Still Snowing

It's still snowing in Eldersburg. We went out for a walk around 4 p.m. and of course to take some photographs. We measured around six inches on the ground at that time. The roads in the area are snow covered and half of the vehicles on the road are driving way to fast. A pair of cardinals showed up looking for dinner. The male cardinal's are pretty against the white background. Shirley and I had a good walk and are in for the evening. I will use the snow blower in the morning. Time to curl up with a good book and a good women. I am lucky I have both.

A Snowy Saturday

It's snowing again in the Eldersburg area of Carroll County. The weatherman said a dusting or maybe up to an inch. At 1:30 p.m. I measured 2.75 inches that had already fallen. I swept off the sidewalk and it was white before I got back to the house.
It is so beautiful outside. It looks like a post card no matter what way you turn.
The birds and squirrels are both feeding on the bird food. It is fun to watch our feathered friends take turns on the sunflower seeds. The finches flock to the feeder together.
So grab your camera and capture some memories of winter.

Gettysburg Again

I had to run to Gettysburg this week to deliver some images to Celebrate Gettysburg magazine, so I took another trip around the battlefield. An even shorter trip then the last time I was in Gettysburg, which was two weeks ago. The cold front that was coming through gave a great sky. The clouds were beautiful and added a lot to the images. While traveling through the battlefield I saw a hawk and got a couple of images of the bird. I love to visit Gettysburg, even if it's for only a few minutes.

It's A Girl or Three

Shirley received a note from a friend about two weeks ago, "You guys want to take pictures of a goat giving birth?" So, hey why not? It's great to watch nature at work.
The rest of the world was watching a bear on the Internet (Shirley was watching it also).
Finally Sunday afternoon we got a call that this evening may be it. We ate dinner with Ian and Becca and the grandchildren. Madison and Emma were showing Shirley how to dance on the Wii, when we got the call it was time. So off we went to the other side of Gamber.
I saw cows, horses and pigs giving birth on the farm, but goats were something new to me. The babies were a little bigger than what I expected, but it was a great time.
Mama goat gave birth to three girls. They were a little unsure of their feet and it was fun to watch mama clean them up.
We would like to thank Dave and Jacki for inviting us to the blessed event.

Squirrels

Squirrels have been called rodents with bushy tails, a name they have worked hard to earn, but they are fun to watch. The squirrels at our house must have an alarm in the bird feeder. They seem to arrive within minutes when the feeders are filled.
Last year I picked up a bucket of walnuts. I put them next to the house to dry for a couple of days in the sun. Yeah, right. I went back three days and two-thirds of the nuts were gone.
The bucket was surrounded by pieces of shells. I never got a thank you card for collecting the nuts.
The squirrels have damaged bird houses hanging around the house. They have eaten at the hole so they can get in. There is an image of a squirrel at work and another of the damage. I will replace the front of the houses next month before the birds arrive.
We watch them jump from tree to tree to arrive at the bird feeder or the front porch. They love the cat food on the porch and the cat watches them eat the food. She chases chipmunks from the food, but squirrels are another matter.
The squirrels can be seen trying to find new ways to get into the bird feeders. They like to dump out the sunflower seed feeder. I now have the top wired shut which has stopped the dumping, but they still try and I am sure they will figure it out.
They were fun to watch after the big snow. They were no where to be found while the flakes were falling.
When the snow stopped, they went to work. They dug a tunnel from the base of a tree to the bird feeder. The first time I saw one pop-up, I wasn't quite sure what I saw.
I had never saw squirrels dig a tunnel before. You can see the tunnel in a few of the images. I guess they have a little Steve McQueen in them.