Look Up In The Sky

I do all the time. And was rewarded with this view as I returned from lunch one day at work.

A sundog, and part of the 22° halo.

And a contrail with its shadow is a bonus.

☀️☀️☀️

Choosy Possums Choose ...

Most nights we put peanut butter out to feed the flying squirrels and opossums that call our yard home. The squirrels usually show up immediately. The opossums wander by on their own schedule.

But tonight when Patty went out with the peanut butter the Virginia Opossum was already here. So, moving very slowly, she reached out with some peanut butter, and Oppie ate it. Very cool.

~~~~~~~~~~

While Patty was doing this I was cleaning up after dinner, and when I walked in to the living room I saw her standing very still by the tree. The angle from the living room hides the platform Oppie is sitting on. But looking closely I was able to see the Oppie's tail. So I grabbed my camera and, again moving very slowly, walked outside to get this shot. Fortunately I was able to get close enough without scaring Oppie off.

She has a habit of feeding critters.

Winter is Coming

More of those birds which only show up in our yard when it get cold.

These winter visitors include ...

A male Purple Finch. Similar to the House Finch, a year round resident in this area, the Purple Finch has a purple wash across its entire body. These birds breed in Canada and spend the winter in the US, mostly east of the Mississippi River. But some prefer California.

A Fox Sparrow, the Red (Taiga) version. This population is also a Canadian breeder, which spends the winter in the US, again east of the Mississippi. There are four distinct populations, and the other three spend the winter out west. It is possible that these populations represent more than one species.

A Hermit Thrush. While technically not a 'winter bird' we only see this bird in our yard when the temps go low. And it is the only spotted thrush to be found in US in the winter months.

❄️🐦❄️🐧❄️

Now is a great time of year to put out food for birds. We fill our feeders and are rewarded with non-stop activity. And the birds appreciate the food during the winter months. And it is a great opportunity for citizen science.

Yard Critter of the Week - Wild Turkey

The Wild Turkey.

Highlight of many a meal this week.*

These visited this one morning as I was getting ready to go to work.

 But just as I spotted them they spotted me.

 And they made their way out of the yard and into the woods.

All but one, which is safely ensconced in our liquor cabinet.

It may be a "full moon effect" type observation, but they seem to become scarce just around this time of year. Reappearing in the yard after New Years.

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃

Our first two years here we had Wild Turkeys visiting the yard on a regular basis, often daily in fall and winter. This past winter and throughout the year we've seen noticeably fewer visiting. Those first two years it was not unusual to have flocks of twenty or more birds at a time, and one day we had three flocks converge in our side yard. Over sixty birds that day. Lots of gobbling.

The birds have still been visiting. And we see them in the area, up and down our street, large flocks and small. But no twenty bird flocks in our yard this year.

🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃

You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.

🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖🐖

* Not us though, we're having ham. Which is not a bad thing as, to quote Homer Simpson, "I enjoy all the pork products". [Update: we're having turkey and ham! Woo hoo!]

For Very Small Values of "Best"

While sitting on the living room couch watching TV (Highly Questionable to be specific) the motion sensitive light came on in the side yard. A common occurrence around this time of night that usually means a Virginia Opossum has come to call.

But not this night.

This night brought a new yard mammal.

A Gray Fox.

It did not stay long, pacing back and forth outside our living room, looking into the dark, away from us. And then gone. I had no time to get a 'real' camera, and used what I had, my iPhone. It was dark and the beast was in constant motion. And thus I got a bunch of crappy images. As I had my iPhone in 'live picture' mode it took a short video with each image. And the image you see here is a single frame extracted form that video, which is of much lower resolution than the associated still image. And this is the best such frame. Like the title says, a very small value of "best".

But it is still proof that we saw it. And should it come back I'll be ready with a 'real' camera. I hope.

Frosty Morning

While the cold can make some things about the morning unpleasant, cold cars, an icy deck, chilly floors, it can also make for some nice views.

I was able to take a few shots as I was leaving for work. I'm sure that if I had the time I could have done better.

I so much prefer not working.

It's Almost Thanksgiving ...

... so you better ge those Christmas lights up!

We spotted this scene while driving home Tuesday evening November 12th.

Only 43 days until Christmas!

What are you waiting for?