Pretty Bird.......

Ain't I a pretty boy?



Here I am looking for my wife and found all this nice chow........



Ah there she is stuffing her face already......



So hows the wife Chickie? The foods improved around here since they put out the peanut butter. Nice and crunchy.

November walks.....

I can hardly believe this weather. It has been so nice, may be its cold in the mornings but as the day progressed it warmed up somewhat. At least it has been so nice for walking. The other day we took the kids for a walk and yesterday took Tristen for a short walk. Today Laura and me went over to the State Hospital trails. They have done a great job over there laying out real trails. There is quite a bit of land, most of it wooded with either hardwoods or Cedars. Kids creek runs back and forth throughout the woods, hills and fields. I took a few pictures today
The first one was a hornets nest. They are so cool looking and a work of skill.

We found several little water falls, the water is so clear and its amazing really considering that it runs through the woods.



There was a point that we wanted to cross over, there was a platform that someone has placed that went half way and a hanging rope where someone had swung over to the other bank. The banks were slippery and there were branches in the water. We considered using the rope but probably lucky for us we decided against it. Dont know how long its been there and did not fancy a dunking even if it was just a few inches of very fast water. Yeah it looks easy but we aint kids any more



The leaves are all off the trees now but there are loads of berries



We saw rose hips in abundance and that made me remember when I was a kid, in England, we would collect rose hips and make itchy powder to put down kids backs. Apparently my kids never knew about that hehe. Well rose hips make great tea and rose hip syrup is good for what ails ya!



More waterfalls.......




The Sumac was dead but still beautiful when you really looked at it. The squirrels were busy and fat. Should be a good winter for them as long as they find enough to eat now. Lots of berries and lots of food at the moment. This weather can't last. The woodpeckers had enjoyed a feast here.



Lots to eat with the rose hips and berries old apples and so on, the deer will also fatten up. Its hunting season now so they are in the deep woods but there is still plenty to eat and drink and they are safe here.



off into the cedars again.......nice that they have put the boardwalks in for us.



The cedars in there are huge, there are some that must be very old. They are beautiful.



Another small waterfall


A lot of trees are giving their lives back to the earth, it is rich and black and full of goodness. In summer these woods are full of flowers. Cant wait to get back out there next Spring.

Falling Snow

See the pretty snowflakes
Falling from the sky;
On the wall and housetops
Soft and thick they lie.

On the window ledges,
On the branches bare;
Now how fast they gather,
Filling all the air.

Look into the garden,
Where the grass was green;
Covered by the snowflakes,
Not a blade is seen.

Now the bare black bushes
All look soft and white,
Every twig is laden,
What a pretty sight!

(Author unknown)

The garden today......November 16th

Still a few pretty things when you look through the lens of the camera. Not too many things to shoot though. The mums are still perky. I must get more next year and really cultivate them so that they last. I didn't get pansies this year but I think next year I will.



The Green Man is sleeping now, he will awaken in the Spring.


The holly is full of berries. Next year I must prune this one into shape. The other Holly bushes have not done as well as this one has. I think they can all stand a trim and shape up.


The angels are playing in the leaves and getting ready for a long winters sleep, the Fairies have already left.



This guy is not happy to be going to sleep for the winter. Or maybe someone woke him up, disturbing his slumber.


The yellow mums have spread a bit and will be even better next year. They glow among the leaves and are a reflection of the Dandylions that will come with Spring.

November 15th......Hunting season.

The birds are still coming to the feeder. I need to replenish them and my supply of seeds. The Chickadees were really busy today. They flitter to and fro, happy to have another sunny day to fatten up and prepare for what is to come.





Today is the first day of the hunting season. Fire arms that is. In Michigan its a way of life. I hate it. I hate to see dead animals on top of cars and in the backs of trucks as you pull up behind them at the traffic lights. People proud of their kill do not even cover them, give them some respect.
Having said that I am not against hunting for food. I eat meat and am not about to judge others for catching their own. What I am against is baiting. Or trophy hunting. Or of making it a boozing event where the guys go off to the cabins in the woods and drink the nights away and go out killing in the mornings. I detest the need to eat meat. Far more than this I hate the cruelty of the meat industry and wish it could be regulated. I hate cruelty in every and any form whether it be the killing for fur, for trophies or the fur farms and puppy mills.
The thing is, the sad thing is, that hunting is a choice. Yes it keeps the deer herds down, they do need to be culled unfortunately because man has killed off the predators. Some how the world has taken a wrong turn and man has lost his respect for nature and is no longer the caretaker he was meant to be.

The Chaffinch in the Cherry Tree......

A man may sing in the morning
A woman may sing at night
And a dog may sing when the silver ring
Of the moon is high and bright
In the stealthy hour of twilight
The Nightjar churns his song
But the Chaffinch in the Cherry tree
He sings the whole day long......

A man may sing for his supper
A woman may sing for love
And a dog may sing for the silver ring
That hangs in the sky above
The strident song of the Stormcock
Goes out a song of strife
But the Chaffinch in the Cherry tree he sings for the joy of life

A man may sing from a song book
A woman may scale a score
And a dog may sing as his sires have sung
For a thousand years before
A Blackbird sings with ardour
A Nightingale with art
But a chaffinch in the Cherry tree He sings with all his heart

Kitten in The Fallen Leaves.............

See the kitten on the wall, sporting with the leaves that fall,
Withered leaves—one—two—and three, from the lofty elder-tree!
Through the calm and frosty air, of this morning bright and fair . . .
—But the kitten, how she starts; Crouches, stretches, paws, and darts!

First at one, and then its fellow, just as light and just as yellow;
There are many now—now one—now they stop and there are none;
What intenseness of desire, in her upward eye of fire!

With a tiger-leap half way, now she meets the coming prey,
Lets it go as fast, and then, has it in her power again:
Now she works with three or four, like an Indian Conjuror;
Quick as he in feats of art, far beyond in joy of heart.

by William Wordsworth

Rake up the leaves.............

This is it, the last of the leaves are coming down. Our town picks them up at the curb a couple of times and just prior to the dates they give us, everyone is out raking. Making a supreme effort to get those leaves out to the curb. It has been rather windy and so they are more often back up in the air than in neat piles at the curb. It is actually rather pretty.


The colours are still beautiful but most of the trees are bare now...........still a few piles left up there though..........



There are some lovely berries still on the trees.




So many this year so many pretty berries



The cardinal baby survived. (thank you, thank you very much) she still comes about every day. She has found the grapes, she does like the bird seed though and I hope she survives the winter. She had a good beginning and is a tough girl. I hope she builds her nest here next year.

November sky........................

Brilliant blue with Mackeral sky



The sun reflects upon the last of the yellow leaves, the Mackeral sky just makes it all so perfect.




Mackeral sky.
November blows in with perfect ease
with brilliant light on yellow trees
Mackeral skys in the deep deep blue
Intence invigorating hue.
JKS 2011