Chasing after some finer day

I can feel spring making an attempt at arrival. And Saturday, as the sun shone for a brief time, I sat outside in the cold until the clouds rolled back over. I took the camera with me just in case, not intending to actually get anything good but you never know if you’ll get lucky. My husband saw me sitting outside and brought out his special bird mix {the one with the fruit} and soon, there were birds a-plenty.

My husband never tells me anymore in words that he loves me. But he doesn’t need to. He has trouble with words anymore, but I can tell that he loves me by the little things he does for me. Like bringing out the fancy bird seed.

 

Hello, good sir.

 

 

The crazy bush was full of male cardinals. {I call it the crazy bush because it’s just a bunch of vines that grew around the stump of the old cherry tree in the west yard}. We’ve left it there and just keep cutting it back come summer, as it makes a great habitat for the birds.

 

 

There were a few female cardinals as well, and I waited until this one’s crest was fully extended before taking the shot.

She’s a purdy one.

 

 

This is a male cardinal with fright molt.

Fright molt is a survival mechanism that occurs during trauma. All the tail feathers will pop out at the same time, and it’s meant to confuse their predator. The feathers will grow back in about 4-6 weeks. Thank you to my good friend, {Reena} for posting about it earlier this week. I’d seen birds with no tail feathers before but wasn’t aware there was a name for it.

I had only been outside for about 20 minutes, happily photographing my fine feathered friends when suddenly, they scattered. I kept my eyes peeled for the sharp-shinned hawk who must surely be nearby.

 

 

And there he was. I shot this through the branches of the lilac bush and am loving the cool bokeh that seems to have come from the combination of that and the trees along the edge of the property.

This appears to be a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk. He’s rather small – although you can’t tell this from the photograph. After a couple of moments, I stood up slowly, hoping to maybe get him to fly to a better location for my lens. That’s when I noticed the cardinals in the bush nearby. I didn’t want to spook them as they were completely still. I took a few more steps and the hawk flew to the upper branches of the dogwood, landing directly above me.

 

 

He looks fierce.

:   :   :

It’s Sunday and I’ve got no real plans other than relaxing, doing some reading {Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet}, a little knitting {something in which I do not excel}, and maybe watching a movie {Owd Bob}. Tonight I’m roasting a chicken. I’ll stuff it with lemons and rosemary and our house will smell like heaven for several hours.

And when I look back at this post in years to come  ~  and I will  ~  I’ll remember that these were the good old days.

Here’s hoping that you’re enjoying your Sunday, as well.