A New Visitor - Not a Feathered Friend

Yesterday morning my husband called
down to me to come up and see what
was in our feeder.



It was a tiny little fellow we had never seen before,
and boy, was he hungery...

and quick on his feet. Much faster
than the larger squirrels we usually
see. He could fly through the air
to a nearby tree in a split second.

Speaking or larger squirrels, there was one who I thought might have been one of his parents, watching him from a branch overhead.

















But when the larger squirrel came down to join him, they didn't appear to be friends. In fact, the little guy chased off the big guy in a blur of speed.



A short time later the little one
was back eating to his heart's
content. He was having a
"very good day!"

Morning Has Broken

As the sun slowly rose yesterday morning,

the whole world seemed to sparkle with the

brilliance of diamonds.

Everyone and everything seemed to be watching in awe

The Birds.............

The Squirrel.................

My Bird Watchers, Nehemiah and Ezra ............

....and, of course, me.....

It reminded me of a hymn I learned in

school a long time ago.

For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth, Over and arnound us lies,

Lord of All to Thee we raise - This our hymn of grateful praise!

Frigid Winter Days

Recently we have had snow and sub-zero weather



Finding food has become much more difficult for all wildlife.

This little Carolina Wren has been at our feeder frequently

He is not intimidated by the woodpeckers, and makes them wait their turn.



But a downy woodpecker can only be patient for so long till he needs to take action.



Sometimes they can share.

Sometimes not!

Sometimes a few cross words are spoken!



















At least our little wren can always find a friend and some leftover seeds on the deck.

This is Easier than Digging Acorns!

During the recent snow and ice storms, our little furry friends have decided there is an easier way to get food than to dig up everything they had stored last fall. Even a new bird feeder didn't discourage them.



When we chased him away, he would sit up in the tree and watch for us to leave so he could come back.



Black squirrels have become more common in our area in recent years; however, they are usually rather shy and move around quite quickly. However, during the ice storm before Christmas, this little one decided to be brave and climb up on our deck to see what he could find. Since the ice went away, he has gone back to the woods.

The Pilated is Back

Last year in early January for the very first time I saw the Pileated Woodpecker. He was so amazing. It seemed to me that he looked a lot like the cartoon charactor of my youth, Woody Woodpecker. He had a favorite tree, and everytime I heard his "jackhammer" sound, I knew exactly where to look for him. He eventually became so brave as to check out the suet feeder on my deck.

What beauty God has given him!

As summer progressed, I heard the hammering sound coming from two directions at the same time and assumed he had a friend close by. Sometime last fall he disappeared, until finally yesterday, I heard his familier pecking sound but not from his usual tree. Then today I finally saw him on a tree a little further away--but he's back!