THIS AND THAT

Once again here are a few pictures taken over the past 3-4 days.

Mrs. Cardinal sitting in the sunshine. One one of the rare sunny days the icicles are beginning to melt.

This is a view you don't often see of this Pine Siskin's behind. I like the pattern of the tail feather colors.

When I first spotted this doe, she was laying down, and I almost missed her. When I stopped she got up. The snow was really deep.

Mr. Cardinal in all his glory.

On this morning the temperature was minus 16º F and this Blue Jay was all fluffed out trying to keep warm.

Of course the Cooper's Hawk made an appearance, AND there were 2 of them, but the other one flew away before I could get a picture. This one stayed for quite a while.

A shot of Chautauqua Lake about 25 miles from home. The entire lake is frozen, and is a very popular area for snowmobilers. Yikes !

I hope everyone has a wonderful week-end. It's supposed to get warmer here, and hopefully some of the snow and ice will melt.

SkyWatch Friday

On a very cold morning we had fog and the sun was trying to make an appearance.
Happy SkyWatch Friday everyone. Thanks to all those responsible for hosting this meme. Click on http://skyley.blogspot.com/ to see more sky photos.

This group of pictures is from the past 3 days. The first one is yet another victim of heavy snow on the roof. There are increasingly more collapses now with recent snow fall. Our granddaughter Becca and her friend Natalie looking for a place to sled ride.

Yesterday morning early it was very foggy.

A flock of about 100 Starlings showed up this morning in the trees out back, but only 3 or 4 came to the feeders. Thank goodness.

We took all of our newspapers to the recycling center this morning and on the way home came through a very heavy snow band. It was sticking on the trees, and really was pretty.

We also drove by this farm, and the owner had just let his cows out for some fresh air. Some of these girls were up to their udders in the deep snow. Some were just standing around and some were trying to run, but the snow was too deep.

If you look over to the far right you will see one cow looking toward the open door. This is where they all came out, and I think she wants back in, but the snow was too much for her. I bet she'll have ice milk tonight. LOL

Here she is again resting. I'm not sure if she ever made it. Apparently the ones looking down from the barn door decided it wasn't such a good idea to go out.

I'm writing this Wednesday evening about 9:45. The sky is clear, and the temperature is -4º. We had 2" of new snow over night bringing our total for this season to 199". I looked up the total on Feb.4th of 2008 and it was 119" I guess we've topped that. Up-date on the temp. 05:00 Thursday temp is -15º!

Have a wonderful day and stay warm.
I don't often get a close-up of Mrs. Cardinal. She's looking good today!.

Watery Wednesday

This line of fishermen was taken during the annual run of the Steelhead Trout this Fall on Lake Erie. There is a stream somewhere between a couple of these guys that was just full of fish all trying to swim up stream to the spawning grounds. Once the fish leave the lake and head up stream the fishermen can no longer catch them.
Thanks so much to all responsible for hosting Watery Wednesday. Please click on http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/ to view more Watery photos.

Ruby Tuesday

Ok, enough winter, right ? Lets slide back to last Fall. This beauty is growing in my neighbor Cindy's yard. It is a gorgeous Burning Bush, and I thought we needed some color now that there is nothing but dirty snow out there. Of course I may eat these words for we are waiting for more SNOW Tuesday night, and on Wednesday.
Happy RUBY TUESDAY everyone, and thanks to mary/the teach for being the host. Click on http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/ to view more RED pictures.

Today's Flowers

This orchid is blooming now in my greenhouse. It is a Brassavola Nodosa, and is called "Lady of the Night". Measuring about 1" across it has a very exquisite perfume. Smelling similar to a Gardenia, and only at night. You can notice the scent as soon as you enter the room. It will attract night flying insects in the wild.
Thanks to all responsible for hosting this beautiful site, and click on the Today's Flowers on my side bar to see more flowers.

Macro Monday

Hi Everyone. This is "Shelly". She is a small Painted turtle that lives in my greenhouse. Her main job is to follow the gnome Bailey as he completes his job in watering all my plants. Sometimes Bailey tends to fall asleep, and "Shelly" will nudge him awake, and to make sure he doesn't forget to do his job.
Happy Macro Monday, thanks to our host Lisa and if you will click on http://lisaschaos.com/category/photos/macro-monday-photos/ you can see lots more macro shots.