Crab Apple Crisp

There's a lovely little crab apple tree in my front yard. Some years, it is loaded with fruit and this is one of the very fruitful years.

 
The birds hadn't been paying much attention to it until yesterday's snowfall.

Suddenly, the branches came alive with finches and juncos.

The apples must have been frozen, but sometimes freezing makes fruit sweeter, so perhaps that's what they had been waiting for.

The neighborhood wineries wait for grapes to freeze so they can make sweet ice wine, when conditions allow, so that hypothesis makes a little sense, right?

Doesn't madam finch just look happy, with apple bits smeared all over her beak?

It was almost as if the birds all decided to eat dessert first, because after they had their fill of little apples, they flew to the back yard for sunflower seeds and scratch.

I can relate to pie for breakfast, I must admit.

Anyway, I enjoyed watching them feasting in the snow.

 I hope you did, too. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

The wild turkeys on our family property are enjoying a few sunflower seeds and some scratch feed.

 

 The girls are feasting directly under the feeding tree.

 

While the boys are strutting around, feeling pretty chuffed.

And not without reason. They are quite handsome.

I love the way the sun catches their feathers, lighting them up with unexpected metallic copper, blue, bronze and gold.

The lads have the choreography very well rehearsed! The best Thanksgiving Day parade ever!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all sharing a special feast with friends and family!

A Few Finch Friends

The finch contingent is out in full force, emptying feeders just about as fast as I can fill them.

 

These house finches add a nice background chatter to the yard. They make me smile because they always sound like they are asking questions. Tweet? Cheep?

As with many species, the boys are much showier than the girls, though they seem equally matched with their earnest questions and voracious appetites.

While some of the flock will fly farther south, a fair number will remain, providing a welcome splash of color during the gray winter months. 

I don't begrudge them their sunflower feasts. :)
 

More Thrashing

I gave fair warning there would be more pictures of the young thrashers from earlier in the season.  Still being in recovery mode gives me a good excuse to break them out.

 There were two fledglings taking advantage of bugs and worms in my back yard.

 
It was fun to watch them listening for the movement of subterranean snacks.

 

Pin feathers still adorn this one's head as it waits patiently for the sound of a worm, grub or other delicious morsel.

Getting to see so many different postures and views of their striking markings was a real treat.

The pin feathers on this one's face almost remind me of adolescent acne. I know - I'm too weird. 

I took pictures of these birds in batches, as they showed up each day for a couple weeks. So, don't be surprised to see more somewhere along the way. There may even be a record of a triumphant worm extraction. 

One of these beauties is likely to appear in a carving some day.  I became rather fond of them and hope they return to nest nearby next spring. 

 

Mildly Mismatched Bookends

I'm still recovering and hoping that I'll be back out in the great wide world sometime this week, but in the meantime, I have found these entertaining mergansers unused in my stash of photos.

 
They were standing on a rock in the shallows of the bay looking a lot like mirror images of each other.

 
They also indulged themselves in synchronized preening.

One broke the pattern for a second to stretch her wings.

Then, they went back to being mildly mismatched bookends. 

Most of the ducks are gone now, but we still have a few hanging around. At least, I think so -- I'll find out for sure when I get back out on the trails. 

Stay healthy out there! This stuff is both nasty and persistent.
 

Cardinal Rules

I'm still recovering from the evil crud, so the only pictures I have taken have been through the window to my back yard.

 
Still, these fellows have been brightening my days and I hope they do the same for you.

 
I always find something interesting to note about posture or attitude (or clingy little feet). There were definitely better perches than the edge of the seed cup, but he's making it work and I also like the tilt of his head as he makes his choice of which seed to grab.

The fully raised crest on this fellow is quite dramatic - as is the fact that he's missing a few tail feathers. It looks like he had a close call.

The birds out back are a constant source of entertainment. I've been appreciating their company a lot these last few days. 

Candid Camera Strikes Again

I've been recovering from a case of whatever creeping crud has been circulating in my area, so I haven't been out on any walks.  I am, however, feeling well enough this morning to share a group of trail camera flight pictures that I liked - you  know how I am with action photos, right?

This dove is coming in for a perfect landing right in front of the camera. Nice form!

Here's a blue jay making its exit with flair.

 
The blue jays frequently feed right in front of the cameras, so there are lots of good pictures of them taking off or landing. 

 
They also seem to travel in packs, so a whole flock will come in or fly away in unison.

 
I particularly like pictures that capture the sun shining through their feathers to reveal wing structure. My brother and I enjoy perusing each day's photos with our morning coffee when I'm down on the river and I save some fun ones to put here on the blog or study for future carving inspiration.

Of course, the rabbit in mid-flight had to be included here.

Who knows why these pictures tickle me so much - I guess I just love the candid nature of them.

Most of these were out in the yard by the feeders.

But, the barn camera caught a blue jay flying straight toward it while applying wing flap deceleration.
 

Although I've never seen a yellow-shafted flicker on a trail camera before, I appreciate this one giving us such a good view of his necklace, spotted breast and even mustache, if you look closely. Also, the sun shining through his feathers really highlights the reason for his name. This one was also taken by the barn camera.

Finally, the self-portrait aspect of the trail cameras frequently serves up a good laugh.  I present a case in point. :)

Okay, back to the couch with a cup of tea for me. I recommend avoiding whatever I have contracted. It's nasty!

A Frost-y MorningI

With the wind, rain and snow of the last week, we have gone well past peak colors, but I always like to inflict a few pictures from my more colorful wanderings upon my unwary audience at some point during the fall. 

There are a couple of days every autumn on which I find myself reciting Robert Frost as I ramble through the forest. If you're interested, you are invited to ramble and recite with me. And so, I present:

 

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

 

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

 

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

 

 

I hope it was as pleasant an outing for you as it was for me. At the very least, Robert Frost is always worth reading. :)