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Poison Ivy Berries
Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). I know, not something you really want to think about. I’m right there with you. I’m highly allergic to it. BUT birds, including many woodpeckers, LOVE the berries. So I enjoy the Poison Ivy too, because of the birds, though I certainly try not to touch it.
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Snowflakes 2017
In the morning hours of December 9, 2017 moist air and snowflakes wafted past a spider web. The moisture in the air and the feathery ice crystals clung to the web and captured my fascination.
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Gregarious Cedar Waxwings
Gregarious birds. Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum). In a group they’re called an “ear-ful” or a “museum” of Waxwings. They move together, often with American Robins (Turdus migratorius), from one area to another hunting down their favorite berries and fruits. Nomads roaming their range, showing up here and there wherever they can find a meal for…
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Christmas Card in the Works
An annual tradition for many many years. Today I’ve chosen a photograph to use but its look will change as I add borders, surrounding the picture with images of fabric, or wrapping paper, or other visual textures that have tickled my fancy through the years. Choosing the photo is just the first of many steps…
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Rose Hips in the Rain
These are rose hips of Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora). An exotic invasive. Unwelcome but certainly looking lovely in the rain. The rain has stopped now, leaving much too little. Our last rain was eighteen days ago and much too little then as well. One of these days it will rain, lots of rain, and then…
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Irruption of Red-breasted Nuthatches
The term irruption when applied to birds is the sudden change in population density of a species of birds. Usually precipitated by lower than normal food supply. It’s this phenomenon that brings a precious tiny bird to my yard every few years. The Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis). I like to think of its call as…
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Christmas Trees
For more years than I can count we’ve grown Christmas trees in two large fields here, below the cabin. Trees that we’ve planted. Norway Spruce (Picea abies), White Pine (Pinus strobus), Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris), Concolor Fir (Abies concolor), and my absolute favorite Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens). That Blue Spruce, needs care in handling,…
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Me and My Snowman
Today there was an extremely small chance of snow flurries in the forecast. Not wanting to set my expectations too high, I wasn’t expecting any. But luck was with me! I got to see FOUR snow flakes! That’s enough to bring pure glee to my heart. Snow and I go a long way back. Good…
