Blue!

We've had the pleasure this winter (thanks to all the snow) of seeing Bluebirds at our suet feeder! Except for once, I cannot recall ever seeing one visit our feeders in 23 years and have often wondered how they survive periods of bitter cold and snow. The brilliant blue of the male contrasts sharply with the snow. The distracting background in the pics is a snow covered Hemlock about 15 yards behind them which I couldn't do much with. The female is much duller with some bright blue in her wings. These are members of the Thrush family that included the Wood and Hermit Thrush, the Veery and Robins. Have attached a number of different "poses" of the male as subtle changes in head position etc make some shots more pleasing. What gorgeous little creatures! Enjoy!

Let it snow!

The winter of 09 will go down in the record books as one of the coldest and snowiest ever! I used to love the cold and snow but with my current physical limitations it's just a huge hassle! Pam has had to take on the snow removal chores with the help of a marvelous machine called a snow blower with which she's got quite proficient. I happened to be in Home Depot several years ago in March when they threw a half price clearance tag on snow blowers. They didn't have to ask twice!
Above are a few shots of Pam at work with her trusty supervisor Sam looking on. Is quite amusing to watch him in the snow. He gets a running start and dives in going completly under if there's a lot. Does the same thing with large piles of leaves.