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Tag Archives: dead trees

Rocks Water Ice

And dogs. I had to go to the Okanogan to do some business yesterday and a friend suggested a short field trip to look for birds. I could hardly turn it down given that there are almost no birds around here, not even at the feeders. It was nice to be somewhere that was nearly without snow although it was cold and windy and ice was forming in the littlest places. We saw a few ducks and Bald Eagles and magpies. Geology of the place is very different from here. You really should click through the photos to see the rock details. The dogs were happy to get their feet wet. I did not encourage them to go swimming. They also were delighted to find lots of sticks of various sizes!

Trees

What do you see here?

Remember Summer?

Remember the long warm days of summer? Night skies full of endless stars and a comet too? T shirts, shorts and sandals? Oh yeah. This is the time of winter when it seems that summer will never come. Living under pandemic rules for nearly a year, making each day seem more or less the same, doesn’t help. Well, here’s a memory of summer.

Lewis’s Woodpeckers nested on our hill last year. It was a first for us. The dead trees that burned in 2014 must have finally reached the point of good rot for easy cavity excavating. There were probably four of the colorful woodpeckers but I never saw more than three at a time. There were at least two different cavities that were in use. I photographed them over the course of a couple of days in July til I got distracted by the comet and camping activities. Just yesterday I finally got round to processing those images. There were over 400!

I think it’s worth it to click through all of the images to enjoy the colors and movements of the Lewis’s Woodpeckers. They are an exotic looking bird for this part of the world.

 

Social Distancing After Dark

In the wee morning hours, I went outside and tried to learn some new techniques. Let’s just say, I have a long ways to go. Still, I came back with some pretty pictures. I also need a new place to practice my night photography. I was looking forward to spring travels but now, all that is cancelled. We were supposed to go to Florida this Saturday and to Utah in May. I wonder when we will get a chance to see new, or old favorite, places again. Yes, I am feeling very sad but grateful for my health and grateful that I have my husband and two dogs to share my life. I hope all of you are well and taken care of.

I started and finished here
Neighbor’s house
Blue hour sneaks up on me.
A small plane took off from the airport during the blue hour before dawn.
I started and finished here

December Day

December weather has not been ‘normal’. But what is normal anymore? Normally there would be lots of precipitation, mostly snow, and fairly mild temperatures. There was early snow and then it just got cold with a thick inversion that kept the sunshine away for the most part. The snow on the ground has begun to lose its moisture and shrink.

Lucky me, I went away for nine days to sunny Arizona and while it wasn’t particularly warm most of the time, it was pleasant for the most part. Today was the first day back so the dogs and I got out a couple of times to see what had changed while I was away. Not much. It’s not a colorful world.

Photos from Arizona will show up here in a day or two.

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