From the Archives

To see the detail of the wood, please click on the image to enlarge.
November of last year. Me playing with the camera and trying to look through a knothole in this lovely weathered tree stump.

Sky Watch - The Bald Eagle's Realm

The eagle is still perched in the tree tops near the house as I write this. He's been there for over two hours now and is getting the full benefit from the heat of the sun on this very cold day in the interior.The bald eagle sits just below the snowflake.

His/her beautiful feathers from the back. Scroll down to the bottom of the page if you would like to see the Bald Eagle in profile (a photo taken last week).

By the way, while I was taking these photos the chickadees were flitting in and out of the lower branches and didn't appear all that bothered by the huge bird at the top of the tree.

More wonderful pictures of the sky can be viewed at Sky Watch Friday. Many thanks to Klaus and the SW team.

Hardly a Cloud in the Sky

The Intelligence of a Little Bird and My Frozen Brain

--Yesterday--
I was almost ready to enter the house when I heard the distinct call of a bald eagle. Earlier, during my walk, I had seen a large bird high above me being chased and harassed by some crows. I quickly got my camera and went out to the road again, hoping to catch sight of the eagle and his pursuers. No such luck!

While I was standing there, a chickadee zipped past my head, and then two more flew to a nearby poplar tree. One perched in a spruce tree close to where I stood. I began to wonder why they were around me; I had just topped up the bird feeder and put out more suet cakes. Surely they had more important things on their minds, like stoking up their little bodies against the cold, instead of visiting with me. I finally gave up on the eagle, but not before another chickadee landed at my feet and sat there for a couple of seconds. It's true. I'm not joking. I headed back up the driveway, turning to glance in the direction of the feeders. That's when I saw what the problem was and the reason why I had become so popular all of a sudden. The grosbeaks were hogging the bird feeder! The poor chickadees couldn't get to it and had been trying to attract my attention. I scattered more sunflower seeds on a snow bank and on top of the ash can lid that also serves as a platform feeder.

This photo of one spunky small bird was taken several days ago.

Black-capped Chickadee

Middle of the Afternoon

A picture taken a few days ago. I liked the way the sun shone on the wild rose bushes and evergreen.

And today. . . we awoke to a fresh snowfall.

a few lines from The Snowfall Is So Silent by Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936)

The snowfall is so silent,
so slow,
bit by bit, with delicacy
it settles down on the earth
and covers over the fields.
The silent snow comes down
white and weightless;
snowfall makes no noise,

Highway 27

The sky was a bit dull yesterday morning when we started out for a drive, but on the highway north of town we saw a pretty band of colour above the mountain range.

Sunbeam

A sunbeam found the little tree
and stayed with it a while.

Downy Woodpecker, Male

Peeking around a poplar tree.

Mule Deer

I took this picture at about 8:30 yesterday morning from a second story window overlooking the forested hillside.

Bald Eagle in Profile

Bald Eagle

Good Morning!

Apart from the birds at the feeders, a squirrel or two, crows and a ruffed grouse, there has been little opportunity this winter for taking pictures of wildlife up close. That is, until recently, and then within a space of three days, we saw deer on the hill below the house (Saturday and Sunday) and a Bald Eagle in a nearby spruce tree (Monday). So, that's been our excitement here lately in the old woods.

Keep well,
April

Mule Deer Family on Hillside

Nature At My Doorstep has been revived!