Thursday and a Snowy Owl

 

Last week I was privileged to be able to photograph my first ever sighting of a Snowy owl. It was about 200 ft. away high atop this telegraph pole out in the center of a large hay field. I was so excited. I have been searching forever it seems, and the local Audubon Society commented on their Facebook page about the location. Even though it was around 30 miles from home, I took off with both my cameras. I wasn't able to get very close, as it was suggested to keep your distance so they wouldn't be frightened. Still I sat for over 30 minutes watching with my binoculars too. My only wish was that I had a bigger lens...

The weather has been bitter cold here, and not over the freezing mark for days. There is promise of some warmth in the forecast soon!

 

Sunday 1-26-2014

I took this shot a few days ago not far from my home. It was a dark gray day, and these eagles were about 250 - 300 ft. away up high in this Sycamore tree. very cold here this morning. At 6:30 it was -6º
More snow on the way. Have a great day everyone and stay warm.

A New Beginning

Hi folks. After being absent for quite some time, I am ready to begin blogging again. In the past few years I have been concentrating on caring for my husband that was suffering from a 10 year struggle with Dementia. He recently passed away peacefully, and I think it is time to get back into something I enjoy doing, and that is blogging. I can't promise I'll be here every day, but please stop by and check on my pictures.
 We're in the midst of a polar vortex again and next week will be worse according to the weather experts. So far here is SW New York state we've had 117" of snow. Not an all time high, but enough, and now the bitter cold temps.. Have a great day all.

Wild Bird Wednesday

This is what I woke up to this morning. There is at least 9" of snow on the ground. That doesn't count the amount we got since Friday since some of that has melted because the ground is still warm.

 

 

2 weeks ago as I was driving back from the transfer station to drop off some bags of plastic, I came upon this male Ring-necked pheasant along side of the road. He wasn't frightened when I stopped to take these pictures, so I'm sure he was a farm raised bird. He truly is a gorgeous specimen.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and have a safe holiday.

If you would like to see more birds, be sure to click on http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 11-12-13

Earlier this morning, 25º, and  this shot was from my back yard. We got around 2 1/2" of snow last night. It really is beautiful, but the temps will be warming up towards the weekend, so it will all melt..

Now the sun shines on the fresh snow, although the clouds roll in and soon it gets dark again. Happy Tuesday everyone.

Monday11-11-13

 

This shot is on Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. Another dark and windy day. This is looking North over to Canada beyond the breakers..

 

In the next moment we might get clouds that look like this.

Earlier this Fall driving out in the country. Lots of hay stored for the winter.

                              This is my cat Azrael. She is a clown sometimes, but is a fierce hunter just the same.

The creek behind our house is running full after several days of heavy rain. I walk there often, and used to see lots of wildlife, but this year I've only seen a Great Blue heron one time.
Well, it's another dark, gloomy and windy day here. At 1pm it's only at 41 deg.

The weather is turning!

The weather out here is turning and I suppose it's to be expected, but the older I get the less I like winter. The dark clouds bring a hint of what's to come, but the sun shining on the Sycamore trees is welcome just the same.

 

 

 

I was driving past this pasture the other day when I spotted this horse with a Cattle egret resting on his back. By the looks of things, the egret has been there for a while. By now the egrets should have headed south, so maybe this one isn't feeling so well. This was taken on the southern shores of Lake Erie, about 200 yards from the water. I often have seen egrets late in summer in this area.

 

French Creek about 2 miles from my house. We have had quite a bit of rain lately and the creek is running fast.