More Frosty Morning

Happy Valentine's Day!

It seemed appropriate to start Valentine's day with a little bouquet of frost flocked rose hips the birds haven't eaten yet. I mean, roses are a big thing for Valentine's Day, right? 

A nosegay of curly dock with hoary crystals adorning the stems also seemed appropriate for the day. Most of the seeds have been collected - probably by field mice and voles (maybe taking them home like sweet treats for their sweeties?). 

How about Queen Anne's Lace seedheads covered in ice?  

My favorite may be the red sumac berries with white, frosty accents. They'd make a beautiful Valentine bouquet, too. 

Sunrise painted the undersides of the clouds with pink and gold. 

Finally, a tiny, frosty nest stood out in this autumn olive, without leaves to camouflage its location. Somehow, it still looks cozy, even though it's very cold outside. 

I hope your Valentine's Day is cozy, too, and filled with love. Piper and I will find a way to celebrate the day together. It's always good to celebrate!  :)

Dawning Wonder

Piper and I have been going out on our morning walk before sunrise and enjoying watching the world come to life as the sun begins to lighten the sky. 

One of our recent early rambles was absolutely magical. 

Temperature and atmospheric conditions came together perfectly to create a frosted wonderland, with hoarfrost coating every twig, bough and stem. Even old weed stalks became things of beauty. 

It was hard to photograph well in the twilight, but where the world is usually adorned with browns, grays and evergreens against the backdrop of snow, on this morning, all was coated in crystalline white. 

I took quite a few pictures and am disappointed they didn't really capture the effect very well, but I hope they convey a little of it. I'll post a few more in a day or two, showing a few closer views of the frosting. 

The other bit of magic was actually seeing the cloud cover break up for a short while as the sun turned the horizon golden and a few crows flew in from their rookery to look for breakfast. Sunshine is rare here this time of year, so every glimpse is a treat! It quickly clouded over and snowed another four or five inches, but it is winter, after all.  

Playing with Piper

Things are pretty quiet around here, so I thought it might be fun to take you on a morning walk with Piper. We usually start out before sunrise, so the first picture is fairly low light - but typically high energy.

Piper doesn't seem to mind that the snow is up to her shoulders and enjoys getting out for a romp. If I run even a few paces, she chases after me, overshoots and then I can run the opposite direction and have her dash at me again. 

Running full tilt is a bit more of a challenge in these conditions. (I love the flying ears in this picture.) It's a good way to tire an active goofball of a dogster. 

She's always nosing around to see what is hiding beneath the blanket of snow. 

And Piper often sees (or hears) things in the distance that escape my dull, human senses. 

Here she is, mid-leap. She has to really kick off with her back legs to make it through the snow, but she bounds up into the air and lands several feet ahead of where she was - then does it again...and again. Ah, to have that kind of stamina. 

Titmice Toujours!

I do always love watching the titmice. They're charming, beautiful and an absolute hoot to watch when they're feeding their youngsters and teaching them how to fend for themselves. The young ones fly after their parents in an airborne train. If you ever have the chance, stop and watch them for a while. It's very entertaining. 

They tend to be difficult for me to photograph, because they are quick, shy and prefer to stay out of the limelight. I can sometimes catch one trying to decide which peanut to extract, but they don't dither for long, so if I'm not already snapping pictures of other birds nearby, I'll miss it entirely. Sometimes, I just have to stay focused on the peanut feeder and wait for one to come back for another helping! Yes, that's what happened here.

This one, however, perched in my miniature lilac bush and spent more than a second or two observing the goings on in the rest of the yard. Isn't it beautiful? For some reason, the big, round eyes seem more pronounced than on other birds, making them look so sincere - and sometimes a bit like a cartoon caricature.

Speaking of caricatures, I'm thinking that one of these poses might just have to find its way to a block of Tan-Z Kut for a little carving session. I carved one of these beauties a couple years ago, but the subject bears repeating. :)