Winter Bird

 

Dark-eyed juncos are visiting my seed feeders and poking around in the leaves seeking seeds -- their primary winter food. They are northern birds that spend summers in Canada and farther north. You may be cold right now, but the juncos are enjoying our relatively mild temperatures, lighter snow cover, and all the nice bird feeders of suburbia. Click to enlarge.

Welcome to the backyard, winter bird! 

Winter Solstice

Today, on the last day of autumn, the sun set at 4:40:28 in Philadelphia. Tomorrow, it will set at 4:40:59. The days may grow colder as we head into winter, but also pleasantly longer. Click to enlarge the sun going down over the New Jersey Pine Barrens. 

 

Snow Day

 

It snowed all last night, and when the sun came up, the trees had been transformed. 

Some of them looked like giant snowflakes. 

Then the wind started blowing the snow off the trees. It seemed to be snowing all over again, except for being blue and sunny. Click to enlarge. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote, "A few feathery flakes are scattered widely through the air, and hover downward with uncertain flight, now almost alighting on the earth, now whirled again aloft into remote regions of the atmosphere." As if he'd spent the day looking out my windows.

At sunset, some of the treetops were still draped in snow. They lit up wintry pink like this. What a beautiful day! 

Farm Visit

 

I visited the Lots of Love Farm Animal Sanctuary in Williamstown, NJ, today, where I petted, photographed, and fed healthy snacks of seeds and grain to the residents. Here's a pretty pony. And a few of my favorites... 

A handsome cow. Click to enlarge.

Roaming ducks. 

An emu. 

And a rhea, that's a big flightless bird that resembles the emu, but is from South America instead of Australia. Rheas are usually grayish brown. This one has a genetic condition called leucism, which makes its feathers white and eyes blue. He is quite a special bird! 

This camel expertly grabbed my food bucket and challenged me to a tug of war. Clever camel.

And speaking of clever. There are lots and lots of cute little goats wandering the grounds, accepting snacks and taking advantage when opportunities arise.

Like when I put my food bucket on a picnic table for a moment while I bent to take a picture of this lovely pig. While I was doing so... a little goat climbed on the table and from there hopped onto my back! 

While we were distracted, another little goat climbed the table and raided my snacks. The whole thing was loads of fun, and I smiled and laughed the whole time I was there. It was more like visiting a farm (with exceptionally cute animals) than a petting zoo. I'm glad that all the animals there ended up in such a caring home.