"I'm going to speak my mind because I have nothing to lose."--S.I. Hayakawa
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Sunday, December 31, 2017

Happy New Year!

May your new year be filled with delights, unlike this poor boreal chickadee!






I have a massive project underway--getting all my ducks (and birds) in a row so I can find them when I want them.


I have come across a number that made me laugh and some that I really like.   Here they are:



I like the gossamer effect of this photo of two common mergansers

A little breeze and this merganser's hair do turns crazy.

Why make four trips when you can cram in all the peanuts and make one trip?

A timid pine grosbeak fledgling

I never did find out what mischief this Steller's jay was up to when it got covered in med.

And away we go!

I was in my kayak when I took this photo and I am amazed at how sharp the loon's eye is.

Ah, that lovely golden light on this red-necked grebe.

This male pine grosbeak is reaching for a tender spruce bud.

The beautiful green-winged teal male.

The mew gulls at Tern Lake do not appreciate me kayaking near their nests.

A very busy varied thrush collecting goodies for the hatchlings back in the nest.,

Momma pine grosbeak feeding her youngster a seed.

Probably my favorite bird photo of 2017.   This bunch of  greater scaup ducklings look like thugs.

That awkward stage when you're growing out of your white fuzz and into your juvenile gray feathers.

A red-breasted nuthatch taking a peanut from my hand.

The juvenile merlin that almost flew into me several times when it chased jays on my deck.

A juvenile spotted sandpiper that finally got used to me being around and taking its photo.

I have no words.

A Savannah sparrow in Homer.

Took this photo of a tufted puffin while on a boat in Kachemak Bay.   Probably the only in-focus shot I got.

That juvenile spotted sandpiper again.

Faster than a speeding bullet and streamlined like a Stealth jet, the belted kingfisher.




A rare moment--the belted kingfisher sitting still.

Everything technical is wrong with this photo but I love it because it is the epitome of merganser behavior.

My favorite water bird, the American dipper singing in the rain.

A very cooperative merlin posing for photos.

A trumpeter swan.

Steller's jay in a snowstorm.

Momma, daddy, and baby yellow warblers make a family.   The baby is really hard to see, but the eye is visible above the rim of the nest, center of photo.
And a happy greater scaup female.
The Tern Lake air corps chasing a big, bag bald eagle away from their nests.


A Coastal brown bear nursing her spring cub.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Some recent visitors...


Squirrel friend.

A red-breasted nuthatch.

Boreal chickadee

Black-capped chickadee

This nuthatch is putting some extra effort into prying loose the seed it wants.

This male spruce grouse gave me time for one shot before it exploded and flew into the forest.

Another nuthatch.

Male pine grosbeak

This male common redpoll showed up just before dark today.

Some of the members of the Breakfast Club that meets daily on my front deck.





A boreal chickadee selecting a peanut.

Sunday, December 24, 2017

The Littlest Snowflake, Chapter Five



http://www.clipartguide.com/_named_clipart_images/0511-0811-1015-4071_Journalist_Interviewing_Someone_clipart_image.jpg“Did you stay up all night to build Snowzilla?”  asked one man.

“I don’t know how it got here,” answered the father with wonder on his face.  



 All the children in the neighborhood came to marvel at the giant snowman.  



https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ca/18/8c/ca188cddd7811605a3604fd583a0d4b8--christmas-clipart-disney-christmas.jpg

“It’s bigger this year, isn’t it, Mr. Powers?” said one.

“Yes, it is.  It looks to be about twenty-five feet high,” said Mr. Powers.







“Did you hear about the protest at City Hall?”   Mr. Powers said he hadn’t and the man told him that  about a dozen three-foot-high snowmen were picketing the front of entrance of City Hall.  He said they were carrying signs that read “Snowmen have rights” and “Heck no, we won’t go” and “Snowzilla needs a bailout.”  


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Snowzilla’s picture was on the front page of the newspaper under the banner headline:  “Revenge of Snowzilla.”  On the editorial page, the newspaper printed dozens of letters that chastised the city for trying to stop the building of Snowzilla. 




From his perch atop the carrot nose (he’d finally learned what it was he was resting on), the Littlest Snowflake looked down and felt happy.  He was proud to be a small part of this snowman that brought smiles to the faces of children and adults.

All day long people asked Mr. Powers how he had managed to build Snowzilla in one night, because the preceding Snowzillas had taken weeks.   Mr. Powers said he didn’t know how Snowzilla had been built so quickly.  Again and again ,he answered their questions, denying any knowledge of how it happened.


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Finally, weary of the questions from visitors and reporters, Mr. Powers smiled and told them the truth: 

“There must have been some magic in that old top hat of his…”





The End