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More Snow!
This is the Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) between my studio and the wood shop, with 9 inches of snow dumped on it. Lovely isn’t it?! It’s a COLOR photo BTW, and this is what I refer to often — the black and white landscape of winter. I love it! This image was taken on…
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Robins in the Snow
On Monday, January 3, 2022, nine inches of gorgeous, wet, stick to the trees snow, dumped upon my cabin making a fairyland of the woods around me. And as if to laugh at those who say robins are a sign of spring, today, just a short thirteen days since the start of winter, a large…
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A Salamander
This past Sunday, as our visitors who had been with us for 2nd Christmas and New Years Day were leaving, I found a cute little salamander waiting to be rescued. Not a safe place to be, on the lane waiting to be run over. And here I am, picking up a salamander after a recent…
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Nine Inches of Snow
It started as rain in the middle of the night, and eventually turned to what I was hoping for. Nine inches of snow, like sparkly white frosting over the landscape. The cold surely must have been something of shock to the birds. Even though it was in the forecast, that cold and snow still a…
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Snow in the Forecast
A Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) enjoying the seeds of Black-eyed Susans buried in deep snow. Snow that fell in 2016. December of 2021 was incredibly warm. Now the first two days of this new year of 2022 have followed that example with precision. Not like winter at all. Tonight as I write this it is…
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Bronze Blister Beetle
Bronze Blister Beetle (Lytta aenea). As I sit, doing research on this beetle, I find my tendency to avoid touching or picking up any critters I encounter as I roam the woods up here to be reinforced. Though some creatures might look innocent or cute and cuddly they can bring on unpleasant consequences. This particular…
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Ticks in Winter
Today’s post is a collaborative endeavor between my treasured buddy/granddaughter, seven year old “Cherry” Jones and myself. I had mentioned to her that my subject was going to be ticks and that I had no photographs. She immediately suggested she could do illustrations, so here they are! We were quite surprised just a few days…
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Eastern Phoebe In Winter
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe). An amiable little bird that I love to see around as it flicks its tail feathers as a signal to me. A sign of identification. Being that it is an insectavore makes me welcome it well beyond my being enthralled by its charm. An event of just a couple days ago…
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A Catbird!
A photo from May, 2021. A very rare sighting for me. The Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis). A contributing factor to my seldom seeing the Catbird is its avoidance of unbroken forest (mostly that here) and its affinity for suburban gardens (not suburban at all). Possibly.
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Bluebirds During the Holidays
Special days bring special things. Today was no exception with some Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) arriving. Shopping for housing no doubt, perhaps with a real estate agent. They were all checking out the houses around the yard and noticed that meal worms were waiting for them at the feeder. This male with his brilliant blue…