First crocuses! They popped up on Thursday. Click to enlarge. |
They are proof that spring is beginning to waken. Only 19 days until it officially begins. I think that it will be extra nice this year. |
First crocuses! They popped up on Thursday. Click to enlarge. |
They are proof that spring is beginning to waken. Only 19 days until it officially begins. I think that it will be extra nice this year. |
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So this crow lands on my lawn. Then two more. But then they all flew away. |
It was an attempted murder.
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Although, technically, it's only a murder if you have probable caws. |
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But seriously folks, what's this about Botox being good for crow's feet? |
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Click on the photos to enlarge. |
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Brought to you by the American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos, or as friends call him, Vel. Vel Crow. |
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Happy Lunar New Year! We're having an unusually holiday-rich week. |
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We're also celebrating Lincoln's Birthday. |
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And Washington's Birthday. |
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...which makes me think of cherry trees. Click to enlarge. |
And today is Valentine's Day. Here's a wreath I made to celebrate. Happy Valentine's Day! |
All helping us get through this cold gray month. This mourning dove looks ready for spring. |
We had a great snowstorm this week. Click to enlarge. |
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Can you see the sparrow? I was attracted by the activity and might not have seen the brown bird in the dark shadows. |
Although white-throated sparrows seem inconspicuous right now, just look at this male from a few years ago in his bright spring breeding plumage. It won't be long. |
Looking For a Sunset Bird in Winter
by Robert Frost
I'm looking forward to the return of the mockingbird's song. Click to enlarge. |
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This statue is on the elm-shaded Literary Walk in Central Park in New York City. Below is a very restrained list of some fragments of famous Burns poems, ending with my favorite. |
"The best laid schemes o' Mice and Men,
Gang aft agley.
And lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!"...
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"O, wad some Power the gifte gie us
To see ourselves as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion." ...
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"And man, whose heav'n-erected face
The smiles of love adorn
Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn!" ...
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"My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,
My heart's in the Highlands wherever I go." ...
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Heather! Get your whiskey out! Click on the photos to enlarge. |
I saw my first snowdrop of the year this week. I know it is still far off, but this is the first sign that spring is coming. Easy to see why the snowdrop is a symbol of hope. |
The genus name of snowdrops is Galanthus. From that we get a word for snowdrop enthusiasts like me -- Galantophiles. Click to enlarge. |
Here is a famous poem from fellow Galantophile, William Wordsworth:
To A Snowdrop
Lone flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they
But hardier far, once more I see thee bend
Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend,
Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,
Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, waylay
The rising sun, and on the plains descend;
Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend
Whose zeal outruns his promise! Blue-eyed May
Shall soon behold this border thickly set
With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing
On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers;
Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,
Chaste Snowdrop, venturous harbinger of Spring,
And pensive monitor of fleeting years!
More coming! |