Oh Sunny Day – The Pug & I (Plus 1!)

A beautiful sunny day and it’s about 40 degree.  Now that’s something to take advantage of at this time of year!   Time to get outside! 

In addition to the pug and I, we were joined by my daughter, Olivia.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that someone had cleared a path around the pond.  Strange…but good for us.

Elsa loves it here because she's free to run off leash.

You coming?

It was beautiful but the snow was soft and we were sinking every few feet.  Good thing I picked up some cheapie boots yesterday.  Thing is at this time of year, they only have really small sizes or really big sizes left.  I opted for kayak size – 11!

We weren’t the only ones making footprints on this sunny afternoon.

We had company!

The swans came right up to us as they are used to being fed by people.  Unfortunately we came in my daughter’s car today and my bread supply was back home in my car.

Hope you had a good day too!

Smart Kitty

I have two cats.   They are brother and sister yet incredibly different.    Smudgie (boy) is the man about town – always on an adventure.   His sister, Cally, is content to view the world from the bay window in my bedroom. 

It’s a great vantage point to view the bird feeders.   Plus warm and cozy.  Smart kitty!

Out & About – The Colors of January

When I started my blog a year or so ago my intention was to track my garden and outdoor shenanigans.  Nothing of much interest to anyone else.  Just for me.   I was OK with that.  The thing is that I am finding kindred spirits and find that I love to show what’s going on in my neck of the woods as much as I love seeing what’s going on everywhere else.

To the few who check in and read what I have to say and see my pictures, thank you but more importantly, thank you for sharing your world with me.

Without further ado, here’s what has happened in the last week in Massachusetts.

ANOTHER snow storm hit on January 12th and lasted all.day.long.  About 20”.

20 or so inches later…..

The troops arrived in droves the next day for clean up….and food!

Bird by bird, peck by peck, the crew was here to dig out the seed.

Within two days between the work crew and the sunshine, the seed was uncovered.

Oh!  Look!  A bird party!

A woodpecker, goldfinch and a bunch of bluebirds.

I  was thrilled to see bluebirds at this time of year.  Today I went to the seed shop and I was told that I was indeed lucky.  They do appear here and there in winter but not very frequently.  If you have the good fortune to have bluebirds you will notice that they tend to be in groups of 6-10.  That is their winter pattern.  Once the warmer weather comes they will become territorial and will only be found in pairs.  How lucky that they came upon my feeders!

When the winter doldrums hit, it is nice to see these flashes of color!

The Ups & Downs of W-I-N-T-E-R

This past week has been a crazy ride weather-wise.   This is what was outside my front door last week at this time….

  

It may have stopped us in our tracks but by the next day….

These troopers were lurking….with their sights on the feeders.

….and then she was alone but not for long.

A saucy little wren made an appearance.

r And took over the joint!

With very few food sources, that’s how it went for the rest of the day.  In & out.  Back & forth.

Here a Titmouse waits patiently for the Mourning Dove to finish.  How polite!

Over the course of the next few days I cleared the deck to get access to the feeders to refill them.  Now here’s the kicker…… exactly one week later, the temps have been hovering around 60 degrees for the past 3 days!    When it comes to weather, New England is a crazy place.

Same view!

The birds don’t seem affected one way or another.

Even when the garden is not alive ‘n kicking, we are still blessed by nature.

I hope you are blessed with wonderful things in 2011!

Happy New Year!