water pollution because we don't need to use chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers.