Lost Dove

The last several days there has been a Mourning Dove visiting our bird feeders.  We see them a lot during the summer, but normally they are long gone south by now.  I think this one is either lost or just not very smart.

This is the dove mentioned above.  She/he looks healthy, just not smart enough to go south.

 This is the new feeder set up I just installed yesterday.  The feeder on the right is a new one I just finished.  It is made out of redwood that I got from one of the railings around our deck.  The deck is being replaced next spring, so the railing won't be missed.  The other feeder is the first one we ever put out and was made by my father.  I just finished refurbishing it with new windows.  On the ground you can see the Dove shown above and a couple Juncos.

Patrick

THE FANGS OF WINTER

We have two skylights in our roof and both of them are above large holes built into the ceiling to allow the light to come in.  These holes are perfect for hot air to rise into and then melt the snow and ice off the skylights.  After this last storm, there was considerable snow covering both skylights and it has been melting since.  This water runs down the roof and then forms icicles as it drips off the gutters.  One skylight is above the kitchen and the other above the loft and it drains down to drip off outside the bedroom sliding glass doors that go out to the deck and stairway to the Gazebo.  The following pictures are of the "Fangs" (icicles) that have formed since the storm was over and the snow drifts on the deck and stairway area that goes to the Gazebo.

These are the "fangs" outside the kitchen window.  They don't seem to bother the birds coming to the feeders.

These are the "fangs" outside the bedroom sliding glass door.

This is the snow drift on the deck outside the bedroom sliding glass door.

This is the same snow drift shown above from a different angle.

This is the stairway down to the Gazebo.  Won't be anymore trips down there this year.

That's the show.

Patrick

SNOW!!!

We had a snow storm today and so far have gotten around a foot of snow.  It continues to snow now at 3:15 P.M., but not as heavy as it was earlier.  From looking at the weather radar and the forecast, we will probably get a few more inches.  The following pictures show what we have been watching most of the day.  The birds have been very busy on the feeders.  They are a lot of entertainment.  Sure is nice that we don't have to get out and I am not sure we could anyway.  I just saw the neighbors leave on a 4 wheeler.  I think she had to go to work and that was the best way to get her there.  Enjoy the pictures.

This is a picture of our bird feeder tree before all this snow started.  It was taken yesterday.

This is what the bird feeder tree looks like about half way through the storm.

This is a picture of our grill taken around 10:00 this morning.

This is a picture of the same grill as above taken at 2:30 this afternoon and it is still snowing.  No grilling for awhile.

This is a picture of our driveway taken around 10:30 this morning.

This is a picture of the back yard taken around 10:30 this morning.

This is a picture of one of the pesky squirrels that come visit out bird feeders.  The snow was just about over his head.  I sent him home with a sore spot on his butt.

This is a picture of a female Cardinal sliding down the roof of one of the bird feeders.  Pat took this picture this morning.

This is a picture of one of our bird feeders that hangs from the deck outside the sliding glass door from the kitchen.  There have been birds on it almost all the time today.

This is a picture of a male Cardinal that was on the feeder outside the picture window in the kitchen.  The snow is from snow sticking on the window and some is also from the falling snow.  This feeder has sunflower seeds in it which the Cardinals really like.

This is a picture of a female Cardinal sitting in the Cedar tree right outside the picture window in our kitchen.  There are at least 3 pairs of Cardinals that have been using the feeders today. 

That's the show. Hope you enjoyed it.

Patrick