Tuesday

Nuthatch Love


"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, 

drink the wild air." 

― Ralph Waldo Emerson


The ARTSY Version - HERE 

 

Monday

Tufted Titmouse Love


Commitment leads to action. Action brings your dream closer. 
- Marcia Wieder


Prints and More Available - HERE 

 

Sunday

Celebrating the Carolina Chickadee


Throw your hands up in the air 
and celebrate life.
- Steven Tyler


I liked this image so much I made it available as multiple items in my
"Chickadee Love" shop - HERE 

and available as prints and more
HERE 

Friday

Observing As I Go


So be sure when you step, 
Step with care and great tact. 
And remember that life's 
A Great Balancing Act. 
And will you succeed? 
Yes! You will, indeed! 
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) 
Kid, you'll move mountains. 
 ― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Thursday

Patterns in Nature


With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things.
 ― William Wordsworth

Icy patterns found during a hike.

Print Available - HERE 


Wednesday

Today and Every Day


Peace on Earth, good will to men,
kind thoughts and words of cheer,
are things we should use often 
and not just once a year.
~ Norman Wesley Brooks

Male Cardinal with his feathers blowing in the wind.

Tuesday

Round and Plump


When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world. 
~ Harold Kushner

Female Cardinal puffed up for warmth

Prints, Greeting Cards and More
Available - HERE 

Saturday

Bird Chatter Required


Male Cardinal in the Pines 

In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. 
 ― Lao Tzu 

More Bird Chatter.... Less Mind Chatter

Available for purchase - HERE 


Sunday

Watching and Waiting



Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. 
Where there is hatred, let me sow love, 
Where there is injury, pardon; 
Where there is doubt, faith; 
Where there is despair, hope; 
Where there is darkness, light; 
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
 to be understood as to understand,
 to be loved, as to love.
― St. Francis of Assisi

Friday

Lady In The Snow


Female Cardinal As The Snow Falls 

Print Available - HERE 

Seldom can the heart be lonely, 
If it seek a lonelier still; 
Self-forgetting, seeking only
 Emptier cups of love to fill.
- Frances R. Havergal

Thursday

Dark-Eyed Junco On a Snowy Branch


Our simple acts of kindness, and our good thoughts and intentions, can and will transform the world, one moment at a time, and one person at a time.
 That is the goal. That is the practice. 
- Duane Hewitt

 

Wednesday

A Thrill of Pleasure


White-breasted Nuthatch 

The birds around me hopped and played, 
 Their thoughts I cannot measure: 
- But the least motion which they made 
 It seemed a thrill of pleasure. 
~ William Wordsworth

Monday

Cardinal On Ice


Found this Male Cardinal perched on the icy branches.


Christmas gift suggestions: 
 To your enemy, forgiveness. 
 To an opponent, tolerance. 
 To a friend, your heart. 
 To a customer, service. 
 To all, charity. 
 To every child, a good example. 
 To yourself, respect. 
 ~ Oren Arnold

An Icy Embrace


Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour.  
- John Boswell

The branches and leaves
wrapped snuggly
an icy embrace 


Sunday

Icy Robin

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. 
 ~ Anthony J. D'Angelo

This Robin had some ice accumulating on his tail!  

Saturday

In The Tree With A Treat


Tufted Titmouse in the backyard tree with a nut in his beak

.....only in the winter, in the country, 
can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself. 
~ Ruth Stout


Friday

A Spot of Red On His Head


Male Downy Woodpecker at the Suet Feeder

The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. 
The great opportunity is where you are.
 ― John Burroughs

Thursday

Decorating the Tree


Keep your Christmas-heart open all the year round. 
 ~ Jessica Archmint

Wednesday

Mother Nature In Her Festive Dress


It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.
 - Agnes M. Pharo

I thought this tree draped in berries looked quite lovely....
like it was wearing a Red Dress :)

Behind The Blur


I believe this to be a Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly

If I cease searching, then, woe is me, I am lost. That is how I look at it - keep going, keep going come what may.
 ― Vincent van Gogh

The Artsy Version is - HERE 

Tuesday

A Black and White Bow For My Wreath


White-crowned Sparrow 

A Black and White Bow for My Feeder Wreath.
More info on how I made my 
Bird Feeder Wreath - HERE 

   Remember this, very little is needed to make a happy life.
Marcus Aurelius

Monday

Wet Wren Watching the Rain



All was silent as before — 
All silent save the dripping rain. 
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sunday

December Red


And as to me, I know nothing else but miracles.
 — Walt Whitman

Print Available - HERE 

Saturday

Tufted Titmouse As The Snow Falls

He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter.
~ John Burroughs

Friday

Robin Watching


The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Another berry tossing Robin.  
A highlight of my birding and photography moments have been 
to photograph the berry toss.  

Print Available - HERE 


Thursday

Hem Your Blessings With Thankfulness

 Hem your blessings with thankfulness 
so they don't unravel. 
 ~ Author Unknown

Wednesday

Leaves Covered In Ice




I guess you could say it was a little bit icy 



What a severe yet master artist old Winter is.... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel. 
~ John Burroughs

Tuesday

Icy Weather

The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day. 
 ― Dr. Seuss

Monday

Doing What It Takes

It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action. 
~ Al Batt
I know I've said it before - 
but I really do learn a lot from the animals I observe.   
Not a lazy one in the bunch - 
they always do what it takes!

 Visit the New River Nature Website is
HERE

Sunday

Bluebird of Happiness

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony. 
~ Thomas Merton

Saturday

American Robin - A Favorable Light


Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times and under all circumstances. 
 ~ Saint Vincent de Paul

Friday

Thankful for the Berries


We pray for the big things 
and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, 
small (and yet really not small) gifts. 
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Thankful for the berries and the trees that produce those berries.  Without those trees and berries, I wouldn't be able to watch the beautiful birds that visit.

Print Available - HERE 



Thursday

Out of Darkness Comes Light


Sadness flies on the wings of the morning and out of the heart of darkness comes the light. 
 ~ Jean Giraudoux

Cedar Waxwing in my backyard

Wednesday

White-crowned Sparrow Watching


White-crowned Sparrow 

To look at any thing,
 If you would know that thing, 
 You must look at it long... 
 John Moffitt


Print Available - HERE 

Tuesday

Music of the Earth


The earth has music for those who listen.
~ George Santayana

Monday

The Safe Place


The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
~ Maya Angelou


Available - HERE 

Sunday

Finding Solace


And I firmly believe 
that nature brings solace in all troubles.
- Anne Frank

Saturday

Always Make Time For Laughter



Tufted Titmouse - Bisset Park - Radford Virginia

If you are too busy to laugh, you are too busy. 
~ Proverb


Friday

Blue Jay Bokeh


Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished. 
 ~ Michael Strassfeld

~ Life Lessons from Light ~ 

More about Bokeh - HERE 

Thursday

Limitless Possibilities


White-breasted Nuthatch

Be grateful for the precious gift of life with its limitless possibilities. 
 ~ Wilferd Peterson

Wednesday

A Little Red Blessing


Sometimes I need 
only to stand 
wherever I am 
 to be blessed. 
 — Mary Oliver

Male Cardinal in the trees off of my back deck.


Tuesday

No Fear

You can’t let fear and indecision sink your creativity— they do not easily release their hold. 
 ― Richie Norton

Squirrels are one of the most fearless animals I have ever watched.
They have no fear in launching off in new directions at a moments notice.
They have no fear in reaching for something that looks completely out of reach.
They have no fear when it comes to taking that Big Jump when their destination is obscure.  
They just do it.
I can learn a lot from squirrels!!

More of my Squirrel Images - HERE 

Monday

American Robin Wing Wave


We change the world a little each day 
with our kindness.
~ Tom Giaquinto

Sunday

Down The Hatch


All of us are watchers – 
of television, of time clocks, 
of traffic on the freeway – 
but few are observers. 
Everyone is looking, 
not many are seeing. 
~ Peter M. Leschak

When I first saw this shot the first thing that came to mind that berry is going  "Down the Hatch".  And that got me wondering where that phrase came from.  In a bit of internet research I found out this:

"a drinking expression that seems to have its origins in sea freight, where cargoes are lowered into the hatch. First used by seamen, it has only been traced back to the turn of the century."
This info found at Naval History and Heritage

I remember saying this as I would try to coax my kids to take their medicine when they were little too.

Saturday

To Fly Toward A Secret Sky

This is love: 
to fly toward a secret sky, 
to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. 
First to let go of life. 
Finally, to take a step without feet.
 ― Rumi

Friday

Trio of Colors


Colors are the smiles of nature. 
 - Leigh Hunt

Thursday

Tame Your Thoughts



From restless thoughts, that, like a deadly swarm 
Of hornets arm'd, no sooner found alone, 
But rush upon me thronging. 
~ John Milton

Sometimes this is exactly how I feel about my thoughts.....they are restless, they rush upon me, and many many times they are negative!  I am constantly telling myself to "tame my thoughts" - and nothing tames them better than a walk in nature.  

~ Painted Lady Butterfly   ~ 

 

Wednesday

Mockingbird Gets In On the Berry Action




He that would have the fruit 
must climb the tree.
~ Dr. Thomas Fuller

The Mockingbird getting in on the berry action in my back yard.

Tuesday

Invasion Of The Berry Snatchers


Berries will always bring the birds!




The Starlings have never been a nuisance in my yard and never pick the tree clean.  The Robins and Waxwings have been getting their fair share too.
I am happy to have all that visit!!

A guest never forgets the host who had treated him kindly. 
~ Homer