Monday, January 19, 2009

January Snow

We have had plenty of snow the past 24 hours. The snow we had was my favorite which are those large snow flakes that are fluffy and full. The thing I love most about the snow is that it serves as a blank canvas to photograph your birds and really appreciate their colors because they stand out against the white. I have been putting peanuts out closer to my other feeders so the blue jays are coming closer to me which allows me better photos.

I am starting to get a lot more cardinals. This female was around my house the entire day yesterday. I got this picture and while it is blurry, I love the fact that I got her in the midst of flight.



A chickadee who has found my peanut feeder and decided she liked it.


The goldfinches love my bird bath and take turns getting a drink. This bird bath has withstood temps of -6 this past week and is the best thing I have ever had for my feathered friends.


The seagulls come every morning waiting for me to put bread out for them. They fly over my yard in eager anticipation.

As a side note, an interesting thing happened to me on Friday night. My son went to the movies with friends and the first show was sold out, so he went to the later one which meant I was giving him and his friends rides home at 1:00 AM! One of his friends lives on a dirt road and I had to drive my car slowly over the bumps and ditches. It was so quiet that all you could hear was the sound of the ice crushing against the wheels, the roaring of the heat was on full blast and all teenagers were quiet after their night at the movies. Suddenly I see a tiny figure in the middle of the road in front of me. He stops and looks at my bright head lights and takes off. It was a deer mouse! I yelled to the kids in surprised excitement. They looked bored and yawned.

I drove home in amazement and cursed myself for not thinking to bring my camera. It was -6 that night and here was this tiny little mouse looking for food at 1AM. Such amazing creatures when you think of it.

Off to shovel now. It has become my new part time job.

11 comments:

Rich said...

You have Juneau weather now, but you are colder than Juneau actually. I hope when the cold breaks you get a sunny and warm 55 degree day like we had yesterday. A sunny day helps so much after a cold spell. The eagles in Juneau are talking and soaring a great deal here.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Gee Kallen, You are a good Mommy--letting those teens stay out that late and then taking them all home --on a dirt road at 1 a.m. in the ice and snow.. Yipes!!!!! Scares me just to think about it..

But seeing the deer mouse had to be special --even if the boys didn't care!!!!

That's the kind of snow I love also--big flakes, wet snow, temps-not too cold-- and the kind of snow that sticks to everything!!!!

Speaking of snow--it's snowing here in TN this morning. Yeah!!!!
Hugs,
Betsy

Shelley said...

I agree w/ Betsy - you are a good mommy! How exciting to have seen that deer mouse! And don't you love how the birdies LOVE your birdbath?!

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I hope the little deer mouse gets home before an owl snatches it. Sometimes it can be very magical to be out and about at night.

Anonymous said...

Lovely thoughtful post Kallen. I wanted to give you a warning about the bird bath. You need to keep it filled to a higher level so that it doesn't break the heating device. I found out the hard way. The rock is such a clever idea. I always put two sticks crosswise so that the birds can stand on that. And clean, clean water everyday...

Dianne said...

Hi! I'm here from Betsy's blog and always see your picture and you are sooo cute!

My bird loving includes my African Grey Parrot, Sammie, who is seven years old and keeps us entertained. She was cheering during the play off games yesteday.

Love the pics of the birds.

Kim said...

Rich, I am so jealous of your weather! HA, I never thought I would say that but I am!! ;o)

Betsy, I was a tad annoyed to have to drive people around that time of night, but I was reading Julie's new book Letter's From Eden which is fantastic so it helped me to kill the time until I had to get them.

Shelley, the bird bath has become a full time job. Every day I go out there with 3/4's of a gallon of water to re fill it.


Lynne, I have been meaning to get outside at night more to see what I could find. I was hoping to hear and owl that night, but the mouse was just as fun of a find. What a brave little mouse indeed.

Rambling. The photo you see is before I fill my bird bath up every morning. The starlings make it a mess so I have to first flush the bath with hot water and then fill it up for the birds. I clean it once a week which is a task in itself due to how cold it is so cleaning is difficult.

Diane, thank you for visiting my blog and the compliment. Your parrot sounds so cool. I have always wanted one, but I don't think it would be a good situation with my cat. They are very nice birds though and can see how they would entertain you.

Jayne said...

Seagulls! In your yard? Seriously? I am so jealous Kallen! How cool!

Deborah Godin said...

What a thrill, to see the mouse so late (or early) on the road!! (yes I get excited over stuff like this, too!)

Ruth said...

Glad the cardinals found your yard!

Alan Pulley said...

Hey Kallen,

Love the blue jay photo. I have them around but havent ever seen them at my feeders. Maybe oneday.
That's very cool about the deer mouse. Never would have thought one would be out when it's that cold.

FYI, there predicting 3-5 inches of snow for us tomorrow. I'm ready, the feeders are filled!

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