Bird Stories

Well, the weather is a balmy 28 right now with a weak, hazy sun. It appears that a lot of the snow on the roads and sidewalks is melting. However, tomorrow, there is predicted 3 to 6 inches of snow with rain and sleet interspersed throughout the day. I think that I will miss Crack O Dawn for the 3rd straight month. I will see how it is in the morning. Last year at about this time we had very unseasonable temperatures in the 50s and 60s......that was almost as bizarre as the Polar Vortex that we are dealing with this winter.
When I was on my way home from running errands today, I came upon about 5-6 sparrow taking a bath in a puddle in the middle of the road. I really hated to interrupt them but really?.Not a safe place to be bathing ;-) Anyway, it gave me a very brief "Spring" feeling.

Art to be understood....

The walking path at the Overland Park Arboretum in Kansas is lined with statuary and there has been more added since I was there last June. In the summer a lot of it is hidden by the foliage and it becomes visible as you round the bend. I don't pretend to understand any of it...it is quite beyond me. It does make your walk more interesting though.

This piece interested me enough that I did a little research. It is suppose to represent a woman (taking a selfie) worried about body image. I think it is a woman trying to put herself back together again. (note stars covering body parts...added by me) Ha!

Clocks and Other Things

I belong to a facebook photography group and every week there is a picture theme. 

This week it was clocks and for the life of me I couldn't remember any clock photos that I have taken. So, I got out my camera and started taking pictures of clocks and everything else in my living room.  This clock was my Grandfather's and was passed down to me from my Dad. My mother told me she remembers when my grandparents bought it so it must have been in the late 30s or early 40s......so it is about my age :-)

It is a 72 hour clock and when I wind it, I think of all the times that my Grandfather wound it and kept it going. It sat on the dining room buffet in their house when I was a little girl. Surprisingly, it has an alarm but I have never been able to figure out how that works.

Note the motion of the pendulum. I forgot to take that into consideration when I set my camera but I think that I like the motion.

This is a Bulova 48 hour clock....let me tell you that the alarm on this will cause you to jump 2 feet off the bed.

Following the Snow

On Saturday, I was finally able to get out for a little walk at Lower Huron Metropark. When I left the house the sun was shining but that didn't last. There was no wind and the temperature was in the 20s. Best day that we have had in weeks. After a short time, it got very dark and soon heavy snow was falling. I found a piece of plastic in my trunk and used that to wrap my camera. I always plan on buying a camera "rain coat" but never get around to it. For Christmas, my granddaughter gave me a pair of gloves/mittens and they even have a hole in the thumbs. These worked really well. 

The above area is actually the hike/bike path...pretty in the snow.

 This is where the picnic tables are stacked.....I took some great pictures here in the fall.

The entrance to Bob White nature trail.

This is the hike/bike path near the nature trail. There were a few folks out walking dogs or running. I really wanted to walk the Paw Paw trail but though the parking lot was plowed, the path to the trail itself was untouched and pretty deep in snow so I gave it up.

Here's a hearty soul....a dedicated runner or else, like me, a guy with cabin fever. There were guys playing hockey on one pond and a few skaters on another. I could smell the wood smoke from the fire.
The weather is brutal today and will be worse tomorrow with a high of only 4 degrees F. Yesterday it snowed about 4 inches and overnight we got another 3. This is a very old fashion winter of yesteryear although the term "polar vortex" is new to me.
My daughter and family live in Myrtle Beach, SC and they are expecting sleet, ice and snow...very rare for them. Amy had to go out and buy ice scrapers for the cars.
All I know is ....this weather is costing me money....increase in the heating bill and snow removal is killing my budget.
Will miss yoga tonight and rehab tomorrow...in fact, I'm betting they will be closed. How long until spring?

Go away

Shadows

Jack Frost

nipping at my window...isn't nature amazing and beautiful?

More Squirrel Mischief

This guy is cracking me up!

Emma Grace

Beautiful Winter

Yes, winter can be beautiful. Even though everyone has been continually complaining this winter we have to remember that it is winter after all. If you can't hack it move to Florida. I am going to keep telling myself that. :-) I have always loved the change of seasons and after a winter like this Spring will seem even more welcoming. The problem with this winter, it is just too cold to get out with my camera. That's what is killing me. When the temperature is in the single digits it is best for old people like me to stay home .This weekend I may try to go to the park and shoot pictures from the car window...ha! Then a meal at Crackerbarrel sounds good. We will see.
This photo was taken last January at Crosswinds Marsh.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Create your own custom photo books at Shutterfly.com.

Dreaming

So looking forward to my trip to South Carolina in April. The azaleas will be in bloom and all the flowering spring trees plus bird migration.......can't wait. My grand kids will be on spring break so we will do some things together. Hoping to get Allison out with her camera as well. Looking forward to the ocean and all the water fowl.......they are waiting for me to take their photograph.  ;-)

Winter Walk

I found this path that leads to the bird blind at the Overland Park Arboretum. It is a very downhill but fun walk. I saw a lot of birds from here...Jays and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. It's hard to tell from the picture but at the end of the path it drops straight down, one of those paths that you have to hang on to branches to keep your balance.

 Very interesting bark on this tree...looked in my tree books but couldn't ID it. My books are Michigan trees though.

Someone just told me this a Hackberry Tree

 I love this stand of trees and wish I could climb the elbow branch....what fun that would be!

 Osage Orange....don't know if we have these in Michigan. Didn't they name a movie after this?

 Love this stone culvert. Not much snow on the ground but cold enough for the water to freeze.

Ok, I was walking in this area and I heard a bird singing away. I didn't have my binoculars and couldn't spot the bird anywhere. So, I started talking aloud "Come on bird, show yourself. Where are you"? Then here comes some guy right behind me. I said to him "You must think I'm nuts talking to the birds" He laughed and said he did that sometimes too. Embarrassing moment.

Lovely sunny and cold day.

Squirrel Mischief

This guy worked for hours trying to get this suet feeder open but was unsuccessful. Finally I gave in and threw him a peanut butter sandwich. He's little devil. Every winter there is one squirrel that does get this open...ha, foiled at last!  ;-)

Photo Book

Spent all afternoon working on a Shutterfly photo book entitled "Barns". The most difficult part is choosing all the photos. Once that is done the rest is fun. I Love old barns and out buildings the more derelict the better. One barn that is on the Washtenaw County Barn Tour totally collapsed this winter. Someone posted a picture of it on face book and the roof fell in. Too bad.....
The barn above is one of my favorites and we have been there 3 times to photograph it. The owners were so nice to let us on their property but this is a working farm and in pretty good shape. Some of the folks in our camera class gave them prints that they took of the "red barn" as a thank you.

Hills and Dales

 Even though I grew up in a hilly area of northeast Ohio, I have live in southeast Michigan for almost 50 years and it is so flat, flat, flat here. So, these hills in Missouri were amazing to me. We would drive up the hill and then it would just drop off. It is too bad that everything is so gray...shades of gray, browns and tans...ugh!
I haven't been out anywhere with my camera since I got home...the weather is awful. I am just not about cold weather anymore. Thinking of where I can go to shoot inside. On the upside my camera class will be starting next month.