Mornings come....and all is well

Or is it? Well let's go see.
Awww aren't you cute on the shepherd's hook with your
little head cocked looking at me.

Two more darlings looking for a handout.... Hey Guys!
Look under the snow.

The Lilac bush holds precious cargo... Good Morning Mr. Chickadee

Top of the Morning Dark eyed Juncos..

Looking closely I see two Blue Jays and a Male Cardinal
greeting my morning with a splash of color
Yep.... All is well

Or is it? Moving from the kitchen to the computer room
facing the front of the house I look into the Oak Tree...

Uh Oh!
No one knows this intruder is here... He's hungry too.
Not a peep or sound from the Jays and no crows
either to announce his arrival. He's a slick one.

My first thought was Male Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Small headed, squared off tail... grey in color
Then he turns and he appears larger than I thought.
Now I'm second guessing and thinking Cooper.

Then I remember the Female Sharp shinned is
sometimes twice as large as her mate.

I watched for 20 minutes as she 'watched and waited'

It is -1 and here I sit with the window up
drinking coffee......taking pictures.

I was sure she was going for the feeder birds...

I couldn't wait another minute...(between the coffee and cold)
I had to put the window down
and take a potty break.... and when I came back

She flew from her perch into the apple tree nearby and
snatched a dove and took off before I could lift the camera
to my eye. I missed the best part!

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

The Mockingbird and the Grape

When I got up this morning it was 5 degrees. I went out
and shoveled the snow from the sidewalk and replenished the
water in the bird bowl and put out green grapes and some
apples. It didn't take long for the fruit to freeze.
Mr. Mockingbird is not sure he wants to sample these.

He's giving them the 'evil' eye.

Hey! These grapes are frozen!

Maybe if I step on them....

I can't believe it.... are they really frozen?

What's wrong with this woman, doesn't she know it's
5 degrees out here.

Check out my tongue..

Isn't it cool! I can hold a piece right on the tip of my beak

frozen or not...these grapes are pretty darn good

It takes a long time to eat one of these..

Excuse me while I stick out my tongue one more time

Not that I ran out of sayings, but isn't this bird just gorgeous?
I love his beautiful eye, his white and black wing patches...

He seemed to be performing just for me.

I took way too many pictures and posted just as many.

What's up with this tongue thing?

Northern Mockingbirds are often seen alone. They are aggressive
and will defend their food supply. They can also imitate most
other birds and will sit very high up in a tree or on top of a pole
and sing many bird songs to impress a mate.

I'm so glad you've come to my feeder Mr. Mockingbird.
You are welcome anytime.

To be greeted with birdsong on a cold winter's day
warms the heart and feeds the soul with a comfort food that only nature can provide.
author unknown

To God be the Glory ~~ Great Things He Hath Done

Scroll down for some hungry bird videos...

Three 'hungry' Videos

Titmouse enjoying the new feeder with peanuts.

Downy eating the suet


The Mockingbird tries to get the grapes, but they
are frozen. So he bites pieces off. The wind is blowing ...
it's snowing. Temperatures are in the single digits.
Marsha, this video is for you!


The deep freeze that we all are experiencing seems to
cause the birds to eat quickly and with fervor. It must take
a lot of feul to keep these feathered friends warm and full.
I hope you are feeding your birds through this cold spell.

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

Week end get-away

From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere. Dr. Seuss

I'm on my way to NY to see the PBR
(Professional Bull Riders)
I stay in NJ and always go to the same park.
The Menlo park... to see what I can see. On this
morning it was cold and as I approached the foot bridge
I could see the pond was frozen over.

I may have been cold, but the ducks didn't seem to mind it all.
I just don't know how they can stand in freezing water and doze

Mr. Mallard was telling his Mrs. about the coming snow
and she listened for a minute

Then she tucked her head in and took a nap... He didn't seem to mind.

Out in the middle of the pond an open spot was found by a
bunch of Gulls. They weren't minding the cold and ice either.
They were ducking under, and drinking and splashing

And then someone must have given the alert that wing
formations were being judged so they all gave it a try

They each made quite a display

Lifting the wings high in the air.... 1,2, 3, and hold ...

And now turn sideways and hold ...

Getting tired of the wing display I see this duck was
'wading right in' not even aware that he was different

I leave the pond and go into the park where a stream is
flowing enough that no ice can form..

The first thing I see is a little squirrel sitting perfectly still
and holding his little hands together tight.

As I trudged nearer and nearer he did not even move.
The morning snow was sticking to the top of his head
and on the ends of his bushy tail

When I saw this on the side of a tree, it looked like a
big old bug with legs and even an eye.

I don't know what this bird was, ... do you?

I got very close but he showed me nothing but his butt-side

As I neared the Apartments... I spotted this Red -bellied
woodpecker on a planter and wondered.... why?

Then looking upward I saw a feeder above him and a Titmouse
hanging from it.

and then on the railing a Nuthatch was waiting his turn

The Squirrel had circled around and he said "My gosh, just
go home it's cold as heck out here!"

I did go to the PBR.... and for anyone who is interested:
Lots of Cowboys got bucked off

One fell off backward
One fell forward....

One fell on top of his head.... Good thing he was wearing
that helmet and not just his cowboy hat.

The bull-fighter grabbed the bull by the horns

And some of the cowboys actually stayed on and rode
for their 8 seconds... Winning the round.

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