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







Wednesday, December 6, 2017

It's December, What Happened With November~



Our Christmas card insert above~
It has been a really crazy past 7 weeks and more is on the way.  I have been feeling on the low side and just dealing with one day at a time.  This has not been easy, but I love life and I always make the best of it...thinking positive is much healthier than thinking negatively.  It's just doing life and doing it well...keeping the faith and enjoying each day as it comes~

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

I am joining in the fun with Eileen at:
Saturday's Critter

Anni at:
http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.com/ 
I'd Rather Be Birdin'
 Linking to I'd Rather B Birdin'

    
Maggie's  MOSAIC MONDAY
                                              https://normandylife.blogspot.com/


Stewart for:



Our Christmas tree was up and adorned before Thanksgiving which is our tradition~









More Knee Surgery~


This morning I sat and read over the information that my DR gave me yesterday.

He has mentioned capsular thickening.
He is going to do an Arthroscopic procedure called Capsule Release surgery on the 29th of this month.
He is suspecting Plica Syndrome which can be suspected when you have my kind of symptoms. I looked it up on the Internet to better understand and it states that in some patients, particularly those who may have had injuries, or multiple surgeries over the medial aspect of the knee, (I have had two) the medial synovial plica may become very thick and fibrotic and may catch over the medial aspect of the medial femoral condyle.
I am confident that this will take care of and resolve any further issues with this silly knee. It's as it would be that when you have had 7 years of problems on and off with one knee, that eventually the other knee is going to take some force...the force has landed softly and I want to keep it that way. Looking forward to having this all taken care of and on the mend, once again.

It worked out beautifully as on the week of the 18th, my husby turns 70, and then on 21st, I will.  Our 48th wedding anniversary is on 22nd and then Christmas on the 25th.  I am so thankful that my surgery comes after the festivities~



The husby and I went down to the Ohio River and had dinner the other week.  This was right at sunset~



   
A week ago this past Sunday on my way to Bible study and this handsome White-Tailed Deer/buck was making his way across the frost and fog covered Bluegrass lawn.  There was enough colour left in the trees, to make the images pop~  










I had taken the images of the Red-Shouldered Hawk above on my way into the city for PT the other day and on my way back home, stopped again...
LOL I was thinking what kind of bird is that...is it even a bird...
No...it was a Red Fox Squirrel~


My weeks are filled with three days of driving into the city for my Physiotherapy appointments as well as checking on some of the local birds that I can see this time of year.  This stunning Red-Tailed Hawk was in a tree just a mile from returning to our home...love the beauty of this one~




 We have quite a few Buffalo/Bison farms in our state and this is a new one near where we live.  I stopped by the other day while driving home and noticed one of them had gotten a branch caught over one of'his horns.  I watched until it got the thing off as well as traffic had begun to move~



A Doe was running past a break in the fence along the lane and ready to leap over the fence in front of her when I snagged this quick glimpse~



The pair of Bald Eagles that I have been keeping up with for the past three years had used that same nest.  A large part of it fell away this past July and they have been working on one in a tree right next to old nest.  Someone had been getting way too close to the nest, even taking up to sitting in a chair some 100'~from nest with a HUGE camera...I am so sorry, but you just don't do that.  I had a little chat with him and I am hoping that he will honor my request.  The Eagles had been missing for some 10 days after his two day visit and then on Monday morning I captured these from a good distance.  One of them was breaking a branch to take up to the nest...still building it up and I feel so much better now~




Some of the country lanes, there are still little spots with colour~


Bah Bye little Shrew. A very hungry...I believe to be a first year Red-Shouldered Hawk because it still has a splash of the dripping rufous feathers running down it's chest, and has already earned it's red shoulders  was wire hunting as I came home from the market this afternoon. I had stopped in a parking lot to observe and I had barely gotten the car turned off and it went to the ground, bringing up a tiny Shrew and devoured it whole in less than two minutes from it's capture. The hawk held tightly to it when an American Crow tried a dive bomb, hoping it would drop it's meal~







The image above was taken before the heavy clouds took over the evening before
I got up super early to go and get a good spot to photograph the Super Moon the other day.  Where we live there are just so many trees that get in the way of nice views.  Once I arrived at the selected spot, I parked the car, put down the window and nothing but heavy cloud coverage...oh well, I saw it, did you?


Dawn following the Super Moon setting~


13 comments:

  1. Such lovely photos, especially those with deers, bisons and eagles; it is so lovely to live in a place like yours, I believe... And to be able to observe nature from close!! What joy!!
    Have a wonderful time from today, from St Nicholas Day to Christmas and New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Mary, so many beautiful photos. I love them. The sunset and river scenes are beautiful. Your Christmas tree is lovely. Sending my prayers and healing thoughts for you. Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a lot of wonderful images! The photos of the Hawk eating its prey are amazing! I am lucky if the Hawks I see stay still long enough for me to get a couple of photos. They are very easily scared off by a car stopping.
    I pray your knee surgery goes well

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your wildlife, all of it is so grand Mary!!

    Thanks so much for joining us birders this weekend at I'd Rather B Birdin'. Your contribution is always so appreciated. Have a great week ahead...enjoy those birds!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Mary. I can’t believe it’s only two weeks away but nowhere near as ready as you seem to be but we’re going to have a very busy and happy one this year. So sorry to hear your knee is still giving some problems – I’m keeping fingers crossed for your next (little) op. And as you say, at least it comes after the holiday.

    Love those images of the Red-tailed Hawk and I can’t help thinking it’s this year’s bird?

    It’s such a shame that many people have little idea how to respect birds by giving them space, lacking any awareness, training or experience but just buy a camera and head off into the countryside. In such situations I try remind people that birds have eyes and ears that are far better than our own and also explain how birds are afraid of us because we are predators. That works occasionally.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice post! I hope that deer stays safe from the hunters. The red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks are a favorite of mine. One of these days maybe I will see an eagle. Happy Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a beautiful post with gorgeous photos, Mary. I wrote about White Tailed deer and our squirrels today but I did not capture them with the skill that you display. And your photos of raptor birds are so wonderful. I loved them all. Good luck with healing and feeling better and better!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful post. The white-tail -- wow! Your Christmas tree is spectacular. I'll be thinking about you on your surgery day. Take care. Happy Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Such amazing images, I do admire the way you capture the mood and feel of the outdoors so cleverly wit your lens, you show me things I would never see otherwise.
    Your tree is gorgeous and Happy Anniversary to you both.
    Sorry it's a flying visit from me this week but I still haven't shaken this cols.
    Happy MM.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mary, Always love your bird photos. I see a few large animals in this post. The Christmas tree is lovely. Have a great week. Sylvia D.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Mary - your tree is brilliant with the silver theme. I giggled when I saw your cat caught in the act - our youngest fur ball also plays with our ornaments - watch a future post! I am so pleased to see such a lovely set of photos from you given your medical issues - wishing you an ongoing speedy recovery. And congratulations on your major milestones!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love the Red-tailed Hawk, and the images of Deer, lovely. I hope that you are well Mary.

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy each visitor to "Red Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond" I truly appreciate those who have become followers to my blog and really am encouraged by the wonderful comments.
FYI if you leave ANONYMOUS comments, they will never get published, so please don't waste your time.

Thanking you~