January stillness

I realize it’s been several days since I’ve posted and I’m not sure if you’ll run from yet another missive about birds. But it’s my blog and I can do what I want, and in January around here, there’s not much else going on at the manor house on the hill.

I took these photos over the weekend. The beautiful, balmy weekend.




I was thinking of using this as my new header but this is as far as I got on it.




I was wondering if it were winter that has got me down at the moment, but I’ve never been too bothered by this season. There’s so much beauty in it, you know.

I’m down for other reasons, but this little poem makes me smile.

If I were a bear,
   And a big bear too,
I shouldn’t much care
   If it froze or snew;
I shouldn’t much mind
   If it snowed or friz—
I’d be all fur-lined
   With a coat like his!
For I’d have fur boots and a brown fur wrap,
And brown fur knickers and a big fur cap.
I’d have a fur muffle-ruff to cover my jaws,
And brown fur mittens on my big brown paws.
With a big brown furry-down up to my head,
I’d sleep all the winter in a big fur bed.
~ A.A. Milne, “Furry Bear”

I bought a new bird feeder and some seed to go with it on Saturday. I thought it would be ever so much more photogenic for capturing bird images than some of the old ones we have and my husband promptly hung it up for me.




The birds don’t care how pretty my feeder is however, and preferred the old rusty standby with the nice perching spot over my new purchase.




Photogenic it is not.

But it was a lovely day, and after doing things that needed to get done, I spent some time sitting outside and enjoying the weather.

I read some more of my camera manual and learned a bit, putting some of it to practice.




I caught some wing action on this female house finch.




And the male looking backwards.

: : :

I went to a baby shower after school today. We held it upstairs in the faculty break room, which is actually an apartment on the 3rd floor of the building. It was lovely, but I think it left me melancholy for some reason. I’m very happy for my young co-worker however, and for her mother who works there as well. I took the photo below last Friday as I was walking through the old courtyard to the other side of the building. It was quicker than going all the way around to get back to the office.

Such a pretty sky.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .