Birds Theme: Pic #6

The geese and the gulls had the beach to themselves, I guess, on a sunny day last Fall. Ken and I spotted these feathered flocks on the shore of Lake Erie when we paused our Vienna orchards tour and drove to Port Burwell for lunch.

Birds Theme: Pic #5

A couple of springs ago, I enjoyed watching this Mrs. Robin do her work in the nest while I did mine in the flowerbed below her. She seemed to fix her soft and motherly eye on me, which gave me a sort of companion-y feeling. 

Birds Theme: Pic #4

This golden rooster perches atop a church just outside the walls of Jerusalem. The building, called The Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (cock's crow), commemorates the biblical Peter's triple denial of Jesus, his repentance, and his reconciliation with Christ after the Resurrection. This place is also believed to be the location of the palace of the High Priest Caiaphas. It was another site we visited while on our Israel Tour that helped to make the Bible stories come alive. 

Birds Theme: Pic #3

This protective mama nests in approximately the same area every spring. Last year, soon after I took this photo of her on her nest, giving me the wary eyeball, something tragic happened to the clutch of eggs. It appeared to me that some wild creature had helped itself to dinner one night. I hope to see the bird parent pair back at our pond in a few months, attempting to raise another brood. And here's to their success!

Birds Theme: Pic #2

This little sparrow sitting on an orchard post and singing in the rain last summer reminds me of a fun song I learned in school as a 5th-grader. "If I were a little bird, happy would I be...tee-mee eye tee-mee um-a-tum, tee-mee um-a-tee...I'd be a merry bird - say, wouldn't you?"

Week #46 Theme: Birds

Mourning Doves are a common sight around here this time of year. Sometimes, if they sit in one spot too long, they get a light dusting of snow - like this bird. I shiver when I think of being in his feathers. Then again, I guess it wouldn't matter, if I had myself a built-in downy parka like that to fluff up around me.

Snow Theme: Pic #7

I have heard of a hole in the heart, but I have to conclude that this a heart in the hole instead. Could one also describe this phenomenon, a natural snow formation on our deck railing in recent days, as (w)hole-hearted decoration?