Hooded Mergansers refound for Outdoor Wednesday

This is probably the first pair of Hooded Mergansers I had seen this spring a few weeks ago. I hadn't seen them since until today. Thry were standing on the edge of ice beside an open pool of water right beside the road.
The male Hooded Merganseris a striking handsome duck I think.

Outdoor Wednesday is a delightful meme where you can enjoy almost any aspect of outdoors. This meme offers a wide choice of topic. To view contributions of others or to post your own contribution, please click on the Outdoor Wednesday pic on the right sidebar on this page and enjoy. A Happy Wednesday wish to al

A seasonal waterfall for Watery Wednesday

For a couple of years now, ever since hearing about this seasonal waterfall within the city I have been planning on checking it out. Apparently its source of water is the seasonal run off from melting snow and the thawing of the moisture soaked land above it. I took these pioctures on Sunday when the temperature was at 0 degrees C. There was no running water and no waterfall, only the frozen remnants of what had been. We have been receiving heavy rainfall the last couple of days. I have no doubt that there would be a beautiful, quite active waterfall at this location right now. I hope I get back to the city before it disappears again and I can get real waterfall pictures.
To see other contributions to the watery Wednesday meme, please scroll up the right hand side of this page until you come to the watery Wednesday icon, then click on it to add your contribution to Mr. Linky or to see contributions of others. Happy Wednesday to all.

Reddish bushes for Ruby Tuesday

Having decided to check upon the water levels to see how our recent rains have raised water levels this morning I chanced upon this flock of Canada Geese on the water in front of this reddish landscape of spring bushes along the banks of an overflowing stream.

Happy Ruby Tuesday to all. Ruby Tuesday is a meme hosted by Mary, the Teach that celebrates red. To see more contributions to this meme or to share your own red for
Ruby Tuesday please click on the Ruby Tuesday icon on this page on the right hand side.

A Dandelion in bloom for Mellow Yellow Monday!

What a lion of a plant this is! We have had snow, freezing rain and below zero temperatures during the past week and yet this hardy little wildflower blossoms with a cheery, yellow, showy blossom at the same place where I always find it each spring. hugging the cement foundatiobnwall of our local grocery store. I think its early this year, for it was after I returned home from the hospital on April 21st.last year when I recall walking up to the store to check for its blossoming there.
Coltdfoot is usually the first wildflower I find in bloom each spring, but I haven't seen any yet. I have heard reports of some in bloom though and my daughter has seen a patch in bloom. I have a favourite spot where I check each year and I often find it in my yard each year too, but it has been so cold lately! Its 0 degrees C here this morning and a heavy rain fall warning has been issued for the day. brrrrrrThat might make forgood conditons for a fewfield ponds and ducks!

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

An Inukshuk for Scenic Sunday

Today While driving along highway #105 which borders the Saint John River I began looking for this line of old log boom piers that cross the river near Oromocto, Standing on the first pier in the river at this point is an innukshuk. An innukshuk or stone landmark originated with the Inuit peoples of the north, It is made of stones and its shape somewhat resembles a human figure. To some it is thought of as a stone landmark. Some of you readers may recognize or associate this innushuk with the one built for the Vancouver winter games. This delightful little structure which I took pictures of today has been there for several years. I think it had collapsed or was dismantled a few years ago and I was so pleased to see it there today. To see it was almost like encountering an old friend.


Scenic Sunday is an opportunity to share your scenic surroundings with others. To learn more of this meme or to share your own contribution please click on the scenic Sunday icon on the right of this page. Have a great Sunday everyone.

Friday evening, end of day, end of week, Looking at the sky on Friday

In between my village and the next one. Friday evening, everyone seems to have a busy agenda, hurry, hurry, hurry, the day is almost done.

most recent bird arrival in Bird Alley

This newest little arrival in bird Alley yesterday,was frisky and seemed to be so full of energy as it was busily flitting about. It looked like it had grasped onto this bird feeder, just in time. as it lunged there to hold on. I caught a glimpse of movement and saw the telltale white lines dashed along the sides of its head and I thought to myself " Red-breasted Nuthatch. " There is a large, old stand of Pines nearby that nuthatches frequent and I would guess that this nuthatch dwells there. "Please drop by again, little bird". You are always welcome. And bring along your cousins too, the White-breasted ones anytime. My husband caught a fleeting glimpse of a small group of Robins flying over our yard this morning! I hope they return for a photo shoot later today!


And the little nuthatch was back again this afternoon choosing to feed from our peanut feeder in Bird Alley.This little Red-breasted Nuthatch continued to have an appearance of energy. It is a lovely looking little bird! Until tomorrow little bird!

Heather in bloom for Today's flower

I'mso very happy to be able to share today the first bloom or colour in my garden this spring, although if I took the picture this morning instead of yesterday afternoon it would be speckled with snow. Yes, our ground is snow covered this morning! What happened to all those wonderful promising days of spring we had been having? I am hoping to soon find my first wildflower blossom of Coltsfoot. It should be soon! maybe if we have some warm sunny days next week I shall be successful in my search for a patch of Coltsfoot in bloom. I hope so.
To enjoy more of today's flowers please click on the Today's flower logo on the right sidebar. Have a great blooming day! My thanks go to Denise and Luiz for hosting this meme.

A black and white Loon for Thursday's Challenge

For the theme "black and white" for the meme Thursday's challenge I thought of many birds that would be appropriate to post for this challenge as I searched through my photo archives. I thought first of a Goldeneye Duck but I have posted several of those the last few days and used one for my Thursday challenge last week. I have overdone Goldeneyes.
.But there are many other delightful black and white birds. While looking out my window I saw a female Hairy Woodpecker feeding on a peanut feeder., but no, not too exciting for a photo. I then searched for a black and white warbler in my warbler archives: nice, but, not as exciting as an Osprey, of which I have many photos to choose from; then I spied the bird name Loon in my index listof photos... Ah ha! what can be more striking with its magnificent black and white patterning?! So I chose to use Loon pictures to represent this Thursday's black and white theme. Enjoy!
To learn more of Thursday Challenge please click on the Loon photo on the right sidebar on this page. Have a great day!

Grass burning in the spring for Ruby Tuesday

Each spring people in my region burn grass and not exactly knowing why they engaged in this yearly ritual I did a google search and I found a most wonderful informative website by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources on the subject of myths and beliefs on spring grass burning and the actual truths of these assumptions. It is very worthwhile reading and very informative and can be found by clicking here

Happy Ruby Tuesday to all. Ruby Tuesday is a meme hosted by Mary, the Teach that celebrates red. To see more contributions to this meme or to share your own red for
Ruby Tuesday please click on the Ruby Tuesday icon on this page on the right hand side.

A pair of Goldeneyes

Their wild beauty stirred me as they rushed flying through the air.
They felt a need to escape as they saw me standing there
These beautiful wild creatures; a Goldeneye pair.

Goldeneyes are always the focus of my search for spring ducks. I find their appearance, especially the male, one of beauty! They are the first wild ducks that I became familiar with. I had discovered these ducks at the village lagoon the previous evening. Yesterday I drove up to the gate of the fenceing of the lagoon and got out of my car. Just as I had my camera focused on this pair, They took off in flight. I just followed them with my camera and I was really pleased with the result! Hopefully I will find many other species here soon and their pictures will appear here within other pages of this blog. I am inspired by my daughter's new blog on quilting( see the link in sidebar please)and I hope to make a quilt block of a male Goldeneye, soon.

A shadow frame within for Shadow Shot Sunday

This old covered bridge, The Hoyt Station Covered bridge is framed within its entrance with a shadow
If you enjoy viewing covered bridge pictures you might enjoy my blog on covered bridges in New Brunswick. Please Just click on the link in the section, "My other blogs" in the right sidebar.

To learn more of Shadow Shot Sunday and perhaps to make your own contribution please click on the icon on the right sidebar of this page to go to the meme homepage. Happy Shadow watching to all

Reflections in a river for Scenic Sunday

Reflections in an ice free river. at Fredericton, N. B.

The old railroad bridge at Fredericton, N.B. is now a walking trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail
The tall steeple of Christ Church Cathedral is reflected in the tranquil waters of the Saint John
A portion of downtown Fredericton, N.B
Scenic Sunday is an opportunity to share your scenic surroundings with others. To learn more of this meme or to share your own contribution please click on the scenic Sunday icon on the right of this page. Have a great Sunday everyone.

Welcome Spring

Oh Happy Day! The first day of spring! Good bye winter, I am not sorry to see you go although your presence the last few weeks has been gentle. My apologies to those who have read this before. I wrote this several springs ago but it has become my welcomeacknowledgement to this delightful season every since.

Personifications of Spring

spring whispered and I listened
as trees swungtheir bare branches in welcome

pussy willows basked in warm sunlight
lulled by blended sounds of mating melodies
singing ageless songs of hopeful renewal

spring sighed and I watched
as melting snow created lawn ponds

awakened roots in the moist earth
quenched their frozen winter thirst
and yearned to stretch their green shoots upward

spring shouted and I felt its power
as disintegrating river ice abandoned its frozen grasp

pelting rains and furious winds spurned slothful winter
and rivers swelled their banks with prideful freedom
while egg laden fish dreamed of journeying home

spring returned today and I smiled and was content
secure in my knowledge of its enduring loyalty

A Song Sparrow brings spring closer!

YES!, Spring is almost here! I can tell it by the bird's presences. This morning a Song Sparrow in Bird Alley!! and a Tree Sparrow is still here. Yesterday we had Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds drop by. Yesterday I took pictures of Common Goldeneyes in the Saint John River. and we saw a flock of Canada Geese flying through the sky And watched them land in a field adjacent to the highway. How lovely it all is!. I am no longer anticipating snow. Tomorrow is the first day of spring!!! I am thankful that winter is gone, but we still have a bit of snow in our back yard! , bu tha'ts okay as it is disappearing fast.And our garden statue has changed her outfit, that's a sure sign of optimism. Have a great day!!!

Glodeneye for Thursday's Challenge

When I read of this week's photo challenge on Thursday's challenge and found that it was circle, round or a sphere I hadn't decided what to post. Maybe the round opening in a bird house showing some swallows peeking through,? or perhaps the round opening of a huge circular drain under a railroad track to a pond on the other side? While driving along the Saint John River this morning taking pictures of Common Goldeneye Ducks which we saw there, I suddenly knew what my topic would be. Nothing is more distinguishing that id's a male Common Goldeneye than the round, white circle on its face! I love finding Goldeneye to photograph, another beautiful feature of this species is its golden eye which can easily be seen in the photo above. Seen below is a pair, male and female, and you can see by the white dot, that the male is on the right. The female is not so easily quickly id'ed as it does not have the distinguishing white dot as the male does.

To learn more of Thursday Challenge please click on the Goldeneye photo on the right sidebar on this page.

Watching the sky

Seeing two crows in a tree brought springtime joy to me and I remembered the old refrain, " One crow sorrow, two crows joy!"
This monochrome silhouette of crows in a tree was very outstanding outlined against the clear sky. Its always potentially exciting to see a large bird perched in a tree! an eagle? a hawk? "Oh, its just a crow! nevertheless, Crows have a place in photographic beauty. Wishing a happy Friday to all. Only two more days to go and then winter is officially over!!!! We have been experiencing wonderful spring-like weather all week. Enjoy

Marching to the Same Drummer

As if they were marching to the same drum beat, these two Black Ducks seemed to be walking in unison. Above, they are still in rhythm together

They had been swimming in the water , then climbed out onto the ice still in the pond.
That's it for duck sightings today! Ducks are still sparse in my area!

Get off the road! for Outdoor Wednesday

Deer on the road is not an uncommon sight. I came upon these three on Monday strolling down the road. the deer that is, as I was driving. I waited for them to move. I never like to beep my horn or startle them as I don't want them to jump into some sort of dangerous situation; likejumping in front of an oncoming car or jumping into a ditch which has hidden dangers lurking there.They finally caught on to the need to leave while I sat in my car and waited.
At this time of year it is a good idea to be alert to anything moving on the roads, or skies, or in rivers., or even for signs of change in flower beds,"awakened roots in the moist earth
quenched their frozen winter thirst
and yearned to stretch their green shoots upward"
Enjoy it all! We have waited long enough. Let's think green today and a Happy St. Patrick's day to all.We have fun decorating or dressing up our life size garden statue in celebration of special calendar days
Outdoor Wednesday is a delightful meme where you can enjoy almost any aspect of outdoors. This meme offers a wide choice of topic. To view contributions of others or to post your own contribution, please click on the Outdoor Wednesday pic on the right sidebar on this page and enjoy. A Happy Wednesday wish to all.

A Tree Sparrow: today's birding surprise!

The Tree Sparrow was here again today!

The identifying feature is the bicoloured bill. Before downloading the pictures I knew it was either a Tree or Chipping Soarrow. The bi-coloured bill determined my id., but I don't see any center dark spot on its breast which is also an identifiable feature of a Tree Sparrow . Its too early for a Chipping Sparrow although our location seems to be a gathering spot for them later in the spring. Usually we have many Tree Sparrows here also, but not this winter. We had a couple visiting on December 9th, 2009 but I haven't seen any here since then. So this little one was certainly a welcome and awesome surprise this morning! I haven't even gone outside yet today. There is much good to be said about window birding! There is lots of sunshine outside this morning. Maybe I can find something else surprisingly "springy" today! I will certainly try and I will definitely post it if I do. Have a great day, I plan too.