2021 — set to be the wettest winter ever

We’re tired, dismayed, perturbed, distressed

Dripping branches

Spontaneous yard pools
Swampy, muddy ground

Then …. a bright spot announced
Still cold but sunny
2 days of cheer
While awaiting a storm of ice

Loving my yard
Loving going out, too

Come walk with me!
First outing – warmish and windy

Welcomed by the mockingbird
To his/her permanent home
And a favorite avian roosting tree

Feeling expansive
Welcoming sun
And shadows

                       

 

Walking a waterlogged path
Slippery mud to the lake
Risen over its banks onto the forest floor

 

 

A movement in leaves
Step forward….
A leap into the air
Whirring wings

The grasshopper honors its name
Leaps forward and then soars
Escaping my lens

But a little king deigns to pose
S/he hops, too
Seeking sustenance in leaves and on limbs

 

Above…a red-tailed hawk
Riding the wind
Gliding on gusts

Next stop…the beavers’ home
Reinforced dome
A cozy lodge

 

Red robins and finches
Restless while rooting
And racing to new twigs

 

Sustenance-seeking sparrows
Giving companionship along the paths

 

 

Royalty along these paths, too
Hopping, fluttering, lunging
Flashing a ruby crown
To claim territory here

Red shoulders hunch high above
Calling and calling as they survey
and scan their surroundings

 

 

 

A new pair alights
Loud announcement of arrival
Paired scanning

Cold nights ahead

Pileated woodpecker abode needs work

                 

                 

Inside renovations
Along the ceiling, too

Titmice and chickadees seek seed

 

 

 

 

Ruby-crowned kinglets flash red
While gleaning insects up ahead

 

 

 

As I make my way to leave
One hawk screams goodbye
While a sparrow sings me on my way

Another pond

A soaring hawkish welcome

In blue skies awaiting
Clouds, rain, frozen droplets to come

Wings extended
Red tail spread
Vision centered below

Along a wall
Red-crowned kinglets and yellow-rumped warblers
Harvesting insects not seen by me
But for them spied quickly and snatched with speed

 

       

Neighboring phoebes
Chase down calories
For a cold night ahead

The green heron
Refuses a portrait session
Twice and
Soars away

The hovering hawks
Hang overhead

 

The young red-shouldered

The bold red-tailed

All three of us caught in
Anticipation
Awaiting liquid crystals
Predicted to coat the trees

But thankfully our hopes for a mild
“winter weather event”
rewarded

Very little ice for us

We welcome water and warmth !

Our spirits soar
Ready to welcome more coming days of sun!
Hurrah! Hurrah!
Tomorrow the golden light returns. 😊