Celebrating a Whole Year!

Believe it or not, it's been a year since I brought Piper home to be part of my family. She's a sweet little dog (well, little in comparison to Baloo, anyway) but I will admit that she's an odd one. 

She loves to run full tilt, and occasionally plows right into something. I think she knocked herself silly at some point along the way. (This picture was obviously taken a few weeks ago, with the snow covered ground.)

Like Baloo, she loves to scoop up snow and eat it (and quite frequently grabs a mouthful as she's dashing by at top speed). And mercy! Can she levitate? Yes, she can! She jumps amazingly high straight up from a standing position. It makes me laugh every time. 

She has that one ear that just wants to stand up all on its own, but she looked pretty sitting among the blooming snowdrops this morning. 

Piper loves all the people, but still isn't comfortable around other dogs and she really hates loud noises of any kind. She's quirky, but we're learning how to manage her idiosyncrasies. I'm a bit odd, myself, so I get it. 

On the whole, I think she approves of her new life with me -- at least she looks pretty comfortable most of the time -- as long as there isn't any thunder. :)

C,mon, Spring, Spring!

It's been a really long winter and I keep thinking about the old Beatles song, "Here Comes the Sun".  Spring has been reluctant to arrive around here - in fact, it was snowing on Wednesday. I'm so ready for sunshine and warm breezes!

While we wait, I'll post a few pictures I took of birds along the way. The titmouse and chickadee above did an amazingly good job of sharing the peanut feeder. 

This house finch couldn't face it, either and just tucked her beak under her wing and took a nap. 

This goldfinch looks a bit disgusted with the late snow, too. 

The house finch looked a little more alert and hopeful, but was quite appreciative of the cracked corn I toss out for the ground feeders every day. 

And I loved this sweet junco with snowflakes on its back. As soon as it moves, they'll all fall off, but it's adorned with diamonds in this moment. 

I have a few pictures to share for a special day tomorrow and I'll be back to celebrate that with you. 

Also, many thanks to Sheila and BetsyLee for checking in with me to make sure I was okay - I appreciate it a lot. As the song says, it was a "long, cold, lonely winter". Bring on the sun! Piper and I are ready.

Landscape Architects

This winter brought a lot more snow with it than we've had for the last several years. As a result, the deer have found browsing for food more difficult and they've gotten quite creative. 

Several of them have been visiting my yard regularly and they've been trimming the crab apple trees, nipping the yew back and munching flowering trees and shrubs. 

Unfortunately, they also knocked down the burlap I'd wrapped around the arbor vitae to protect them from predation and have munched a hole through the branches -- again. 

It turns out, they have a slightly different idea of landscape architecture than I do. Between the deer and the rabbits (who have girdled all the burning bushes), I think I'm going to lose some trees and shrubs this year. It will be interesting to see what happens as the weather warms up and things start to leaf out and bloom. 

 

Even so, I have to admit they're beautiful and I do enjoy seeing them. I'm just glad it's starting to warm up and they'll be able to find something other than my yard to eat. As landscapers and yard workers, they leave a little something to be desired. (Grin.)

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. :)