Hello everyone! Looks like we are in for more cloudy weather today, heavy clouds which makes it very dull and dark indoors. So lights must be used so I can see what I’m doing! Oh well. It is not quite as cold this morning which is nice. Especially since this is garbage day. Getting things done is sometimes easier to do with bare hands.

The warmer weather we had on the weekend softened the snow in the driveway which created ruts that are deep, and now frozen. That made it hard to drag my trash can out to the street. It was hard enough just to walk with all the ruts. And it will be like that until we get enough snow to cover them. The joys of winter. It might look pretty, but it also comes with dangers and hardships in many different ways.

The last couple of days there have been quite a few blue jays around. Seems to be back to normal almost with at least 8 of them coming and staying around most of the day again. That is nice. The month of January is going by fairly quick. Sort of. Yet it still seems like it has been around for such a long time. This time of year I like to think of summer.

It seems so far away, many months away in fact. But I have a lot of summer pictures to enjoy which is nice. Like summer birds. Part of my list of country pleasures. I like birds. You probably guessed that already though. I think I mentioned it yesterday too. Seeing some of these different birds is definitely a country pleasure. There are so many different species, some with amazing colors. Some birds have fabulous coloring and yet we would not think of them that way. Like sparrows.

They are just a brown striped bird. Nothing exciting, is what most people would say. But some of them have beautiful coloring. Some perhaps not so much, but their mix of rich browns make them beautiful too. Copper is coming regularly now. He is one of my squirrels. Another squirrel comes now and then as well. He is a new one and looks more copper colored than Copper does right now.

But they have their winter coats on now and they are normally a different color than their summer coats. Usually darker, and much thicker. Squirrels are also a country pleasure. I call the squirrels and birds a country pleasure, yet they can be found in towns and cities too. So, you can enjoy these country pleasures most anywhere.

So, I thought perhaps I would just use today to share some pictures of summer beauty with different birds, and at least one squirrel with a cute pose. Unfortunately the background of that picture is a bit messy, so just look at the squirrel. I am late today.

Sometimes it is just hard to get going on these dull, cloudy days. Plus getting my garbage out did take more time than usual. Oh well, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the pics for a few minutes. I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2023 Steve McLeod.