Before we get started, allow me to offer transportation to the old "Grouse & Chortle," for a nominal fee. All it will cost is a modicum of time. Absolutely no charge for the chuckles. Like gnomes? Want a peek into the secret life of gnomes? Click on "New Year's Eve in Glittery Wood" for the celebration.
A Little Winter Miscellany
on a Frigid January Day...
Click on any photo, for the gigantic,
in-depth view... have fun!
When you're greeted with a 6º reading at 10 AM, it's time to head back inside (after filling the feeders), to huddle in the warm kitchen. Since I'd just hung the last suet cake, and since I could find no raw suet in the stores, it was time to get down to some serious cooking.And here (ta-dah!) are the results!
I melted down fat I'd been saving in the freezer and added shortening, as well. I then stirred in about 1/2 of a large jar of chunky peanut butter. After this combo cooled further, I added a container of hominy grits, a large container of bread crumbs, half a container of cornmeal, half a box of raisins (plumped up over steam), chopped peanuts and mixed birdseed. I then added flour, until the right consistency was reached... you need muscles for this recipe, as the final product should be a stiff dough. Pressed into recycled suet cake holders and other containers, it made enough for eight cakes.
A bird's eye view! Now, what self-respecting, hungry, fat-seeking, cholesterol-relishing songbird wouldn't like these? They were then wrapped and popped into the freezer... next time one of the suet cages is empty, we'll try these out ~ let's hope it's a popular menu item!
Lucy's noontime outing (by now it was a tropical 12º!) revealed many subjects, just waiting for an amateur photographer. I obliged. I discovered that my beloved icicles, now gone from the roof, were alive and well and living on my shrubs... cascading down from juniper, to smokebush and rose-of-sharon and thence onto the 'Blue Princess' holly.
This one looks like some sort of jewelry ~a pendant, perhaps?
Like some kind of ice fossils.
Great globs of icicles,anchored firmly to the snow beneath.
The midday sun felt good, even at 12º F.
My Hinoki Cypress is still frosted from the last storm.
Melting snow of several days ago,has turned into mini icicles.
Back inside, after poor Lucy's little tootsies got too cold. We had lunch, then it was time to start playing with photos.
I couldn't resist sharing some of my favorites...
I mentioned, earlier, that I had icicles -do I ever have icicles!
So, you'll find a few more here.
Lucy, after one of our recent storms, wondering why"Mom" hasn't shoveled her granite steps, yet. After all,
they provide access to the feeding stations and prime
squirrel hunting grounds.
"Nightcicles" ~ taken while hanging out of a backwindow around midnight... a personal favorite.
"Corlisscicles" ~ Taken at the nursery,one intensely bright day.
Backyard Detective at work!
Christmas Eve
New Year's Eve, as yet another storm begins.
Behind a veil of falling snow, starlings gather,staging a raid on the suet feeders.
Frosty storm door reveals intricate patterns...
Are they snowflakes or ferns? They remind me of both.
'Golden Girl' holly, recovering after anotherof Mother Nature's windfalls.
Yup! Won't be long now, before we're enjoyingour little patio, off the cellar... reading, rocking.
But, not just yet, thank you! Brrr!
Go ahead, pull up a seat - put your feet up! Help yourself to a nice slice of my snow layer cake!
(A little ironic that this "cake" is actually
my copper fire pit, eh?)
Wasn't that cake to your liking? Well, try this one, then!
Or, go out front and check out this cake pedestal.
Oh, no... my cake has fallen! Actually, time to fill it withwater, as this is the birdbath kept open in the winter.
Although at 12º, it won't stay open for long.
Sorry - couldn't help myself!(I realize not everyone shares my enthusiasm for
these crystals - it all started when I was a child and
our old, drafty windows became gloriously frosted,
when the temperatures plunged.)
GardenAuthor's summer office is not open for business,nor is the birdwatching/squirrelwatching bench.
However, the grumpy bulldog stands guard over
the winter landscape.
Dripping icicles...notice the 4th from the left has just dripped
(no mean feat to capture these, either!)
Another obsession - night snow!
I just love the giant, ridged ones!
Juvenile Cooper's Hawk... saved the best for last!Unfortunately, he's discovered the feeding stations,
but has yet to eat the songbirds. This is my best bird
photo, to date... he was about 20' from my window.
Deadly, but gorgeous!
Remember those starlings in the snowstorm?
Maybe he'll find them tasty... they arrive in
herds (not flocks) and wipe out all the food,
scaring away the nice birds. So, I say - help
yourself to starlings, "Cooper!"
All Text & Photos: ©Deb Lambert 2009
14 comments:
I absolutely lost myself in your pictures. Wonderful crystals. Made my own suet(sp) this year. No song birds yet, sigh.
Aunt Debbi/kurts mom ~ Welcome! Thanks for dropping by and leaving your kind comments.
Have you tried sprinkling a little birdseed below the suet feeders? They'll usually spy it, as they fly over the yard, then investigate other food sources, like suet and feeders. Proximity to plant cover is also important.
Best of luck with that suet and keep warm! ...Deb
These are really gorgeous, as usual! Makes me not whine a bit about our mid-20's yesterday. (New pup hates the cold wet grass!)
What wonderful pictures! I love your crystals. And those icicles!! Can't blame you for wanting to photograph all of this. I would have been out there, ignoring my aches and pains, needing to take more and more pictures. I'd be sorry afterwards, but I'd have pictures! It is all so beautiful!
Bobbie ~ That's exactly what happens. I get so frantic about capturing everything at the right time, in the right light... I put off thinking about the arthritis and fibromyalgia and only when my previously frost-bitten fingertips start acting up, do I finally go indoors. And it is worth it, once I import everything into iPhoto.
Thanks so much for you comments about the photos and keep clicking away, yourself!
Angie ~ Mid-20's... isn't that pretty cold for you? Wait a minute - what new pup? What did I miss? I'll be by, tomorrow.
Glad you enjoyed the pics!
P.S. It was 2º this morning... my teeth are still chattering.
Yes, I think Lucy is wanting you to shovel those steps for sure, she is like my little dachsund, doesn't like to get her little feet wet or in the snow. I love those suet cakes. I was just thinking I need to finally make some too. Another chore, as if I don't have enough already! Where does all the time go? Oh yes, I know, blogging. lol
Tina ~ you're right... time flies and it's still winter. The cooking for birds, writing, blogging and photography - a nice way to pass the winter, but spring's a-coming!
You have happy birds!!! (and a feeling of satisfaction,no doubt!) :-)
Deb, please stay far away from those icicles! My husband had a near disastrous run-in with one a couple of weeks ago... narrowly missed his eye and resulted in a total of 9 stitches on his face!
Shady ~ I remember your previous warning (what an awful experience), but am never in any danger when photographing my latest obsession. I'm hanging out windows, in back of them, or well out in front. Long as I don't take a header out the window, I'm good!
Yes, I must admit to having a yard full of happy birds... and squirrels (except when Lucy's on the hunt).
Beautiful images! I like the "Nightsicles" one the best, too.
Kylee ~ Thanks! It's been a photogenic winter. I see we have similar taste in photos.
So different than here. We had a balmy 60is degrees yesterday. I wish I had gone and gotten the mulch I need for the spring flowers.
It is pretty during those storms and you seem to appreciate them. I guess it is quiet and magical. We've has such a mild winter that activity is such an ongoing noisy thing. It's not bad noise but it isn't the quiet of a traffic stopping snow storm.
Your icicles are entertaining.
Anna ~ Sixties? A week ago, we had 2º, but today we're enjoying the twenties... a real heat wave! It'll be a while before we're thinking mulch, in these parts.
I do enjoy the snow, especially with the dog, backyard birds and camera - so many shots to capture. I have to assume that our landscapes are reveling in a well-deserved rest, beneath their blanket of snow.
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