It's almost Christmas....

Christmas is almost here and I have been busy with many things.  Our snow is finally going away.  The temperature is heading back to the more normal range for us in the winter....40's or 50's.

 The female Cardinal at the feeder out back.

Downy on the suet. 

 A very cold looking Great Blue Heron who happened by one morning.  The pond is frozen, so I doubt it found any food!

Kiwi....the outside cat wondering why she never gets to come in the house like those other cats that live in.  

 Mike has had a lot of fun all year making things with his 3-D printer.  So of course he had to try a few Christmas ornaments for the tree.  Other people post designs they have made and you can download and print them or design your own.  I liked this one with the hole in the star for a light....very clever by someone.
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For anyone wanting to know about the 3-D printer.  Here is a link to a site that shows all the cool stuff that people have made with their 3-D printers.  It is really fascinating!  It's all plastic stuff, for those who can't tell in the photos.

 I finally have finished this little Christmas tree wall hanging I have worked on for months.  Now I have to figure out where to hang it.

 Over the mantle.

 On the hearth...my wood block nativity.

We are very eclectic in our decorating.  The tree has a hodge podge of ornaments that have come from vacations, and as gifts from family and friends, Hallmark animal ornaments, and just things we like.  The white ornaments are some more of Mike's 3-D fun....snowflakes with our names and snowflakes made of StarWars characters and fighters :-) 

As I say....no theme to our tree!

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Merry Christmas everyone!

Lots of snow and cold brings the birds out....

We got blasted with an all day snow storm and low temperatures early in the week.

 A Titmouse and House Sparrow looking for seeds during the storm.

The Blue Jays have shown up and want to know why I didn't buy any peanuts for them.  Be patient....they are on my shopping list for later in the week! 

 Cardinal and Goldfinch looking miserable but finding a few seeds.

The Mockingbird, of course wants it all for himself. 

 On guard....he actually was chasing the other birds away while they tried to eat....mean old thing!

 Song sparrow looking down low for seeds.

 Titmouse.

 Wren sneaking up the vine covered pole.

Wren on the suet.  

The sun is shining today, so maybe I'm get some better photos later on.  I haven't gone out much.  I need new boots!  I've been wearing my old "moon boots" from the 80's and the linings have just about disintegrated to nothing.  They were good warm boots...but totally shot after all these years. Time for an upgrade!

Look out little birds....the hawk in on the prowl.....

Mike noticed all the birds take off and head for the bushes, so he knew the hawk must be around!  Sure enough it landed on the rail after scaring everyone away.  Mike came and got me, and I was thrilled to see that it didn't seem in any hurry to leave.  That provided ample time for photos :-)

 This was my favorite shot.....he turned around and faced my way right before he took off.

 I believe it is a Sharp-shinned Hawk.  

The smallest of the hawks in this area.  He has been hanging around all summer, which is why I have not had a lot of bird photos.

 Fluffing up

Preening 

 I like how he grabs the feather.

"Do I look better now, for my photos?" 

The turn around.  Looks like ballet!

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My world is in the process of turning white at the moment!  We are suppose to have snow all day long.

 The squirrel got in early to get some food before it was all covered up.

The wren going for the suet. 

 There is no point in my putting much more seed out until the snow stops.

  It is being buried as fast as I put seed out there! 

 A lot of hungry and unhappy birds out there at the moment!  

Probably easy pickings for that hawk today.

Checking on the Snow Geese in Henderson, KY.....

Yesterday, we drove over to Henderson, KY to check on the Snow Geese and other geese and ducks.  We were thrilled to find that plenty of geese had arrived already!

 There were a large mass of them sitting in the grass and low water behind where one of the viewing stands is located.  So I was able to get these massed shots.  Hmmmm....how many geese per square foot?  I really wish I had a way to count them sometime!  I'm curious as to just how many are really there.

 Something stirred them up and they all took to the air.  I don't think it was anything I did :-)  The viewing stand is at least 200 yards from where they were.

 Trying to get a wide shot that shows all of them in the air is hard.  This does give an idea of how far away we were.

 The ducks stayed behind on the water when the geese took off.

Lots of geese!

 They came to rest in the next field over, where they have flooded areas of the field for them.  Looks like a big swimming pool full of geese here :-)

 We were about 200 yards away still, so these aren't real close shots.

 I try to get a mixture of all the types.   There are two phases:  The pure white Snow Geese and the dark Snow Geese with white heads.  The juveniles are somewhere in between....the pale gray ones are the white juveniles and the all dark are the dark juveniles.

 But there are also Greater White-fronted Geese mixed throughout.  They usually sort of stay at one end by themselves, but they do mix somewhat with the Snow Geese.

 Enjoying the water.

 There was a lot of wing flapping going on after they landed.  They seemed restless.  Maybe they were just trying to get some space from their neighbors :-)

 A bunch of the Greater White-fronted Geese on one end.

Landing

 We weren't the only ones watching the geese from a distance.  I think these are two immature eagles.  They were way out in the trees beyond the geese...watching.

 Some of the Mallards on a smaller pond in the area.

I never get tired of seeing these geese and ducks!  We'll probably make a trip over here at about once a week.   I don't know if this all that are coming this year, or if this is just the beginning.