Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Coffee At Steve’s Country #13.
Good morning everyone! It is a bit chilly and frosty this morning, but it’s mainly clear and we are supposed to have a mainly sunny day. So Muffin and I are excited about that. The coffee is ready and waiting, or tea if you prefer, so just help yourself, sit back and relax! The chickadees were here earlier than usual, due to the clear skies which means it gets lighter earlier. The nuthatches came second, then the female hairy woodpecker. She was pounding away then suddenly stopped, giving a warning call to everyone. The chickadees froze in position. I looked all around and finally spotted the shrike high in an ash tree. He sat there for quite awhile. Finally the blue jays showed up and the shrike left in a hurry.
So everything returned to normal at the feeders. There are a lot more chickadees around now which is nice. I guess the natural food supply is dwindling so they look for other sources of food. Jasper was running around the trees this morning having fun. One large, long branch still has quite a bit of snow on it and Jasper came running, made a big leap and slid down the snow on that branch right to the main part of the tree. Looked like he was having a lot of fun. Then I spotted the “other” squirrel coming and Jasper went to meet him. But Jasper turned and ran down a tree to the ground. The “other” squirrel came down that tree so fast landing on top of Jasper.
The fight began. They were really rolling around on the snow fighting. They broke apart a couple of times, sat looking at each other, then back at it again. Longest fight they have had yet, that I have seen anyway. Finally Jasper came over and the “other” squirrel ran away. Jasper won that round! Hopefully that “other” squirrel got the message this time. Not only that, but a blue jay had hidden a peanut in the snow on a branch. As Jasper was coming back this way he found that peanut, and sat there having breakfast! Jasper won twice! Well, we’re having a “white” day so our flowers and bird will show that in the pics. I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Art In Nature #3.
Hello everyone and welcome back to another look at art in nature! Sometimes there are so many things that can be chosen for a series like this that it actually becomes hard to choose the pics to use in each post. I might choose some real oddities for this new series but I hope you will enjoy each pic shown. And there will be a mix of pictures from every season of the year, mostly from last year for now. But today’s pics are more recent, one from yesterday when I went to the river again for my walk. The other two from a couple of days ago after having some ice fog.
We had more ice fog last night but the wind is blowing the frost off the trees and it’s a cloudy day anyway. A sunny day really brings out the beauty of that frost. The featured image shows a large white pine, surrounded by other trees, it’s dark green needles almost completely white with the frost. It’s quite interesting walking through the trees when they are all frosted and a light wind begins to blow. The frost comes off the trees just like it’s snowing out. It can make a person feel kind of cold when that happens too. Or perhaps it’s just me.
It actually seems to be getting darker out right now, must be that some heavier clouds have moved in. I have a lot of pics from last summer that I will be sharing in our art in nature series over the next few weeks as well. When I’m out for a walk I’m constantly looking for something a little different or unusual. It adds to the walking experience when we keep our eyes open instead of just walking without paying attention to what is right there around us. There is just so much beauty out there and we so often miss it by being in a hurry. Well, I hope you enjoy today’s pics, have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 