. Friday, January 24, 2014 .
I stuck my head out the backdoor yesterday and blew bubbles so see if the would actually freeze.  And guess what? They do!
 
I was so excited I forgot to check the setting on the camera.  Next time!

I will take a bigger blower next time so I make bigger bubbles.  Thought this one was pretty cool...see me?
 
I tried to get the 'feathering' to show up as it was freezing.  I want to get a video but that won't happen until I sprout a third arm.  Then I thought I would see if I could figure out a cool effect to us.  This is good but not what I wanted.

You can see the feathering in this one better.  I almost looks like a steel ball.
 
Mine didn't last too long.  It was a fun experiment and I will do it again.  Think I will wait until it us above -4 with no wind.  And I want to get the lighting right. 
 
 Help me Denise!

Frozen Bubbles

. Monday, January 6, 2014 .
I got word early last night that school would be cancelled today because of extreme temperatures. So I made myself a little pallet in the family room floor right by the sliding glass doors so I could keep a look out all night.  I'm really dumb that way.  But what can I say...I love snow.  We got some ice, winds and really cold temperatures but no snow.  So Ella Bella and I have been camped out on the pallet all day long!  We've finished a book, watched the birds and taken a few naps.  And had a little excitement.  Heavenly!
 
Someone keeps hiding from me.

Mark put sunflower seeds in the birdbath.
 
 


We have literally be overrun with Starlings.  At one point it looked like a scene from The Birds.

Two feisty birds squawk it out for the log feeder.  We had to add a little peanut butter to the two lower cavities because the suet logs which the birds hate are a lot smaller than the openings.  They are loving the extra peanut butter.
 




 
The excitement...Ella and I were into our third little nap of the day when I heard a loud thunk on the sliding glass door. I looked up and didn't see anything but Ella wouldn't stop staring out the door.  And then I say it. A poor little goldfinch, on it's back with its little feet tucked in and breathing really hard.  So I run out to rescue him and grab the camera at the same time...hard to do with only one good hand.  He is stunned.  I know it will take a few minutes for him to recover so I have Mark get a quick shot.  He wakes up and blinks his little eyes and starts moving his little feet.  I quickly take him back outside.  I open my hand.  He stands there.  He turns his little yellow head and looks at me and then takes off into the cold.  Now if I could just have the same experience with a hummingbird.
See you later Sunny! (that's what I named him)
 

Baby it's COLD Outside

. Sunday, January 5, 2014 .
Thought it might be a good idea before the family revolted to add some of my backyard friends to this blog instead of the family blog.  They insist that the family blog be specific to family.  Well, sometimes it seems like these animals are family...Mark does feed them too.  LOL
 
Northern Flicker
 
Flickers are the only brown-backed woodpeckers in the state of Ohio.  Also the only woodpecker that regularly feeds on the ground.  I read that if I add sawdust to the nesting boxes they might take up residence.  Hmmmm

I must have taken hundreds of shots of the beauties feeding in the backyard and this is the first time I have seen this beautiful heart!  I showed it to Emmy and she said that she knew about it.  I said no way.  And then she looked at me and said, as serious as could be, "I learned it on the Wild Kratt's."

Goldfinch

Carolina Wren
 
We have been getting snow off and on over the last few days.  Today it was sunny but cold.  But that didn't stop this sassy little Carolina Wren.  They have the prettiest little song...well, the male actually has about 40 different songs.

Pesky European Starlings
 
These have to be my least favorite birds.  They come in large groups and decimate the feeders.  Only today they are doing Mark a favor.  The other birds don't care for the kind of suet that is in the log feeder.  They are partial to hot pepper peanut butter suet. So my little Starlings, keep eating you only have about a weeks worth of these suet logs left.  New facts I learned about the European Starling...they are great songsters and can mimic sounds.  They are bullies because they often displace woodpeckers, chickadees and other cavity-nesting birds.  Their bills change color with the seasons...yellow in the spring and gray in autumn.  They have very powerful jaws.  They are not a native bird.  They were introduced in NYC in 1890-91 from, you guessed it, Europe.

Love that perky little tail.

Shhhh, I think this Mourning Dove is sleeping.  Her eyes are shut and she sat there for the longest time.
 
Did you know that a Mourning Dove is one of the few birds to drink without lifting its head?  I will be sure to watch for this next time I have water in the birdbath.
 
Ella was going crazy.  I knew it was either a chipmunk, cat, or a deer.  This little beauty made her rounds to underneath all the bird feeders looking for seeds the birds and squirrels had missed.

We must have the biggest squirrel family on the street.  I counted ten this morning feasting.  This little one seems to have a picnic set up on the ladder.

Hopefully we will get some more snow tonight so the snowman head feeder can be repaired.

And there goes the nose!

Lots Going On These Cold Days