Burt imitates Beatrix Potter

Back to summer for a few moments...my absolute favorite picture of my brother's dog Burton ...check the totally accidental similarity to an illustration from Peter Rabbit, by the inimitable Beatrix Potter! I only saw it when I got the photo on the computer screen and it looked familiar, somehow. Her stories were bedtime reading for my daughters time after time after time.

camoDuck

Does camoDuck think she is hiding in the snow? I think she'd better ditch the Sunkist orange accessories if she is going to pull off the ruse.

peeping Tom

or more correctly, peeping Thomasina looking in the window as we looked out. This cheeky creature is up on my deck railing, right along with the juncos, the blue jays and the goldfinches.

#9 the Odd Couple

This lovely couple seems to be "in a relationship" according to their Facebook page!

I ain't Fat...

I is FLUFFY!

Lucifer the Lazy and Kermit the Frog

What creature does "sleep" better than a cat?

Main Entry:	sleep
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	suspension of consciousness
Synonyms:	bedtime, catnap, coma, dormancy, doze, dream, dullness, few z's, forty winks, hibernation, lethargy, nap, nod, repose, rest, sack time, sandman, shuteye, siesta, slumber, slumberland, snooze, torpidity, torpor, trance

from www.dictionary.com/thesaurus

don't you wish you Had....

cool orange tootsies like that ??? 

where's Waldo

Back to warm summer days for a moment. Can you find him, little spotted sandpiper, along the shoreline, who is probably foraging along the beaches on his wintering grounds in the Caribbean.

goosey goosey Gander

Goosey, goosey gander,

Whither dost thou wander?

Upstairs and downstairs, 

And in my lady's chamber.

(From an old English nursery rhyme)

Check out www.rhymes.org.uk...a fun site that lists the "secret history" of a number of favorite nursery rhymes.

 

out to Lunch

Lord and Lady Mallard lunching at the Savoy, or is it the Ritz?

birding through the window, New Year's Day 2010

downstream and Upstream

On a New Year's Day, looking forward and backward, downstream and upstream.

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." quoting from my daughter Becka's blog, quoting Neil Gaiman.

discriminating Shoppers

I always put in the shell peanuts out for my blue jay gangsters. It is such fun to watch them come in and do their daily "shopping", as picky as anyone in a gourmet food shop, thumping the melons or squeezing the peaches. They pick up and weigh every single peanut before selecting a single one, looking for the "most for their money". They will eventually pack them all off, but only the choicest go first, usually for stashing somewhere like my firewood pile or under the pine duff in the back yard..

 

#10 theatrical Make-up

American wigeon drake and hen

My youngest daughter loves the dishy eye make-up on this guy!

Very Cirque du Soleil.

where are the Froot Loops?

 (borrowed from www.naturalsciences.org)

Rainbow-billed toucan, national bird of Belize, denizen of the Central and South American tropics, happy fruit eater...how did you end up in a snowy spruce tree way up North?

#8 the King of Fishers

Belted kingfisher

Belted kingfishers are described as being "large, conspicuous and noisy", an apt label if ever there was one. They look like some demented hairdresser has spiked up their 'do and brushed all the feathers the wrong way. Very cool creature, despite the punk rock look and lousy singing voice.
Hard to get them to sit still long enough for a picture, got lucky on this outing.

lemons into Lemonade...sort of

When Ma Nature hands you a blizzard (lemons) and you were supposed to be in Minnesota for Christmas...

try making lemonade (artsy pictures), or use the drifts as a refrigerator and have a cold drink when the sun finally comes out again. :o)

#7 on 3 Legs

Maybe you are starting to get twitchy and silly after all the Christmas festivities, too.

.

:o) 

#6 Green

emerald, iridescent, elegant

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Joyeux Noel

Feliz Navidad

Froehliche Weihnachten 

God Jul

Buon Natale 

Peace on Earth 

 

#5 sapphire and Ebony

The gentleman preens his finery, it is Christmas Eve, after all.

fantastical frozen fingers of Frost

 

hoarfrost. a covering of minute ice needles, formed from the atmosphere at night upon the ground and exposed objects when they have cooled by radiation below the dew point, and when the dew point is below the freezing point. (www.dictionary.com)

Jack Frost has been working his magic while the Black Hills have been blanketed with frozen fog for the past 2 days, he is an artist worthy of notice.

#4 it's a vertical World

Fat and Sassy,  where are you headed this morning, I wonder?

#3 sleeping in the Sun

hen mallard

A lazy lady, still snoozing in the sun.

#2 Dawn comes

awake, sleepy geese, 

sunrise lights silver pinions

rise, and meet the day! 

Winter Solstice    December 21, 2009    9:47 am 

Christmas Bird Count, the series, #1 Daybreak

The 110th Christmas Bird Count:
Citizen Science in Action

"From feeder-watchers and field observers to count compilers and regional editors, everyone who takes part in the Christmas Bird Count does it for love of birds and the excitement of friendly competition -- and with the knowledge that their efforts are making a difference for science and bird conservation." Audubon


The Rapid City Audubon Christmas Bird Count took place today (12/20),  please enjoy the series I've created to share what a December day looks like along the banks of Rapid Creek, Rapid City, SD (44N, 103W) just 24 hours before the Winter Solstice.

summer Snow

I thought maybe, just maybe, some of us in the North Country could use a little summertime on a wintery day. The Winter Solstice is nearly upon us, here's "snow" from the Summer Solstice, it seems like a long time ago!

winter Goddess

Amaryllis was a beautiful shepherdess from Greek mythology and the pastoral poetry of Theocratus from the 3rd century BCE.  

The lady in the photo's proper name is hippeastrum, she isn't Greek at all, but a wildflower from the tropical Americas. The name comes from the Greek meaning "horseman's star", someone thought the flower resembled a medieval weapon carried by mounted knights

Dutch growers began hybridizing the plants as long ago as the 18th century. There are over 70 named species and more than 600 hybrids and cultivars currently known.

Minerva showed her face this morning.

full Squirrel Moon

We had the Full Cold Moon on December 2, a blue moon is due on New Year's Eve, this would be the Full Squirrel Moon on my birdfeeder. 

genuine Snowbunny

a

Another Neighbor has found the birdfeeders, this guy is nearby every morning and evening when the feeders are busiest, cleaning up the spills. What you can't see are the sunflower seeds that are raining down on his head from above. My female red-shafted flicker is on the platform feeder flicking rejected seeds over the edge, the cottontail and the ground feeders are the beneficiaries.

the South Pole

After centuries of attempts by intrepid explorers, Roald Amundsen and 4 companions reached the South Pole for the first time, December 14, 1911.

the Twins

The mule deer twins who have grown up in the Neighborhood, they have gone from spindly-legged, spotted babes to rough coated young'uns experiencing their first winter. They were suspicious of me with the camera, but even more suspicious of the bouncy golden retriever who was peeking out his back door at them.