Black-headed Grosbeak

I had bought some cheaper bird food at Costco one time, but nothing attracts birds to our back yard like "So Sweet a Song" feed that I get at our local Backyard Birds! Buntings, sparrows, finches, and now Black-Headed Grosbeaks along with Scrub Jays, starlings and others come by for this wonderful mixture! Evening Grosbeaks are yet to come but will be here.

Not too bad for a >100% crop and taken through the kitchen window handheld at 300mm.

Minnesota - last day

We had a very restful Saturday in the Northwoods. Visited a few familiar places, coffee at the Front Porch, afternoon nap, dinner at the Junction in Babbit. It turns out that Saturday was not a good day to leave from Duluth after all due to fog, so hopefully today will be better.
Sitting on the deck outside the lodge to use their wifi, finches, sparrows of all types, jays, and many others are singing their hearts out. Snowshoe rabbits with just a bit of white still on the bottoms of their feet are playing nearby. The wood smoke from their boiler fills the air with the sharp smell of burnt wood. A fisherman staying here told me that the grouse are drumming but haven't heard them yet.

Here's a few of the photos from yesterday from our travels and play.  

Diana on the dock enjoying the quiet - framed by new buds on the maple branches.

Mom's final resting place between her husband and her parents.

A sweet young doe curious about humans.

Woody Woodpecker seeking food.

Afternoon reflections on a pond in the overcast weather.

Two examples of growths that are common on (usually) dead trees in this area.

Evening reflections framed by birches.

Minnesota Day 2

Mom's funeral service went well, sun came out and embraced us after an iffy start to the day. We came back to the lodge after spending some time with the folks that came to the service - some great memories shared together.
After drinks on our patio with Sandy and Alison, we all had dinner at Ely Steakhouse - great waitress and good food. Then back to the lodge just in time to capture the sunset.
In the west we are used to wide open spaces, so I was glad to have the openness of the lake here to combine with the sunset. Lots of songbirds - here's a white-throated sparrow. Check out it's song if you get a chance - haunting and beautiful.

White-throated sparrow tousled by the wind.

Earlier we had two bald eagles sitting in those aspen.

The last sunset hurrah!

Hanging around in Northern Minnesota

Diana and I are up in Ely, Minnesota, for Mom's funeral today. It was a good day, good service, great words said by all. So wonderful to see old friends and relatives and hear stories about folks no longer with us.
Couple of photos for you - we are staying out on Bear Island Lake about 10 miles out of Ely. It's quiet although not yet spring here - ice has just gone off the lake. Lots of different songbirds, plus bald eagles, merlins, and ducks. Loons are somewhere, not yet heard from. Spring peepers are out in force with a beautiful chorus to put us to sleep every night.
We're staying over until Sunday so tomorrow we plan on a very quiet day - probably do a canoe ride  on the lake later in the day dependent on weather.

Steps down from our place to the boat dock.

Folks create a sign if they want and post it!

Looking back up at the lodge from the boat docks.

Water graffiti - very nice.

Boat docks at 10pm - wonderful blueness up here.

Beautiful morning prayer

Diana and Christina created a Quiet Day for some 15 people here at the house last Saturday. One of the items that I created for them is this prayer on this photo.
Sunrise as seen from the Black Sand Beach in Hawaii is the backdrop. John O'Donohue is the author and this is titled "Matins"

Hiking again!

Summer heat is here and Murphy and I are traveling up to 'Murphy's Place' up by Jeremy Ranch. Here he can run to his heart's content and then stand in the water to cool off and drink his fill. It is a wonderful place for both dog and boy!
Tri-colored blackbirds, Red-tailed Hawks, ground squirrels, bees, etc., all abound for the watchful eye to see. Here's a few of my favorites from Saturday.

Adventures with Carmen

I've been fortunate to be able to spend a bit of time with Carmen this week. Yesterday she came over and brought her camera, saying she wanted to be 'like Uncle Gerry'! So we put new batteries in her camera and off she went taking pictures like a photographing fool!  Just like Uncle Gerry!
We took a trip over to Pirate Island where she gets to play in the dandelions and whatever and Murphy gets to stand in the stream as long as he wants! Here's a few shots from our adventures.

Photographer Girl

On our way to Pirate Island

Pirate Island

Blowing Dandelion seeds!

Floating sticks down the stream

Always watchful Murphy - wet also!

Dancing practice in the meadow

Double rainbow we watched while we ate pizza on the deck.