Scenic Sunday

November hills are dark and drear.
Lacking in colour as winter draws near.
Soon they will be a beautiful sight
all dressed in snowy white.
To view other beautiful scenes drop by Scenic Sunday and take a look

Sunset for Skywatch Friday

I have a special photo folder titled sunsets. The photos are not current but some I think are worth posting regardless of when they were taken. This spectacular fiery sunset was taken in November 2007.
Happy skywatch Friday to all. My appreciative thanks to Sandy, Klaus, Ivar, Wren and Fishing Guyand Louise for hosting Sky Watch Friday

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Another very welcome bird visitor in Bird Alley this morning was, a red-breasted Nuthatch. Its softlycoloured rufus, reddish belly easily makes its naming understandable. its cousin a white-breasted Nuthatch is a daily visitor.

shown above a White-breasted Nuthatch
The peanut feeder being the main attraction for both of these nuthatch species, Its always a special event when I see either of these species outside my window. its cause for me to put down my book and pick up my camera , which is always nearby.

S is for Sunlight

Strong sunlight in Bird Alley highlighted the branches and trees in our birdfeeder area a couple of Novembers ago. To view other contributions representative of the letter"S" or maybe make a contribution of your own please go to the ABC Wednesday Meme round 5 here.
Thwnks to Denise Nesbit for hosting this meme.

Female Goldfinch and a dandelion Blossom for Mellow Yellow Monday

The only birds around Bird Alley so far this morning are female Goldfinch and luckily for me they are just right for the mellow yellow category. I had thought of going out in search for a ***yellow Hawkweed blossom which I had seen the other day but there was a heavy frost overnight and the ground foliage is all covered with white. Perhaps I will put "look for yellow blossoms on my 'to do' list for the day.
e:note*** After the frost cleared I found a late dandelion in bloom to photograph. How lovely it was to find such a spring thing in late November!
I like this Goldfinch capture above as the bird to the left forefront is almost escaping from the picture frame. I love the surprises that sometimes appear in photos taken of birds, their movement in a frame is often unpredictable as to what results.

Happy Monday to all. To view a wonderful variety of yellow-themed photos from other bloggers around the world, just click on the link below
mellow yellow

Playground Shadows for Shadow Shot Sunday

Baby swings



My appreciative thanks to Tracey, at Hey Harriet, the host of Shadow Shot Sunday for this interesting idea; for more information on this shadow meme,please click on the icon in the side bar.

Gray Squirrel for Camera Critters

One feature of our property that often enhances my picture taking is that we have a pergola attached to our house nearby our bay window. Often birds will perch here as if they are posing for my camera. Today it was a furry. chubby, well fed Gray Squirrel looking in at me.

My appreciative thanks to Misty for hosting this site. To see other participant's photo contributions just click HERE or on the Camera Critters logo on the side panel

Weekend Reflections

Usually you can trust a reflection to reflect the objects or subject as it is. However, this is not the case of this gull. The gull appears to have its beak open in the reflection, whereas in reality the gull's beak remained closed.... strange?!Please click on the photo to see an enlarged version.
To learn more about weekend reflections and perhaps post your own go to:Weekend reflections

Venus, the Evening Star for Skywatch Friday

Last weekend we enjoyed watching our two little grandsons who were very excited when their Grampy David pointed out Venus, the Evening Star to them.They had a good view of it standing on their front doorstep.And better yet their DaDa was able to take some very good pictures of the planet. These two little guys[aged 3 and 5] know all about the planets and the Solar System. They're probably standing on their step right now watching it tonight!And I was right! Here are my two little grandsons tonight watching Venus from their home in the belle province de Quebec." There it is, its Venus"
Thanks to guest photographer Davis for the great pictures"!Merci Davis!"
Happy Skywatch Friday to all. My appreciative thanks to Sandy, Klaus, Ivar, Wren and Fishing Guyand Louise for hosting Sky Watch Friday

Sunset and Silhouettes for Skywatch Friday

Happy skywatch Friday to all. My appreciative thanks to Sandy, Klaus, Ivar, Wren and Fishing Guyand Louise for hosting Sky Watch Friday

natural sepia colours of late fall for sepia scenes

It is my opinion that some of the most beautiful photos portraying sepia hues are those taken in late fall when the green has disappeared from the grassy and reedy vegetation surrounding lakes and ponds and rivers. The setting shown here at Centennial Park at Point Claire, Quebec illustrates my point with the beautiful tall grasses and reeds. These photos were taken on a beautiful sunny day when our family went for an outdoor picnic in the park this November.

Sepia Scenes is a meme hosted by Mary/the Teach and it offers the opportunity to share with others; beautiful scenes in sepia tones.Just click on the badge on the side bar to view what others have posted in sepia for today.

R is for r Rain for ABC WEDNESDAYand Watery Wednesday

R is for rain and we have had too much of it this past summer and and spring, but then it could be snow :-( and we don't want that yet!]as the seasons change and the temperatures get lower and I'm not psychologically ready for winter yet.
to view other R word or perhaps to contribute your own photo please go to http://abcwednesdayround3.blogspot.com/

Rain is also about water and,The theme of Watery Wednesday is water; for a wonderful variety of watery scenes from other bloggers around the world, just click on its name.

'Do not signs' to observe for Ruby Tuesday

Although the messages shown on the signs above appears to be quite obvious, many visitors to the park where they were located behaved otherwise. One family stood right beside the duck sign while feeding the ducks found there. I found both of these signs to be rather attractive and understandable and translateable .
To check out other postings on Ruby Tuesday just click on the Ruby logo on the side bar. My appreciative thanks to Mary/the teach for hosting this meme.

RR sign for mellow yellow Monday

Although our weather at this time of year is often unpredictable and we have our snow tires on our car in preparation for winter driving we chose to travel to Montreal by train on Via Rail. I have always loved trains and I find the Via rail sign very attractive and colourful and 'Canadian' displaying a red maple leaf as part of its design.

Happy Monday to all To view a wonderful variety of yellow-themed photos from other bloggers around the world, just click on the link below

Morning Reflections

Upon enterring the city of Montreal, Quebec by train, I love seeing the morning light reflected on the windows of many of the city's buildings. It was at 8 a.m. E.S.T. when this picture was taken.

Weekend Reflections of Mallards

We have been vising with family all week in Quebec. Last weekend we saw a flock of Mallards at a park in Pointe Claireand I caught these reflections on the beautiful, still water there.Wishing everyone a good weekend.

AMackeral sky for Skywatch Friday

Thesr wavy clouds remind me of marcelled hair, a close to the head wavy hair style from the 20's, but I think they are also called mackeral skies. they are not today's sky though as we are expecting our first winter storm of the season, s nor'easter,wind, lots of precipitation is forecast for the day.
Happy skywatch Friday to all. My appreciative thanks to Sandy, Klaus, Ivar, Wren and Fishing Guyand Louise for hosting Sky Watch Friday

A "looking out my window video' #1W-b nuthatch

#1 White-breasted Nuthatch

Not a Crow, But A Hawk or maybe an eagle!

Not A Crow, But A Hawk!

At A distsnce I knew it wasn't a crow. It was too big for crow. I took my first picture from my car, then got out and walked further down on the shoulder of the road to get closer.When closer I could see a few markings on its breast and the hook in its beak, and I then knew I was looking at a hawk. This is the first hawk |I have seen for months! I think it is a* Red-tailed Hawk*editing note: In the comments Bill S. suggests that this might possibly be a juvenile Eagle. I woul agree to that consderation. Thank you Bill.
i think i might have interrupted lunch for as it started to leave I could see the shape of something hanging from its claw.
My best photo was my last one as its beautiful curved wingspan was shown as it was leaving. What a beautiful sighting this was! Another lucky day. I love the half moon shape of its wings!

Ruffed Grouse

I have been searching for a Ruffed Grouse these past few weeks and have had no luck finding so I have gone back to some of my previous posts for photos and repost them here.

Ruffed Grouse

This Ruffed Grouse, known also as a Partridge, was sitting on a log under our High Bush Cranberry tree yesterday afternoon. This is the time of year when I often check along roadside birch trees on sunny days hoping to catch a glimpse of one feeding in the trees; for that method has most often been my sighting experience. Being able to photograph this Grouse from my living room window was a pleasant surprise.
An earlier photo (November 2002) of a Ruffed Grouse illustrates how well its colours allow it to blend into a fall landscape.

Ruffed Grouse

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Ruffed Grouse

Another road side find on the weekend was this Ruffed Grouse. I saw it sitting in a driveway when driving by so I stopped further down the road and turned. Before driving back up the road I rolled down my car window and got my camera ready for I know from experience these birds can sometimes take of in a hurry - like a shot! This one looked at me a bit suspiciously but then just ambled along slowly picking up gravel as it went along. Grouse will eat gravel to help them in digesting their food. My most frequent sightings of this bird is often at the beginning of a side road or driveways where gravel can be found.Ruffed Grouse/Partridge photo November 2003

November in Bird Alley

A nice surprise this morning was a pair of Purple Finch, a male and a female. Its been a while since this species has been feeding in Bird Alley. Today was our lucky day for seeing them here.
Handsome Gray Squirrel is a regular these days. It loves peanuts!

Perfectly designed, the peanut feeder and the sharp pointed beak of the White-breasted Nuthatch for feeding in small holes. The nuthatch has become a frequent daily feeder now and we have also seen s Red-breasted Nuthatch here also.