My Bird Feeder is Not in Vain!

Finally! I've had my bird feeder up since October and had no luck attracting birds to it. I even upgraded the seed after doing some research. Yesterday, I checked the feeder and noticed some of the seeds were gone. I wasn't sure if it was because birds were actually eating them or if the wind just blew some away. Well, this morning I was sitting at the window when I noticed a cute, fluffed up bird sitting on the air conditioning unit. I went to grab my camera but once I was all set to take his picture he flew away. I was totally bummed but then I noticed where he flew to. My bird feeder! He ate a bunch of seeds while I tried to take his photo by climbing between our Christmas tree and the window. Of course, he ate on the side where I couldn't get a good view of him but at least I know he was there and maybe he'll bring friends with him the next time he visits. I identified him as a male Dark-eyed Junco. Since I couldn't get a decent picture of him, here's a link to a collection of photos another woman in Northeast Ohio has of all the birds on her farm. It's pretty cool to see the variety. Northeast Ohio Birds

What do Pyros do for fun in the Winter?

Melt things. I ended up with this candle from a White Elephant gift exchange (which was totally fun) and instead of just throwing it away, I decided to use if for entertainment. Did I mention my dad is a Firefighter? It's genetic.

Icicles Everywhere!

Well I didn't get to go to the park to take pictures of how awesome everything looks covered in ice, but I do have this photo of our Crabapple tree. We had an ice storm the other night and when I woke up in the morning everything was covered in a layer of ice. The trees along the highway look amazing! We had 2 inches of solid ice. It's like an ice skating rink the parking lot at my work. What's kind of entertaining is when you walk everything goes, crunch, crunch, crunch. Unless you step on the more slippery patches where the ice is compacted down. I try to avoid those.

Artic Air = Very Cold!

Guess what today's windchill is supposed to get down to . . . -15 degrees! Yes, that's NEGATIVE 15 degrees. There's actually a warning that if you're going to go outside have all exposed skin covered to prevent frostbite. When I took Mya out this morning the wind chill was -2. It was so cold my mind didn't really register how cold it was. What's kind of funny, well to me not to most people, is when you walk outside when it's snowing and windy you get plastered with snow like you were rolling around in it. I also shovel and scrape ice off of the driveway for fun so maybe my idea of fun isn't exactly normal. Here's a blurry picture of me the last time we went to the outdoor mall (like a small Victoria Gardens) and it was windy and snowing.

Winter vs Spring

I stopped at Berea Falls today which I posted about in the Spring. I'll have to photograph it again in Summer and Fall so you can see all four Seasons. Isn't it amazing how different it looks? Comparing Spring with Winter makes the Winter photo look like it's black and white.

The Best Part About Naked Trees

Now that all the trees are missing their leaves you can see right through the woods. This makes it so much easier to spot deer. Today I saw a large herd all eating together. See how many you can find in the photo of the group. Another hiker and I counted 8 but I don't think I captured them all in the photo.

Snow in the Metroparks

Derrick and I drove through the Metroparks today. The beauty of the snow makes up for all the leaves missing from the trees. I have a lot of pictures so this post is going to be broken up into 3 posts. Check out the frozen water! On the sides of the cliffs where water normally trickles down icicles have formed. I was going to take a picture but we're supposed to have an ice storm tonight so Derrick told me to wait for some better ones.

Snowflakes!

I was sitting at a red light on my way to work this past week when I looked out my window and noticed I could see snowflakes collecting on my windshield. I had no idea you can see snowflakes without a microscope! The next day I had off from work so I had Derrick stand outside and hold up a pair of my black, cotton shorts while I photographed the snowflakes collecting on it. The picture above is made up of all the best looking snowflakes I photographed. I pasted them all onto one picture in photoshop. You can fit about two snowflakes on your pinkie nail.

Seeing snow really is amazing. I never understood when people talked about the different types of snow until I saw it for myself. The snow I photographed looked like confetti. When the snow has more moisture to it and all the snowflakes stick together it looks like God was washing dishes, scooped up the bubbles in His hand and blew them down onto the Earth. Then, there is this really weird snow that looks like little styrofoam balls. It bounces when it hits the ground. People keep asking me how I'm doing with the snow and they're surprised when I tell them I'm having a great time. Life is an adventure.