From Heaven Above to Earth I Come

From Heaven Above to Earth I Come

To bear good news to every home;

Glad tidings of great joy I bring,

Whereof I now will say and sing.

 

To you this night is born a child

Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;

This little child, of lowly birth,

Shall be the joy of all the earth.

 

This is the Christ, our God and Lord,

Who in all need shall aid afford;

He will Himself your Savior be,

From all your sins to make you free.

 

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,

Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,

Within my heart, that it may be

A quiet chamber kept for Thee.

 

Glory to God in highest heav'n

Who unto man His Son hath giv'n!

While angels sing with pious mirth

A glad New Year to all the earth.

 

by Martin Luther, 1535

 

 

We wish you God's blessings

at Christmas

and in the New Year!

 

 

 

 



A House Finch Invasion

 

Last Friday there was a lot of fluttering

going on at the feeders.

 

 











A flock of House Finch must have been flying through.

They were obviously dressed in their
Christmas attire.

The Mr. and his Mrs. were
even sharing one little feeder.

Such welcome color on these cloudy, Winter days.

Later in the afternoon I heard some loud squawking.

 

A herd of Wild Turkeys were strolling down in the valley.

 

Towards evening, everything seemed really still.

I looked out and saw why...

 

 

He was hard to see and the light was not good.

Isn't it amazing how he blends in with his surroundings?

 

 

 

 

 

Catch of the Day

A Red-Tailed Hawk

 

I haven't seen any "different" or unusual birds

around here for quite some time.

 

But today, I saw a lot of activity

at the top of a broken-off tree in the valley.

 

This Red-Tailed Hawk had apparently

made his "catch of the day".

 

 

After I went outside to get his picture,

he sat pretty still for quite a while.

 

I guess he was watching me too.

Of course, when I got tired of waiting

and picked up the camera to go inside,

he flew off carrying his prize.

 

It would have made a great picture.

I guess it is kind of like

the "big fish" that got away.



Deer Passage

Recently, every afternoon around 3:30 pm or so,

three young deer take a stroll through our yard. 

 

 

 

They still have their spots,

but obviously their mom

has sent them off on their own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing them is always a thrill.

 

Their presence, to me, is a

special gift from God.

 

 

Something New

Several days ago, I saw this little bird outside my window.  It was smaller than the usual Titmouse and Nuthatches that I usually see.  I did get a couple of pictures before it flew away.  Today I noticed the pictures on my camera and am trying to decide what kind of bird it is.  Maybe it is a female or non-breeding male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Checking Out a New Feeder

This flower is a little different,

and it's all mine!!

 

Oh, oh....Here comes company.

 

 

Found a peanut...Found a peanut!

 

 

Have a Wonderful Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



A Barred Owl

I saw something on a branch in the woods today.

It was about the color of the squirrels,

but seemed to big for a squirrel.

 

 

 

I ran in for my camera,

which when zoomed in is better than binoculars.

And what do you know,

that brown, fuzzy ball had "eyes."

 

 

Isn't he awesome!

I hear owls often talking back and forth,

but the last time I saw one like him

was about 45 years ago,

just shortly after we moved into our house.

 

 

This guy seemed a bit tired.

Maybe he was up too late last night.

However, I did notice

from the branch he was sitting on

he had a clear view of all my bird feeders on

both of my porches as well as

all the little chipmunks

that run around underneath them.

 

It was interesting to watch how he could

swivel his head around without moving

the rest of his body.

 

 



He can look backwards

while his body is still sitting forwards.

 

He finally did seem to look my way,

 

 

 

but wasn't concerned enough

to not doze off once again,

or maybe he was watching something

down below him.

 

 

 

Here is a short video.  I finally made some noise

so he would look towards me.

 

 

The best picture though, I missed.

I had called my husband out to see him.

After a while he jumped up to the

other side of the branch,

took one long look over his shoulder at us,

and flew off to a higher tree.

 

I hope I don't have to wait

another 45 years to see

a Barred Owl once again.

 



Just a Touch of Yellow

Finally a Warbler - A Yellow-Throated Warbler!

 

 

He's a fast moving little guy, and doesn't stay in one place very long.

I usually only see him for a few days in the Spring.

 

 

Some other splashes of yellow around our yard and woods.

 

Oh, oh, are you looking at me?

The other afternoon when I sprinkled some birdseed on my deck

to attract the Yellow-Throated Warbler,

this little one gobbled up all the seeds before the bird returned.

 

I almost missed this "touch of yellow."

It was only after I made the picture larger in my camera

that I realized it was a Pine Siskin.

 

 

May God Bless you All

 

With a Joyful Day!

 

 

New Spring Clothes

While our Spring flowers

seem to be refusing to pop open,

this little Goldfinch

is starting to get his New Spring Outfit.

 

 



Wishing You a Blessed Easter

 

 

 

from the "Revelation Song"

 

Holy, Holy, Holy

is the Lord God Almighty

Who was and is and is to come.

With all creation I sing

praise to the King of kings.

You are my everything

and I will adore You.



Saying "Goodby" to Winter

Here it is, the first day of Spring,

and I have yet to post any of my Winter birds.

 

The Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker is a bird

I do not see very often.  Usually it feeds on the ground,

but this winter it came to my feeders on my deck.

You can see the yellow under his tail.

 

 The Flicker can really blend into the bark of a tree.

 

Another bird I hear but don't see up close very often

is the Pilated Woodpecker.

 

 

The Tufted Titmouse are regulars year around.

I love seeing them in the Winter all puffed up to keep warm.

 




Opps!  I Missed Him.

The Downy and the Hairy Woodpeckers are regulars also.

Sometimes they wait patiently to take their turn at the suet.

 

 

The larger Hairy is waiting on the little Downy.

Well, maybe not too patiently...

 Another bird we see only in the Winter

is the little Snowbird--the Dark-eyed Junco.

The Goldfinch add a flash of color no matter what the season.

 

 

The Nuthatch and the House Finch

anxiously getting some food

on a Blustery Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby, It's Cold Outside.

 

And what would Winter be

without our

Pesky Squirrels?

 

 

"I've learned to do this like the Woodpeckers!"

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Last but Not Least

this sweet little Carolina Wren.

I don't usually see them in the Winter,

but there it was searching for food in the snow.