Welcome to winter!

snow goose with blue ribbion for Blue Monday

Although snowgeese are not common to our area, these three fly in our yard every winter season. I made the template a few years ago from a picture I had taken of snowgeese near Levi, Quebec, along highway #20

So make them a bit festive for the Christmas season,we added a blue ribbon to put around their necks, as the fly through winter on our fence which surrounds Bird Alley.
Actually Bird Alley isn't so winterlike this morning. Looking out our window I view a +10 C temperature and green grass beyond our gate. My kind of winter.
.Blue Monday is a meme that hosts photos which highlights the colour of blue. Please click on the bluejay badge in the right sidebar to learn more of this interesting meme found at : http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/search/label/Blue%20Monday%20Instructionshttp://

A Sunday Bird Surprise in Bird Alley

An American Rubin in Bird Alley! Actually there were three of them but they flew away as I reached for my camera. This photo was taken of one of the fleeing robins perched in a tree. Luckily its red breast shows its colour. I hope they return to Bird Alley later today. I love Robin pictures, especially out of season ones.

a glimpse of Cardinal red for camera critters

We have seen a pair of Cardinals around Bird
Alley recently. The female did not create any problems with taking her picture, but the male has been very elusive. This morning, just a few moments ago I captured his presence with my camera. Its still quite elusive and this photo glimpse was all I could record, but proof, "yes we do have a pair ofcardinals in Bird Alley!".So, why the fuss? "Its just a cardinal," say you, who might consider this a common sighting. Not so in my area. A cardinal sighting is a treat and a rare one at that. My elderly neighbour, a gentleman in his 90's was quite excited and interested a few years ago when he heard we had a male cardinal visiting in Bird Alley. He had lived in the community all of his life and had never seen a cardinal. See what I mean by it being a treat to see one? I hope the male stays and poses some day soon for a more cooperative photo shoot.

Camera Critters is a meme that features critters, any kind, any size. To see more of this meme please click on the CC logo which can be found on the right sidebar on this page or please click here.http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

Weekend Reflections on Canada Geese

Shown above are reflections of tree trunks in the icy water, But the interesting thing about these reflections are the Canada Geese in the water in the picture shown below. Please click the photo below to get a better view of the Canada Geese in the icy water. They has better get a move on! and soon! And they were not moving very fast today. We passed this water area this morning at about 10;25 am and returned home a little after 2 p.m. this afternoon. The geese were still there! I went home to get my camera and took these pictures at about 2:30 p.m. Checking out this location tomorrow morning is high on my 'to do' list. If they are still there might they be stuck in the ice? I doubt that that sort of thing ever happens. Hopefully for their health, they will soon be on their way south.
editing note: While searching for the Canadas this morning they were nowhere to be seen. I assume they have lef the area. And the areas of open water appeared to be more closed over with ice.

Weekend Reflectionshttp://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com/:is a meme where you can view beautiful reflections captured by others. Just click on the logo on the right to see what others have captured with their cameras

Cardinals in Bird Alley

Who knew the hidden beauty under this female Cardinal's wings? Not I, until I clicked this photo of its take off.We have had a pair of Cardinals hanging around Bird Alley for the past couple of days. The handsome male was too elusive for my camera.... maybe today? Also yesterday we had several Blue Jays feeding. Mourning Doves, we count 14 of them in their almost daily visits, a male and female HairyWoodpecker. several Goldfinch,two Tree Sparrows and one Junco.

sidewalk snowplow for mellow yellow Monday

Yes, the promised snow in the weather forecast arrived overnight and this morning the village's little sidewalk snowplow has been busily keeping up with the snowfall by clearing our sidewalks. And if the forecast is to be believed it will be kept busy as the weather office has issued a heavy snowfall warning for our area.

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

male woodpecker feeding for Ruby Tuesday

Obviously a male ( red marking on the back of its head) Woodpecker but which species? Hairy or Downy? We have both visiting, almost daily and I think this is a little Downy!
A woodpecker bonus picture! This I call a swirl of feathers , of a Hairy Woodpecker ( no sign of red so perhaps this is a female Hairy, as I was focusing my camera on a feeding woodpecker, it abruptly flew away.


Got photos with red want to share them?To check out other postings on Ruby Tuesday just click on the Ruby logo on the side bar or here:http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/. My appreciative thanks to Mary/the teach for hosting this meme

Bringing Outdoors Indoors for Outdoor Wednesday

My fvourite pond for finding ducks and geese is now almost all iced over! I shall eagerly await to see what feathered treasures it invites in the spring

snow covered roads can create adventurous
(dangerous) driving conditions. Be prepared for winter driving.!!

SEWING WHILE ITS SNOWING
Actually its not snowing today and we have only had what might be termed a dusting so far, but I 've already experienced some tricky winter driving on the past weekend. It was at night, after dark and I couldn't figure out( see) where the middle of the road was and I kept wandering from side to side, the snow in my headlights was blinding as I tried to orientate myself on the snow covered highway. I ran out of snowstorm and finally found myself on dark, wet pavement! Thankfully! Our winter tires go on on Thursday and I am eager to get them on.

I have settled into an indoor routine of sewing, a wonderful winter pastime. I finished a quilt last week and now it is at a longarm quilters being quilted. I am eagerly looking forward to its completion. This morning I finished a pillowcase for a little grandson using two different moose fabrics. I don't know the fabric name or source, there were no printed selvages on it., but there is some beautiful nature themed fabric out there to buy! I love shopping for fabric.

Outdoor Wednesday found at http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ is a delightful meme that invites you to share the outdoors with others. The theme encompasses the outdoors, a topic within the theme of your choosing. to learn more of this meme or to share your view of the outdoors please click on the 'outdoor Wednesday' logo on the right of this page. Happy Wednesday outoor gathering to all

featuring'red 'in Bird Alley for Ruby Tuesday

AS these pictures will show, "Yes, We have snow on the ground!"Not enough to have to clear away, but a sufficient amount for a ground covering.This little Red-breasted Nuthatch is easily finding the bird seed under the layer of snow./
Another reddish creature in Bird Alley searching for food under the snow, a Red Squirrel. If you click on the picture to enlarge you can view its beauty and glossy fur much easier.
And these red crabapples are a daily background feature of our outdoors nature photo studio! in Bird Alley. Yesterday they attracted a small group of Starlings in their winter white-flecked feathers. Notice that in the picture above the Starling has a pure white feather! Unusual I would think. Perhaps I'll look for this white feathered feature when Starlings visit Bird Alley again.
The Starlings did not feed on the crabapples that I could see.

Got photos with red want to share them?To check out other postings on Ruby Tuesday just click on the Ruby logo on the side bar or here:http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/. My appreciative thanks to Mary/the teach for hosting this meme

yellow lower mandible of Tree Sparrow for mellow yellow monday

The distinguishing characteristic of its bi-coloured bill of this Tree Sparrow is very noticeable in this photo showing the sparrow's yellow lower mandible.
This little sparrow was in Bird Alley this weekend on both Saturday and Sunday. I hope it returns daily and brings along a few of its little sparrow buddies. Next I am hoping for some Common Redpolls to show up soon.

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

Tree Sparrow for Camera Critters

Oh my! I see a little sparrow in Bird Alley! Who could it be? I think its too late for a Chipping Sparrow. I can tell that its not a Song Sparrow. Could it be my first Tree Sparrow visitation for the season??
Yes!!! It is a Tree Sparrow in Bird Alley! Oh Happy Day! They're back for another season. Can you see its bi-coloured bill that is yellow on the bottom? And yes, there is a central dark spot on its breast. Both features strong identifying marks characteristic of a Tree Sparrow.
Oops! Excuse me, Be right back.My husband just called to me that we now have Evening Grosbeaks eating at the sunflower seed I have recently put out. I didn't see the Grosbeaks but saw instead Cedar Waxwings in our crabapple tree and a Gray Squirrel in Bird Alley also, I haven't see one of those for a while. I also spied a female full bellied Hairy Woodpecker going up a tree. We have lots of Blue Jays coming and going today and also a few Mourning doves. We have lots of camera critters out and about today, much to the delight of our window watching cat.


Camera Critters is a meme that features critters, any kind, any size. To see more of this meme please click on the CC logo which can be found on the right sidebar on this page or please click here.http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

eating red berries for photo hunter

Juicy? But cranberry juice is made from cranberries! maybe not but at least moist, as these cranberries are sticking to the beak of this female Pine Grosbeak, who appears to find these berries yummy! , the Waxwings seem to enjoy them as well.Not so other birds The cranberries also attract Robins, but it must be the colour, not the taste., one bite of these berries and the Robins are gone. This is a picture from my photo archives. We do not get Pine Grosbeaks every year but I hope we are lucky to see a few this winter.
For more photos on this weeks theme of 'juicy' just click on Photo Hunter or you many click on the icon in the side bar. My thanks to tnchick for hosting this site. Happy Photo Hunting to all!

red flower reflections in my window for weekend reflections

The other day I was most pleasantly surprised at seeing red spots reflected in my window that looks out ontoBird Alley.
Upon checking the reflections closely I realized the red spots were reflections of my potted red geranium which I have at the window! What a lovely cherry glow they gave!

Weekend Reflectionshttp://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com/:is a meme where you can view beautiful reflections captured by others. Just click on the logo on the right to see what others have captured with their cameras

Foggy day in the valley for Outdoor Wednesday

An early rainy morning drive to Woodstock yesterday morning was damp, misty and foggy
The rain and early morning temperatures created much fog in the river valley and along the highway.
Outdoor Wednesday found at http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ is a delightful meme that invites you to share the outdoors with others. The theme encompasses the outdoors, a topic within the theme of your choosing. to learn more of this meme or to share your view of the outdoors please click on the 'outdoor Wednesday' logo on the right of this page. Happy Wednesday outoor gathering to all

Mallards in the Meduxenkeag for Watery Wednesday

Yesterday morning while making an early morning visit to the dentist we saw lots of ducks in the Meduxenkeag river from a distance as we drove by. When leaving the dentist's office near noon we went in search of the flock that we had seen earlier and all that we could find in this lovely November landscape were three Mallards.

Waterty Wednesdayhttp://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/ is a delightful meme where you can enjoy almost any aspect of water scenes or activity. This meme offers a wide choice of topic. To view contributions of others or to post your own contribution, please click on the Watery Wednesday icon on the right sidebar on this page and enjoy. A Happy Wednesday wish to all!

Feasting on Ornamental crab apples for Ruby Tuesday

These Beautiful attractive little red crab apples ares the focus of my Ruby Tuesday post and also the focus of this Cedar Waxwing with a tasty delight in mind.

Got photos with red want to share them?To check out other postings on Ruby Tuesday just click on the Ruby logo on the side bar or here:http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/. My appreciative thanks to Mary/the teach for hosting this meme

Yellow tip of a Cedar Waxwing's tail for Mellow Yellow Monday

I always consider a Cedar Waxwing an outstanding bird and one of its outstanding identifying features is the yellow tip of its tail, which is easily seen in these three pictures. This morning our yard and cranberry tree and ornamental crab apple tree has been visited by quite a large flock of these waxwings. I hesitate to call them a swarm, but there seemed to be so many all over both of our crab apple trees. If I took a drive around our village I have no doubt that I would find many gobbling at all the red berries that they can find.Luckily for me my husband spied them in Bird Alley and circling our house for up until then I hadn't a picture to post for Mellow Yellow Monday.


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