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







Thursday, January 24, 2019

This Post is Dedicated to My Brother-in-law, Pastor Dan Cromer~



Is it cold where you are, or warm and sunny?  
We have had a long stretch of weeks with lots of rain and then in the past week we have received our colder weather along with a little touch of white snow to freshen up the look of mud.  
When you walk out on Tingsgrove, at times the Earth moves too and you can slip and fall, but no...so far I have not done that...it would not be a pretty thing to have happen.  
Much of the past couple of weeks, due to the weather I have remained inside our home and taken many photos through glass and enjoyed the many fine feathered friends that come to the side garden bird feeding stations.  Many of the little visitors will eat from the feeders provided, while others eat the scattered seed from the ground.  We have had a visiting Cooper's Hawk that watches the birds, but so far I have not seen any evidence that it has captured anything.  We can pretty much hear when the birds give warning and I just have to step outside and it is all good.  Of course I am not always able to do such. 
In this post I have included a couple of horses that were having fun out in their pasture when I traveled in the city for appointments.  I also have included my pitiful attempt at getting the Super Blood Wolf Moon Lunar Eclipse.  Because of reasons beyond my control...huge sigh, I had to come inside the final hour and so my meager attempt at the red phase, was taken through glass.  I feel blessed to have even gotten to view this amazing occurrence. 



~This post is dedicated to the memory of Pastor Dan Cromer and his family who loved him so very much.
Dan was one of my husband's younger brothers who passed away two weeks ago, and for us it was quite unexpected.  
Let me just say and I know many of you can understand this...I hate Cancer!
"Pastor Dan," as he was known to all who loved and knew him, was a giant of a man whose heart out sized his 6'5" frame. He followed in his father's footsteps and spent a career serving God and seeking to be a servant to others. In roles as Minister of Music or as Pastor, Dan served churches in Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina. His deepest passion was for people to know and worship God."
  I had known Dan for 55 years~

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'
   
Angie at:  
Mosaic Monday
https://tentoesinthewater.blogspot.com/


 Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global 
   http://communalglobal.blogspot.ca/

Stewart for:


The opening image and these are of the many Finches that visit...Purple, American Gold are shown here~







 We have had many Dark-eyed Juncos, but I am terrible at capturing them with those dark eyes showing~


The sweet White-throated Sparrows along with the Juncos show up for Winter feeding~



Chickadees are present all year for us to enjoy~



As are Downy Woodpeckers, so cute they are~


One day I looked out and we had approximately 40 Mourning Doves.  They are one of the species that eat seed scattered from the ground~



Red-bellied Woodpeckers like the suet feeders the best and wait their turn~
This Winter we have had at least two visiting Red-breasted Nuthatches for the first time.  
I really love them~




Our American Cardinals, also the Kentucky state bird, always a favorite.  I do enjoy the colouration of the females, as much as the deep red of the males~

Someone on the group page Kentucky Birders that I am a member of on Facebook said that the two mosaics below would work nicely as kitchen border wallpaper ;) <3 i="">










I really get happy when we have a Fox Sparrow visit our land during the Winter stay.  This season, so far, we have the most ever 3.  They are such lovely birds, quite territorial...chasing one another if they get too close to one another~




Blue Jays...I wish that Poppy from: 
https://poppyview.blogspot.com 
could see these next images.  
I miss her on here.  It's been 10 months since her last post and I hope she is doing well.  One of her favorite birds to see was always the Blue Jays~








The beautiful Cooper's Hawk had been in a tree out over the garden, when I just happened to get home from a walk down the lane one day.  The birds were giving out the alarm and as I walked toward the gate, it flew to a tree further away~




This is also a Cooper's Hawk, but I got it at a nearby area where many birds have been congregating~



This Great Blue Heron was one of several at the same location~


 At the same site there is a Bald Eagles nest...they were not at home on this day.  There were hundreds of birds, including Canada Geese, Hooded Mergansers, Mallards, Teal Winged Ducks, and Ring-billed Gulls to name a few~







A young first year Red-Shouldered Hawk hunting from the shadows near our home~


Two horses having a great time out in the pasture along a country lane I travel as I ride into the city~








A recent photograph of me...I hardly share them on here, but often change my profile picture on Facebook.  This was taken after my recent 71st birthday~


My attempt at catching the recent Super Blood Wolf Moon Lunar Eclipse~


16 comments:

  1. Hello Mary, I am so sorry for your loss. Prayers for you and the family. Your bird photos are always awesome. I love the horses too. Happy Friday, enjoy your day and weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! Your photography array today absolutely rocks. I thought those first few were great...and the great shots just kept coming.

    Kudos. Loved this.

    Happy Friday

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I like your new photo...you are a young 71...that's for sure! And this was a nice post to dedicate to your brother in law. I'm so sorry too. We just got back from a hike and saw 2 Red shouldered hawks...and I thought of you! hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry to read your brother-in-law passed away. I hate cancer too! Your pics are just beautiful, Mary. Great shots of so many birds. Nice pics of the horses, too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am sorry for your loss.

    Photos are so fantastic! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. May he rest in peaceful slumber. No longer suffering, his family can now have the good memories of him & celebrate his life.

    It's terrific that you shared all this collection of birds & horses with us at I'd Rather B Birdin this week...thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello Mary, just stopping back to say thanks for linking up. I love all your bird photos, they are amazing. The horses are beautiful, wonderful post. Happy Sunday, enjoy your day and new week ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy 71st!
    Lovely photos. I'm with you, popping our yesterday I fell on an icy spot. sigh.
    Right now, a blizzard.
    I'm so sorry for your loss.
    (ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello Mary,
    I'm sorry for the loss of your brother-in-law - and I agree that cancer is terrible.
    Poppy hasn't blogged for awhile, but she's on IG and I enjoy seeing her posts from sunny Cyprus there.
    We have lots of dark-eyed juncos visiting our feeder these days. It's interesting to see the variations in colouring. Ours have very dark heads and paler bodies.
    Wonderful photos, Mary. Happy 71st, and have a good week.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mary - so sorry for the passing of Pastor Dan. How fitting to dedicate this broad-ranging post to a man with a big heart. I am always intrigued by those upside-down nuthatches. Don't you wonder if their necks hurt after a while? In my opinion, your pictures of the female cardinals are much too nice for wallpaper. Fancy dinnerware - that's my vote! I am grateful that you initiated Mosaic Monday this week with so much wonder that Nature has to offer!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am so sorry for your loss. Your bird photos are always fun to watch, so many exotic species.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy Birthday to you! I enjoyed this Post and wish you a good Week.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice photo. You dont look a day over wonderful. Luv birds enjoyed the horses too. Happy mosaic Monday

    Much��love

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your beautiful little birds make a wonderful tribute for your brother in law. I am sorry for your loss. Those horses did make me smile though, so frisky!
    Love Wren x

    ReplyDelete
  15. These are fabulous images!
    So sorry for your loss. You and your family are in my prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I’m so sorry for the loss of your brother Mary. (I know he was your BIL, but Bill’s younger sister died last summer...I had known her for over 60 years...after a time, we began calling all of our siblings “our sister” or “our brother” ...when you’ve been family for so long it doesn’t make much difference really. And yes I too hate cancer. ... beautiful photos and as always I must admit to envy of your flight shots.

    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~