Although I am no longer teaching, there was a frisson of excitement at the thought of school closures. Those days always seemed like gifts - a day free of duty to do what I liked.
The Varied Thrush is an elusive bird and I see them only when it snows. Its normal habitat is the dark evergreen forests. This one hung around for a short while, long enough for us all to admire his orange and black colouring.
Dark-eyed Juncos are regular visitors to the garden, so handsome with their sharply defined black heads. They are common most of the year here, but tend to go further north in the summer.
Spotted Towhees usually feed on the ground, but like the suet, especially now when the ground is covered with snow. All morning, while the snowflakes swirled around, birds took their turns at the feeders.
Several Chestnut-backed Chickadees stopped by. I watched three of them for a long while, chasing each other through the bare lilac branches, swooping across the snow-covered lawn, and chirping among themselves. It looked as though they too were playing in the snow.
We collected the little girls this morning as their mother needed to study. They played in the snow, making angels, climbing the pile of snow shoveled to the side of the drive, and slid down the small slope in our garden. What fun!
Tall hats on dried flower stems. Colder weather is here for a few more days and the snow will stay, then quickly melt away.
A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky,
unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder."
Susan Orlean
You make snow days sound like a good thing. The older I get the less I like them but I have to admit there is so much beauty in a snowy day. And you truly captured the beauty of this one.
ReplyDeleteDo send some our way please. Like you I find snow days magical. Definitely a sign that we rarely have snow. Lovely to see your winter birds. I can just imagine the fun you had with your granddaughters. B x
ReplyDeleteSnow really does have a magical way of transforming everything. I love how you described the light it brings and the birds you spotted. The little girls playing in the snow sounds like such a fun moment too! Thanks for sharing this snowy day.
ReplyDeleteLucky you to get more snow. We had two snow events this year, the first we've had in years. A lot of the birds you photographed only come here during the winter. Junco shows up in January and Towhe in December. Our chickadee is black and white and oh so cute. Have a great week. Keep warm.
ReplyDeleteYou got some wonderful snaps of your little feathered visitors. So sweet. Enjoy the snow while it's there.
ReplyDeleteWhat a snowy sweet surprise! Your photos certainly depict a "thing of wonder!"
ReplyDeleteLOVE that photo of the spotted towhee with the "spotted" snow flurrying around! The tall hats on the flower stems are a great capture, too.
ReplyDeleteSnow is a wonder to enjoy especially for kids! You might have gotten more than we got. Love all the sweet birds you captured!
ReplyDeleteI like the birds, we don’t have them here they are very nice. I enlarged the pictures to see them better. I don’t think we will have anymore snow unfortunately, but we have fog and frost those days. I noticed the birds beginning to built their nest especially the sparrows .
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful birds, I have never seen any of them. I remember the delights of a snow day. Long gone since I winter in south Texas now. Marguerite
ReplyDeleteLove the birds! Such a nice variety. Ones I don’t see here. Every year the kids here have multiple snow days. They love it.
ReplyDeleteI love the look of fresh snowfall, but nowadays its not so easy to walk in it!
ReplyDeleteYou have captured the snowfall so nicely. I enjoyed seeing the variety of birds that came to visit. Most of them I have not seen around here. How fun to have the grands to enjoy the snow with.
ReplyDeleteVaried Thrushes sometimes show up in our back yard too when it's snowy. None so far.
ReplyDeleteYou have some wonderful birds visiting your garden, their colours and markings stand out so well in the snow. The Varied Thrush is beautiful:)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pictures !
ReplyDeleteLovely birds !
Have a cozy day !
Anna
So wonderful to see the snow swirling about in your lovely photos. All the little birds are so sweet, flitting about in the white wonderland. It sounds so cosy and special to have a Snow Day to yourself.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful post sharing the magic of snow and a very pleasing assortment of birds, all correctly identified. And a crisp narrative completed the perfection of it all.
ReplyDeletePretty little birds and you know them by name 💕 Good for you.
ReplyDeleteWe have very little snow and plus degrees at the moment.
Waiting for a "real winter" but on the other hand we must be careful with our wishes.
Moderation is good and a mild winter 🙂
Happy Snow Days!
ReplyDeleteNice bird photos, very colorful compared to what I see here in Vermont.
Sledding in a garden sounds perfect for a fun in winter.
Beautiful snowy pictures and the birds you've shared were a delight to see... thank you.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/
Beautiful birds, and grandchildren playing in the snow -- perfect! Really, your photos of the birds make my heart swell.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful... I especially love winter with snow.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your atmospheric photos... it's cold here, maybe it'll snow here again.
In any case, I am very happy about your snow photos.
Hugs from Viola
Thanks.
Oh Lorrie, your photos are magical. I appreciate especially the two bird photos with a light snowfall (and wish I had ever been able to take such appealing photos).
ReplyDeleteIn Southern (Rita above) and here in Eastern Finland we indeed have very little snow and mild temperatures. I miss the good old climate: in December, January and February it was winter and then came the spring.
Happy weekend!
I work in a university, which has a pretty high threshold for snow days. The weather has to be pretty severe (and the fall has to fall at a certain time) in order for the university to formally close.
ReplyDelete