Seasons Greetings.....

 Well, it's been some kind of year huh? See you next year....Stay well.....

Mister Cardinal.....

The bird feeders that I put up a couple of weeks ago, are providing a lot of enjoyment, as quite a few species have discovered them, and they seem to enjoy flitting in and out of the now dormant Rose of Sharon bushes. This lovely Male Cardinal found a place beside our back deck, and posed for about a half second as I grabbed a very quick shot of him through the kitchen window. It definitely is not a work of art, but I find it quite enjoyable nonetheless. The bird feeders are also providing me with a chance to improve my bird photography skills, and at present, it appears that I am quite slow with the shutter button....hopefully that will improve with time....Cheers! 

Lady Cardinal.....

This past week, I decided I was going to try feeding the birds again this Winter. It is a lovely diversion from all the junk that is going on in the world right now. Of course, the squirrels were delighted, and it has been a bit of a battle to keep them away from the feeders, but for the most part, I am winning.....nothing like axel grease on the poles. Apparently they do not care much for black grease all over their paws. They get plenty to eat from what the birds spill from the feeders, as they get pretty scrappy from time to time, vying for a few moments on one of the perches. Anyway, this lovely lady Cardinal paid us a visit yesterday, and again today, and I expect will be a regular visitor....hopefully. It was a chance to grab a few shots. Since I cannot get out into the bush anymore to photograph them in their natural habitat, this will have to do for now. Maybe one day when I feel competent enough, I might take a hike out into the County to try my hand at real bird shooting. Meanwhile, I am working on another idea to make my bird shots look more natural....or without showing the "hand of man" as it is referred to at the Windsor Camera Club.....Cheers! 

P.S. For what it is worth...these images were shot from inside our kitchen, through the window pane. 

My Nemesis.....

This squirrel has given me a rather dubious "respect" if you will, for its ingenuity and acrobatic skills. Last week, I bought a "squirrel proof" bird feeder, and some seeds, which I set up dangling from the clothes line in our back yard. After all, no way could a squirrel reach it, and even if it could, it is designed to close off the access hole to the seeds, when the weight of the critter comes to bear on it. I placed it about 15 feet out from the back deck, so no way could it jump that far. For a couple of days, all was well, as the birds showed up in droves. We had Blue Jays, Cardinals, Chickadees, Sparrows, and a Wren also. There were a couple of grey squirrels on the ground, foraging for the seeds that got spilled over from the birds feeding above. Then, along comes this black squirrel. It spent a few minutes sizing up the situation from several different angles. Then it decided to go for it. It climbed up onto the clothes line, and casually walked along until it got to the feeder. Then it stopped, looked down at it dangling below, and with its hind feed wrapped around the clothes line, it lowered its body down so that it was hanging upside down, and started to dig the seeds out of the holes, without ever putting any weight on the perch, which would have shut off the access to the seeds. It was so persistent, that I had to take the feeder down until it decided to move on elsewhere. After I had scared it off the feeder, I went inside and got my camera and took this shot of it sitting on our neighbors back fence, all the while giving me a scolding and the evil eye....amazing critters for sure.....Cheers!