When the crows cry.....

I woke up to a dark dreary rainy morning and the
crows were cawing loudly. I got my binoculars and
searched the trees for the source of their aggravation.
Across the road near the top of a tree I spotted a hawk.

I thought it must be a Cooper because that is what I
usually get in my yard. But when I brought it into the
computer it looked more like a Redtail. I asked BG and she
said Redtail too.

From the porch I took several shots and it flew to another
tree probably to avoid the camera and then it was gone.

I had planned to clean the office and finish up some
decorating....but I already had the camera in my hand so
I kept watching to see what else I could see.

The star of my backyard, Mr. Redbelly was busy probing
for bugs right next to the deck.

Man! He shoved his whole beak in that hole

No wonder I love him, he is such an entertaining bird

Whatever he is finding it must be tasty...look at his tongue

Yummy yum yum

All the finches were having a 'eat in' out in the rain along
with one lone cardinal. Just the day before I found a pile
of feathers on this board...betcha the hawk got lunch.

Looking straight on at this goldfinch it appears he's
having a bad hair day.

They're not very colorful in winter plumage.

Chickadee hiding in the bare lilac bush.
Before I knew it ...time to go to work and I had not
done a thing on my list. What's that saying?
"Tomorrow's another day!"

To God Be The Glory ~~ Great Things He Hath Done

Cowboy Up!

A Christmas Tree with a Theme...or is it an attitude?

I'm a pretty traditional gal, but decided to do something
different....way different this year. For those of you who
follow my blog you know that I have a second passion - after
nature and birds I love 'bull riding". You can see it in action
on my blog here. I don't ride Bulls I just watch ..
Cowboys that ride Bulls for Big money.
PBR- Professional Bull Riders.

I got this bright idea last year to do a tree in bulls and
cowboys for this year...so I went out and bought whatever
I could find for my themed tree at the after Christmas sales..

Here we have a miniature pair of pants...those
fringes on the sides are called chaps and they protect
the cowboys' legs.

I found a lot of trucks....every cowboy has to have one, and
along side the truck is a cowboy and one of the
several collector 'Bulls' that look just like the real ones.

My red cowgirl hat topped off the tree along with a
set of wooden bells with country gingham checked ribbon, the sign
says "Home on the Range"

A matching cowboy shirt to go with those pants

I couldn't resist this sign... Jeff Foxworthy knows
his stuff about red necks.

I was able to find the perfect material for the skirt
with hats, saddles, boots and spurs in all the right colors.

And while I was busy with the creative juices flowing
inside the house, the snow was blowing and the
wind chill was 4 degrees outside. The birds were having
their own creative day at the feeders. I grabbed a shot
from time to time as I passed by the windows.
I made sure to fill them up early
as I knew snow was in the forecast.

Today I offered grapes and cranberries... covered in snow
and frozen but Mr. Red Belly didn't seem to mind.

The Dark-eyed Junco preferred the sunflowers seeds to fruit.
When you see these cute little guys you know winter has set in.

A tufted titmouse also liked the seeds, but I actually
saw him take a cranberry but missed the shot.

The Downys were after the suet..
This little guy couldn't quite seem to reach

A very common but pretty little House finch

And last but certainly not least... A female Cardinal
was sitting on the outside of the window and peeking
in at me. Wrong settings, but how cute was that?

I hope I will see your Christmas trees on Your blog!!
I'll be looking for them.

To God be The Glory ~~ Great Things He Hath Done.