Snow Snaps

Today,

I have more random pictures of snowy scenes

and

U.P. scenes of winter for you.

I loved how the icicles came out of the moss in this shot:

And this one:

In the last few blogposts,

I have shown you icicles hanging from rock bluffs.

This shot shows you some of the bluffs along the snowy road

where I took some of them:

An early morning shot of the sun just coming out

and a tree full of Starlings:

From a distance,

Starlings look all black.

But in reality,

they are speckled with color:

I spotted this fun mailbox,

full of snow:

(I want one, don't you??)

Snowy bluffs of rocks and pines:

I hope you are enjoying winter....

it really does have its own beauty.

For the Birds.....

One thing that I love most about Spring is watching birds.

Actually, strike that....

I love watching birds pretty much ANY time of the year!!

So today, I thought I would post some photos I have taken of some birds sighted over the past few weeks.

I love the "rainbow colors" hidden in the European Starling's black feathers, and when walking by this old building,  I caught them peeking out of the roofline:

The European Starlings look very black. At first.  But if you catch them in the light?: WOW!:

Now, I see tons of Cardinals on everybody else's blogs.

And I whine.

A. Lot.

About never seeing them here.

About how shy they are when I DO see them.

So, a few weeks ago, my hubby called me away from the computer (the NERVE!)

to tell me to hurry up, he spied one lone Cardinal, hiding near our lilac bush.

So I ran for the camera and shot this shot:

(Gosh, I never get over the thrill of seeing one. They are magnificent!!)

Oooooo, I was in HEAVEN!:

But, true to form...as soon as I took this shot, off he flew....and we haven't seen any since!

We have had woodpeckers visiting us all winter and still this spring. Just look at this cute face!:

(Maybe a little Nair around the chin might be in order?  Just sayin'...)

Love that shot of red on his head!:

And, we have been blessed all winter and still this spring with Evening Grosbeaks.

I love the males' bright yellow feathers!:

These little creatures (birds) truly enrich our lives....

next time you are outside, look up, down and all around....

at these wonders of Nature...

********************************************************************************

Time is RUNNING OUT!

Don't forget to enter a photo into my FREE PHOTO CONTEST by midnight, April 30th.

You DO KNOW that is tomorrow, don't you folks?

This month's theme is:

"Rain, Mist, Fog or Dark Skies"

It is easy....just follow THESE SIMPLE RULES...

Hurry!....
if you don't have dark skies or mist or rain or fog where you are today (or tomorrow) , dig in your archives...
go ahead...
I will even remove one rule for this month...it's okay if you already published your prized photo on your blog, you can use it for April's contest as a bonus!

So, get it in to me by midnight tomorrow night......
I'm waitttttttttting...............................