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







Friday, January 26, 2018

Garden Window Snow Snaps and More to Share~

Carolina Chickadee above with a seed berry at it's head...
LOL 
At first glance I thought I was seeing a new kind of bird in my garden window~

It's been a very nice week here in "Bluegrass Country"  The week began with snow on the ground and has ended with higher temperatures and lots of brilliant sunshine.  For over a year I have been wanting to walk the lanes in my neighborhood, other than my own.  On Tuesday I took to the hills and they are steep, but I managed to get to the overpass that was my first goal, a bit over two miles total walk, but I managed even with 40 mph frigid wind blowing... I got frosty, but I smiled in my heart a bunch...  Some of the images shared in this post were taken on either sides of the overpass where a lovely stream runs through.  I had to put my camera lens up to one of the holes in the fencing to get capture them. What about you, did you work on any goals this week, take any walks?  Take good care, stay safe and enjoy this coming weekend and week doing what makes you smile in your own hearts~


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/


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


Stewart for:




Above is a Chickadee at the Rose of Sharon seed pods.  My mother gave these plants to me back in 1981 and they have scattered everywhere.  Both Butterflies and Hummingbirds enjoy their blossoms during the Summer months~
These two shares of the White-breasted Nuthatch were taken as the window was still quite frosty.  I used a slight HDR to them for a better view~



Kentucky has received from the Northern most part of Canada and beyond several Snowy Owls this season.  They have not fared well in that automobiles and lack of good food they hunt has not been great.  The younger first year birds have been forced South and less than 10% of them will survive their first Winter.  I was getting the mail the other day and spotted the snow atop a yard art piece and thought.....now there is my Snowy Owl~



The little Carolina Wren says YIKES it's an Owl...Scatter ;) ~

Male Cardinals are so sweet and enjoy bringing seeds to their mate and young~




Dark-eyed Juncos~

White-throated Sparrow~


House Finch, male~


American Goldfinch~



Mourning Doves~



Blue Jay~


American Crow and Sumac~


An American Kestrel flies swiftly over land looking for a meal~

Then the Kestrel flew right by me as it was hunting the other end of the lane~
One of our local Red-Shouldered Hawks that this blog was named after flying over our home~



Horse country USA, KY~


Our White-tailed Deer, especially the young ones have such a difficult time their first Winter.  The adults will begin knocking them, hoofing them and even kicking and chasing the fawns that are now 7 months of age.  It's difficult to watch, but part of the herd setting the rules~


These next three images were taken at the Rosewell Mansion~



;(   ;(   ;(



This little fawn finally made it to the pans, but they were pretty much empty.  I could not go all the way back down and give it anything, for by the time I would have reached the area, the Deer would have moved one~

My frozen creek looked so pretty in the morning sunlight~



A thawing pond a few miles from home...do you see any life there?


How about now?  
There were 4 pairs of Northern Shovelers, a few Green Winged Teal as well as at least a single Gadwell~



Here are the images that I took on both sides of the overpass Tuesday on my two mile neighborhood walk~






Finally artsy images...taken in the pouring down rain as a Red-Tailed Hawk flew up into the trees after missing what it had gone to the ground after~


13 comments:

  1. Enjoyed. Thank you for sharing. (I didn't know a cardinal could look that intense...haha

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  2. Hello Mary. My you have been busy with a two mile walk. That is quite an achievement after the hard time you have been ungoing. It was good to hear your news and to see those pictures from your walk.

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  3. Mary - so pleased you were able to cover two miles - and what a bounty of pictures as a result! I have a special place in my heart for Cardinals, especially since we don't see them here in Montana! Have a sunny weekend!

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  4. Such wonderful images - the birds look so stunning against the snow. I wish we had the Red Cardinals over here in the UK, they have to be one of my favourite birds. Superb work and an absolute joy to visit your magical wonderland of wildlife!

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  5. What a wonderful assortment of birds!
    Love seeing the deer
    Have a great weekend!

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  6. Hello Mary, what a great variety of birds. I love the cute chickadees and nuthatches. The Cardinals are lovely. I do not often see large groups of deer, great sighting. What a wonderful walk and beautiful photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend.

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  7. Enjoyed your photos! We've had some snowy owls spotted north of the KC area again this year as well. I really want to go look for one but the timing hasn't been right. I like your snowy owl :) Hope you are having a great weekend!

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  8. An awesome array of critters. You caught a right-side-up nuthatch. Impressive!

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  9. Thanks for stopping to share with us at I'd Rather B Birdin' today.

    My favorite this series is the ''scatter!''

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  10. Good to hear that you're beginning to take longer hikes, you must be very careful though. There's some real cardinal love going on today and the finches made me smile. Guess it's time for the fawns to start growing away from Mum and starting to fend more for themselves but they do look sad and confused by it all.
    Thanks for another great lesson in ornithology, my birding knowledge increases every time I visit you. :)

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  11. Hello Mary. So glad you took that long walk. Your bird photos show such a lovely variety of colours and sizes and shapes. Infinitely interesting.

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  12. So lovely Mary ... I didn't know about male cardinals feeding mate and young and those images make me so happy! Well, all your pictures do. Beautiful birds and scenery and I am so happy you were able to do a longer walk ... that's really good news. When we're in Oregon, I always have a goal to explore (by foot) outside of my own neighborhood and I don't do it often enough. Pretty much have to drive here in Florida -- our roads are not walker friendly.

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  13. So many great pics, Mary. Birds, horses, deer, and a creek, you had quite an adventure on your walk. Thanks for sharing.

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