Turtle time at the wetlands!......

Yep....time to post turtles again!  They are out on the logs in full force.

 This guy was right in front of me and I was fascinated to look at his claws and tail, so here are some close-ups. 

I believe this is a Painted Turtle....name seems obvious.  

I love the red dots on the "hand".  Looks like he has been to a tattoo parlor. 

Nasty looking claws they have!

Nice red on the tail, too.

Some of the assorted turtles on various logs throughout the place. 

I always love the full logs and piles. 

 I call this one the "turtle train" 

Feet out and balanced.....whee! 

 This is actually a very small one.  I'm on a bridge looking down and it is about dollar size.

Even piled in the sticks and branches on the shore. 

 "Hang over"

Count them. 

I like the curved reflection :-)

I did see other things and will post them in a couple of days.  Nice to have something to post once again.

So who needs to mow the lawn anyway?.....

I'm never sure what my neighbors think at this time of year, but I don't let Mike mow the front lawn until the violets are done blooming!  They are everywhere this year.....not sure if there is any grass or not :-)

Masses of violets

A close up

 The birds don't seem to mind!  A few of the birds who were searching for food among the violets.  The little Chipping Sparrows have shown up recently.

A Junco in the violets 

A Robin 

The violets make a nice background for everyone :-) 

 A White-throated Sparrow....

.....and the back view.

 It was a beautiful day on Sunday and I spent about an hour sitting out in the glider enjoying the birds as they came and went around me.  A Bluebird on the feeder.

 Mrs. and Mr. Cardinal

 A Chickadee hanging under the suet.....time for a refill!

 The Chipping Sparrow on the driveway.

 The Crab Apple tree is beautiful right now.

The Goldfinch male.....that pink flowering cherry is just getting started. 

 He blends in better in the maple tree.

 A male House Sparrow

 The maples are full of seeds.

The White-breasted Nuthatch moved just as I took the photo. 

Mrs. Red-bellied Woodpecker.  She flies to the crab apple trunk...then hops over to the tray feeder for a seed...and then takes it to the maple tree to peck it open.  Back and forth she went.

 One of the Red-winged Blackbirds that is still hanging around.

 A turtle in the yard! That was a surprise!

This Yellow-throated Warbler was in and out very quickly so I didn't get a very good shot, but enough to identify it.  I don't see a lot of warblers so this was a thrill for me.

Little by little spring is coming.....

Just a few quick photos to let you know that I haven't quit blogging :-)  Life has been intruding a lot lately and winter has taken forever to start going away and I have had no time to go take photos anywhere.  It is only 32 degrees at the moment....again.  Every time the sun starts shining regularly and the temps begin to climb and the flowers begin to bloom....winter stops by again briefly.

 One sure sign of spring....the Goldfinches are gold again!  They know it is spring even if the weather isn't sure.

 A downy on the feeder

 The female Goldfinch....not so pretty as her mate...and a male House Finch.  I just filled the feeders, so everyone is hungry for their breakfast!

 Another sign of spring!  An Indigo Bunting sitting in the driveway looking for seeds.! I love that beautiful blue color!

There are trees blooming and budding everywhere, but I don't have any photos yet.  There are more daffodils than I can ever remember seeing.  The long cold winter has made things bloom well!

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Mike's dad has been in the hospital and his mom needs care, too, so we are running around a lot, but not with a camera in hand.  Some day life will get back towards normal and I may catch up on the blog and look in on your blogs!

I hope the weather makes up its mind soon....

I felt rather hopeful about spring when I looked out last week and saw the pond only half frozen.  It's been covered with ice most of the winter so far!

However, the very next day we got cold temps, more ice, and about an inch of snow.  Sigh.

 A Blue Jay looking for peanuts on the icy day.

Mrs. Cardinal sitting by a little icy drip as she looks for seeds. 

Mr. Cardinal ignoring the snow for some sunflower seeds.

 The Downy male wanting to know why I keep putting the suet in this ball. (To try to keep the Starlings and other Blackbirds from eating all of it!)

I see a bit of hopeful black on the Goldfinch's forehead!  Maybe he knows something about spring coming that I haven't observed yet. 

 The Mockingbird

I really like Mockingbirds, even if they do tend to be hoggish at the feeders. 

"I HATE WINTER!" 

No one can look quite so "mean" as Mr. Mockingbird :-)

The Starling and the Mockingbird are both very aggressive over food.  The Starling eventually chased the Mockingbird away.  I had to contend with a small flock of mixed blackbirds eating everything during the cold spell.  I'll be glad when they go back to the fields and away from my feeders. 

According to my Sibley, this is a first summer male Red-winged Blackbird.  Rather pretty at this stage. 

A mostly full-fledged male Red-winged Blackbird.  I see a bit of spotty feathers still on the back. 

 A cold looking Song Sparrow.

 The Carolina Wren

Before the snow fell, I had a White-crowned Sparrow searching for food. 

Showing us his head stripes :-)

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Well, I hope I have photos without snow in them soon.  This has been a cold winter.