Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Sunday, January 24, 2016

More of Our Garden Friends~


~Above and below is an Eastern Towhee, also known around here as a Rufous Sided Towhee.  The black ones are the males and the cocoa brown the females~

How has your week gone?  Have you gotten much snow in your area?  We had three inches with some freezing sleet first and then two days later got another 4 inches of fluffy snow.  I took a fall and hit both knees on the pavement when going to photograph a Red-tailed Hawk across the lane.  I have bruises and ache all over, but am thankful no broken bones.  My camera also hit the ground, but fortunately it was saved from any damages this go round.  I enjoy snow for one reason only...it makes for a lovely backdrop for nature images.  
I shall warn those who follow my blog now, that next week, I will be sharing the Red-tailed Hawk mentioned above with a fresh kill of a Gray Squirrel.  For the very squeamish, I would not want to upset you and hopefully you shall see this alert before I post them next weekend.
In the meantime, here are just a few of the garden friends that have visited my little side garden this past week.  Sadly a Cooper's Hawk too a Cardinal, but that is the way of nature, all of the time, every day~


Remember to double click on the first image, to view a larger slideshow presentation after you have read the narratives~

I will be linking up with Judith for:

www.lavendercottagegardening.com

&

Stewart for:
   http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/











Cardinals, all of the ones shared this week are females~





The rarest bird to visit is the Fox Sparrow.  They only come in the Winter and usually only one of them~






Poppy, I hope that you will get to see this.  Blue Jays~







White-throated Sparrows~






Dark-eyed Juncos~









Mourning Doves~









Black-capped Chickadees~








25 comments:

  1. Everybody always talks about how beautiful Cardinals look on the snow, but all of your birds do too! Especially the towhee -- I think towhees on snow should be a Christmas card! Wonderful images as always, every single one. Beautifully put-together mosaics. Thank you for sharing the beauty.

    PS: Be careful out there -- no more falls please!

    PSS: I look forward to seeing your hawk at dinner posts; I'm not a squeamish girl.

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  2. Marvelous collages. I love birds. They are all so cool. I love the blue eye shadow the doves wear, don't you?

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  3. Hello Mary, gorgeous collection of bird photos. I love the pretty Towhee. I hope you have recovered from the fall and I glad you and your camera were not injured badly. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

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  4. Cardinals and bluejays look so pretty against the snow. It would be harder for me to see a cardinal rather than a squirrel the victim of a hawk, but you're right, it's what happens. Hawks have to eat too. We've noticed that one of our four cardinals is missing...

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  5. I hope you feel better today. It's scary to fall and really does make you hurt all over. Gorgeous photos my friend. We have the towhee here but it's a hard bird to find in the open. I posted pics of two hawks we saw last week that I hope you get a chance to see. Hugs, Diane

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  6. Wow, so many great photos and thanks for the heads up!

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  7. I'm glad you are OK, Mary, and that your camera wasn't damaged. Please be careful in the ice and snow! You've captured such a wonderful array of birds with your lens, Mary! It was almost as if they were posing for your camera. The cardinals had the sweetest little head tilt. I love the little chickadees. I can't feed the birds in my backyard as the squirrels are too plentiful and aggressive. I'm surprised that more squirrels don't meet the fate of the squirrel you will show next week, as we have many hawks here.

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  8. It's a joy to see so many collages!! So many aspects captured with different birds, various species, doves, sparrows, jays ("porumbei, vrabii, gaite" to me and I have to discover more about names), cardinals, juncos, chickadees,... So beautiful and some sweet singing ones, I presume...
    Have a great week ahead to you and yours! Greetings in january!

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  9. How beautiful, all those in your garden, excellent images Mary.

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  10. Hello from Spain. Sorry I cannot go you a longer message from my phone. Stay safe and positive during that awful weather


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  11. Love all your mosaics, gorgeous little birds. The cardinal always seems to stand out beautifully against the snow.

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  12. How beautiful - the cardinals are my favourites - thank you!

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  13. Always lots of bird activity around you Mary, nice to see the small birds that frequent your area.

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  14. What wonderful little friends you have! Amazing shots too!

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  15. Such beautiful birds. I especially like the cardinals.

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  16. Love all birds! They are so pretty in the snow. Black- capped chickadees are my favorite.

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  17. Gorgeous images, Mary, as always! I would be so happy if I managed to take one picture like this...
    Needed to look up "squeamish". :) Probably I am. I know it's what happens and is supposed to happen out there, but I'm surprised to see that nowadays almost all the documentary films have the style "let's see how long it will take till the predators X reach and maul the abandoned and wounded baby animal Y"...
    Nonetheless, your photos will be surely excellent. Thank you for the warning! :)
    Take care!

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  18. Perfection in every way!!! I would LOVE to see a Towhee and get photos of it. It's been 3 years since I saw one in my area of USA. Maybe someday again, I'll get an opportunity.

    As always your photos are sublime.

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  19. Look at all the happy birds in your garden Mary!

    Donna@GardensEyeView
    and LivingFromHappiness

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  20. Great series looks very cold though.

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  21. A fantastic variety of birds in these wonderful collages

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  22. The snow does make a fantastic backdrop for all the birds! Love your photos, as always! So sorry you took a fall, but glad no bones were broken, and your camera was ok!

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  23. Absolutely wonderful captures of these sweet birds! Snow makes the best backdrop!

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  24. Mary, I'm relieved to know that you are okay despite the scary fall you had doing what you so love! Glad to hear that your camera was not damaged, as it is your trusty partner in your passion!

    Thank you for these stunning images of my beloved blue jays; they made me smile, considering I haven't seen any of these beautiful birds this entire winter! Now, having said that, I must confess that those black-capped chickadees are another favourite of mine; they are TOO cute! They look like mini football players on a mission, their tiny, round heads covered in bold, black helmets!

    Please be careful out there in that snow! I know it's very pretty, but it can also be tricky!

    Hugs to you, my sweet friend,

    Poppy

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