They all get birchy after a snowstorm.

Day*44

Amarillis again

Day*43

Island of Death

Well no, it's not really an island, but it kind of resembles that to me at the moment.

Day*42

Snowstorm

Actually this pic is a day late. The 10th was so hectic with the rain and snow, etc., that I never ended up taking a picture.
I liked the way the leaves added a slight splash of color in an otherwise "monochrome" world, and kind of added a softness to the otherwise sharp contrast.

Day*41

Near Disaster

A couple days ago I went out to check on the pond and found the water was no longer running. That means everything was frozen. So yesterday I went out with some hot water and melted a hole in the ice to get to the pump. What apparently happened is the ice in the waterfall caused the water to overflow causing the pond to drain to the level of the pump. So luckily there was a space of about a foot between the water and the top of the ice.

Since the waterfall and hose to it are now frozen solid, I used a pruner to cut the hose and rigged up the diverter below to keep the water from shooting straight up in the air (which my gloves and coat can verify would happen), then lowered the pump a tiny bit. Checked on it today and all is well.

I think the snowstorm tomorrow will bring the water level up quite a bit so I can just top it off in the spring.

Day*40

More Big Birds

I was pulled off the road trying to get a good shot of a heron (got a couple "ok" shots)...

Several yards ahead of me (to my Aussie and European friends, that's meters) I saw a huge hawk land in the brush by the edge of the road. I could only see movement in there from time to time, figured she was catching a mouse or something. After awhile she came flying out of the bushes. In the picture it looks like she might be carrying a critter of some sort but I'm not sure (the pic was taken in a hurry and through my windshield)...

And obeying all traffic laws, ie; using turn signals, keeping right (to my Aussie and European friends, that's "right"), proceeded down the street...

...and landed in the tree down the road a bit. I'm not sure if she was enjoying lunch or not, as you can see she was facing away from me, but she didn't stay there long at all.

Day*39

Lily

Day*38