Friday, November 30, 2018

Friday’s Start of the Day....


This is the end of a very pink sunrise.  I keep posting shots that would have been greater if I had been able to take it 20 minutes earlier. I am out with Barney in the front of the house again and it was changed by the time I got back into get the camera.

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Fluffy Clouds......


It doesn’t take a large amount of clouds to get a good looking sky scene.  The day had been warming and the clouds were affected by that temperature change.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

First One for the Season......


I was too lazy to plug in the lights so I will have to take another later to show it lighted.  The stuff animals have a lot of history and the majority are bears. Rabbits, raccoons and dogs have blended in to the originally themed teddy bear tree.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Camouflage.......


I needed a place to temporarily store this old iron wheel.  It worked great to lean it among the vines and it worked like a trellis.  Now after the hard freezes the dead vines and wheel seem to blend together. I had stored iron wheels and milk cans for my brother-in-law until he could find a place to put them at his house.  Nothing happened in which he still has not come to take his share of them back to his house, so I have moved them all to the new house.  I have milk cans stashed here and there and two wheels out in the garden area.  One wagon wheel sits in the garage.

Monday, November 26, 2018

Man on the Roof......


A seasonal photo is one of seeing men on their house putting up lights for Christmas decoration. I didn’t get shots of the other guys on their roof peaks but this one seemed to be too easy not to take. The house has Iowa State colors of lights, red and gold, that are all over the house.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Grandsons’ Shoes...

They come for a visit and the shoes are the door.  Today they wore their shoes to get breakfast and they are headed east again to go home.

Friday, November 23, 2018

Company.....


The next day after Thanksgiving. They both have grown up a lot since their last visit. Lots of food has been eaten and lots of playing with toys has been accomplished.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Frosty Morning.......


Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  The weather for today will be good. We are coated with frost and it makes a great sight on my neighbors yard. The sky is clear and the sun shines brightly.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Six Days Ago......


I was just sharing the photo of the day moon about six days ago. The clouds have hindered me seeing it change as well as to getting photos.  When it was about three fourths full the clouds kept coming and going blocking any really good shots.  Last night it was a clear sky and early evening I caught a shot. I didn’t think it looked so completely full but by ten at night it sure looked like it was in a complete full moon stage.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Morning Glow.....



The sun glow is causing the clouds to have great colors against that blue sky. It is a cold morning but the sun shining makes it seem warmer.

Monday, November 19, 2018

Amaryllis .........


There will be eight blooms all together that will eventually bloom. It took two years for it to bloom and it really is going to doing it up big. There are two blooms open and they are on opposite sides of the stem.


Sunday, November 18, 2018

Predator of the Neighborhood....



The peregrine falcon was on the move Saturday afternoon.  I had seen him fly by quickly on the tail of a bird.  He hung around and kept making attempt to grab a meal but he didn’t succeed.

Last week we were sitting in the living room when we heard a huge crashing sound. It was this bird hitting our living room  window.  My wife said he was all spread out with his wings as he hit the glass.  He then bounce out and tried to go back through the sliding glass window.  By the time I had been able to look out I could see him sitting out on the fence trying to get back his bearings.  He is a beautiful bird but I just don’t like his eating style.

Saturday, November 17, 2018

The Feeder.....


My wife snapped a photo of my feeder showing the squirrel feeder fits the bill for this guy. It is the kind of feeder that I will have to scatter seed each day so he won’t be able to gobble down lots of seeds.


The birds are now getting use to the tray feeder. The house finch and junco were eating at one time with a sparrow.

Friday, November 16, 2018

Found the Moon.....


The sky for me has been empty with no moon at all. Yesterday I realized one of the reason why I had not been seeing it. It comes up in the morning and sets in the early night.  I kept looking and I did finally see it the evening before behind trees and houses, low in the sky.


I did see this moon last evening way low in the sky. The clouds were obscuring the view most of the time.  It was like a Halloween moon as it could be seen between the moving fluffy clouds.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Early Morning Shadow.......


It seems a little distorted to have such a long shadow but it really is stretching long.  It isn’t so early in the morning but the sun is still low just moving above the neighbor’s fence. It is frosty out there as the grass does crunch  underneath footsteps.  Our windchill is 14 degrees F.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

House Finch...


Among all the sparrows, one house finche braves the crowd to get some seed.  I am surprised that there are not more out there but they may be eating out in the wild weed patches.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Taking a Break........


When the house is just too warm, the Barney dog finds the closest spot next to the cold sliding glass door. He is slow and old.  He loves just the simplest things now. He can get up on his own but not on the hardwood floors. We throw a throw rug in front of him and he sits up, somewhat, and I pull on his color to help boost him up on all fours. You always know he is happy as he wags his tail. He walks very slowly and yet goes to the favorite spots in the yard.  He is still stubborn enough to show me where he wants to go when I don’t want to go there. He was so glad to see our youngest son when he visited a couple of days.

Monday, November 12, 2018

A Glance in the Garage...


Walking through the garage, after taking shots outside, I saw this informal view. We enjoy our former owners' quilt pattern on the wall.

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Veterans Day



It is a crisp cold morning in our town this Veterans Day. The sky has thin regular patterned clouds in it with not a breeze to move things around. The bright sun seems like a strange visitor after the days of cold, light snow, and bad wind chills. I really would have liked a little breeze to get that flag moving around a bit.

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Saturday Morning......a Great Start.


The view southeast shows a subtle blue sky with a few hits of pink. It is about 6:30 in the morning and minutes before this I could see mars.  The angle of the sunlight changed so quickly that mars just vanished from view. It is a frosty morning with the grass crunching under foot. While out early this morning with Barney, I could hear one of the first flights of a passenger jet flying out of the airport south of us. Other than the sound of the jet the morning is cold and quiet.


Friday, November 9, 2018

Friday with Flurries...


I have my arsenal of feeders out and ready to go.  The snow will bring them in as it accumulates on the ground. While I was out with Barney this morning it started to snow. Barney wears the snow into the house where it instantly melts.

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Ice...Yes!


I knew it was cold but I had not thought about what it was doing to open water.  The birdbath was solid ice.  A bucket with a little water was frozen and the wheel barrow full of rain water had surface ice on it. I should not of been surprised but I was. I did get my last two pots of flowers brought in a couple of days ago.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Junco Migration.......


One of my first visitors from the north country.  The Junco migrates south when it gets too cold in Minnesota and Canada.  to our area.  As cold as it gets here, I do wonder why they don’t fly further south as Iowa is not so hot in the winter.


They do come for the free food at my place.  I am glad to see them out there all winter.  So far I can only see this one for sure. I do know that there will be more.

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Breakfast Feast....


I placed a container to hold seed for cardinals and bluejays.  I have not had one, but I have had one squirrel. I don’t mind when there is only one.  At the old place, three or four of them would clear a feeder in half of a day. He seemed to be so glad to find food that he really didn’t seem bothered that I was in the window snapping his picture.

Monday, November 5, 2018

Rustic, Weathered Roof......


My old birdhouse keeps growing great looking moss and mold.  I am thinking the hole is too big for any bird wanting to nest in it. I will have to work on that durning the winter.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Sky View....


A sky shot taken before our fall rains moved it to our area. It will rain through today and partly Monday morning.

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Saturday Wildlife....


The special seed would be great for bluejays or cardinals but they are not showing up.  The sparrows are is such great numbers that they use this as the alternative to the regular feeder.

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Seeing the Red One......


Our burning bush was slow to turn red but it now has caught up with the neighbors. For a while this summer I had to water the shrub as it was really wimpy with all the hot and dry.  It is doing well now with all our cool temperatures.

Big and Small...

 The miniature daffodils are so petite compared to the normal sized daffodil. I don't think I have ever brought the small ones inside be...