I'm not much of a "winter" person. I do enjoy the seasons and when, while serving in the Corps, I lived in places that lacked a 'real' winter I missed it. Or at least that's what I told myself at the time. All that being said, there is one winter pastime that I have really come to enjoy. I love to sit at the dining room table, sip a hot drink, and watch the birds at the bird feeders. I promised some pictures in an earlier post, and today I was able to get them. I'm not the finest of photographers and am not helped by the fact I have a pretty run-of-the-mill 8 megapixel point-and-shoot camera that struggles a bit in the white and gray of a winter snowstorm. Excuses aside, I hope you enjoy these.
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| A female Cardinal gets her share |
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| You can just make out a Junco, a Cardinal, and Blue Jay building up their courage to come to the feeders |
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| One of my favorite winter images is that of a male Cardinal shining out from the white and gray |
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| Here a cardinal pair and a junco wait their turn |
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| The male get his turn |
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| His mate is right behind him |
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| Another male cardinal at the feeder |
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| The little Juncos prefer to be ground feeders |
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| When the Jays come, they pretty much take over |
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| And the cardinals wait their turn... |
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| ...along with everybody else! |
It's a simple and maybe silly pleasure, but I find watching the birds to be a very relaxing thing that just makes me happy. That in itself is worth the cost of the sunflower seed we provide. As I watch I can't help but think of Jesus' words in Matthew chapter 10:29-31 - "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows".
Now that is something to smile about. Have a wonderful week, everyone. We are blessed.
Col. 1:9-12,
Mark
Lovely, calming, sweet post, Mark!
ReplyDeleteWe've been reading that the count of wild birds in our state of Minnesota is down this year. We've noticed it at our feeders. Sad. Another sign that we seem bent on destroying our environment?
Fortunately our feeders have been busy again this winter, but the mix of birds is a little different. Fewer Juncos, fewer House Finches, fewer Red Belly Woodpeckers, more Blue Jays and Cardinals. Another thing we've noticed is that everyone likes the Black Oil Sunflower we put in most of the feeders, but even the Finches (we get Gold Finches and House Finches) don't seem to be excited about the Niger seed this year.
DeleteI wish we had cardinals here. I don't know if we're too far north or they just don't like me. :)
ReplyDeleteOdiie - Welcome to the Hoosier County Home! Cardinals are the Indiana State Bird, so I suppose it's their civic duty to show up here! :-) Their habitat covers most of the eastern US, but not too much west of the Mississippi River and generally south of the Canadian border. We do enjoy seeing them, especially on those gray-and-white days where they just seem pop right out of background. They seem to be huge fans (along with the Blue Jays) of Black Oil Sunflower seeds.
DeleteBird watching used to be a favorite here too, but lately, feeds have gotten so expensive that our birds just have to join the chickens when it's time for their scratch. (Squirrels too).
ReplyDelete