The Birds are back...................

The small birds are back, unfortunately so are the squirrels. We have had snow. Two days of snow and then it got mushy. It has began to melt and so I sure hope it goes away for awhile. I would like to put up some outside decorations to get us through December and look a little cheery.
Tristen is here for the weekend, he came for Thanksgiving. Maybe I can get them to drag up the Christmas stuff.
We did manage (well Gerry did) to get a lot of the leaves dragged to the road to be picked up. The rest will rest under the snow unless it melts, then maybe one more go over will help the Spring tidy up.
So...........The little birds are here. They are so chipper and noisy. So sweet. The Blue Jays never miss a meal.

Look at this lot.


The yellow finches, they come in a flock.

I still like the Titmice though.

I didn't get really good pictures but have been otherwise occupied with Thanksgiving.
Now, after this weekend it will be on to getting ready for Christmas. How to have a nice Christmas with no money. Yes, that will be a challenge.
Meanwhile, the Nuthatches came for a visit and I am really happy to see two males that have been regulars.




The Titmice are so sweet


The Mourning Doves come too.


I hope we will see some new ones this year. Different kinds of birds, well not that I am fussy. I really do wish though that we have a little variety. We used to get Cedar Waxwings but I have not seen any around here for years. I have seen Flickers down the road but they have not stopped by. I have put out some suet with mealworms in the hope of luring some new faces.

My messy garden......................

Had to go out and take some pictures. The grass has gone, it is covered in a carpet of yellow.

The Poodles have been having fun out there.

They run through the leaves and try to find the Poodle paths that are now all covered in leaves

What a mess it all is, on the other hand it is quite beautiful. Just look at the above picture of her naughtiness yelling at me. She wants me to play with her.

Just a few flowers remain and the chairs all packed up for next year.

The orange compliments the leaves. I must remember next year to plant more of the things that last into Fall.


The bottle trees are going to stay out I think. Everything else has been put away for Spring. I like the glass and I am thinking it will look pretty in the snow when it gets here.

I have given up on doing any clean up work out there, it can all wait. I am sure Gerry will rake leaves at the weekend. If he doesn't then they will block up the snow blower. The Blue bottle tree out front will also stay.

I hope no one breaks them this winter because they will certainly show up.
More Poodle pictures, look at this little defiant face.This is Brea and she is doing her little howl at me.


Bodi just sat and enjoyed the sun as the others played.



Bijou is doing well and almost time to take out her stitches.

Look at the beautiful light on the leaves.


So much beauty surrounds us even in the unexpected. I say the garden is a mess, but even so, there is beauty all around if I look. That is one reason I enjoy photography, I don't need to be good, it opens my eyes to the details and the wonderful world around me.

November rain.................

Today it's raining. It's voting day, I am glad I don't have to go out and vote. I am not a citizen so I can skip that one. Honestly what would I do. Not Donald for sure, Hillary? Probably.
So I stayed home and watched the birds. A whole gang of little ones came in. Noisy they were. I love that.It was only just light. The time change made it light earlier, I suppose that's the point of the time change. So the kids get on school buses do so in daylight. I like the Native American comment "only a white man would believe that cutting from the top of a blanket and stitching it on the bottom will make the blanket longer" words to that effect.
Anyway, the birds were happy and knew nothing of the time change.I love their cheerful nattering. The Tufted Titmouse is one of my favourites.

Look at those beady little eyes. Such a pretty little bird.

Mr and Mrs Nuthatch came too although Mr was rather elusive. He would not stay still. Better pictures next time.


Everyone was flittering and fluttering and would not sit still so no Chickadee pictures.
I missed the Blue Jays too.The Yellow Finches were busy on some seeds in the garden.


The bright yellow ones were missing. So that's it for birds today. The garden is a huge mess and will stay that way until all the leaves are down. Gerry hates to rake and waits until he no longer has a choice. I don't mind. Bud probably does though(next door) he cleans his spotless. Gerry doesn't see the point and I don't really care.
The Burning Bush does not often get a lot of colour. Not enough sun, still its looking pretty at the moment

I like how its leaves are laying on the wreath. I have not found my Autumn garden stuff. I thought I had put it where I could find it. Ah well...........maybe next year.

When the last leaf falls..................

The garden is covered in leaves. Gerry and Tristen did a bit of raking today but that hardly scratched the surface. The back yard is enclosed by a fence and so they collect there. There are also more Maple trees out back.
The side is thick with them and the front not quite so bad as we have the Pines out front.

I remember when I was a kid. The farm opposite my school had vines growing up the barns, we would collect the leaves for our class and using wax paper or paint we would do things with them in our art classes. I remember gathering all kinds of leaves in all the beautiful colours.

Reds, yellows, orange and green. Brown and burgundy, even pinks and peaches.

Here in Michigan the Maples are the big colour winners. The Oaks are darker, mainly browns, but the Maples are all the Autumn colours you can imagine. I love the Poplars too because of the sound they make and they come in Limes and yellows. Some trees have silver leaves.
Bud's little Maple out front is Scarlet


I love to recall my school days, so many years ago now and it amazes me what my memory holds. What was important enough to remember. I think the funny thing is that a lot has to do with Nature. I do remember one thing, making a little Viking ship one year. I don't know why that sticks in my mind except that it turned out really well and I loved History.
November, so far it has been warm and the plants that were almost dead are reviving. I put a pot of marigolds up the back of the garden and they are thinking of blooming. Look at this.

So much for the crazy weather. I have to say I LOVE IT. The sun is beautiful and I have been enjoying seeing the way the light interacts with the leaves.

Look at these berries, I took this picture while waiting at Burgher King

The leaves glow in the sun.

When the Autumn lasts it is one of the nicest times of the year. I could take these temperatures all year.