scarcity

The robins come in early. The tree looks like one of those find it games, or a puzzle where the pieces all look the same. They fly in and out of the tree and sometimes all take flight at once.

Others wait in the tall trees across the street, alert for danger.

robins on guard and waiting to eat

At home I saw another smaller flock in a tree in my yard. A flock of smaller birds joined them. It is the silhouette that tells their story.

Cedar waxwings join a flock of robins.
Cedar waxwings join a flock of robins.

flare

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: flare.

Tictoc’s ruff of feathers look black from the side, but flare to scarlet and pink when seen straight on. That flare must help this small bird chase the larger ones away.

"Tictoc", a hummingbird, in a snowy lilac.

Tictoc has been chasing chickadees and towhees away over the weekend, no respect for larger size. But I had a second hummingbird sitting in the lilac at the same time.

Female Anna's hummingbird sitting in a snowy lilac bush.

Mundane Monday #198: shooting the sun

For Mundane Monday #198, my prompt is shooting the sun. Mostly we can’t get the sun in a photograph, except then sometimes we can. This was taken on Saturday when it was still overcast. As the storm moved on, the light was wonderful, with areas of bright and areas of dark storm cloud.

What photographs have you taken shooting the sun?

Message or link you photograph and I will post them next week. Have an amazing week among the mundane.

________________________________

My prompt last week was underlighting.

KLAllendorfer joins in with Double Bach.

door to blue

For Norm2.0’s Thursday doors.

This is the arched entry from my house. I was trying to capture the blues in the snow on Monday as the evening light dimmed. It’s time I photographed a lot more of my local doors, since Port Townsend has many building built from 1860-1880. Not my house, it’s from 1929. More doors to follow soon.

evening light looking through arch at a snow covered yard, all tones of blue.
archway in the evening, with a hanging birdbath and snow on a yard, all blue light

snow day

I am having a snow day. It snowed yesterday! Schools are closed and the roads are ice and it was 25 degrees when I walked into clinic. Clinic is cold and power and phones and computers are all out.

Now I have power back but internet is iffy. I have cancelled today’s patient. Some are 45 minutes or an hour away on good roads! We only have an inch of snow but the people north of me are reporting 6-8 inches. I have called people about tomorrow as well. Clinic will proceed if we have power and heat, but the people an hour away are cancelling. The weather forecast is that it will freeze at night all week, which is unusual here.

I am less than a mile from clinic and have ski clothes, so I should be able to get in unless we have an ice storm. We have paper files for back up so I could find phone numbers even with the power out. All except one new patient and now I’ve tracked that one down. We also have a battery lantern because the bathroom is really really dark with the power out. No windows.

I took the photograph last night. My ornamental plums were budding. I don’t know how happy they will be with a week of freezing weather!