Blue Shadows for Blue Monday

This is definitely a Blue day!  I checked the weather forecast first thing and I found another STORM WARNING!  another 20 or so centimeters of snow forecast! It is unbelievable!  How can this keep on happening? It is supposed to be spring!
and so for my blue mood I am posting a photo of blue shadows for Smiling Sally's Blue Monday meme, but I ain't smiling! If you want to join in and post your blue themed photo for today then go to:
SmilingSally.blogspot.caSmilingSally.blogspot.ca

However I love this  picturesque landscape with blue shadows that I am posting today. I have titled this picture CONFUSED SEASONS as the old hay mowing machine in the snow definitely

is out of sync with the season. You need sunshine to make hay and that for sure won't be happening  here today.
Have a great day everyone and enjoy the weather, where ever you may be. Spring weather is on its way, at least that is what the calendars say. March came in rather"lamb" like so I guess today is the Lion's roar!! ( in like a lamb and out with a roar!)

A spring sighting: A Grackle!

As I post this I am watching the snow fall and pile up around my yard, However I refuse to post photos of this snowfall, you have had your chance winter!! I find no beauty in you today!  Be gone!

However this post is one of spring optimism!  Yesterday while, checking out the condition of the river ice, We, my husband I, both agreed that by next weekend the river should be open as there was a large quantity of water lying on the river ice surface and soon open water will be an open invitation for Goldeneye and HoodedMergansers, both diving, fishing, duck species.

The supreme excitement of the day yesterday was the finding a Common Grackle under a Pine Tree in Central Blissville.  the bird had found a bit of exposed grassy earth, there under the tree! The picture is not too sharp but believe me it was a handsome glossy black Grackle.  ( see the bird's long tail!)What a wonderful welcome sighting!  and I think I saw a Robin in the same area  there too yesterday!!  Oh happy Day.. Forget today's snowstorm as I know what awaits me when the snow is gone!! Next Sunday's posting will be of ducks! I have my fingers crossed.

Female Purple Finch for Saturday Critters

Our birds are having a difficult time at our feeders recently as we have had so much snow it is difficult to get to them to refill.  So the other day I hung out a seed bell and it attracted

a female Purple Finch. This is the first female Purple Finch I have seen in a long time.  I had had recent sightings of a handsome male a few days in the last week or so.

What I like about this second picture are the two lower dark body spots shown which are often covered by the bird's

wings .  I took this photo from inside the house and I guess I got just the right angle to see these spots with my camera lens.  It is surprising sometimes what is revealed what had not been noticed or seen before by me. These two dark spots are a new identification clue to me.  I haven't seen this finch since out last big storm on Wednesday of this week.  The use of the word "last"  referring to a snowstorm is in error as viewing the weather station site this morning I see we are  being given another snowfall warning for tomorrow... about 20 centimeters or so!!  So much for the last snowstorm!! Will this winter ever end? Will I ever get to see the returning beloved ducks which I so love to find?!!  I do hope so!!!!  I am linking today with Eileen's Saturday Critters at 
http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca/

Blue sky for Blue Monday

Yesterday afternoon I was watching bird Alley hoping for some interesting bird visitors when I saw a few frisky chickadees appear. I focused on a close one when I saw another perch in the background so I tried to get a picture showing both Chickadees. when I downloaded the pictures I saw that the bokeh background included the second Chickadee as well as a beautiful, soft, blue sky. The bokeh effect was created by having a low f-stop in my camera settings.My f-stop  setting was at 5.6 yesterday  I love bokeh when finding backgrounds.Study these two photos to see what I mean.

I am linking today to Blue Monday meme hosted by Smiling Sally at:
http://smilingsally.blogspot.ca/search/label

Two Pigeons, a White and a Grey for Saturday Critters

Yesterday on my way home from grocery shopping we stopped by the roadside when I had seen a white pigeon on a roof last week. Looking again for the white bird my husband spied it beside the chimney. I had the wrong camera settings on my Canon ti3 and the pictures were very overexposed, however seen below is one of my photo captures after photo editing.

There are two pigeons beside the chimney. The one on the left is white and the one to the lower right of the white pigeon is grey, although a light grey, and you can compare their colouring with the other pigeons there.

I also had my Canon D20 with me and I had my 400mm lens on it but I had difficulty focusing on the pigeon at first. When first seeing the white pigeon I hadn't seen the white grey one at its side, and I was surprised to see it when downloading.I wasn't sure the grey pigeon was real as it was smaller than the white and somehow it appeared one dimensional to me, like a cutout , but no, I guess it was another pigeon..  But how fascinating to see another almost white pigeon.  I shall check them out again  later today to see what I can find. Perhaps there are more lighter pigeons in this flock!
Today I am linking to Eileen's Saturday Critters at:
http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.ca/

First day of Spring

This is not the first day of spring that I had anticipated! I am very disappointed and feel very let down.
Although it is a beautiful day I do hope that this is the last snowy day of spring!!

                             A spring view along my street!

  Spring in my backyard on this, the first day of spring! Humbug!!!

Star;lingsToday!

Tomorrow is the first day of spring!!!
The thought of it makes my heart sing!!

Heavy snowfall warning you say?!
That doesn't ruin my day
The sun is getting so strong
That snow won't last long!!!!

And my spring song is strong!!!

                             The Starling above is an adult breeing bird showing a yellow bill.

Another indication of an adult breeding Staring are the wings edged or trimmed with brown.

Full Wolf Moon

I guess being an early riser has its benefits, at least it did this morning when I saw this beautiful full moon in the south west sky.

Many names of full moons originated with the north American Indians.  The Full Wolf Moon derived its name from the observance of hungry Wolves howling at this full moon signaling the coming of spring.  This full moon is also known as the Full Sap Moon and that is self explanatory for those living here in Eastern Canada.  This is the time of year when Maple trees are tapped and their sap is collected and boiled down and made into maple syrup and maple sugar. 

Another name for this moon is the Full Crust Moon as it is at this time of year when a hard crust is frozen on the top of the snow  which has melted and softened during the sunny daytime hours, onlyto then be then frozen over again during the colder, dark nighttime.

The Full Worm Moon derives its name from worm activity at this time of year surfacing through the snow.  The Full Worm Moon is often a time of returning Robins looking for worms to feed on.
Whatever name you chose to identify this moon by, We probably will not all agree on the name of this full moon name, however I think we will all agree on its beauty in the night and early morning sky!

Thinking Green today

Presently our yard is full of snow , but we hope that Bird Alley will soon look as invitational and inviting as it has looked in the past.What can be lovelier on this St. Patrick.s Day than to recall green memories of a beautiful green Bird Alley. Have a great day everyone!

A Special Find, a White Pigeon

Yesterday while driving home I saw a group of Pigeons or rock doves all lined up in a row on the redgeline of an old barn: And to my delight at the end of the line I saw a white pigeon.

So today I decided to see if I could find the white bird and I did!!!!

This photo was taken with a 300mm zoom lens.  Tomorrow I plan on returning to the location and taking my 400 mm lens with me.  I am quite sure the Pigeon will still be there with others in its Pigeon flock.  This Pigeon is almost pure white except for a slight beige or brown colouring under the underside of its tail feathers.  And you might wonder how  I am sure its a Pigeon.. Well relying upon the old adage"Birds of a feather flock together" , the picture below shows the white bird with all of its other feathered buddies (Pigeons)

Black-capped Chickadees

 We had a lot of chickadees in Bird Alley yesterday feeding before the onset of our current snowstorm.
These birds are very fast and light on their feet.  These pictures shows a Chickadee with a not so tight grasp on its perch.  Was it beginning to fall or just in 'take off '

mode as my camera caught its falling appearance?

A Spring Reappearance; Purple Finch

Although we are waiting in anticipation and apprehension for a big winter storm which is headed our way to hit, I still remain aware that spring is near and very close by. Instead of snowflakes swirling in the air outdoors I shall pretend they are returning birds. The appearance of birds that haven't been present at our feeders all winter long is one such indication of an approaching seasonal change. This handsome male Purple Finch , shown above,made its seasonal reappearance at our feeders on Monday.
 He was a lovely sighting!  I haven't seen him since but after this coming storm is over and the official start of spring arrives next week I assume we will be welcoming many more of this species at our feeders!  Isn't the anticipation of spring great!

Words and Letters with alphabet photography, a personal challenge

I am posting this photo to Donna's monthly photo challenge, where each month Donna hosts a theme.  This month's theme is "words and letters. I am excited by my own personal challenge of being able to find the entire letters of the alphabet in nature.  It will become a spring and summer photo challenge for me.  Within the picture of the Ladybug I have found three letters from the alphabet.  The letter W  on the forehead of the ladybug is very obvious to see, and there is an uppercase T on the end of each front leg of the Ladybug.  Also the division line on the back of the shell separates the shell into two distinct uppercase D's. The title for today's picture is

.                                                  "W is for words"
If you would like to contribute to Donna's challenge or view the entries of other bloggers you may find Donna's challenging blog by clicking on the link  shown below: or you may click on the icon for this blog found on the top of of the column on the right hand side of this page.  Have a great day everyone.
 http://apersonalphotochallenge.blogspot.ca/

Early Morning Visitors: Deer

I am an early riser, not necessarily by choice but I often wake early, and so today at 4:30 am, while making  coffee and looking out my pantry window I saw movement at the end of my neighbour's driveway. I could see a deer silhouette in the darkness and so I went to get my camera and crossing my fingers I checked to see that my camera was on an auto,  with a no flash setting and  viola I was able to get two pictures of the deer group .  I have a lot of faith in my Nikon D3100, its a great reliable camera!  The photos are not all that great but you can definitely id that these four legged creatures are deer. There were three of them.

 

Pictures taken at 4:36 a.m.AST this morning.

One Bohemian Waxwing

for the past three days now, we have had one Bohemian Waxwing visiting daily feeding on rose hips on rose vines in our bower.   

This location is a fair distance from our house and I have been taking the pictures from standing in my dining room with my 400mm lens on my old Canon 20D.  It seems that there is just the one Waxwing, it is the only waxwing that we have seen all winter long.

On top of our bower we have a replica of a Chinese Fu dog guardian. I love it when a bird perches on the fudog and that is where the Waxwing stopped for a rest one day earlier this week.

editing note: I had previously mistakenly identified this waxwing as a Cedar Waxwing.  I was wrong about that id.  The waxwing in these photos is definitely a Bohemian Waxwing as (1) its undertail coverts are rufus,(2) it has a rufus tinged face and (3) it has white tips on its wing feathers.One day this week thewaxwing did venture closer to our house and fed on Virginia Creeper berries on vines on top of our pergola and I got to view this magnificent bird a bit closer.